TCB Jan. 6, 2022 — Long Live the Kings by Triad City Beat

JAN 6.-JAN 12, 2022 TRIAD-CITY-BEAT.COM

JAN. 6, ONE YEAR LATER PG. 11

ESSENTIAL HEMP CHARGES DISMISSED PG. 10

SURVEILLANCE TECH FOR W-S? PG. 8

LONG LIVE

THE KINGS

Underground Presents promotes inclusivity in new drag show at Monstercade BY NICOLE ZELNIKER | PG. 14

UP FRONT | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

Coronavirus in the Triad

(as of Wednesday, Jan 5) Documented COVID-19 diagnoses NC 1,763,614 (+114,692) Forsyth 62,919 (+4,366) Guilford 79,277 (+4,397) NC 19,542 (+203) Forsyth 626 (+10) Guilford 952 (+13)

COVID-19 deaths

Documented recoveries NC 1,583,210 (+44,979 *2 weeks) Forsyth *no data* Guilford 72,019 (+1,366)

Hospitalizations (right now) NC 3,099 (+977) Forsyth *no data* Guilford 194 (+87) Vaccinations NC Partially vaccinated 6,110,844 (+25,790) Fully vaccinated 6,154,659 (59%, +26,266) Forsyth Partially vaccinated 242,039 (+902) Fully vaccinated 225,619 (59%, +760) Guilford Partially vaccinated 335,950 (+1,579) Fully vaccinated 315,547 (59%, +1,374)

Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS

Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

OF COUNSEL

Jonathan Jones

Michaela Ratliff michaela@triad-city-beat.com

Chris Rudd chris@triad-city-beat.com

SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com

EDITORIAL ADVISOR

Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com

ART ART DIRECTOR

STAFF WRITER

SALES SALES EXECUTIVE

Nicole Zelniker nicole@triad-city-beat.com

t’s a white January sun that doesn’t convey much heat, even on those by Brian Clarey unseasonably warm days. And on frigid ones like today, that white light seems to intensify the cold, not dissipate it as it should. A white sun, hiding behind a screen of cloud cover — sometimes white like cotton, more frequently gray like dirty snow, sometimes turning to blue or black like a giant bruise in the sky — seems more an enemy than a friend. Light is energy, because it’s fire. And light is time, because that’s how we measure the days. In January, as the temps drop and it still gets dark by 5 p.m., I feel betrayed by the light. Which is ridiculous. The light doesn’t care about me. Under this white light I’ve been going through my paces, hitting my marks, checking things off the list. But like the sun that provides no warmth, it doesn’t feel like all

this activity is getting me anywhere. But I do it anyway. I didn’t know I had seasonal depression until I left Long Island when I was 18, trading those icy, dark winters for the mild Carnival months of Louisiana. In New Orleans, the sun is still yellow in January and February, and there are colored beads in the trees instead of icicles. I didn’t need winter clothes again until I got to North Carolina, back under those smudgy, gray skies barely pierced by the white sun. Here, now, the light brings me no warmth and time is working against me — January takes forever, and February lasts even longer. And I know by the time they’re over I will have lost more than I have gained. So I don’t trust the light right now, and I’m wary of the darkness that descends so quickly each day. But sometimes, for just a few moments in between, the darkness and light collaborate to paint a brilliant sunset. Sometimes, it’s enough.

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.681.0704 CHIEF CONTRIBUTOR KEY ACCOUNTS

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

January, in the white light and the darkness

January takes forever, and February lasts even longer.

Current cases NC 160,682 (+69,330) Forsyth *no data* Guilford 6,305 (+3,027)

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

Charlie Marion charlie@triad-city-beat.com

Drew Dix drew@triad-city-beat.com

Carolyn de Berry, James Douglas, Matt Jones, Jordan Howse, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones

COVER Andy Monroe performing drag during a New Year’s Eve party (photo by Ciara Kelley) Design by Charlie Marion

Reporting can save the world! Learn more at: triad-city-beat.com/tcb-first-amendment-society

If you read

NOW LEASING THE STEELHOUSE CENTER FOR URBAN MANUFACTURING AND INNOVATION

then you know... •The newest vegan spot in the Triad. •How Winston-Salem’s newest mural came about •Why victims’ families can’t see police body-camera footage in NC

Triad City Beat — If you know, you know

1451 S Elm Eugene Street #BusinessisBuiltHere

Get in front of the best readers in the triad, contact Chris.

chris@triad-city-beat.com

UP FRONT | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

CITY LIFE Jan. 6 - JAN. 9 by Michaela Ratliff

THURSDAY Jan. 6

FRIDAY Jan. 7

SATURDAY Jan. 8

Surface and Soundings @ Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts (W-S) 9 a.m. Winston-Salem artist Bob King invites you to view his exhibition Surface and Soundings, which features paintings and sculptures that highlight the artists’ life experiences. It’s on display until Jan. 31. Visit intothehearts.org for more information.

