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WR Juval Mollette takes transfer route out of North Carolina

A little-used wide receiver is leaving North Carolina in the hopes of being a little more utilized at his next destination.

By way of his personal Twitter account earlier this week, Juval Mollette announced that he “will be transferring from the University of North Carolina.” “I am a firm believer that God didn’t bring me all this way for no reason,” the receiver wrote, “and that everyone has a different path towards their own individual goals.”

Thank you #TarHeelNation for the experience but everyone has their own road!! Me looking for my next school like..(picture 4)

Pslams 27:1

pic.twitter.com/E2AcXnhw4g

— Juval Mollette (@TheeRealJuval) June 4, 2018

In the tweet, Mollette also posted the release from his scholarship he received from the Tar Heels. In addition to being barred from transferring to any other ACC school, he’s also prohibited from a move to any team on UNC’s non-conference schedule the next two seasons — Cal, East Carolina, UCF, Western Carolina, South Carolina, Appalachian State and Mercer.

Mollette was a three-star 2015 signee. He caught two passes for 19 yards during his time in Chapel Hill, all of which came during the 2017 season.

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After 11 years, Charlotte cuts ties with developer who didn’t build low-income housing

After 11 years of waiting, the Charlotte City Council ended a partnership Wednesday with developer Peter A. Pappas to build affordable housing near the Scaleybark light-rail station.

The original plan — created before the Lynx Blue Line opened in 2007 — called for a mixed-use development of apartments, shops and offices. It would have included 80 apartments for low-income residents, including some for the city’s poorest residents, who make less than 30 percent of the area median income. Those apartments would have been reserved for a family of four making $16,000 a year.

The project was supposed to be the city’s signature affordable housing development on the light-rail line.

Twelve years ago, the city bought 16 acres adjacent to the station for $9.2 million. The city spent $2 million from its Housing Trust Fund to buy the land.

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In 2007, it then sold the 16 acres to Pappas Properties at a discount, for $5.2 million. (The city reduced some of the price because of what it said were challenging soil conditions.)

This year, Pappas could have walked away from the deal by giving the city the $2 million back, plus interest. That would have been $2.4 million. He would have kept all the land he owns today.

Instead, the developer is likely giving the city a better deal, by deeding to the city 2.31 acres near the light-rail station. Because of soaring land values, that land is likely worth more than $2.4 million.

Real estate records show Pappas’ development company recently sold about 4 acres of the site to Pulte Homes for $6.6 million. Pappas Properties will still own nearly 10 acres that he can develop or sell.

For the last decade, city officials have said they believed the apartments would be built, and that only the recession in 2008-09 was holding the project up. But as developers, including Pappas, began building other apartment complexes along the Lynx Blue Line, the city struggled to explain why Scaleybark was still mostly a green field, with a parking lot for light-riders.

Pappas Properties made at least three attempts to win state tax credits critical for building low-income housing. But each attempt failed.

The city thinks it will have a better chance in the future, in part because Harris Teeter has opened a grocery store nearby, and projects receive good scores from the state for having a grocery within walking distance. The state wants residents living in subsidized housing to be near amenities like groceries and jobs.

Before voting unanimously to approve the new deal Wednesday, council members were upbeat.

"He could have just walked away," said council member LaWana Mayfield about Pappas’s willingness to give the city 2.3 acres instead of him paying the city $2.4 million and keeping all the land.

Charlotte plans to use the 2.31 acres to build the low-income apartments on its own, or with a non-profit company. But the new plan calls for all of the 80 apartments to be for people earning 80 percent of the area median income. That’s about $43,000 for a family of four.

But the switch from very low-income housing to so-called workforce housing raises questions about whether the apartments are needed. Two consultants have told the city that Charlotte has a surplus of housing for people earning about 80 percent of area median income, and the city’s biggest need is for apartments serving the city’s poorest residents, who earn minimum wage or less.

Pam Wideman, director of Housing and Neighborhoods for the city, said she hopes to have a proposal to build the apartments before the end of the year. The project would need additional financial help from the city’s Housing Trust Fund, though that was the plan all along, even if Pappas Properties had built the apartments.

Steve Harrison: 704-358-5160, @Sharrison_Obs

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How the Royal Wedding Photographer Got Prince George and Princess Charlotte to Sit Still for Those Portraits

Alexi Lubomirski had a special trick up his sleeve to capture the attention of the 10 children in the royal wedding party.

Getting a small child to sit still for a portrait is a difficult task. But wrangling 10? It almost seems impossible—especially when you are photographing the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex along with all their bridesmaids and pageboys after their showstopping wedding.

But that was part of photographer Alexi Lubomirski’s job on May 19. As the pictures show, he pulled it off—look at that grin on Prince George!—but it took some serious sweet-talking.

“I’ve been asked by everybody, ‘How did you control the kids?’ And as we were setting up the big family shots, and I was placing Tthe Duke of Edinburgh and Her Majesty onto their chairs, I could hear the kids started crying in the background and there was some chaos,” he said in a recent interview. Luckily, he found a secret weapon: Smarties candies. (For American readers, note that in the U.K. Smarties are more like M&Ms.)

