TCB March 15, 2018 — Students walk out by Triad City Beat

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point March 15 - 21, 2018 triad-city-beat.com

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STUDENTS WALK OUT ON GUN VIOLENCE

Slumlord saga PAGE 8 Ramkatting PAGE 2 Beers to the Irish PAGE 17

March 15 - 21, 2018

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

Joey and the Ramkat On stage Friday night at the Ramkat, newlyminted Vagabond Saint Joey Barnes found himself in a curious position: that of the relative by Brian Clarey unknown. “Who is that?” diehard Winston-Salemite Carissa Joines asked me from our spot off stage right. “Joey Barnes?” I said. “Used to play with Daughtry?” She shrugged. “There’s like a 30-foot mural of him in downtown Greensboro,” I offered. Nothing. Barnes, glammed out in leather, sequins and makeup, played his role in the Queen tribute by enticing the crowd — nearly silent when he mounted the frontman slot — to join him in the anthemic “Somebody to Love,” nailing the high notes and the runs until he won the crowd over entirely. It was a big night for the Ramkat, the Triad’s newest big room in downtown Winston-Salem, easily 1,000 strong and existing in the kind of ethereal camaraderie that will convince thousands more, years from now, to say they were there. Make no mistake: The Ramkat is good for Winston-Salem, a course correction in the Entertainment District that simply cannot exist without buy-in from the people of the city. And it won’t get that unless it makes sense — to their neighbors in that part of downtown, to the bands who want

to come through and, most importantly, to the growing number of city residents willing to hit the town at night and take in some live music. Before the doors even opened there was a line around the building, with an air of homecoming — personalities from other clubs, other lives converging in the moment. Jill and Big Mike from the old Ziggy’s. Jon from the Garage and Brew Ha Ha’s before that. And Jesus. Is that Crow? The Vagabond Saints, ably led by Doug Davis, stepped up their usual cover-show game with moments of glam and groove, and it all made sense. Of course Richard Boyd would handle “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” Vel Indica’s Patrick Ferguson naturally took to “Killer Queen.” No one but Clay Howard could handle the doubleshot of “One Vision” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.” And who else could bring a moment of magic to this Winston-Salem crowd but Karon Click and Jeffrey Dean Foster, whose version of “Under Pressure” will be talked about for years to come? It all wrapped up too soon, this perfect night in the Camel City where everything, finally, just seemed to click into place. Even Joey Barnes made a new fan: On her way out the door, WXII News anchor Nicole Ducouer, at the Ramkat for an evening of drinking and dancing with her husband, tapped Joey’s shoulder. “You were the best one,” she said. “Thanks,” Barnes said. Then: “Who is that?”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

I didn’t have any water; everything was falling apart. In the children’s bedroom, the roof is falling in. The bathroom sink fell in half on top of my dog, and is not usable. The shower is caving. In my living room, the water pipe busted, and the maintenance man didn’t fully repair it. The whole wall is completely open.

— Natalie Carter, in the News, page 8

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

robert@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach

SALES KEY ACCOUNTS Gayla Price

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green

SALES EXECUTIVE Andrew Lazare

STAFF WRITER Lauren Barber

CONTRIBUTORS

allen@triad-city-beat.com

jordan@triad-city-beat.com lauren@triad-city-beat.com

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336-256-9320 ART Cover image by Carolyn de ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette Berry

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andrew@triad-city-beat.com

Saul Mosqueda, a student at Page High School, participates in a walkout on Wednesday.

Carolyn de Berry, Spencer KM Brown, Matt Jones

March 15 - 21, 2018

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE PROPOSED WIDENING OF N.C. 66 (OLD HOLLOW ROAD) FROM HARLEY DRIVE TO U.S. 158 (REIDSVILLE ROAD) IN FORSYTH COUNTY TIP PROJECT NO. U-5824 The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting regarding proposed widening of N.C. 66 (Old Hollow Road) from Harley Drive to U.S. 158 (Reidsville Road), in Forsyth County. The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 22, at Morris Chapel United Methodist Church, 2715 Darrow Road in Walkertown from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Interested citizens may attend at any time during the meeting hours. NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and receive comments regarding the project. Please note that no formal presentation will be made. All comments received will be taken into consideration as the project progresses. As information becomes available, it may be viewed online at the NCDOT Public Meeting Website: http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings Anyone desiring additional information may contact Brett Abernathy, P.E., NCDOT, Division Project Development Engineer, at 375 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston Salem, NC 27127, (336) 747-7800 or jbabernathy@ncdot.gov. Comments should be submitted by April 23, 2018. NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tamara Makhlouf via email at tmakhlouf@ncdot.gov or by phone at (919) 707-6072 as early as possible, so that these arrangements can be made. Persons who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Aquellas personas que hablan español y no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

March 15 - 21, 2018

CITY LIFE March 15 -21 by Lauren Barber

News

Up Front

THURSDAY

The Last Word open mic @ Liberty Arts Coffee House (W-S), 7 p.m. Winston-Salem Writers present an open-mic night and curated readings from two featured writers. Arrive at 6:30 p.m. to sign up for a 5-minute slot. Comedy, song, acoustic acts, theater, poetry, fiction and nonfiction are welcome. Learn more on the Last Word W-S Facebook page.

Karen Ceesay @ Greensboro Central Library, 7 p.m. Film and television actress Karen Ceesay shares her experiences and thoughts about being a black woman in the film industry as part of the library’s Women’s History Month programming. Ceesay currently plays the part of Bertie on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and Mrs. Sinclair in Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” Find the event on Facebook. The Genuine; I, Anomaly; Scrub Pine and Companyon @ the Ramkat (W-S), 8 p.m.

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

Sanford Biggers @ UNCG (GSO), 7 p.m.

FRIDAY

Multimedia artist Sanford Biggers talks history, culture and identity. His exhibit is on view until April 8. Biggers’ densely layered paintings on antique Southern quilts recall stories of quilts being used as markers on the Underground Railroad and star charts employed by astronomers. Learn more at weatherspoon.uncg.edu. Michel van der Aa @ Wake Forest University (W-S), 7:30 p.m. Avant-garde composer and filmmaker Michel van der Aa discusses his novel fusion of classical instruments, voices, electronic sound, actors, theater and video, and performs in Brendle Recital Hall in the Scales Fine Arts Center.

Catch Winston-Salem-based indie bands the Genuine and I, Anomaly, and get acquainted with the new music venue. Scrub Pine brings pensive rock to the stage in contrast with singer/ songwriter Companyon. Find the event on Facebook. Emma Lee @ Little Brother Brewing (GSO), 9 p.m. Singer Emma Lee graces the Elm Street brewery with her indie Americana sound. Find the event on Facebook.

SATURDAY

Dance marathon @ Greensboro Cultural Center, 9 a.m.