High Point Pony Baseball/Softball Registration Opens @ High Point Pony League (HP) Online The High Point Pony League is seeking the best players in all divisions for its Spring 2022 season. Registration fees vary by date and division. For more information, visit highpointpony.com/ home.

Candle & Perfume Workshop @ Scent Workshop (GSO) 4 p.m.

Drafts on the Pass @ Paddled South Brewing Co. (HP) 6:30 p.m.

Kids Night Out @ Griffin Center Park & Recreation Center (GSO) 6 p.m. Choose from an array of sweet scents and create your own candle or perfume during this DIY workshop. Seats are filling quickly, so register at scentworkshop.com/collections/greensboro.

Down River Kitchen and Events is serving up five courses to pair with flagship beers from Paddled. Tickets available on Eventbrite. Poets Discussion @ Scuppernong Books (GSO) 7 p.m.

Adults shouldn’t be the only ones with plans on a Friday night. Kids have a social life too! On the first Friday of each month, the rec center hosts a night of engaging activities designed for children ages 5-12. Registration is required and can be done on the event page on Facebook. Men in Black @ the Ramkat (W-S) 8 p.m.

Celebrate! @ Stevens Center of the UNCSA (W-S) 7:30 p.m. The Winston-Salem Symphony is celebrating their 75th year with several performances, starting with a brass-filled rendition of Shostakovich’s Festive Overture led by Karen Ní Bhroin. Learn more and purchase tickets at wssymphony.org/event/celebrate/.

SUNDAY Jan. 9 Casting Call @ Footsteps to Follow (GSO) 3 p.m. Footsteps to Follow, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting the treatment of children with brittle bone disease, is hosting a children’s casting call for their annual fashion show in April. Visit the event page on Facebook for more info.

Calling all poetry lovers Scuppernong! Renowned wordsmiths Christopher Shipman, Kathy Goodman and Jennifer Tamayo will lead a discussion surrounding their works. Read more about them on the event page on Facebook.

Men in Black plan to rock the Ramkat with their energetic covers of hits by Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones and more. Purchase tickets at theramkat.com.

NEWS | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

NEWS

Masks required for some parts of Guilford County, but not Greensboro or High Point by Sayaka Matsuoka

n Tuesday, a mask mandate was reinstated for all unincorporated areas of Guilford County, according to county commission Chair Skip Alston. The mandate went into effect starting on Wednesday. As the chair of the commission, Alston has the authority to use his emergency powers to reinstate a mask mandate but only for unincorporated areas of the county. Alston told TCB that he would be announcing the decision in a press conference at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Individual municipalities such as High Point and Greensboro must sign on to the mandate on their own. As of Wednesday, neither city has agreed to participate. The move comes in the wake of record-breaking COVID-19 numbers, both at the local and national levels. In Guilford County, the 14-day positivity rate has grown to 19.1 percent this month, a huge increase from the 4.2 percent it was back in November, when the countywide mask mandate was lifted. For daily positivity rates, a whopping 32.3 percent was recorded on Jan. 1. The huge increase in COVID-19 cases has been attributed to the rise in the Omicron variant, which has been spreading quickly across the US since it was first detected in the country in December. Emerging research indicates that the Omicron variant may be more transmissible than previous variants, but that it is less deadly and causes milder symptoms. However, the best ways to prevent illness remain the measures first taken for the original COVID-19 as well as the Delta variant including social distancing, masking, hand-washing, getting vaccinated and getting boosted. These factors, combined with concerns from local public health officials such as hospital administrators at Cone Health, prompted Alston to use his authority to enact a mask mandate. “We have to remember that we are doing this for the safety and protection of our people in Guilford County,” Alston said. “We have to put politics aside and that’s why some mayors might not want to do it and that’s something that should disturb all of us, that we have allowed politics to jeopardize the lives of our citizens.”

What about Greensboro and High Point?

ccording to Alston, he met with the mayors of local municipalities on Monday afternoon to ask if they would sign onto his mandate. So far, the mayors of Gibsonville, Sedalia, Pleasant Garden and Jamestown have agreed to include their cities, but Alston said that neither Mayor Jay Wagner of High Point nor Nancy Vaughan of Greensboro have agreed to sign onto his mandate. In an article by Fox 8 from Monday, Wagner stated that he does not support a mask mandate for his city. “Many in Guilford County are calling for renewed mandates to combat the current surge,” Wagner said. “I do not believe in limiting your freedom with mandates, but responsibility is the price of freedom.” Instead of advocating for a mask mandate, Wagner called for the community to get vaccinated and boosted and to wear masks inside. While Wagner was re-elected to a four-year term in 2019, Mayor Vaughan will be up for re-election in May. In a set of forwarded emails from Vaughan, she explained to the rest of city council that she has chosen not to sign onto Alston’s mandate because she doesn’t believe that the city would be able to enforce such a mandate at this time.