“As soon as the kids came onto the set, I immediately just shouted out, ‘Who likes Smarties?’, and then everybody hands up, smiles, even some of the adults I think put their hands up,” he says. “. . . That was our magic word of the day, so thank you, Smarties.”

The on-the-brink-of-chaos portrait isn’t the only shot that Lubomirski captured that day. He also took an intimate portrait of the couple on a Windsor castle terrace, where they had naturally sat in a moment of happy exhaustion. The joy of it all wasn’t lost on Lubomirski, who said, “This has been a beautiful chapter in my career and life, that I will happily never forget.”

Photos: See Every Moment From the Royal Wedding:

The Must-See Moments From the Royal Wedding

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Teachers fill North Carolina capital’s streets demanding better pay, more resources

Teachers demanding better pay and more resources filled the streets of North Carolina’s capital city Wednesday with loud chants and the color red, continuing the trend of educators around the country rising up to pressure lawmakers for change.

Thousands of teachers from around the state marched through downtown to the Legislative Building, where the Republican-controlled Legislature was starting its annual work session.

Organizers’ prior estimate of 15,000 participants appeared easily met as city blocks turned the color of the red shirts worn by most marchers. Chants included "We care! We vote!" and "This is What Democracy Looks Like!"

Previous strikes, walkouts and protests in West Virginia, Arizona, Kentucky, Colorado and Oklahoma have led legislators in each state to improve pay, benefits or overall school funding.

Wednesday’s rally in North Carolina prompted three dozen school districts that educate more than two-thirds of the state’s 1.5 million public school students to cancel class.

Rachel Holdridge, a special education teacher at Wilmington’s Alderman Elementary School, said she drives for Uber to make ends meet despite working in education for 22 years. She said lawmakers and state government have let teachers down by failing to equip them properly to do their job.

"They keep giving tiny raises and taking so much away from the kids," said Holdridge, who came to the Legislative Building ahead of the march to lobby lawmakers. While she took a sober view of whether the rally would change policy, she said: "You’ve got to start somewhere."

People watch from inside the Legislative Building as participants gather during a teachers rally at the General Assembly in Raleigh, N.C. on Wednesday. (Gerry Broome / AP)

The state’s main teacher advocacy group, the North Carolina Assn. of Educators, demands that legislators increase per-pupil spending to the national average in four years, increase school construction for a growing state, and approve a multiyear pay raise for teachers and school support staff that would raise incomes to the national average.

The teachers’ group favors a proposal by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to raise salaries by stopping planned tax cuts on corporations and high-income households.

However, state Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, both Republicans, have made clear they have no plans to funnel more money to classrooms by postponing January’s planned tax cuts, including one for what is already one of the country’s lowest corporate income taxes.

"We have no intention of raising taxes," Berger said ahead of the march. He said the day’s focus should be "the fact that a million kids are not going to be in school [Wednesday] because a political organization wants to have folks come there to communicate with us or send a message."

But with the Great Recession in the past and the state’s financial stability restored, teachers say it’s time to catch up on deferred school spending. Teachers are photocopying assignments off the internet or from old workbooks because textbooks haven’t been replenished in years, North Carolina educators’ group President Mark Jewell said.

North Carolina teachers earn an average salary of about $50,000, ranking them 39th in the country last year, the National Education Assn. reported last month. Their pay increased by 4.2% over the previous year — the second-biggest increase in the country — and was estimated to rise an average 1.8% this year, the NEA said. But the union points out that that still represents a 9.4% slide in real income since 2009 due to inflation.

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5 Charlotte-area high schools rate among nation’s best. What do they have in common? | Charlotte Observer

Lake Norman Charter School in Huntersville shot up in national rankings to reclaim the title of best high school in the Charlotte region for 2018 — at least as judged by U.S. News & World Report.

Five area schools — two charters, two in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and one in Union County Public Schools — made the magazine’s top 500 in the nation, based on state exam performance, graduation rates, and participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests.

The ratings, released Wednesday, started with 20,500 public high schools and awarded gold medal status to the top 500. The Early College at Guilford, which placed 12th in the nation, had North Carolina’s best rating.

While the magazine says the ratings recognize plenty of schools with strong representation of black, Hispanic and low-income students — schools can’t even be considered for top ratings unless those groups score better than state averages — the local standouts are all located in the relatively affluent outskirts of Charlotte, where poverty levels are low and white students make up a majority.

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‘Some unpleasant truths’ on race, poverty and opportunity revealed in CMS report

Lake Norman Charter had the region’s top ranking on the 2016 U.S. News list, but fell below Union County’s Marvin Ridge High in Waxhaw last year. This year Lake Norman was rated No. 163 in the country, up from from No. 325 in 2017.

According to Shannon Stein, superintendent, while compensation is important keeping teachers is about more than pay. Video by John D. [email protected]

Marvin Ridge fell from No. 275 to No. 369, making it second in the region.

Two CMS neighborhood schools in south Charlotte — Ardrey Kell (No. 384) and Providence (No. 436) — also earned gold medal status, as did Community School of Davidson, a north suburban charter school (No. 481).

Ardrey Kell, Providence and Lake Norman were also rated among the country’s best schools for STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math.