The Dance Project hosts a daylong dance including classes, dance relays, performances and prizes. Proceeds benefit the dance education through the School of City Arts. Find the event on Facebook. Guilford Creek Week Kick-Off Party @ multiple locations (GSO and HP) Join City of High Point staff at Armstrong Park at 10 a.m. for scavenger hunting, arts and crafts, and Greensboro’s Eco Bus. Interested participants will be given supplies to perform a creek cleanup along the greenway during this event. Greensboro residents can meet at Starmount Park for a cleanup at 9 a.m. Find the event on Facebook. St. Patrick’s Day in the Park @ LeBauer Park (GSO), 11 a.m. This family-friendly St. Patty’s Day celebration kicks off with a story time with the Greensboro Public Library. Grab lunch from Ghassan’s Fresh Mediterranean Eats or Hoppin’ Hound Dogs, and learn about LimeBike safety with trained staff while traditional Irish and American fiddle musicians the Walker Family Band take the stage; expect performances from a bagpiper to the Greensboro Ballet. Find the event on Facebook.

March 15 - 21, 2018

Pi(e) and Pi(nts) for a Cause @

Kaleidoscopic Flimflammery Colorshow of Tomfoolery & Shenanigans @ 512 Collective (HP), 2 p.m. Maggie Story’s ultra-vibrant photographs are on display and the inspiration for an afternoon party featuring Whiskey Christy & the Half Pint Orchestra, Modest Mayhem, Scott Hinzman, Crystal Bright and an LED performance by Headspin. The party will also feature bodypainting, stilt walking by the East Coast Giants and eats from Zenful Kitchen. Find the event on Facebook.

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Shot in the Triad

Foothills Brewing Tasting Room (W-S), 1 p.m. Judge dessert, savory and fruit pies in a baking competition with Winston-Salem Jaycees. This belated Pi (π) Day celebration raises funds for the Jaycees Outstanding Young Leaders Scholarship Program. Learn more at wsjaycees.org.

Culture

Violinists Daniel D. and Eric Stanley take the stage. Their repertoire ranges from jazz improvisation, gospel, R&B, pop and classical music. Learn more at danieldmusicstore.com.

SUNDAY

Opinion

Daniel D. & Eric Stanley @ Hanesbrands Theatre (W-S), 7 p.m.

News

In recognition of Women’s History Month, the museum honors the women of Bennett College who participated in civil rights efforts in the 1960s. Hear the belles who partook in the Woolworth sit-ins and the demonstration on Market Street recount their experiences. Find the event on Facebook.

Lovesphere 23 @ Glenwood Community Bookstore (GSO), 3 p.m. Perceiver of Sound League presents Lovesphere 23, an annual 4-day art festival correlating with the Spring Equinox. Join an all-acoustic ensemble of for an experimental and immersive afternoon. Find the event on Facebook.

Up Front

Bennett Belles: Untold Stories of the Movement @ International Civil Rights Center & Museum (GSO), 3 p.m.

March 15 - 21, 2018 Up Front News

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Opinion

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The trainwreck that was Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ appearance on “60 Minutes” on Sunday revealed an ideologue hopelessly out of her depth who couldn’t even make a few good points to spin together a plausible fiction. DeVos’ exchange with host Lesley Stahl on charter schools, the secretary’s signature issue, may have been the most revealing. DeVos is so zealously committed to the ideology of school choice that she’s incapable of making the most minimal effort to conceal her intellectual contradictions. Asked how she can justify robbing poor performing schools to fund charters, DeVos responded with the disingenuous apples-to-oranges argument: “Well, we should be funding and investing in students, not in school — school buildings, not in institutions, not in systems.” When challenged on her sleight of hand, she moved on to an argument that competition from charters makes traditional public schools better. Stahl noted that charter schools are on the rise in DeVos’ home state of Michigan, while overall academic performance has declined. After fumbling to come up a cogent defense for her position, DeVos landed on: “I hesitate to talk about all schools in general because schools are made up of individual students.” The incomparable Nikole Hannah Jones, New York Times reporter, MacArthur Genius and holder of the brilliant Twitter handle Ida Bae Wells, tweeted: “Michigan, which DeVos helped turn into the Wild West of school choice, recently posted largest decline in 3rd grade reading of 11 states taking same test. Half of Detroit’s kids are in charters — 90% students not proficient in reading. She struggled b/c NO EVIDENCE IT WORKS.”

2. Underperforming public schools

Culture Shot in the Triad

3. The discipline gap

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1. Charter schools

One would think that for a true believer like DeVos who only sees excellent charter schools, exposure to struggling traditional public schools would be helpful to making her case. Not so much. “I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming,” DeVos told Stahl. “Maybe you should,” Stahl suggested. Prompting this utterly hapless response: “Maybe I should. Yes.” Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake called it “easily the worst moment of the entire interview.” He added, “How an education secretary so intent on reforming the school system could not visit an underperforming school is questionable enough. What’s just as remarkable is that she didn’t have some better spin here.”

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In a reprise of her calamitous remarks about the correlation between charter schools and overall academic success, DeVos fails to demonstrate even the most basic grasp of statistical-science concepts when confronted with the issue of racial disparities in school discipline. Stahl tried to spell it out for her: “Yeah but let’s say there’s a disruption in the classroom and a bunch of white kids are disruptive and they get punished, you know, go see the principal. But the black kids are, you know — they call in the cops. I mean, that’s the issue: Who and how the kids who disrupt are being punished.” DeVos refused to engage in any macro-level analysis. “Arguably, all of these issues or all of this issue comes down to individual kids,” she said. And then repeated herself when challenged.

‘Flint Town’ by Eric Ginsburg

TIP PROJECT NO. P-5713 The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting regarding the proposed grade separation at the Hilltop Road (S.R. 1424) rail crossing (722361Y) of the Norfolk Southern “Main” Line, in Guilford County. The purpose of this project is to improve operations and safety at the crossing.

News

The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 22 at the Korean United Methodist Church located at 2504 E. Woodlyn Way in Greensboro from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Interested citizens may attend at any time during the meeting hours. NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and receive comments regarding the project. Please note that no formal presentation will be made. All comments received will be taken into consideration as the project progresses.