“I believe that if we are going to institute a mandate than we must enforce it,” Vaughan wrote in a Jan. 3 email. “At this time, we do not have the employees needed for enforcement. We agreed to dissolve our mandate and our State of Emergency when the County agreed to provide enforcement.” Vaughan also noted that she was wary about instituting a mask mandate overnight in correspondence on Tuesday. “Having experience in calling for a face covering order under FILE PHOTO an existing state of High Point Mayor Jay Wagner emergency it can’t be done overnight,” she wrote. “It takes a few days to put it in place and there needs to be some mechanism for enforcement. The county said that they are unable to assist us.” In response to this, Alston noted that the county assured Vaughan and others that they had the resources necessary to assist in enforcing the mask mandate if they chose to sign on. “We have already communicated to Mayor Vaughan that we can enforce the mask mandate rule that we put in place,” Alston said. “We have people already ready to go, we assured her that…. The county health director and the county manager assured her that we are able to enforce the rule and it’s up to her to accept that.” In a phone call to TCB, Vaughan clarified that she doesn’t feel comfortable reinstating a mask mandate because she wasn’t told by the county exactly how quickly they could enforce the mandate. She also noted that the city’s past mandate focused on employers and employees, but not customers. “Businesses are free to require masking of their customers if they so choose but we shouldn’t require people making $15 per hour to enforce a city ordinance,” Vaughan stated. Because of those difference, Vaughan said she didn’t want to agree to a citywide mandate yet. “We don’t have agreement with the county on what would be acceptable,” Vaughan said. “The county thinks businesses should be responsible for their customers.” Some of the ways that the county will enforce the mask mandate include

NEWS | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

having staff man hotlines where people can call in businesses that violate the rule, directing staff to visit businesses to make sure they are adhering to the mandate and assigning 14 staff members to monitor restaurants specifically. Alston said that, as before, county staff have the authority to issue warnings or citations to businesses in violation. He also noted that the county is ready to hire more staff to assist in enforcement if needed. “We know what we are doing in the county; we don’t want anyone second-guessing what we want to do,” Alston said. “I would hope that the mayors would look at this from a standpoint of doing what’s for the people and not what’s right politically. We don’t want to put politics before the people, and that’s what people are possibly doing, I know some of them are running for re-election this year. This is a controversial issue but that’s why we were elected, to make tough decisions.” In response to the notion that she is resisting a mask mandate because it could hurt her chances for re-election, Vaughan responded, “Absolutely not.” “We want to do something that is effective,” Vaughan said. “We are not risk averse but we are not going to be strongarmed into doing something Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan either.” While some in the community may be frustrated with Wagner and Vaughan’s hesitation to sign onto a mask mandate at this point, Alston said that at the health board meeting next week, the county commissioners will likely vote to institute a countywide mask mandate that would include both cities. Although commissioner James Upchurch of District 6 recently told TCB via email that he does not believe that there are the five votes needed to pass a mandate, Alston said on Tuesday that he believes there are. “When we pass it next week, that would include the entire county,” Alston said. “I think that would be passed next week.” Alston said that the Guilford County Board of Health, an entity of the county commission, is set to meet on Jan. 13 and can act after giving a 10-day notice. While Alston’s mandate for today does not have a set time to expire, he noted that guideline for when the mask mandate could be rescinded would likely be in— Skip Alston cluded in the health ruling, which he expects to pass next week. In the past, mask mandates were automatically lifted when the 14-day positivity rate dropped below 5 percent.

FILE PHOTO

Guilford County Commission Chair Skip Alston

been 34 percent and the hospital has seen more than 500 patients come through their doors. The state has seen a 166 percent increase in cases in just two weeks. While Winston-Salem has had its own mask mandate for months, Forsyth County has not implemented one since the start of the pandemic. While a previous statewide mandate would have included the county, the county commissioners have never implemented their own mandate in the almost two years of the pandemic. As with Skip Alston in Guilford County, the chair of the county commissioners, David Plyler, also has the authority to enact similar mandates if he so chose. On Monday, TCB spoke to Plyler about why he and the other county commissioners have not instituted a countywide mandate thus far. Plyler equated instituting a mask mandate with a flooding of local jails, stating that if a mandate were to exist, that enforcement would lead to an increase in arrests. “If you did enforce it, then you have other problems that includes a jail full of people,” Plyler repeatedly argued. There has been no data to support that mask mandates increase populations in jails. However, multiple municipalities and counties have enforced mask mandates throughout the pandemic without increasing jail numbers. Most enforcement strategies target businesses rather than individuals, as evidenced by Alston’s explanation of Guilford County’s enforcement policy. In a Winston-Salem Journal article from August, a city official noted that education and citations are the way they are handling enforcement of the mandate, not arrests. Multiple studies have also shown that mask mandates curb the rate of transmission amongst communities.