Marie G. Davis Military and Global Leadership Academy, Northwest School of the Arts and Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, all in CMS, and Gaston County’s Highland School of Technology were rated among the best magnet schools. Lake Norman, Community School of Davidson and Lincoln Charter made the best charter school list.

Here’s the exchange that sparked claims that the CMS magnet plan has no educational value. Ann Doss Helms

Magnets, which are run by school districts, and charters, which are run by independent boards, both take students by application and often offer specialized academic themes.

A dozen other high schools in the region, including some that are racially and economically diverse, were among approximately 2,200 schools rated overall silver medal winners.

Find all results and more explanation at www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.

Charter schools are one option in the growing "school choice" movement. Funded by taxpayer money, these schools are growing nationally, though some states have yet to pass related laws. Find out what sets them apart from traditional public and pri Nicole L. CvetnicMcClatchy

Ann Doss Helms: 704-358-5033, @anndosshelms

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The North Carolina Zoo Adds Five American Red Wolves To The Family

ASHEBORO, N.C. — The North Carolina Zoo has added 5 American red wolves to the family!

The litter (3 females and two males) was born Sunday, April 15, while heavy storms ran rapid across the triad. Including a EF-2 tornado in Greensboro.

Therefore, it was only right that the pups were named accordingly; Thunder, Hurricane, Thor, and Typhoon.

The fifth pup was named Oklahoma because of the Oklahoma shaped white ‘blaze’ on her chest.

The new additions bring the total number of red wolves at the Zoo to 24, making the NC Zoo the second biggest pack in the U.S.

The pups are being held in a quiet non-public viewing area, allowing the mother to raise them with little to no stress in a natural habitat.

American red wolves are the most endangered canid (a mammal of the dog family) in the world.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began the ‘American Red Wolf Recovery Program’ after the wolves nearly became extinct in the late 1960’s.

The NC Zoo has been a part of the ‘American Red Wolf Recovery Program’ since 1994.

Recently, the NC Zoo has helped the American red wolf become apart of the Association of Zoo and Aquariums SAFE (Saving Species From Extinction) Program.

The program allows the NC Zoo to take the lead in protecting the red wolf while growing the population both in the wild and under human care.

For more information, you can visit www.nczoo.org

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► Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WFMY News 2 App: Apple Users, Android Users

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North Carolina restaurant’s Tarantula Burger has daredevils salivating

Customers go crazy over burgers topped with tarantulas

Durham, N.C. – Thai Zebra spiders have crawled out of their dirt burrows in the forests of Cambodia onto the tables of a North Carolina restaurant – and people are going wild for the crunchy garnish on their burger.

“When I got done, I was like I can enjoy another one right now. It’s strange….but the flavor is good,” said Mark Christmann after trying the Tarantula Burger at Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, N.C. for the first time.

To eat the burger, patrons have to go through a lottery. Daredevils pay $30 to put their name on a raffle ticket and the restaurant draws a winner from a box about every other day. The winner, announced on Facebook and Twitter, has 48 hours to respond with a date and time to take on the Tarantula Challenge.

Bull City Burger and Brewery hosts the Tarantula Challenge every April to play its part in Exotic Meat Month.

“Once I actually put aside the fact that it was a spider, once I ate it, it wasn’t bad. It was really crunchy,” 17-year-old Anthony Jarvis told Fox News.

He is a repeat offender, devouring the gargantuan burger adorned with a big, black tarantula every year for the past three years.

Many people who have braved the restaurant’s Tarantula Challenge have a fear of spiders.

The restaurant hosts the challenge every April to play its part in Exotic Meat Month. For the past three years, the Tarantula Challenge has grown in popularity.

“It’s everybody…we’ve had kids, adults. I mean, every type of person,” said Seth Gross, the owner of the restaurant. “There’s something thrilling about eating your fear.”

Gross said surprisingly, many people who have braved the restaurant’s Tarantula Challenge have a fear of spiders.

To eat the burger, patrons have to go through a lottery. Daredevils pay $30 to put their name on a raffle ticket and the restaurant draws a winner from a box about every other day. The winner, announced on Facebook and Twitter, has 48 hours to respond with a date and time to take on the Tarantula Challenge.

(Fox News)

“If they can get through this, they can conquer their fear or, at least, (get to) eat it for a day,” Gross said.

Christmann, who took on the challenge said he doesn’t have a fear of spiders – it is quite the opposite.

“I love spiders,” Christmann told Fox News. “That’s actually the only thing that was making me kind of not want to do it.…. I don’t know how I feel consciously about eating them.”

Christmann says after reading about Bull City’s challenge on social media, he was instantly intrigued.

“I hope it tastes good,” said patron Mark Christmann right before taking a bite. “I mean it could be strange. I’d be alright with that. But as long as it doesn’t taste slimy or, like, overly crunchy.”

(Fox News)

“It’s not something you see every day, especially with exotic meat,” he said.

The restaurant manager said there are three ways customers usually eat the burgers: the Band-Aid approach, where “they just pick up the spider and eat it. Get it over with.” Others, Gross explained, “have one leg at a time and it takes them a while to get it down.”

Other customers slather the burger with a little bit of everything. They “just put the bun on top and eat it like a burger with everything and you don’t taste it so much,” Gross said.