Opinion

As information becomes available, it may be viewed online at the NCDOT Public Meeting Website: http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings

Culture

Anyone desiring additional information may contact Gregory Blakeney, NCDOT, Senior Rail Project Development Engineer, at 1553 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699, by telephone at (919) 707-4717 or by email at gmblakeney@ncdot.gov. Comments should be submitted by April 30, 2018. NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tamara Makhlouf via email at tmakhlouf@ncdot.gov or by phone at (919) 707-6072 as early as possible, so that these arrangements can be made. Aquellas personas que hablan español y no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan antes de la reunión llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

Puzzles

Persons who speak Spanish and do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Shot in the Triad

There are too many TV shows about police. It’s uninspired television that generally doesn’t take any risks or offer anything new. The exception is a new Netflix series called “Flint Town.” With the Michigan city’s well known water crisis as a backdrop, “Flint Town” provides a look at the complexities of policing a decaying city with extremely limited resources. But while the show focuses overwhelmingly on the lives and perspectives of several officers, it isn’t the sanitized, black-and-white trope of good triumphing over evil that viewers have come to expect. The documentary-style show is nothing like reality television in that it actually appears to depict reality. We meet the rookie’s girlfriend who sits at home babysitting a police scanner, worried for his safety. We learn that he graduated from the police academy in the same class as his mom, and we see him looking somewhat sheepish, scared, and even a little incompetent. “Flint Town” doesn’t hold back the ugly. It takes viewers along as a murdered kid is found in the snow, shows officers apparently harassing motorists without cause and slamming suspects to the ground. In interviews, officers and community members speak candidly rather than proffering scripted talking points or declining to touch controversy. “Somehow there needs to be some change in how we police black and brown comFind ‘Flint Town’ munities,” a black officer says on Netflix in Episode 4, complaining that Black Lives Matter is being conflated with people who shoot at police after the tragedy in Dallas. The show runs the gamut: In an earlier episode, we hear from a white Flint cop who shot and killed a black suspect. He talks about what happened and how it haunts him, but also suggests that’s just how things are. The show doesn’t try to wrap him — or any of the characters, including his cop girlfriend — in a nice packages. There are no heroes in “Flint Town,” and there aren’t exactly any villains, either. Instead we see a city caught in a bind, experimenting with different solutions and caught in a gray area, wondering if the center will hold. That’s part of the reason that “Flint Town” is a better entry point to a dialogue on police-community relations than most any public forum on the subject.

Up Front

“Flint Town” is not like most reality TV, in that it actually depicts reality.

SCREENSHOT

March 15 - 21, 2018

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE PROPOSED G R A D E S E P A R AT I O N AT HILLTOP ROAD (S.R. 1424) RAIL CROSSING (722361Y) IN GUILFORD COUNTY

March 15 - 21, 2018 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

NEWS

As apartments fall into disrepair, owner moves to next investment by Jordan Green Neglect at Timber Hollow Apartments in northeast Greensboro spelled disaster for a mother of two whose unit was condemned by the city. A South Carolina real estate investor charges that the complex’s owner is a “crook” who structures real estate deals so that he gets paid regardless of whether the investment works out. Natalie Carter had found a place to live with her two children, 14 and 7, where her former partner, a violent abuser, wouldn’t be able to find them. She’d bought a used car so she could get to her third-shift bartending job in High Point, and get her daughter to her doctor’s appointments in Winston-Salem. She was paying $400 a month for an apartment at Timber Hollow, an aging barracks-style complex in northeast Greensboro that was built in 1968 and 1970, that she said was literally falling down around her. “I didn’t have any water; everything was falling apart,” Carter said. “In the children’s bedroom, the roof is falling in. The bathroom sink fell in half on top of my dog, and is not usable. The shower is caving. In my living room, the water pipe busted, and the maintenance man didn’t fully repair it. The whole wall is completely open.” She added that she was spending $50 a day on bottled water so that the family could bathe. Carter called the city of Greensboro on Dec. 7 to request an inspection. That was only the beginning of her troubles. The next three months would bring a cascading series of catastrophes. Notes from Inspector Jarod LaRue’s Dec. 11 inspection posted on the city’s website confirm several of Carter’s complaints, including a hole in the wall and ceiling of the living room where a repair was made but the sheetrock wasn’t replaced, moisture on the living room floor from a leak and water damage to baseboards, signs of a potential leak in one of the bedrooms, a loose outlet in the living room, and a hole in the kitchen wall. In all, LaRue documented a total of 18 violations. Although the city was able to serve notice to the owner, nobody showed up for the hearing and the city issued a repair order on Jan. 11. In February, LaRue attempted to re-inspect Carter’s apartment. When he stopped by he discovered there was no water or power. Then, on Feb. 19, LaRue posted a condemnation

Three units at Timber Hollow Apartments show signs of dereliction, with missing air-conditioning units and an open upstairs window.

notice, according to his work notes. By then, Carter had already left. In the past four weeks, she’s been staying in a hotel. On Tuesday, Carter and her children were evicted from the hotel after she complained about bedbugs and she was looking for a place to stay for the night. Several other misfortunes ensued: Byron Gladden, a Guilford County School Board member who has been helping Carter navigate the social service system and get back on her feet, said Carter’s 14-year-old daughter was experiencing bullying and had been refusing to go to school. Gladden said while Carter was in a meeting with school staff on Feb. 28, a social worker contacted a police officer assigned to the school to notify them that the mother had an alleged misdemeanor school-attendance violation. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office also discovered that she also had an unserved warrant for driving while license revoked-not impaired from an Oct. 22 traffic stop on Highway 29 in Greensboro. Gladden, along with fellow school board member Deena Hayes-Greene and others, raised money to bond Carter out. Beyond her mounting housing challenges and legal troubles, Carter also lost her bartending job and has been unable to maintain her medication. There were more revelations to come

about Carter’s housing and Timber Hollow Apartments. Carter said she learned during a visit to the Greensboro Housing Coalition to request assistance — and city code inspection records confirm — that there was no water meter or power meter at the residence. Although both water and power are in the tenant’s name, Carter said they were functioning when she rented the apartment in October 2017, and that her lease includes a provision for her to pay $250 per month for utilities. Beth Benton, the city’s code compliance manager, said the water meter at Carter’s apartment was stolen from a different location. “There’s a lot of squatting going on in and around that property, and things that go along with that like energy fraud with electricity meters that have been repurposed from other accounts,” Bretty Byerly, the executive director of the Greensboro Housing Coalition, told Triad City Beat. Carter said the tenants are confused about who should receive their rent payments, and rumors are circulating that the property has changed ownership. Carter said the management office is closed — a fact confirmed by TCB during a recent visit during business hours. Byerly estimated that less than half of the units at Timber Hollow are legally occupied, and probably less than a third.

JORDAN GREEN

“In order for an apartment complex to have cash flow, you really need to maintain a bare minimum of 80 percent occupancy just to service a debt,” Byerly said. “You really need 90-95 percent before you have a positive cash flow. These folks have let their properties get down to this point. It becomes impossible to do anything. When someone says, ‘My roof is leaking,’ it goes unrepaired. It falls downhill like an avalanche of problems.” Housing inspection records maintained by the city back up the picture of neglect and abandonment painted by Byerly. Notes from LaRue’s inspection of another unit — one of eight cases currently open at the complex — on Jan. 2 reads: “Missing AC units in back. Appears vagrants may be gaining access through this hole. Tenant states they’ve had problems with vagrants breaking into vacant units here (only 2 of units currently occupied in this building).” Following LaRue’s inspection, the city ordered the owner to secure the building, and threatened to place a lien on the property for the price of repair. In another case opened in early December, the owner again failed to make repairs and the city wound up condemning the unit. LaRue’s notes from Dec. 5 read, “Toilet broke, sink and toilet leaks, can’t use stove, water bill is outrageous.”