‘We have to put politics aside and that’s why some mayors might not want to do it and that’s something that should disturb all of us....’

What about Winston-Salem and Forsyth County?

ince mid-August, the city of Winston-Salem has required masks in all indoor facilities and some outdoor areas. According to city officials, the mandate would only be rescinded if the positive infection rate dropped below 5 percent for at least two weeks and less than 10 new cases per 100,000 population were counted for a 5-day average. As of Tuesday, neither Winston-Salem nor Forsyth County are anywhere near those numbers. According to David Priest, the senior vice president of safety, quality and epidemiology at Novant Health, the hospital system’s rolling 7-day positivity rate has

NEWS | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

NEWS

New surveillance tech could be coming to Winston-Salem by Nicole Zelniker

COURTESY PHOTO

New technology that allows police to easily tap into security camera footage from local businesses may be coming soon to Winston-Salem.

usus, an Atlanta-based company that uses technology to allow police departments across the country to tap into cameras everywhere, might be coming to Winston-Salem. The Winston-Salem police department recently applied for a Project Safe Neighborhood Grant that would allow them to implement this technology and work with businesses around the city that opt into the new program. The company can access small business cameras that may be monitoring the streets. During a public safety committee meeting on Dec. 13, William Penn, the assistant chief for the Winston-Salem Police Department, noted that the $46,000 grant would allow the Winston-Salem Police Department to make two purchases: One is the Core, an electronic device that would stream footage from the area cameras to a real-time crime center and to the police department; the second purchase would be a surveillance kit, which includes the cameras which would be distributed to the businesses that opt into the program. Penn noted that he wasn’t sure how many cameras could be bought with the grant. “Now, this kit would be possessed by the Winston-Salem Police Department and it would be utilized in publicly visible areas,” Penn siad. “Not in people’s private property. Not anywhere where there would be a legal expectation of privacy. It would be used mobile for us just in those areas that needed that special

attention.” The Winston-Salem program would not be using cameras that belong to private civilians, but homeowners are able to register their cameras with the Winston-Salem police department through a separate program. Fusus’ technology is used across the country and different law enforcement agencies do use the company’s tech to tap into residents’ cameras if they opt in. Winston-Salem Councilmember Kevin Mundy hopes the grant will help with Winston-Salem’s increasing gun violence problem. In 2021, the Gun Violence Archive recorded 165 incidents in the city, significantly more than the 116 incidents recorded in Winston-Salem in 2020, or 103 in 2019. No other councilmembers commented on the implementation of the tech during the Dec. 13 meeting, but Mundy, who represents the Southwest Ward and is also part of the Public Safety Committee, says protecting downtown is a priority for him. “That’s an economic driver for us,” Mundy said in the meeting. “We don’t want that to become a dangerous place.” The Fusus technology is pervasive in cities across the country, like Atlanta and Minneapolis. North Carolina cities using Fusus technology include Asheville, Rocky Mount and Wilmington.

NEWS | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

NEWS

COURTESY PHOTO

Fusus, which is based out of Atlanta, specializes in surveillance technology that can tap into business’ security cameras and residential doorbell cameras.

Sahil Merchant, the chief strategy officer for the company, said they often have Merchant claims that since dispatch calls are often vague, Fusus tech can help their cameras in high-traffic areas, like stadiums, but that the cameras can work dispatchers know who to send, whether it be police, healthcare workers or other anywhere. They hook up the individual cameras and then are able to pull them groups, by seeing what is happening at the scene. into one platform. “You don’t want to send all these armed units to two kids The cameras do not offer facial recognition and owners fighting in a school,” said Merchant. “Conversely, you don’t of the businesses or homes where the cameras are installed want to underestimate an active shooter situation.” can decide when police have access. For example, they can Not everyone in Winston-Salem is excited about the camallow police access only in case of an emergency, though the eras. Bailey Pittenger of the Triad Abolition Project says TAP definition of an “emergency” remains vague. asked city council last year not to expand police surveillance. Merchant acknowledged that the public is still hesitant to “It will be harmful, just because the surveillance will trust the police, and similar cameras have received backlash. increase police surveillance and discrimination rather than As Vice reported, cameras like the ones Fusus uses can finding the root of crime,” Pittenger said. “The concern is perpetuate racism by allowing white neighbors to report now we’re actually in this phase of expanding surveillance.” Black and Brown neighbors for doing almost anything, like She and other TAP members are encouraging people to just taking a walk around the neighborhood. listen in on the city council meetings and voice their conOver the past year, several social justice organizations cerns. have demanded Amazon scale back their partnerships with In fact, Winston-Salem Assistant City Manager Patrice police because of privacy concerns about their popular Ring Toney said the reason Penn presented in the public safety —Bailey Pittenger doorbells. meeting in the first place was to give people a chance to voice Due to the backlash, law enforcement officers must request their concerns. So far, several businesses have expressed interRing footage through an app as of June 2021. This way, est in being a part of this network. anyone can see what they are requesting. This is not the Toney expects to hear back about whether the city has case with Fusus cameras, although the footage may be accessible through public gotten the grant this month, after which the city will implement the technology records requests. as quickly as possible. As of now, Forsyth County is also looking into the same “We haven’t experienced backlash directed at us, but given the civil unrest and technology. bad feeling toward law enforcement, we’re trying to mitigate that with our tech,” “People want crime to decrease in the community,” Toney said. “Everyone Merchant said of Fusus. “We’re giving the ability to have more holistic public wants to live in a safe environment. There’s been no pushback on that.” safety.”