Gross said the restaurant initially started by serving bug burgers, which had scorpions, larvae and crickets in it.

“Then,” he said, “we started learning about spiders that are eaten in Cambodia, the zebra tarantula, and we created the Tarantula Challenge.”

At the restaurant recently, while chefs flipped the sizzling medium-well beef burger over a hot grill in the kitchen, Christmann said he thought about how it would taste. He used words like “crunchy” and “spidery gusher” to describe the burger.

“I hope it tastes good,” Christmann said. “I mean it could be strange. I’d be alright with that. But as long as it doesn’t taste slimy or, like, overly crunchy.”

“When I first sink my teeth into it, there’s a lot of crunch,” daredevil Mark Christmann said. “Imagine snapping twigs, that’s what I heard in my head when I was biting. Twigs snapping, a lot of them.”

(Fox News)

Christmann ended up eating the grass-fed beef burger with gruyere cheese, an oven-roasted tarantula and spicy chili paste in less than eight bites.

“When I first sink my teeth into it, there’s a lot of crunch,” he said. “Imagine snapping twigs, that’s what I heard in my head when I was biting. Twigs snapping, a lot of them.”

He described the taste as earthy with a hint of “middle eastern spices, like sumac.”

Not only does he get the bragging rights for eating it, but he was also given a white t-shirt from the restaurant to trumpet his bravery.

The Tarantula Challenge ends on the last day of April. This year, 18 tarantulas were purchased for the challenge, but next year the owners say the meat of choice could range from an exotic fish to bull testicles.

"Not only does he get the bragging rights for eating it, but he was also given a white t-shirt from the restaurant to trumpet his bravery."

(Fox News)

Terace Garnier is a Fox News multimedia reporter based in Columbia, South Carolina. Follow her on twitter: @TeraceGarnier

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FIRST ALERT: Snow/rain mix continues to fall across WBTV viewing area

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) –

UPDATE: Friday 10:30 p.m.

The snow has tapered off in many locations. Parts of Burke, Caldwell, Avery, Ashe and Watauga County have picked up as much as 5-6” of snow. The rain is also taking a break in Charlotte and points south. We may be in a lull for part of the overnight period. However, the models are still indicating we could see the last round of snow coming in on Saturday morning. That could add some additional snow to places which have already picked up a good but. It could also bring some to Charlotte and other areas which haven’t seen any yet.

If you have snow in your yard, make the most of it in the morning. By afternoon, we should be close to 40 and we know snow can’t last very long above freezing. Enjoy it while it lasts!

UPDATE: Friday 2:30 p.m.

As of Friday afternoon accumulating snow is sticking in the mountains and northern foothills, and while we have had flakes spotted down closer to the I-85 corridor, nothing is sticking yet.

The rain/snow line will continue to dance on either side of the 85 corridor through the remainder of this evening. The biggest change to the forecast in regards to accumulating snow is for areas north of that boundary.

It does not appear there will be any huge breaks in the precipitation through the remainder of the afternoon or evening. This means totals will continue to add up for the higher elevations, with 4-8" expected in the mountains and northern foothills, and 3-6" in the southern foothills.

The rain/snow boundary should continue to gradually creep south over the next several hours, and especially once the sun sets, snow will likely have better luck accumulating. It also looks like there will be a final push of moisture that swings through overnight into Saturday morning, which means we’ll have the opportunity to pick up accumulations through mid-morning Saturday. The totals below reflect that.

Outside of the mountains and foothills, a couple inches will still be possible. North of Statesville through Alexander county will likely be in the 3-6" range along with the southern foothills.

The Catawba Valley down through places like Lincolnton, the Mecklenburg county line, and through Salisbury will be in the 2-4" range.

Southward from there, places like Shelby, Gastonia, North Meck, Kannapolis, Concord, and Albemarle will be in the 1-2" range.

Metro Charlotte will as usual remain right on the brink of the rain/snow line through most of this evening. If we do see a changeover to fat flakes from time to time it will still be too warm at the ground to stick initially. Our best shot at seeing any accumulation in the city will likely come after midnight into early Saturday morning, where up to an inch could fall down to the South Carolina state line- again, on grassy and elevated surfaces.

The system finally pulls away by mid-morning Saturday, leaving a cold but dry balance of the weekend.

– Meteorologist Lyndsay Tapases

Friday 10 a.m.

First Alert Day Wintry Weather Cold Weekend

The much anticipated round of wet/winter weather has entered the WBTV viewing area, prompting our call for a First Alert Day for Friday. So, we are facing cold and wet morning and evening commutes, as most areas will settle back in the cold 30s Friday (but above freezing through the daylight hours).

Most of our weather computer models are also bringing down enough cold air now to support a mix of rain and snow, but it will be the constant battle we always face around here which is: will the moisture and cold air line up at the right place and at the right time for this to happen? Either way, the end result may actually be the same: mostly just wet and really cold, as accumulating snow – especially on roadways – may be very hard to come by everywhere outside of the mountains during the day.