News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

Again, the owner failed to show up for the minimum-housing-standards hearing in late January, although they signed for the notice through the mail. On Feb. 15, LaRue wrote, “No active water account at this time. Property maintenance states they’ve fixed electrical issues. Sending 48hr condemnation notice to ensure that residents are not residing without water.” Other outstanding violations at six other units in the complex include roaches, flooding, water damage, missing smoke detectors, a failed hot-water heater and evidence of intrusion by animals, leaves and debris. Timber Hollow Apartments appears to be owned by the same real estate investor who owns Ashleigh Park Apartments, located off McKnight Mill Road east of Highway 29, and Avalon Trace Apartments, located in southeast Greensboro. Avalon Trace has been the subject of numerous housing complaints, and members of the Cottage Grove Neighborhood Association have been working with the Greensboro Housing Coalition to court a new buyer based on the belief that conditions at the apartment complex are holding back the neighborhood. Byerly said Avalon Trace is currently under contract to sell to a prospective buyer based in Durham. Ownership records for the three properties are murky. Tax bills for all three properties are mailed to Bedrock Management Solutions, a company based in the Atlanta suburbs that specializes “in stabilizing assets and distressed property turnarounds.” The company is familiar to Byers. “They were not particularly good at being owners and managers,” he said. “They were particularly bad at it.” The LLCs listed on Guilford County property records for Avalon Trace and Ashleigh Park identify a real estate inves-

Up Front

COURTESY PHOTO

rakes in money without any personal risk. As syndication sponsor, Withers would typically set an acquisition fee payable to himself when the deal closed, and then pay the investors quarterly returns minus what he took for himself, Kim said. Withers told Manassero that he typically pays investors 7 percent. The model ensures that the syndication sponsor gets paid regardless of whether the investment pays off, while the investors carry all the risk. Withers earns “the acquisition fee and whatever he can scrape in the middle,” Kim said. “He’s out nothing. The investors who put the money in — they’re going to suffer the pain.” It’s easy to set a hook by talking up fishing trips and famous athletes, Kim said. “It’s basic psychology,” Kim said. “You start saying, ‘I’m rubbing shoulders with Tom Glavine.’ And people say, ‘I want that. How can I have that in my life? Maybe I should put my money with this guy.’” As member support coordinator for the Midlands Real Estate Investors Association in South Carolina, Kim said he decided to start speaking out against Withers because he wants to protect members from making bad investments. And, he said, reading news reports about neglect of Avalon Trace Apartments in Greensboro last year “made my blood boil.” During the 2016 podcast, Withers described the life cycle of his investment in multifamily housing with other people’s money, noting that the investment group typically holds on to properties for three to five years. “We predominantly buy multi-families that need rehab,” he said. “What we’ll do, doing our due diligence, is to figure out what needs to be done to get the property up to the standards that we have. We’ll just bring a team in and fix it as fast as possible and then get out.” Withers’ investment group purchased Timber Hollow Apartments in two separate acquisitions in 2011 and 2013 for a total of $2.4 million. According to Withers’ schedule the apartment complex is overdue to be flipped. “As these things come up, on the five-year plan, we start selling ’em and replacing ’em,” he said. “We’re having fun,” Withers told Manassero. “It’s not like work, at least for me. We have a good time doing what we do, and we love it. This stuff gets in your blood and you just keep moving forward.”

March 15 - 21, 2018

Owner Carl Withers

tor named Carl Withers, who is based in Aiken, SC, as managing member. While Withers’ name is not on the paperwork for the LLC that owns Timber Hollow, the principal office phone number listed on the entity’s filing with the NC Corporations Division is identical to the phone number for Avalon Trace and Ashleigh Park. It’s also the same number that Withers gave out during a guest appearance on a podcast devoted to real estate investing in September 2016. A man who answered the phone but declined to identify himself on March 9 said Timber Hollow is in the process of being sold to a group of investors in New York. On two additional attempts to reach Withers at the number earlier this week, no one picked up and the voicemail was full. He also did not respond to an email or a voicemail left at Bedrock Management Solutions. A former manager for the trucking company Consolidated Freightways, Withers’ investment in multifamily housing was prompted by a mentee relationship with David Lindahl, a real estate COURTESY investment guru whose 2008 investment Tenant Natalie Carter PHOTO handbook was published by Trump University and garnered a forward from sero during the 2016 podcast. the future president. “A single-family home that goes “We opened up a company a couple unrented, how’re you going to pay the years ago, Bedrock Property Solutions mortgage?” Withers said. “You get an [sic],” Withers told host Bill Manassero apartment complex, you know, you in a September 2016 podcast. “Once we could go down to about 60-70 percent got over 1,500 units, it just made good [occupancy], and you could still pay the sense for us to manage our own propernotes and most of your expenses if you ties in-house, and saves the investors a lot buy the property right.” of money.” He said he bought his first multifamily In a video of Withers speaking at property, a 131-unit one of Lindahl’s apartment complex, seminars that is in 2011 for $1.1 milposted on YouTube, Natalie Carter called the lion, invested about he gives a testicity of Greensboro on Dec. $400,000 in rehab, monial about the and then flipped it 7 to request an inspection. good life afforded three years later for to someone who is That was only the begin$3.5 million. successful at putting ning of her troubles. The Robert Kim, a real together profitable estate investor who next three months would multifamily housing also lives in Aiken, bring a cascading series of real-estate deals. SC, said Withers takes “You got to ask: catastrophes. advantage of unwitWhat’s your why — ting investors to put why you’re here,” together multifamily Withers said. “For housing deals where me, it’s freedom. I mean being able to he gets paid regardless, leaving the invesdo what I want to do. Two weeks from tors to carry all the risk. now I’m going down to Costa Rica to “I believe he’s a crook,” Kim said. fish at Crocodile Bay. I’m gonna be there “He’s dishonest.” Kim said the syndicafor four days. I’m gonna be there with tion model taught by Lindahl is legitia couple baseball players. Tom Glavine mate if conducted properly, but investors — I don’t know if y’all have heard of have to read the fine print to ensure that him… Cy Young Award winner.” they don’t get stuck with bad investWithers explained the appeal of inments, while the syndication sponsor vesting in multifamily housing to Manas-

March 15 - 21, 2018 News

Up Front

Students walk out across Triad by Jordan Green and Lauren Barber

Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

Students at Page High School in Greensboro march around the track during a walkout to protest inaction on gun violence on Wednesday.