‘It will be harmful, just because the surveillance will increase police surveillance and discrimination rather than finding the root of crime.’

NEWS | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

NEWS

Charges dropped against Essential Hemp owner, civil suit possible by Sayaka Matsuoka

ll charges against Essential Hemp owner Hector Sanchez have been dismissed, according to paperwork filed with Guilford County District Court

on Dec. 17. Sanchez was charged and arrested on Oct. 25, more than a month after Greensboro police seized more than $30,000 worth of product from his shop. As previously reported by Triad City Beat, a search warrant by Greensboro Police Detective DS Rake was executed in August 2021 and several Delta-8 THC products, which are legal in NC and sold widely across the state in various stores, were confiscated from Essential Hemp. The dismissal from Dec. 27 noted that the “officer had probable cause bases for charge based on information gained from investigation” but that there was insufficient evidence to warrant prosecution because Sanchez and his partner, Kattya Castellon, “purchased drugs from a distributor who represented items as being lawful in NC and therefore it appears the defendant did not knowingly possess SAYAKA MATSUOKA [sic].” “It’s great that I have don’t have any charges Hector Sanchez, middle, was arrested and charged in October for selling Delta-8 products in his store, Essential Hemp. pending against me, but I don’t think I ever should have,” Sanchez told TCB in call on Wednesday. “There was no reason for the assistant district other hemp shop, OG Hustler Smoke Shop, were targeted. attorney to write in there that, ‘Although there was probable cause…’ I think he “We have no idea why they were targeted and why another locally-owned small only wrote that in there to make GPD look better or so GPD doesn’t look as bad. business was targeted,” she said, “but none of the larger companies selling the That’s exactly how I felt about it.” same product were.” Sanchez noted that he and his legal team never received the tests that the GPD TCB’s reporting from Oct. 27 found that many other stores in and around did that showed that the products he was selling were illegal. Greensboro sold similar products to the ones sold at Essential Hemp and OG “I personally do not feel that they have any documents that would show Hustlers. anything illegal was done, knowingly or unknowingly,” Sanchez said. “I’m 99.99 This lack of transparency, plus the fact that the store sustained thousands of percent sure that they have anything that points that we did anything illegal…. It’s dollars in monetary damage because of lost product, is why Sanchez and his a negative mark on Greensboro police department’s credibility.” attorneys may be planning on filing a civil suit against the city and the police deJulie Wall, one of the attorneys who represented Sanchez, said that while the partment soon. While the lawyers did not clarify when the suit could be filed, Wall dismissal of the charges was good news, it was entirely expected. noted that the goal would be for Essential Hemp to be able to recover some of the “We expected it because it was the right legal outcome,” Wall said. “The facts monetary damage that they sustained. Brennan Aberle, another one of Sanchez’s of the case didn’t fit the crime that was charged. It was surprising that he was lawyers told TCB that there may be additional courses of action in addition to just charged in the first place, considering that the detective told us that he didn’t recouping the lost funds. believe [Essential Hemp] was knowingly selling a product that was not legal.” “It was certainly really unusual to put it mildly, and outright retaliatory to be Wall also noted that the basis for the search warrant is still unknown, creating honest,” Aberle said of Sanchez’s arrest. “The timing of them arresting Mr. Sanissues of transparency for all hemp shop owners. chez the day after the News & Record ran their article.” “If they can just get a search warrant and seize personal property, it opens the Sanchez said he and his family are glad that the charges were dropped and are door for some pretty broad overreach potential,” Wall said. looking at future actions he and his legal team can take. He also noted that the While some of the search warrants note that the raids were a response to “insupport from the community during this difficult time has been overwhelming. formation from a concerned citizen,” the Greensboro Police Department has yet “The support from the Greensboro community, the people who come to the to product any evidence of such complaint to TCB, despite repeated requests. store to buy, has been incredible,” Sanchez said. “We absolutely appreciate it; Wall also noted that to this day, they don’t know why Essential Hemp and anthat’s made us feel a lot better.”