Looking ahead, as colder air filters in Friday night, there stands a better chance for a changeover to more snow, though unless it comes down at a really good clip, roads outside of the mountains may remain more wet than white. Northward from Interstate 85, accumulations of an inch or so are possible if everything lines up just right, and this will be mainly tonight. The zone north of NC 73 up to around the I-40 corridor is more likely to see one to perhaps as much as three inches, while north of I-40 and west into the mountains, accumulations are more likely to be in the three to six inch range. South of I-85, it may be tough to get more than a coating of wet snow on the grass, as this is an area where slightly warmer temperatures are likely to hold on longer resulting in more rain than snow.

Whatever we may see, it’s gone by the weekend. There will be a few lingering snow showers through midday Saturday as temperatures fall to near 32 degrees overnight, then the rest of weekend looks dry but quite cold. High temperatures will top out only in the low to mid 40s both days and overnight lows tumble down into the 20s. Beyond the weekend, we face a week straight of below-normal temps.

– Meteorologist Al Conklin

Copyright 2017 WBTV. All rights reserved.

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NASCAR’s All-Star race twist? Restrictor plates, radical aerodynamics at Charlotte | Charlotte Observer

Another year, another new format for NASCAR’s All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

CMS announced Wednesday its new format and rules package for the May 19 race. Format-wise, this year’s All-Star race will include four stages of 30, 20, 20, and 10 laps, respectively. Each stage is eligible to go into overtime, and only green flag laps will count in the final stage.

And while the All-Star format has changed every few seasons since the race’s inception in 1985, the headliner from Wednesday’s announcement is easily the new rules package NASCAR has implemented.

For the first time ever, teams will use restrictor plates at Charlotte Motor Speedway (the only two tracks that use them regularly are Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway). The cars will also be fitted with aero ducts, a 6-inch-high spoiler with two 12-inch ears, and the 2014 style splitter. This is the same package the Xfinity Series ran at Indianapolis last season, but it has never been run with Cup cars.

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All of which is a long-winded, complicated way of saying: This should be the most unpredictable, up-in-the-air All-Star race in recent memory.

“No one knows how this package will race around each other (in a Cup Series car),” Joey Logano, the 2016 All-Star winner, said in a statement. “The All-Star Race is the perfect opportunity to try something new and out of the box from a rules perspective."

Wednesday’s announcement marks a second noteworthy shift from the usual at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2018. In October, the track will debut its unique "Roval" course, which combines segments of the traditional 1.5-mile track with elements of a new road course.

Charlotte Motor Speedway has long been a petri dish of sorts for NASCAR, a true race environment where different packages and rules can be tested without costing drivers in points. Stage racing, which was implemented last season, was first tested at CMS during the All-Star race.

The reason CMS can make changes like this — especially semi-regular ones — to the All-Star race is because instead of counting for points and race victories like almost every other weekend, it operates as a bonus race, with the winner taking home a cash prize rather than a playoff berth.

Brendan Marks: 704-358-5889, @brendanrmarks

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Phantoms play 300th game as Lehigh Valley franchise; lose to Charlotte

The Phantoms played their 300th game since their arrival to the Lehigh Valley four seasons ago but the host Charlotte Checkers spoiled the milestone with a 6-1 rout on Wednesday night.

Colin McDonald registered the lone goal for the Phantoms, his seventh of the season.

The Phantoms outshot the Checkers 31-24 but Charlotte rookie goalie Callum Booth turned aside 30 Lehigh Valley shots in recording his first-ever AHL win.

Nicolas Roy led the Checkers with a four-point performance.

Charlotte Checkers 6, Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1

Wednesday, April 4, 2018 – Bojangles’ Coliseum

Lehigh Valley 0 1 0 – 1

Charlotte 3 2 1 – 6

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Roy 10 (Tolchinsky, Finn), 9:24. 2, Charlotte, Kruger 3 (Carrick, Brown), 14:06. 3, Charlotte, Tolchinsky 7 (Roy, Gauthier), 16:52. Penalties-Ferrantino Cha (slashing), 2:16; Kruger Cha (interference), 19:03; Aube-Kubel Lv (slashing), 19:14.

2nd Period-4, Charlotte, Poturalski 21 (Roy, Carrick), 0:50 (PP). 5, Charlotte, Robertson 2 (Samuelsson, Roy), 6:32. 6, Lehigh Valley, McDonald 7 (Martel), 16:06 (PP). Penalties-Varone Lv (tripping), 0:32; Robertson Cha (tripping), 15:38; Foegele Cha (delay of game), 17:20; Lamarche Lv (tripping), 19:30.

3rd Period-7, Charlotte, Poturalski 22 (Carrick, McKegg), 0:22 (PP). Penalties-Stortini Cha (high-sticking), 2:11; Krushelnyski Lv (boarding), 7:38; Bardreau Lv (cross-checking), 17:01; Vorobyev Lv (roughing), 17:01; Samuelsson Cha (roughing), 17:01.

Shots on Goal-Lehigh Valley 8-10-13-31. Charlotte 8-7-9-24.

Power Play Opportunities-Lehigh Valley 1 / 5; Charlotte 2 / 5.

Goalies-Lehigh Valley, Muse 10-2-1 (24 shots-18 saves). Charlotte, Booth 1-1-0 (31 shots-30 saves).

A-6,543

Referees-Chris Brown (86), Furman South (44).