Hundreds of high school students across the Triad walked out of classes on Wednesday as part of a nationwide strike to protest inaction on gun control. Students at high schools across Guilford and Forsyth counties chanted, “This is what democracy looks like,” and “Never again.” Students, along with adults who rallied in solidarity outside of Sen. Richard Burr’s Winston-Salem office, held signs reading, “Books, not bullets,” “Enough is enough” and “More guns won’t fix gun violence.” At least a third of the student body at Smith High School marched off campus, gathering at a soccer field, as Cakalak Thunder provided a drumline, and activists from Black Lives Matter offered encouragement. “We need more therapists, more counselors and better trained SROs,” said senior Jhonathan Hill, who organized the Smith High School walkout with three other students. “We need to have mediation tactics and more conversations with students.” Principal Johncarlos Miller addressed students at Grimsley High School, who walked out for the second time since the Feb. 14 Parkland high school shooting along with their rivals at Page High School. “I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out today, for making sure that you have shown your First Amendment rights,” Miller said. “You

CAROLYN DE BERRY

have participated in a peaceful protest. Of course, this message, this moment… you have embarked on is ‘#NeverAgain.’ We want to make sure thought that everyone understands that you have an obligation to yourselves. You have an obligation to those who are standing in front of you, behind you, to the left and right of you, to make sure that everyone has a great experience, not just at Grimsley High School, but also as you go forward into society. You are the young people who will make a difference.” Students at Southwest High School in High Point also walked out, according to a parent. Nora Shoptaw, a spokesperson for Guilford County Schools, said administrators believed that students at about 10 schools would stage walkouts, although she had not confirmed that the actions occurred. In Forsyth County, the Winston-Salem Journal reported that students at Reynolds High School, the Career Center, Reagan High School, Mount Tabor High School and West Forsyth High School were among those who participated in the national walkout. Students at UNCG in Greensboro also participated in the walkout. A group of protesters stood outside the Curry Building on Spring Garden Street holding signs reading, “We want gun reform,” Give teachers raises, not guns,” and “Enough is enough.” As students walked out, parents and

March 15 - 21, 2018 Up Front

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE PROPOSED INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS AT U.S. 29 AND REEDY FORK PARKWAY (S.R. 4771) IN GUILFORD COUNTY TIP PROJECT NO. R-4707

As information becomes available, it may be viewed online at the NCDOT Public Meeting Website: http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings Anyone desiring additional information may contact Ahmad AlSharawneh, NCDOT, Project Manager, at 1582 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699, by telephone at (919) 707-6010 or by email at aalsharawneh@ncdot.gov. Comments should be submitted by April 26, 2018.

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NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tamara Makhlouf via email at tmakhlouf@ncdot.gov or by phone at (919) 7076072 as early as possible, so that these arrangements can be made.

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other adults gathered outside Sen. Richard Burr’s office in Winston-Salem to call on the legislator to enact laws to curb gun violence. “As long as he has that kind of support from the NRA he’s not going to come up with serious solutions to a serious problem,” said Jonathan Milner, former teacher of 22 years. “My kids don’t feel safe going to school. I don’t feel safe dropping them off…. We’re here to speak to the senator and let him know that we are unhappy with the ideas he’s coming up with. He needs to do something to make schools safe.” Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board member Elisabeth Motsinger was among those who spoke at the rally. “An active-shooter drill is an enforced form of trauma for every single child who experiences it, and we’ve got to stop making those kinds of trauma invisible,” she told fellow demonstrators. “They’re real.” Kindergarten teacher Christie Robinson called for several measures to curb gun violence, including closing background-check loopholes; raising the legal age for gun purchasing to 21, and banning the sale of militarystyle weapons to citizens. “Plastic and plywood cubbies used to just be storage for Goldfish crackers and gold-star art projects; now cubbies are a flimsy barricade to protect 19 children from bullets ripping through their tiny bodies,” Robinson said. “My fingers often brush back tears after a minor fall on the playground; on other days my fingers wipe away tears of true panic as an administrator rattles the door to simulate a person trying to break into our classroom and murder defenseless children.”

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Parents protested outside Sen. Richard LAUREN BARBER Burr’s office as students walked out.

The meeting will be held on Monday, March 26 at the Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center located at 6275 Bryan Park Road in Greensboro from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Interested citizens may attend at any time during the meeting hours. NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and receive comments regarding the project. Please note that no formal presentation will be made. All comments received will be taken into consideration as the project progresses.

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The N.C. Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting to present the selected alternative for the proposed interchange improvements at U.S. 29 and Reedy Fork Parkway (S.R. 4771), in Guilford County.

March 15 - 21, 2018 Up Front

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING ON MARCH 27 REGARDING THE PROPOSED EXTENSION OF FORUM PARKWAY (S.R. 3955) TO N.C. 66 (UNIVERSITY PARKWAY) IN FORSYTH COUNTY TIP PROJECT NO. U-5899

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The N.C. Department of Transportation proposes construction of new twolane roadway on new location from Forum Parkway (S.R. 3955) to N.C. 66 (University Parkway) in Rural Hall.

A public meeting will be held at Woodland Baptist Church located at 1175 Bethania-Rural Hall Road on Tuesday, March 27th from 4 to 6 p.m. The purpose of this meeting is to inform the public of the project and gather public input on the proposed design. As information becomes available, it may be viewed online at the NCDOT Public Meeting Webpage: http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/publicmeetings The public may attend at any time during the public meeting hours, as no formal presentation will be made. NCDOT representatives will be available to answer questions and receive comments. The comments and information received will be taken into consideration as work on the project develops. The opportunity to submit written comments will also be provided at the meeting or can be done via phone, email, or mail by April 17, 2018. For additional information, please contact Mr. Al Blanton, PE, PLS, Division 9 Project Development Team Lead by phone: (336) 747-7800 or via email at wablanton@ncdot.gov; or by mail: NCDOT Division 9, 375 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC 27127. NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this workshop. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tony Gallagher, Environmental Analysis Unit, at 1598 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1598, by phone (919) 707-6069 or by e-mail at magallagher@ncdot.gov as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.