Say their names: The North Carolina insurrectionists

all it what you will: dissolution of our electoral process. Trump’s Insurrection, the NC Sens. Warren Daniel, Ralph Jan. 6 Rebellion, a ConHies and Paul Newton crafted legisfederacy of Dunces…. lation that would drastically alter the Either way, it’s important way absentee ballots are counted in to remember — better yet, never forthe state. If not for Gov. Roy Cooget — those North Carolinians who per’s veto, it would have become aided and abetted Trump’s attempt law. to overthrow a free and fair election, House members Grey Mills, Keith subvert the will of the people and Kidwell, Timothy Moffitt and Forsyth abort a Congressional procedure. County’s Jeff Zenger sponsored Mark Meadows gets his own another bill that would have affected paragraph. As Trump’s chief of staff, the manner in which absentee balhe was an architect of the failed lots were deemed acceptable. coup, the linchpin for It is worth noting that communications to the There were 147 absentee ballots were treasonous president, what swung the 2020 Congressional a co-conspirator with for Joe Biden. Republicans who election the 147 Congressional House Whip Jon Republicans who voted voted to overturn Hardister, along with the results of the Reps Frank Iler, Deston to overturn the results of the 2020 Election. Hall and Sarah Stevens, 2020 Election, The NC contingent sponsored a bill that, many of them of that action: Reps. had it passed into law, from NC. Dan Bishop, Ted Budd, reads like it would have Madison Cawthorn, Virallowed the NC General ginia Foxx, Richard Hudson, Gregory Assembly to send its own electors Murphy and David Rouzer. to the Capitol had Trump not carried To those names we shall add Rep. the state. Donnie Loftus, named to the state On Jan. 6, 2021, part of the plan House by Gaston County Republiwas for states that Biden won to cans, who was among those who send their own Republican electors breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to the Capitol, in defiance of the in an attempt to stop the vice presipeople’s vote. When informed of this dent from certifying the election. tactic via text on Nov. 2, 2020, after Because of this, the Gaston CounTrump had lost the election, Meadty Republicans must be added to ows replied, “I love it.” our insurrectionist list. Let’s say their names this Jan. 6, There are others in the state end every year hereafter. And let’s House and Senate who, by their acremember them on Nov. 8, when tions, seem to be on board with the they’re all up for re-election.

Jen Sorensen

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OPINION | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

EDITORIAL

OPINION

John Cole Provided by NC Policy Watch

QUOTE OF THE WEEK Come get weird with us. We love to be there, and we love for you to be there, but the only way we can love for you to be there is if you’re there. – Andy Monroe, pg. 14

CULTURE | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

CULTURE

Underground Presents emphasizes inclusivity in upcoming drag show at Monstercade

by Nicole Zelniker

COURTESY PHOTO

(L-R) Ellis D, Star Sirius, Dique Humor (a Raleigh king) and Katie Muraswki after performing at a Freddie Mercury-themed show at London Bridge Pub in Raleigh

hen drag king Ellis D. started performing five or six years ago, he says no one else in his community did anything quite like he did. “I wanted to do more alternative stuff, like monsters, more goth,” he said. “No one else in my community was doing that.” Ellis D. met a lot of pushback against his art. Eventually, he met up with Hysteria Cole, another drag king, and the two formed Underground Presents in Greenville, North Carolina. Since then, the group has traveled all around North Carolina performing. On Dec. 7, they will have a show at Monstercade in Winston-Salem. Ellis D. says they are looking forward to performing at a more inclusive, welcoming environment. “We want to give the best damn queer showcase you can give,” they said. “All these performers of all kinds just having a fucking good time.” Underground Presents will be Monstercade’s first drag show of the new year; the last was on Halloween with Queer Winston-Salem. “Monstercade caters to an alternative crowd, so we’re kind of the weirdo bar

in town,” said Carlos Bocanegra, the owner of Monstercade. “Anything with the alternative arts, we’re ground zero for that,” he said. “You’re not going to see this at a brewery or at a Joe Schmo bar. We seek out these types of performances. We’re extremely proud to host a show like this and give a place where alternative artists can use their creative voices.” The upcoming show will feature several drag performers, burlesque dancers and combinations of both. Katie Murawski, who performs drag as Roy Fahrenheit, says she does “boylesque,” where she reveals a male illusion body under her clothes. As Fahrenheit, Murawski is known amongst her friends as the “smiling king.” Murawski has never trained in burlesque, but says that performing makes her feel good about her body. She started performing in 2019, after she met drag queens through her partner’s best friends. She and her friend Andy Monroe, drag name Andy Droge, now perform with Ellis D. and Hysteria in Underground Presents. Overall, her experience with drag has been empowering, but Murawski says

she has also been pushed into boxes by the community. “Some things, like misogyny, are universal,” she said. “There’s a lot of that involved. It’s not uncommon.” For example, Murawski and the others in her group have been told that they only showcase drag queens, not kings. “Trans and AFAB [assigned female at birth] performers are often pushed to the side or not taken seriously,” she said. “The whole reason me and Andy joined forces with the Underground is that there’s a new show in Winston-Salem that popped up that I thought would be inclusive, but it wasn’t.”