Linesmen-Bevan Mills (53), Max Nicastro (28).

Source Article

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Have You Seen These Boys? Two Children Went Missing in Charlotte on Saturday

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are asking for help in locating two children missing in Charlotte since Saturday.

Thomas, 11, and Dakota, 10, were last seen leaving their home on the 6400 block of Monteith Drive in northeast Charlotte on Saturday.

They’re believed to be together, police said, and they may be near North Tryon Street or the 1900 block of Newcastle Street, which is off La Salle Street in north Charlotte.

Police are not releasing the boys’ last names, but Thomas is described as biracial with brown hair and brown eyes. He’s five and a half feet tall, police said. Dakota is white, police said, with blond hair and brown eyes. He’s five feet tall.

Police did not release information about the boys’ clothing.

Jane Wester: 704-358-5128, @janewester

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Prince George and Princess Charlotte to Help Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Charm Europe

Prince George and Princess Charlotte will join their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on their tour of Germany and Poland, Kensington Palace has said.

The Duke and Duchess will travel with their young son and daughter during their five-day trip, which begins on July 17 in Poland’s capital Warsaw and ends in the German city of Hamburg on July 21.

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “The Duke and Duchess are very much looking forward to this tour and are delighted with the exciting and varied programme that has been put together for it.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte await Trooping the Colour

“They have decided that their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will travel with them and we expect the children to be seen on at least a couple of occasions over the course of the week.

“They look forward to a busy and impactful tour, and are grateful that they will have the opportunity to meet the Polish and German people – such important friends of the United Kingdom – as a family.

The family in Canada

The Duke and Duchess have taken their children, George, who is nearly four, and two-year-old Charlotte, on an official tour before, travelling to Canada with them last year where they enjoyed an open-air party for youngsters.

And in 2014 their toddler prince flew with them to New Zealand and Australia for their extensive trip.

This time, the children are likely to be seen only during arrivals and departures at the two countries.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tour Vancouver 01:32

With Prince George starting school in south London this September, attending the mixed-sex Thomas’s Battersea school, and his sister likely to be enrolled in a nursery, this is the last time the royal couple will be able to take their children with them without school commitments making it problematic.

The children will be seen arriving in Poland and Germany, as they were in Canada last year

The Cambridges are making the trip at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

It is likely to be seen as another Brexit diplomacy tour, helping to maintain and strengthen the UK’s relations with Europe as it leaves the EU.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte Prince George Photo: AFP/Getty

Full name: George Alexander Louis

Born: July 22, 2013

Time: 4.24pm

Weight: 8lbs 6oz

First days: spent at the Middleton family home in Bucklebury

Met the Queen: At two days old

First overseas trip: Three-week official foreign tour to Australia and New Zealand when he was eight months old

First birthday party: Beatrix Potter theme

Godparents:

Oliver Baker (university friend)

Emilia Jardine-Paterson (Kate’s college friend)

Earl Grosvenor (son and heir of the Duke of Westminster)

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton (Duke’s former private secretary)

The Hon. Julia Samuel (close friend of Princess Diana)

William van Cutsem (Duke’s friend)

Zara Tindall (Duke’s cousin)

Princess Charlotte Photo: Mario Testino/Art Partner

Full name: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

Born: May 2, 2015

Time: 8.34am

Weight: 8lbs 3oz

First days: spent at Kensington Palace

Met the Queen: At three days old

First overseas trip: Family skiing holiday to Courchevel in the French Alps when she was ten months old

First birthday party: A small party at Anmer Hall with friends

Godparents:

The Hon. Laura Fellowes (Duke’s cousin)

Adam Middleton (Duchess’s cousin)

Thomas van Straubenzee (Duke’s school friend)

James Meade (Duke’s school friend)

Sophie Carter (Duchess’s friend)

<hreaf=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/03/prince-george-princess-charlotte-join-duke-duchess-cambridge/”</Source Article>

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I’m Not a Charlotte Native. You Don’t Need to Tell Me That You Are.

I’m not from Charlotte. I’m reminded of that nearly once a week, when someone declares, “I’m a native Charlottean” at a community meeting. After eight years, these words define my time in this city and sum up my complicated feelings about Charlotte. These feelings run the gamut from grateful (for amazing people) to frustrated (because of unrealized opportunities) to isolated (because it’s still doesn’t feel like home).

The first time I heard these words, I was working on a political campaign. People walked into our campaign office constantly to express their skepticism of a team of outsiders. They questioned whether we could win a local election. I heard them again when I proposed a business idea. It wasn’t the “Charlotte way.” Most recently, I heard them at a meeting about how to advance upward mobility. I’ve heard these words at business meetings and house parties. I’ve heard them from social justice activists and investment bankers alike. It is the single ubiquitous idea I’ve uncovered in eight years of exploring the city of Charlotte.

I’ve always found this sentiment to be curious. I want to know why it’s part of an introduction and not an explanation. I want to know if the speaker chose to stay or lacked the opportunity to leave. I want to know if hometown pride includes ownership of the problems seemingly calcified in a system of inequity.

“I’m a native Charlottean.” It’s only four words, but they create so much distance, intentionally drawing invisible lines in a city where visible lines are already problematic. Sometimes, they are offered as a tactic to lift up perspectives of people who have a history here above the perspectives of people who want a future here. These words are often heavy with a sense of nostalgia for a simpler time, not when problems didn’t exist, but when there weren’t so many channels to expose them. And, in my opinion, these four words hold us back.

Personally, when I hear these words, I feel unwelcome. I am reminded of my outsider status. I want to be respectful of history and context and as a result, take longer to offer my ideas. I spend time figuring out how to present solutions in the “Charlotte way.” A few times a month, I think about whether I belong here. And, I’m not alone.

Last week, I attended a meeting of young civic leaders. As part of our introductions, we were asked whether we considered Charlotte “home.” Only one person out of ten said yes, and yet, collectively, we had contributed so much to making Charlotte a great place. Around a single table were people involved with alleviating homelessness, improving public education, catalyzing entrepreneurship, transforming criminal justice, elevating local politics, developing mentorship and leadership and building community. Professionally, we represented real estate, law, public service, higher education, nonprofit, banking, and tech. And yet, we were hesitant, almost reluctant, to claim Charlotte as our home.

The city needs its talent to stay. We bring our families. We build companies. We move here for jobs, but we stay for the communities we create. And, our outsider perspective is critical to the future of Charlotte. In a world of options, we chose Charlotte. We see something that is harder to see when you’re close: potential. As outsiders, we bring different experiences, resources, and social networks to bear and serve as ambassadors for this city to our friends and families back home. We are unable to own much of Charlotte’s history, and as such, feel less sentimental about making necessary improvements. The truth is, not everyone is comfortable in Charlotte. And, not everyone who can afford to be comfortable is comfortable being blind to the way things have always been. There’s something painfully universal about the problems that we face in Charlotte today – social injustice, educational inequity, poverty, political division, homelessness, hunger – the list goes on and on.

Each day, 100 people move to Charlotte. We should embrace and engage them quickly. When everyone who lives here feels a sense of ownership of the problems and believes they are responsible for the solutions, we will be closer to building a city we can all call home. Let’s move beyond where we are from, so we can all get to where we want to be.

We don’t need to be native Charlotteans to want a better future, but we do need to be Charlotteans to help create it.

Email: [email protected]

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2nd Teen Boy Now in Nc Jail After Teen Girl Killed in Park

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) — A second teenager facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the killing of a 14-year-old Charlotte girl at a Gaston County park is now in custody at the Gaston County jail.

CLICK FOR PHOTOS OF THE VICTIM AND SUSPECTS

According to the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office, 17-year-old Eric Deon Combs was booked in the jail around 1:40 a.m. Saturday morning. According to investigators in Mount Holly, Combs turned himself in to the Montgomery County, Ohio Sheriff’s Office and was awaiting extradition.

Combs is expected to be charged with murder in the death of Taylor Sorera Smith. He is the second teenager charged in connection with Smith’s death.

Officials also arrested and charged 18-year-old Darvon Fletcher with first-degree murder in the killing of Smith.

The shooting happened April 3 around 3 p.m. in River Street Park in Mt. Holly. This is on N. River Street off of E. Charlotte Avenue.

Police say they had a hard time identifying Smith, who had no identification on her. Smith was found by officers on the ground with gunshot wounds.

There is no word on what may have led to the shooting, but investigators said Fletcher and Smith knew each other and drove to the park together from Charlotte.

According to the Mount Holly Police Department, the Gaston County District Attorney’s office will schedule Combs’ first court appearance next week.

Anyone with further information should call the Mount Holly Police Department at 704-827-4343 or Crime Stoppers of Gaston County at 704-861-8000.

Copyright 2017 WBTV. All rights reserved.

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Attorney’s Plan: Let Gus Zamudio Finish High School in Charlotte, Then He’ll Leave

Charlotte high school student Gus Zamudio will be leaving the country. Next week, a judge will decide whether the senior at Northwest School of the Arts will return to his native Mexico with a high school diploma.

On March 28, an attorney for Zamudio will ask a federal immigration judge in Georgia to release Zamudio from federal custody long enough for the 18-year-old to finish classes at Northwest. Zamudio would then voluntarily return to Mexico.

Zamudio has been held in the high-security Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga., for about a month. He was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Charlotte shortly after his arrest in late February on a felony charge that he embezzled more than $2,900 from the Harris Teeter in Myers Park where he worked.

Zamudio’s seizure is part of a crackdown under President Donald Trump on undocumented immigrants. Under the Obama administration, undocumented immigrants were deported after being convicted of crimes. Now, they are being jailed and processed for deportation after only an arrest.

On Tuesday, his attorneys in the embezzling case entered a guilty plea in Zamudio’s absence for a reduced charge of misdemeanor larceny. Friends, family and teachers have raised money to repay Harris Teeter in full, the lawyers said.

Afterward, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office said the plea agreement offered Zamudio is consistent with how cases involving nonviolent, first-time offenders are handled, and had nothing to do with the teen’s immigration status.

Mecklenburg District Judge Alicia Brooks granted Zamudio what is known as “a prayer for judgment continued.” That’s a type of legal limbo between a conviction and an acquittal. Put another way, it’s a conviction without a sentence – if Zamudio doesn’t break the law again.

“This certainly helps,” said Zamudio’s immigration attorney, Marty Rosenbluth of Hillsborough. “Not having a felony on his head will make this a lot easier in immigration court.”

But the plea agreement likely won’t keep Zamudio in the country. Rosenbluth said Tuesday that his client’s return to Mexico is all but certain now.

“We don’t really have anything to apply for. We’d lose before we began to fight,” he said. “People just don’t realize how badly broken our immigration system really is.”

Rosenbluth said that next week he will ask an immigration judge to approve a “voluntary departure” agreement that would free Zamudio for 120 days before he would be required to leave the country. Said Rosenbluth: “It would give him enough time to graduate and say goodbye.”

A diploma would give Zamudio better job prospects in Mexico, Rosenbluth said. The voluntary departure instead of a deportation would improve his chances of being allowed back in the country legally in the future.

“He has accepted responsibility for what’s happened,” the attorney said. “Now he’s trying to get past this and build a life for himself.”

Whether the judge will accept the plan is unclear. Earlier this month, Zamudio’s bond request was turned down.

Zamudio’s case has become one of the focal points of a community-wide debate on Trump’s stepped-up immigration policy, which has led to hundreds of immigrants being taken into custody for possible deportation. Supporters of the president’s efforts say they are helping make the country safer. Critics say the government is punishing longtime residents such as Zamudio, who came to America with his family as a young child.

Zamudio’s criminal hearing in Mecklenburg District Court on Tuesday took a matter of minutes. While defense attorneys Rob Heroy and Jonathan Hipps talked with the judge about the terms of the plea agreement, a Spanish translator explained the proceedings to Maria Aguilar, Zamudio’s mother.

Given a chance to speak, Aguilar told Judge Brooks in Spanish that Zamudio had been highly active at Northwest, and had never done anything like this before.

“I don’t think my son took the money,” she said.

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From Murphy To Manteo, North Carolina Has Quite A Bit To Do

If you’re looking for state that has quite a bit to do, then the Tarheel State is just the place to go. This geographically diverse state is a bonanza of different environments and places to see or go.

The coast has a shockingly high number of miles of beaches, largely due to the Outer Banks, a stretch of islands that extend so far from the mainland, that the continent is not visible. It’s possible to see the sun come up over the water on the eastern beach, trudge to the other side of the island, and then watch it set over the water on the western beach. The mainland coast of course has its own beaches on top of all this!

The western end of the state is home to some of the tallest mountains west of the Mississippi, and the Blue Ridge Parkway goes up and down quite a few of them, providing a scenic drive in the late spring, full summer, and early fall that offers unparalleled vistas for passengers and drivers alike to enjoy.

The city of Asheville is a great place to center a mountain vacation around during the summer, given its art, culture, eating, and low humidity. Plan for a whole day at the Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in the country.

Sports fans often discover North Carolina to be a mecca for on-field action. Three major leagues are represented with the NFL Carolina Panthers playing in Charlotte, as well as the NBA Charlotte Hornets. The NHL Carolina Hurricanes play up the interstate closer to the capital. ACC action and fierce rivalries happen with Tobacco Road schools like UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, Wake Forest University, and North Carolina State University competing against one another.

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Nc Has Some of the Most Beautiful Apartments in the United States

Moving from a current city to a new one can be very difficult for many people. There are so many things that come to play where living in a new home or city is concerned. However, there are times when these moves are important and very necessary. Thinking about how bad your move is and how stressful the process of finding an apartment is concerned will simply block you out from realizing the joy that comes with moving to a city like Charlotte, NC. There are so many people who move to settle in Charlotte, NC and although the start was quite uncertain for them they always end up appreciating the moves they make.

Well, where apartments are concerned you will never fall short of apartments in this city. It is very important to know that Charlotte, NC has some of the most beautiful apartments in the United States for all income earner levels. If your option is to rent a furnished apartment in Charlotte, you will find yourself in the very best position especially with the many options the city of Charlotte in North Carolina has to offer. When you are able to find the right number of furnished apartment options to look through, you will have nothing to worry about where finding the perfect one is concerned.

Individuals can find furnished apartments with at least leases of 1 year, 9 months or even 7 months to make sure there are no long term issues. Also, the renter can be able to keep or save so much money by renting apartments that already have furniture and other furnishings. Today, equipments and other furniture for the home are becoming more and more costly. This is why it is very normal and important that, the right furnished apartments are rented to save you all of that or those costs. To find the perfect Charlotte, NC furnished apartment for you, there will be the need to set your budget.

Setting your budget is the first way to know how much you have to spend. Since you are moving to a new city or place, there will be the need to be very careful in some of the decisions you make. With your budget, you need to decide which rental payments are too high and which amounts will be suitable for you. Also, you need to find out if you can spend extra when the time comes and exactly what you need in the furnished apartments you rent. After you set out your budget, there will be the need for you to make a decision on the area you would want to live in.

If you are moving to work, you will be better off choosing an area which is close or near to your workplace. If you do not own a car you will be able to walk from your apartment to your work without any effort. Also, make sure the apartment you find is in a location which makes going to shops, offices, and other important places very easy.

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