EDITORIAL

Cities don’t sell guns Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan may not have realized the controversy that would follow in her wake after she suggested the Greensboro Coliseum — a city-owned facility — probably shouldn’t be selling AR-15s at the annual gun show. In light of the Parkland massacre and all. But maybe she did, and she didn’t care. She dropped the notion on social media after talking with her teenage daughter about the shooting that claimed 17 students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School: a child stunned because no one is doing anything about this, and an adult who thinks maybe she can. The blowback was immediate from the gun nuts — who need to be differentiated from gun owners, who count the mayor of Greensboro among them. The nuts are the ones who are angry at the teenagers who survived the massacre, or Grass Roots North Carolina, a It’s not like you can’t gun-nut group out of Raleigh insisting that get an AR-15 by the Vaughan’s very sugend of the week, anygestion itself is illegal, way. Rep. Ted Budd amounting to the regulation of the sale will sell you one right of firearms by a body now. without the authority to do so. That may be technically true — GRNC will almost certainly file suit against the city, and it’s possible the National Rifle Association could get involved. We’ll leave that for the judges and lawyers to sort out. But it’s also technically true that the Second Amendment does include the phrase “well regulated militia,” which really doesn’t speak to the zero-tolerance, “nocompromise” stance of the false patriots at GRNC and the NRA. Someone must stand up to these bullies — besides teenagers, that is — who have hijacked our national sensibilities — yes, at gunpoint — when it comes to arming our most paranoid and fearful citizens with the weapons of war. We’re proud to see Greensboro’s mayor hold this line, and applaud every council member who stands with her when they meet on March 20 to discuss the issue. We’re not banning assault weapons, AR-15s and other instruments used strictly to kill large amounts of humans at once. We’re just not going to sell them at our city-owned facility. It’s not like you can’t get an AR-15 by the end of the week, anyway. Rep. Ted Budd will sell you one right now.

March 15 - 21, 2018

CITIZEN GREEN

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More cops in schools affects children of color the most

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There appears to be little putting even more police in schools. appetite for arming teachers: Not surprisingly, the advent of the school-to-prison It’s impractical, expensive and popipeline largely tracks with the era of mass incarceration. As litically toxic. Yet considering the noted in the 2011 Justice Policy Institute report Education NRA’s stranglehold on the federal Under Arrest: The Case Against Police in Schools, the adopgovernment and state legislatures, tion of the Gun Free Schools Act of 1994, which required the pressure to do something to schools receiving federal funding through the Elementary address mass school shootings is and Secondary Education Act to impose a 1-year suspenby Jordan Green likely to default to a debate about sion on any student caught bringing a gun to school, “creincreasing the presence of police in schools, or alternately, ated the perceived need to have law enforcement readily bringing in private security or armed volunteers. available.” After the Guilford County School Board pulled a resoluSpectacular school shootings later in the decade — a tion that would have expressed opposition to arming teachlargely suburban and rural (read: “white”) phenomenon — ers on March 6, board member Pat Tillman said he wants accelerated the securitization of schools. the board to consider amending the it to include more “During the late 1990s, a series of highly publicized incifunding for police in schools, known by the more genialdents of school violence paved the way for more sweeping sounding euphemism “school resource officers.” zero-tolerance policies that spread quickly,” the Justice Meanwhile, in Stanly County, the school board approved Policy Institute recounted. “By the time two students shot a measure to allow the sheriff to use armed volunteers to and killed 13 people in Littleton, Colo., President Clinton protect schools. Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page is had already called for more police officers in schools.” interested in implementing a similar program. Evidence of police deterring school shooters is largely The evidence is muddled as to whether putting more poanecdotal. On one hand, there’s the spectacular failure of lice in schools makes them safer, but it’s clear that additionBroward County Sheriff Deputy Scot Peterson, who stood al law enforcement contact outside Marjory Stoneman increases the likelihood that Douglas High School as the students, particularly those carnage unfolded inside. As The school boards in Guilford and Forsyth who are black and brown, will a counterpoint in heroism, and the community at large haven’t seribe funneled into the criminal Deputy Carolyn Gudger held ously wrestled with this scandalous fact, justice system, with grave, an armed gunman at bay potentially life-altering conse- and until they do it’s irresponsible to disfor 10 minutes until backup quences. arrived after pushing the cuss putting even more police in schools. In the case of Stanly principal out of the way at County’s novel experiment, Sullivan Central High School school shootings are likely in Blountville, Tenn. in 2010. to be a relatively isolated phenomenon, and it’s easy to After the Sandy Hook massacre, a report by the Conimagine that the mission of the armed volunteers will creep gressional Resource Service cited studies indicating that beyond external threats to become an auxiliary force to schools with assigned police officers “can deter students handle school discipline. Citizen volunteers are likely to from committing assaults on campus as well as bringing have even less awareness of inherent bias than their profesweapons to school,” while also finding that the presence of sional law enforcement counterparts, and racial profiling police increases the likelihood of students being arrested against students of color can only be expected to become for low-level offenses. more extreme. Police assigned to schools hold a triple responsibility, Racial disparities in school discipline have been widely simultaneously acting as counselors, role models and law acknowledged for the past two decades, going back at least enforcement officers. to 1998, when a US Department of Education study found As Marc Ridgill, a retired police officer formerly assigned that black and Latinx students are suspended from schools to Grimsley High School and candidate for Guilford at disproportionate rates. It’s not at all surprising that when County School Board, told WXII 12 recently: “If you see police, with the authority to file the juvenile equivalent of him every day, you’re more likely to come to him, even if it’s criminal charges, maintain a presence in schools, students just a personal problem that you want an objective opinion of color bear the brunt of enforcement action. And a Triad on. I could tell you word for word the same thing your City Beat review of school-based juvenile complaints data parents told you that morning, but because we don’t have from the NC Department of Public Safety last year found that love connection it’s like an epiphany: You’re hearing it exactly that: In school systems across the state, large and for the first time.” small, black students were seven times more likely to be In their role as counselors and role models, police officers referred into the juvenile justice system as their white assigned to schools undoubtedly make a positive difference counterparts. and likely reach troubled students who would otherwise The school boards in Guilford and Forsyth and the comharm themselves and their peers. It’s the officers’ ability munity at large haven’t seriously wrestled with this scanto arrest and charge students that’s troublesome. In other dalous fact, and until they do it’s irresponsible to discuss words, maybe we just need to hire more school counselors.

March 15 - 21, 2018 Up Front News

reensboro-based writer and and look at the music scene, it’s a lot of white musician Molly McGinn invited dudes. That’s bulls***.” sin and swamplands, preachers When Joymongers co-owner Mike Rollinson and thieves to Joymongers on approached McGinn about filling the Tuesday Tuesday, through songs ranging from night slot with artists, she knew she didn’t want thigh-slapping, toe-tapping, playthe music residency to be a cliché “ladies’ night.” ful twangs like the classic “Tennessee “I want to be very intentional about opening Waltz” to foreboding, bluesy tracks of up these nights to artists you don’t typically see her own conjuring. in the music scene,” McGinn said. “And I think Every Tuesday evening McGinn hosts it’s important for women to see other women Represent NC, a new live-music series playing music. I think it’s important for there at Joymongers Brewery that amplifies to be a healthy music scene… and hear original women and LGBTQ musicians in North music by all sorts of local artists.” Carolina. She kicked off the residency On a typical night, McGinn performs original with Triad musicians Emily Stewart and songs and covers before turning the night over Kasey Horton in to the guest artist, who covearly February. ers material from a featured “A female mentor performer. This week’s guest Learn more at joymongers. of mine in music is artist, Jasmé Kelly, a soulLaurelyn Dossett,” ful singer-songwriter from com, mollymcginn.com McGinn said. “She Durham, proposed featuring and jasmekelly.com. started booking at her longtime friend, Shelby Lucky 32 [restauJ, an R&B artist who grew up rant] years ago and in Greensboro and toured as she intentionally booked women only a back-up singer with Prince for 10 years before for that series because she realized we his passing last year. She is currently on tour need to look harder, find each other and promoting her 2017 album, 10. Kelly herself has reach out to each other. If you go around worked with musicians from rapper Wyclef Jean

Molly McGinn (center) curates weekly, female-centric shows at Joymongers on Tuesday nights.

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CULTURE Don’t call it ‘ladies’ night’: Molly McGinn at Joymongers

by Lauren Barber

@ Stevens Center

LAUREN BARBER

March 15 - 21, 2018 Up Front News

Jasmé Kelly from Durham serenades the tap room.

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months of research into the history of the Great Dismal Swamp, a wilderness region in northeastern North Carolina once home to a maroon community of indigenous people and runaway slaves. The spare setup cultivated intimacy been artist and audience. Easygoing and playful, McGinn stirred some in the audience to sing complementary parts of songs. Later in the night, her friend and a future guest artist Lyn Koonce joined in spontaneously. The series already spans genres and generations. Previous featured artists included Sarah Shook and Tift Merritt. In coming weeks, former Dark Water Rising lead guitarist Emily Musolino, soul singer Anne-Claire and Greensboro’s Kelcey Ledbetter (aka Kelcey SunQueen) will share the spotlight with McGinn. “I can’t say enough about the space Joymonger’s has provided,” McGinn said. “They pay a really good wage and that is what will make a music community grow. I really applaud them for doing that. They came into the community and said, ‘We’re going to make this a place where live music is happening,’ and they’re totally doing it. I’m getting women coming up to me saying, ‘Thank you, we needed this.’” In the future, McGinn imagines displaying visual artwork from artists working in North Carolina, too. “It doesn’t have to necessarily be awesome every time,” McGinn said. “It just needs to be authentic — that is the artist’s role in the community.”

Opinion

and jazz legend B.B. King. At the moment, both women are focused on solo careers. “As far as my musical experience goes [Shelby’s] one of the people here that I most closely identify with as far as what it’s like to be at an international level and putting out quality music,” Kelly said, “but also being from North Carolina and you have all the artistry in the world but not necessarily the industry infrastructure.” A radiant photograph of Shelby J in leather, her gloriously bald head decorated with jewels, on a flat-screen television adorned the wall behind the performers. Kelly brought her soul, jazz and folk sensibilities to covers Shelby J’s “Run,” closing her set with a poignant rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain.” While Kelly focused on stories that brought her friend to the audience, McGinn focused on fictions. “There’s a story about the lake in the middle of the Great Dismal Swamp and it has this haunting myth that there’s this woman who sails around in this canoe at night with a lantern of fireflies and she’s looking for the lover that killed and drowned her there,” McGinn explained. “Every freakin’ fairy tale the woman dies, or she gets married, and those are basically their fates. I wanted to rewrite her story and pretend that she was the keeper of the swamp and looking over inhabitants there, making sure they were safe.” The song “Glass Heels in Steel Heels” is the second on Postcards from the Swamp, McGinn’s 2014 album based on

LAUREN BARBER

March 15 - 21, 2018 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

CULTURE The Ramkat comes to a boil in the Entertainment District

by Spencer KM Brown

our hours before the doors were to open, the room echoed with the sound of drills. Voices called down from the mezzanine directing workers as they adjusted lighting fixtures and fastened in the risers on the stage. In a tucked-away office, phones rang and fingers madly typed. Bartenders carried in boxes of liquor to hurriedly stock the wells. There were four hours to go before the show, before WinstonSalem’s newest music venue the Ramkat would open its doors to the world. “I didn’t think I would ever be doing this again,” co-owner Richard Emmett said, looking down at the teams of workers from the high balcony. “I have a kid who wants to go to college. This isn’t the sort of thing you do to make sure of that. But when the idea came to open, it was just too good to pass up.” Ramkat is located on Ninth Street in Winston-Salem’s downtown Entertainment District. The club sits in the former Ziggy’s location, which heard its last concert in spring 2017. The building rests along the hillside, stretching down the block of Trade Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to Ninth Street. For patrons who went to Ziggy’s in the past, the building looks much the same from the exterior, but inside a new vision takes shape. “Our first goal was to build a room that sounded great,” Emmett said. “As great as the old place was, we wanted to bring some life to Ramkat. We want to give patrons a comfortable place and just a great experience. It’s coming along, but still a lot of work to be done

on the space. It’s a really big space.” As Emmett watched a worker in a cherrypicker rising to adjust speakers hanging from the ceiling, a cheer, led by Emmett, shot through the club. Two men carried a massive poster of the Ramkat designed by Winston-Salem artist Kat Lamp. The cheering continued as they positioned it along the far wall, bringing the venue that much closer to their grand opening. Throughout the venue other works of art decorate the walls: murals by local artists like Laura Lashley; a EDDIE HUFFMAN Karon Click and Jeffrey Dean Foster gave a rendition of “Under Pressure” at the photo collage by Owen Ramkat’s opening night that will be remarked upon for years to come. Daniels; abstract designs on the dressing prised when the Garage decided to close,” Emmett said. “This room walls by Liz Folk; a floor-to-ceiling mural of guitars by is a large space. It holds over a thousand people. We need that Kendall Doub in the balcony; an entire hallway filled with a smaller room to support us, and for us to support them. We’re colorful mural by Hieronymus; even all sort of connected in that way and a 6-by-6-foot painting of Wynrely on every piece of the community ton Marsalis playing his trumpet to support local music.” Visit theramkat.com for informaawaited hanging on the walls for the Just outside the club, workers tion about upcoming shows. grand opening. bolted in the frame to the marquee. “We really want to make the A few employees and bystanders space beautiful,” Emmett said. “We watched as the official sign was have had so much support from the lifted and placed on the side of the community and we wanted to show off some of the artists in building. town as well. It’s a team effort. We are just one small piece of In only a few short hours, Ramkat’s first show on March 9 the puzzle. would feature the Vagabond Saints Society, a loose collective “It’s a really big of Triad musicians that gathers semi-regularly to pay tribute puzzle,” he finished. to the great artists of pop music. Led by Doug Davis, Jerry Emmett, along with Chapman, Randall Johnson and Corky McClellan, along with fellow co-owner Andy various local artists who take the stage with the band, the Tennille, long-time March 9 performance featured the music of Queen. But as the music promoter and last decorations were put in place and the bar was stocked, photographer, and cars slowed-drove along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, eyeing partner and investhe workers and teams of employees buzzing around in the tor Bryan Ledbetter, final moments before the doors would open, and the line of founder of Airtype ticketholders would stretch as far as a block away. Studios, made the anShows are booked out until the end of spring and more are nouncement that they being added each week. would open Ramkat “The goal is to be as diverse in our schedule as possible,” just two weeks after Emmett said. “We want to cover all of it, but really, we want Winston-Salem’s muto bring the very best music to people, no matter what it is. sic venue the Garage I’m part of an incredible team, having Andy and Bryan with made the shocking me. That’s what will make this successful. I couldn’t ask for decision to close its better partners to do this with.” doors. “I was really sur-

March 15 - 21, 2018

CULTURE Your guide to local St. Patty’s Day beer

by Kat Bodrie

Up Front

y family lives for St. Patty’s Day.* Okay, not really. It wasn’t until I was a grown adult and we went to the downtown Myrtle Beach St. Patrick’s Day festival that we officially embraced the holiday as ours. (Black-and-tans, anyone?) We amassed our collection of greenbead necklaces that day and have worn them on almost every St. Patty’s Day since. Nowadays, we have a tradition of wearing green, making a good Irish-ish meal, drinking Irish beer and whiskey (i.e. Guinness and Jameson). It’s been fun, but I started wondering: How can I support local businesses this year? Fortunately, several Triad breweries make Irish-style beers. Some will be released at the breweries on St. Patty’s Day itself (next Saturday, in case you forgot), and some will have kegs floating around the area.

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There’s more to St. Patrick’s Day than green beer and Guinness, but there’s always those too.

Little Brother Brewing (GSO) – Although not labeled an Irish dry stout, Jim’s Lunch Stout “fits perfectly into the Irish Dry Stout category,” according to brewer Steve Monahan. Foothills (W-S) has its 13th birthday St. Patty’s Day weekend, and even though there won’t be Irish beer, you can help celebrate at the pub and tasting room. By the way, Joymongers’ Barrel Hall and Taproom at 480 West End in Winston-Salem had its soft opening last weekend. Might wanna stop by for a taste? *The name “Patrick” in Ireland, shortened, is “Paddy” and not “Patty.” Like true Americans, we bastardized the hell out of it.

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The Irish Red Pour-Taste-Repeat (PTR) is back and will be at the Kernersville Lowe’s Food, Angela’s Ale House, Smitty’s and Breathe Cocktail Lounge. Four Saints Brewing (Asheboro) — Upper Road Irish Red, and Black River Dry Irish Stout on Nitro. Word has it there might also be leprechauns. Pig Pounder (GSO) — In addition to green beer, Pig Pounder will be releasing a “special cask” on St. Patty’s Day. Gibb’s Hundred (GSO) — Although there’s no green beer or Irish styles here, owner Mark Gibb says the milk stout will be on tap, “which in our humble opinion is even tastier than a Guinness.” I must agree.

KAT BODRIE

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Although this list features mostly traditional Irish styles, I feel obligated to note that Natty Greene’s (GSO) and Pig Pounder (GSO) will be serving green beer. You know — if you’re one of those people who makes the holiday really gaudy. (You can pry my green beads out of my cold, lifeless fingers!) Wise Man Brewing (W-S) — Outraged Daughters Irish Red, and a “super small batch” of Irish Car Bomb Stout released at the brewery on St. Patty’s Day, according to tap room manager Dan Rossow. Hoots Roller Bar (W-S) — The wellloved Hoots Dry Irish Stout will be at the brewery and at several local restaurants and bottleshops, including Beer Growler, Single Brothers, Quiet Pint, Bull’s Tavern and the recently opened Fair Witness. Fiddlin’ Fish Brewing (W-S) — Dry Irish Stout on Nitro and an Irish Red Kernersville Brewing Company —

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The journalist and her St. Pat’s crew.

March 15 - 21, 2018

Alma Pinnix Drive, Greensboro

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Teyanni Ashley, 17, at the Page High National School Walkout.

CAROLYN DE BERRY

PIZZERIA

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by Matt Jones

Answers from previous publication.

42 Oklahoma city near Oklahoma City 45 Shortest of the signs 47 Meat that somehow sparked a 2017 Arby’s craze 49 Pic taken alone, or together (as the name doesn’t suggest) 51 Extremely 53 Canonized figure 55 Fibula or ulna 56 Dedicated 58 Dullsville 60 Emotion that’s unleashed 61 Claim on property 62 Crafty website 64 Make some eggs? 66 Ma who says “baa” 67 Blanc with many voices

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Down 1 Greek vowel 2 Castle surrounder 3 Affirmative responses 4 Snack notable for its residue ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 5 Retiring 6 Org. that honors sports legends 25 Preemie’s ward, for short 7 Author Kingsley 26 Rickman, in the “Harry Potter” films 8 Bridge fastener 28 Buddy 9 Looked closely 29 “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris 10 Convulsive sigh 30 Heart chambers 11 Demand for your favorite band to perform at a 31 Walked away from the poker table with cards face down? county gathering? 32 Leaves off 12 Beast 34 Mythical weeper (and namesake of element #41) 13 Camping need 35 Caught lampreys 18 Palindromic address with an apostrophe 38 Took the wrong way? 22 1978 Nobel Peace Prize co-winner Sadat 41 People who cut you off in traffic, say

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55 Scrooge’s outburst 57 Bacon portion 59 Search (through) 63 Shaped like a zero 65 Sand down some menswear? 68 NPR correspondent Totenberg 69 Wonderstruck 70 Bauxite, et al. 71 “Electric Avenue” singer Grant (who turned 70 in 2018) 72 “I Got Rhythm” singer Merman 73 Abbr. in a Broadway address

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Across 1 1998 Apple rollout 5 #, outside of Twitter 10 Dog in early kiddie lit 14 “You’re in trouble!” 15 Buddy, slangily 16 Russian speed skater Graf who turned down the 2018 Winter Olympics 17 Request in exchange for some ones, maybe? 19 “Roseanne” of “Roseanne” 20 Confused 21 It’s sung twice after “que” 23 “Uh-huh” 24 Prepares leather 27 Bedtime, for some 29 Golden-coated horse 33 The Rock’s real first name 36 66 and I-95, e.g. 37 Surveillance needs, for short 39 1966 Michael Caine movie 40 Pound sound 41 Io’s planet 43 “You’ve got mail!” company 44 “The Great Gatsby,” for one 46 Harry and William’s school 47 General feeling 48 Some circus performers 50 Split into splinters 52 Harnesses for oxen 54 Garden of Genesis

March 15 - 21, 2018

CROSSWORD “What Am I Doing Here?”

Culture Puzzles

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Answers from previous publication.