After she posted about it in a Facebook called Drag Kings Unite, she says Ellis D. saw her post and reached out. Ellis D. and Hysteria have both experienced similar prejudice in the drag world. “For me, [there were so many] hoops I had to jump through to get stage time,” Ellis D. said. “We had to compete in amateur nights, on Thursdays, once a month. You had to do what the bar wanted. It was judged heavily. Now, we invite new people in where people collect the tips for our performers, then they do a guest spot, then we book them. It’s nothing like what I went through to get stage time. “I started doing drag in 2002, so going on 19 years ago in Greenville,” Ellis D. continued. “I

CULTURE | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

CIARA KELLEY

Katie Murawski as Roy Fahrenheit.

was also put into a box by many of the queens in Greenville. One of them came up to me one day and said, ‘Don’t change who you are for someone else, because you’re the only one doing what you’re doing in the state.’” The scene across North Carolina has changed a lot over the last few years. When Andy Monroe began doing drag for example, they say kings were rarely, if ever allowed to perform. When Monroe did perform, they were told their shows didn’t bring in enough money, even though their shows were started late and ended early. Part of what they love about performing at Monstercade is that as the self-proclaimed “weirdest bar in North Carolina,” they include all kinds of performers. “The weirdest part about it is the fact that it doesn’t matter who you are, what breed or creed, whatever,” Monroe said. “That is the kind of weird I love and that we need to see. Having this type of show there can also bring a new perspective to people who may be alternative or may not be and they can still come out and see things they might not be exposed to before.” Monroe, like their counterparts, loves performing in front of an audience, especially when audience members come up to them and say they haven’t seen their type of drag before. “Come get weird with us,” they said. “We love to be there, and we love for you to be there, but the only way we can love for you to be there is if you’re there.” Given the pandemic, the performers are just now getting back into live shows after spending much of the last two years unable to be in front of a crowd. As burlesque dancer Mona Loverly put it, coming back has been amazing. “It’s been sold out lately,” she said. “I’ve been doing shows with Underground Presents in Greeneville. I’ve been in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro. It’s amazing. We were just so glad to get back out there. It feels really good to be back.” Doors open for the Underground Presents show at Monstercade at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 7. Performances will include burlesque, drag and drag roulette, in which performers will have to perform a song they haven’t prepared for. Check out their Facebook at facebook.com/ undergroundpresents, Instagram at @underground_presents and underground-greenville.com.

CULTURE | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

CULTURE Q&A with Wonderland Bookshop, children’s bookstore in Greensboro by Sayaka Matsuoka

Wonderland Bookshop is an independent-owned children’s bookstore in Greensboro, located at located at 409 State St. and open on Tuesday-Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The store has been open since October 2018, when sisters Amy Lamb and Beth Berger started it together. Learn more about the shop at wonderlandbookshopnc.com and on Facebook.

Q A

What prompted you guys to want to open a children’s bookstore? AL: We had been thinking about opening a bookstore and we really focused on children because we thought it would give us more focus and we didn’t want a huge store, so we knew that would narrow down what we would carry and our customers. We decided on Greensboro because they didn’t have a dedicated children’s bookstore.

Q A

Tell me about the books that you carry. BB: We have board books for the younger ones and then we do picture books up to about 8 years old. And then we have nonfiction for all ages. AL: We have middle grade for those 8- to 12-year-olds and young adults for 13 and up and we have books in Spanish. We have some parenting books about, You’re becoming a big sister or, You’re becoming a big brother. We have some poetry books, some creativity books, cookbooks. We take suggestions and try to figure out what people want to buy, and then we make sure we’ve got a little bit of everything. We usually only have one copy of books because we want to have more availability. We can order anything, including for adults.

Q A

What has proven to be some of the more popular books? AL: We love to sell Goodnight Greensboro, which is a picture book for kids. That has sold a lot. BB: Bea Birdsong, she writes How to Spot a Best Friend. AL: Stacy McAnulty from Kernersville, we sell a lot of her middle-grade and picture books. BB: We sell a lot of board books. We do a lot of picture books. People use them for gifts a lot, too.

You have a very diverse selection of books including ones about race and gender identity. With recent pushback of books like these, have you had any customers complain about any of your products?

A 14

Q A

Why do you feel like having a children’s bookstore is important for the community? BB: First, just to get children to read. They need to read to learn and to understand things. You start them as young as you possibly can so it’s nice to start them before they even get to the libraries. A lot of parents want their kids to read. AL: They buy books to read as a family or they buy books to read to them even before they can understand and even kids before they go to kindergarten and they’re not reading yet. I think the earlier you can get them, the better. And you can never go wrong with a book. So many people come in and buy baby-shower gifts and baby gifts.

Q A

What has business been like during the pandemic? AL: A lot of online. People were very kind and still ordered online. We’re certainly not back to where we were. We did some story times outdoors over the summer but we’re not ready to be doing in-person things much in the store. BB: And a lot of parents are very cautious especially for the smaller kids that can’t be immunized yet. AL: So we are just plugging along, doing the best we can. People have been very supportive.

Q A

BB: I think we’ve gotten maybe a little but not overt in any way. AL: We never made any secret about it so there may be people who never come in, but people have been so appreciative of the books that we have had. Parents are looking for that and they’re not shy to ask. And we’ve been so happy when people buy them. They’re just the best picture books coming out these days.

What are some of your favorite parts about owning a bookstore? AL: It’s nice to talk it all through with customers and we pull all the books out and it’s really fun and to have older kids who you give the first in the series and they come back and want to read the rest of them. BB: We have some great repeat customers that we really know so that’s just really nice and their kids! Oh my goodness, just in the three years we’ve been here, I feel like we’ve seen kids grow tremendously.

CULTURE | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

SHOT IN THE TRIAD South Elm Street, Greensboro

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Fordham’s Drug Store opened on July 21, 1898 and closed in 2002. Famous for its fountain Cokes and malted milkshakes, Fordham’s also discreetly served liquor during Prohibition. A “For Sale” sign went up in the window in 2015.

PUZZLES | JAN 6 - JAN 12, 2022

CROSSWORD

by Matt Jones

Across

1 “This ___ really happening!” 6 “Beavis and Butt-Head” spinoff 11 It can be scrambled 14 ___ York (NYC, to some residents) 15 Monarch’s domain 16 Former “Great British Bake Off” cohost Perkins 17 Computer character set that’s mostly rainbows and macadamias? 19 Back-of-a-jigsaw hue 20 Evaporating Asian sea 21 Indicator that a new pope has been selected 22 Reactor part 23 Tripod part 24 Blokes 25 Time off, briefly 26 1990s Super Nintendo racing game (often on “top Nintendo games of all time” lists) 28 “Brave” princess 29 Special attention 34 Onetime owner of the Huffington Post 35 Inadvisable activity traveling down the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius? 38 MTV live show until ‘08 39 Tournament favorites 40 Continue the journey 42 Savory quality 46 Scared-looking, maybe 47 Donut flavoring 51 Stimpy’s partner 52 Forward-facing font type (abbr.) 53 Paddled boat 54 “___ I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism” (1981 bell hooks book) 55 “In the Heights” Tony winner ___-Manuel Miranda 56 2000s Nintendo controller named for a 2000s “SNL” alum? 58 Conclude 59 “My Dinner With Andre” director Louis 60 Elementary atomic particle 61 Low-___ graphics 62 Medicine dispenser 63 Get the cupcakes ready

Down

“Welcome to Two-Two”--they both appear.

1 Equally split 2 Public radio journalist Ray with the podcast “Going for Broke” 3 Meditative genre 4 Track layout 5 Mai ___ (cocktail) 6 Interpersonal conflict, so to speak 7 He wrote “The Fox and the Lion” 8 Oven shelves 9 “Would ___ to you?” 10 Friend of France 11 From Tartu or Tallinn 12 Snarly protector

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

13 Vague army rank? 18 “Well, sorta” 22 Matchbox toy 24 “Straight Outta ___” (2015 biopic) 25 Stuff that sticks around 27 “Everybody Hurts” band 28 “Um, Actually” host Trapp 30 Lackey 31 Sciatic region 32 “___ for Alibi” (series-opening Sue Grafton mystery) 33 Belgium-to-Switzerland dir. 35 Unspoiled 36 Seasoned pros 37 Suffix for skeptic or real 38 It may get hauled around the country 41 “Electric” creature 43 “The Magic Flute” passage 44 Candy paired with Diet Coke 45 Objective 47 Sends with a stamp 48 Geometry measurement 49 “The ___ of Positive Thinking” 50 Floral accessory 53 Sicilian send-off 54 Part of N.A. or S.A. 56 Iraq War controversy, for short 57 Global currency org.

SUDOKU

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS