Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point
July 12 - 18, 2018
triad-city-beat.com
GAS IT UP! YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2018 L EGISL ATI V E SESSION
Pool Card Adam PAGE 13
Drawing Maya PAGE 16
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Shout to Ruger PAGE 15
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July 12 - 18, 2018
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK
The girl at 13
Her act is short — just a single number, and a cover song at that. She had some trouble with the microphone in the beginning, by Brian Clarey and didn’t really hit her groove until the first chorus. She can be forgiven because it’s her first open-mic night, and because, after all, she’s just 13 years old. Also: She’s my daughter, and I can barely stand it. I watched her for years — as she found her voice, as she taught herself to play, as she willed herself to be the girl she wanted to be while remaining true to the girl she is. I’ve heard her practicing, alone in her room, every day for months, recording herself and then scrutinizing the results, again and again. I have seen her suffer for her art, even though she has no idea that is what she’s doing. She’s hard on herself. She believes herself to be timid, though she’s always been
so brave. She thinks she’s awkward, even as her body lengthens and her shoulders square off. She feels like she’s useless, even though her thoughts and actions continue to change the world around her for the better. She knows she is loved, but she doesn’t begin to suspect how much. At 13, the girl is tangled mess of insecurity, anxiety, vague fear and real apprehension as she crosses the threshold, even as she propels herself forward like no other I’ve ever seen, demanding of herself that she grow, learn, strive. The open-mic night was my idea. The child has a gift that demands to be explored, to be honed and shared, even though she’s just 13. It was my idea, but she took to it readily, like she had been waiting for it. She rehearsed and rehashed; she fine-tuned and polished up. That part was all her. And when the time came, she stood up and did her thing without a glance backward, like she was a 7-year-old kid getting on the schoolbus by herself for the very first time. Which, once upon a time, she was.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
She said, ‘I want to go see my friends at school. We said, ‘It’s summertime, honey. Your friends aren’t going to be at school.’ We didn’t realize that the schools provide meals to kids in the summertime because families can’t afford to buy food. — Ed E. Ruger, in Music, page 16
BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com
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57 Seasons of Music Excellence
July 12 - 18, 2018
Experience...EMF
YOUNG ARTISTS ORCHESTRA TONIGHT! THURSDAY, JULY 12 8 P.M. Dana Auditorium, Guilford College José-Luis Novo conducting; Shannon Scott, clarinet EMF Conducting Scholars YOUNG ARTISTS ORCHESTRA FRIDAY, JULY 13 Dana Auditorium, Guilford College 8 P.M. Grant Cooper, conducting; William Wolfram, piano EMF Conducting Scholars CROSSING CURRENTS SATURDAY, JULY 14 8 P.M. Dana Auditorium, Guilford College Gerard Schwarz, conducting; Misha Dichter, violin. Eva Wetzel, violin Music for a Sunday Evening in the Park Sunday, July 15 6:30 P.M. LeBauer Park, Downtown Greensboro EMF Conducting Scholars, EMF Young Artists Wind Ensemble Broadway Classics & Blockbuster Movie Scores. Grant Cooper, host. Chamber Music Monday, July 16 8 P.M. Recital Hall, UNCG College of Visual and Performing Arts EMF Faculty, Misha Dichter, piano; Cipa Dichter, piano EMF Fellows Chamber Recital Tuesday, July 17 8 P.M. Pyrle Theatre, Triad Stage Chauncey Patterson, viola, EMF Faculty Coach Greensboro Opera & EMF Present: What I Did for Love Wednesday, July 18 8 P.M. Temple Emanuel
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July 12 - 18, 2018
CITY LIFE July 12-18, 2018 by Lauren Barber
Up Front
THURSDAY
Guest curators Elvia Castro & Gretel Acosta @ SECCA (W-S), 6 p.m. The duo will discuss the curatorial process behind SECCA’s current exhibit Cubans: Post Truth, Pleasure, and Pain in the Overlook Gallery. Cubans surveys works from 19 contemporary Cuban artists, both of the island and the diaspora. SECCA members drink for free at the cash bar. Learn more at secca.org.
Nora Gaskin Esthimer @ Scuppernong Books (GSO), 5:30 p.m. Editor of Carolina Crimes: 21 Tales of Need, Greed and Dirty Deeds and author of The Worst Thing reads spinechilling passages aloud and talks about the makings of great crime novels. Learn more at scuppernongbooks.com.
Lesley Barth & Lauren Light @ Resonate Greensboro, 7 p.m.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Barber Park amphitheater (GSO), 6 p.m.
Opinion
NCGA
In Sonitus Lux @ Monstercade (W-S), 9 p.m.
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” Pack a picnic for a free performance of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy and see for yourself. Find the event on Facebook.
Singer/songwriter Lesley Barth loves the ’70s and Lauren Light packs a pop-rock punch. Find the event on Facebook. Some Like it Hot @ Bailey Park (W-S), 7:30 p.m.
Culture
Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba @ the Ramkat (W-S), 7 p.m. In Sonitus Lux emerges from Atlanta’s art underground for a night with local experimental bands: Greensboro’s Knives of Spain and Winston-Salem’s Damiyana. Find the event on Facebook.
FRIDAY
Puzzles
Shot in the Triad
Medicinal garden lecture @ Historic Bethabara Park Visitor Center (W-S), 1 p.m.
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Marilyn Monroe stars in this classic 1959 comedy set in the Roaring Twenties. Hoots Beer Co., the Whisk and Tin Food Truck and Juicy Bird are on site for dinner and drinks. A/perture Cinema promises hot popcorn and movie trivia around 8 p.m. before the film screens closer to sundown. Learn more at innovationquarter.com/community.
The historic park continues its free informational lecture series about gardening and nature with a talk about the history of Bethabara’s Moravian medicinal garden. The series picks back up on Sept. 14. Learn more at historicbethabara. org and find the event on Facebook.
SATURDAY An evening of funk and soul-influenced West African dance music awaits. 1970s Film Stock, the solo project of a man with a guitar and many, many pedals, joins. Learn more at theramkat.com.
West End Mambo @ 6th St. & Liberty St. intersection (W-S), 7 p.m. The nine-person band performs everything from Latin jazz to original orchestral salsa arrangements to classic salsa genres like bolero, rumba, guaracha and son montuno. Learn more at downtownws.com/music.
Juice @ the Ramkat (W-S), 8 p.m.
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Bring your own seating and food to complement popcorn and drinks at a free screening of Juice, a 1992 film starring Omar Epps, Jermaine Hopkins, Khalil Kain and Tupac Shakur as four young, black men growing up in Harlem. Learn more at theramkat.com.
Borrowed Land Farm and Colony Urban Farm co-present a 2-hour workshop on how to create a take-home mushroom inoculation kit, specifically oyster mushrooms which are known for taking on flavors of cooking spices easily. Learn more at colonyurbanfarm.com.
The Adventures of Annabelle Lynn @ Listen Speakeasy (GSO), 7 p.m.
336.852.3972 revolutioncyclesnc.com
Take charge of your mind, body and spirit
Culture
Food truck rodeo @ Mendenhall Transportation Terminal (HP), 4 p.m. Finally, the rescheduled rodeo from March is upon us. Luckily, the terminal will provide some shade from the July sun as attendees select from 20 food trucks. Find the event on Facebook.
1907 Spring Garden St, Greensboro, NC 27403
Opinion
SUNDAY
National Ice Cream Day celebration @ High Point Museum, 2 p.m.
NCGA
Home growing mushrooms workshop @ Colony Urban Farm (W-S), 3 p.m.
Up Front
The Big Chill Ice Cream Festival @ Bailey Park (W-S), 3 p.m. The Shalom Project, a local nonprofit that offers access to a medical clinic, a clothing closet, a food pantry and weekly hot meals for people experiencing poverty, throws its annual ice-cream celebration and fundraiser. Enjoy unique ice-cream tastings from amateur ice-cream makers, food from Zekos2Go food truck, live music from Foxture and the Bo-Stevens, and let the kids frolic in the children’s fun zone. Learn more at theshalomprojectnc.org.
July 12 - 18, 2018
Revolution Cycles, NC
Test pH balance, allergies, hormones Balance diet, lifestyle and emotions Create a personalized health and nutrition plan Shot in the Triad
(336) 456-4743 The female folk trio from Tallahassee bring spirited bluegrass and tight vocal harmonies to the Triad. Find the event on Facebook.
3723 West Market Street, Unit–B, Greensboro, NC 27403 jillclarey3@gmail.com www.thenaturalpathwithjillclarey.com
Puzzles
The museum presents a new exhibit dedicated to 20th Century artifacts from dairy operations and ice-cream parlors in and around the city of High Point in celebration of Ice Cream Month. On National Ice Cream Day, enjoy a free scoop while supplies last and play around with sidewalk chalk, hit up the photo booth or check out dairy-themed crafts. Find the event on Facebook.
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by staff
Puzzles
Shot in the Triad
Culture
Opinion
NCGA
Up Front
July 12 - 18, 2018
Gas it up: Your guide to the 2018 legislative session
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The Republican majority in the General Assembly engineered a speed round in the short session this year, wrapping up in late June. The main action was a slate of constitutional amendments approved for referendum in the upcoming midterm elections. Designed to boost turnout among the Republican base, GOP leaders put their Democratic colleagues in a bind by forcing them to vote against such popular measures as “victims’ rights” and hunting and fishing, or play along with the game. The other major legislation was the Farm Bill, which insulates pork protectors from nuisance lawsuits filed by neighbors who don’t want their homes fouled by the smell of pig feces. The bill passed, but prompted one GOP defection — from Rep. John Blust, who is retiring at the end of the session. The midterm election forecasts a major shakeup in the Guilford County delegation. A court order resulted in the lines being completely redrawn, prompting Blust’s retirement. The voter mix in the new districts looks good for House incumbents Majority Whip Jon Hardister (R), John Faircloth (R), Cecil Brockman (D), Pricey Harrison (D) and Amos Quick (D), while the new District 57 favors Democrat Ashton Clemmons. The redrawn Senate map catalyzes even more dramatic changes. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s district no longer includes Guilford. And while Republican Trudy Wade and Democrat Gladys Robinson continue to hold districts 27 and 28 respectively, parts of the county will have entirely new representation. The eastern end of Guilford County has been drawn into District 24, which favors Republican incumbent Rick Gunn, and the southwest corner of High Point is now part of the new District 26, favoring Senate Majority Whip Jerry Tillman.
Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
SEN. PAUL LOWE JR. (D-FORSYTH), DISTRICT 32 About the district: D-32 covers almost all of WinstonSalem, with the exception of a carve-out of affluent, Republican-leaning neighborhoods like Buena Vista along the Country Club Road corridor, as well as with more liberal-leaning areas of Ardmore in the city’s southwest quadrant. The district
REP. PRICEY HARRISON (D-GUILFORD) DISTRICT 57 About the District: Harrison’s district covers a northeastern section of Greensboro that extends in a southern arc out to Sedalia in the east. Committee assignments: Environment (vice-chair) Terms: 7 Bills: 62, seven as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 945/SB 727 — Rape Evidence Collection Kit Tracking Act: In March, the state Department of Justice released the 2017 Sexual Assault Collection Kit Law Enforcement Inventory Report, which showed there at 15,160 untested rape kits in North Carolina.
Opinion
SEN. JOYCE KRAWIEC (R-FORSYTH, YADKIN), DISTRICT 31 About the district: D-31 covers the suburban/rural doughnut of Forsyth County, including parts of Lewisville, Clemmons and Kernersville, along with affluent, Republican-leaning neighborhoods like Buena Vista on the west side and portions of Ardmore and areas around Baptist Hospital in the southwest. The district also covers the entirety of Yadkin County. Terms: 2.5 Committee chairs: Appropriations on Health and Human Services (co-chair); Health Care (co-chair) Bills: 13, six as primary sponsor Highlights: SB 630 — Revise IVC Laws to Improve Behavioral Health: One of Kraweic’s sponsored bills that hung over from the last session was pulled from
trails Business 40 to the east and picks up the heart of Kernersville. Terms: 1.5 Committee chairs: None Bills: 14, two as primary sponsor Highlights: SB 704 — Universal Voter Registration: Thwarted in the long session, Sen. Lowe repackaged SB 646 and resubmitted it nine months later, in January. The bill provides for “automatic voter registration” at the DMV and at all state universities and community colleges, and for a marketing campaign to let voters know about it. Status: Died in committee SB 791 — Revise Marijuana Laws: Lowe’s pot bill allowed up to four ounces to be regarded as a misdemeanor and expunged the records of anyone arrested for holding that amount. Status: Died in committee SB 785 — Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Special Plate: As evidence of the powerlessness on the Democrat side of the aisle, Sen. Lowe was unable to pass a bill that created a special license plate for Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He was also unable to nail down a vanity plate for the Order of the Eastern Star. Status: Died in committee SB 806 — Up Minimum Wage with COLA/Const. Amendment: As primary sponsor, Lowe’s contribution to the slate of amendments to be added to the state constitution set the state minimum wage to $8.80/hour and pegged an annual adjustment to the consumer price index. Status: Died in committee SB 812 — Universal Voter Registration: Yep, Lowe filed another voter-registration bill in June, a cut-and-paste job from the ones filed in January and April 2017. Status: Died in committee.
NCGA
SEN. GLADYS ROBINSON (D-GUILFORD), DISTRICT 28 About the district: Robinson’s minority-majority district covers about two-thirds of Greensboro and extends into central High Point. Committee chairs: None, but she sits on Healthcare; Education/Higher Education; Finance; Health and Human Services; Appropriations on Health and Human Services; Appropriations/Base Budget; Select Committee on Nominations Terms: 4 Bills: 4, two as primary sponsor Highlights: SB 809 — Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Committee: Still toiling in the minority party, Robinson floated this exception for the city of Greensboro to the state’s draconian policy regarding footage form police-worn body cameras. This bill allows for members of a citizens’ police review board to view “limited personnel information concerning the disposition of disciplinary charges against a police officer….” Status: Died in committee SB 708 — Honor NC A&T’s Championship Football Team: Sen. Robinson got exactly one bill passed in this short session: a resolution that officially congratulated the Aggies after they won the Celebration Bowl, passed during special session in February. Status: Passed House on Feb. 8
committee on June 13 and passed by June 22: a mental-health bill “pertaining to involuntary commitment in order to improve the delivery of behavioral health services in North Carolina.” Status: Signed by Gov. Cooper on June 22 SB 750 — Health-Local Confinement/Vet. Controlled Sub.: This bill, read into session law in June 25, addresses healthcare in prisons — specifically opening it up to Medicaid funds while clarifying some responsibilities and procedures: when a prisoner dies, whether in the jail or in the hospital, it places responsibility on corrections, among other tweaks, and gives corrections officers a raise. In the outside world, it tightens regulation on prescription drugs, and adds veterinarians to the list of professions required to take continuing education on opiates. Status: Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on June 25 SB 751/HB 996 — Winston-Salem/ Real Property Conveyances (with Lowe, Conrad, Hanes, Lambeth, Terry): Kraweic and her cohort in the Forsyth delegation submitted a couple of bills from the Winston-Salem wish list, one of which passed into law and one which was sent to committee. This one, subtitled “An act authorizing the city of Winston-Salem to sell real property for the purpose of increasing the supply of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income persons,” was an attempt to increase affordable-housing stock in the city. Status: Passed House on June 7, and died in committee after being referred to Senate SB 768 — People First Language 2018: “People first” language seems to be the accepted form of “political correctness” without arousing so much bile. The bill removes the words “mental retardation” in favor of “intellectual disability” in state code, and cleans up other antiquated language throughout. Status: Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on June 22
Up Front
SEN. TRUDY WADE (R-GUILFORD), DISTRICT 27 About the district: Wade’s district begins in the northeast corner of Guilford County and wraps around Greensboro, circumventing central High Point and picking up a few Greensboro precincts in the northwest. Committee chairs: Appropriations on Agriculture, Natural and Economic Resources (co-chair); Commerce and Insurance (co-chair) Terms: 3 Bills: 0 Highlights: Sen. Wade kept quiet during the short session, sponsoring or cosponsoring exactly zero bills. In the long session, two of the bills she sponsored made it into session law: the Teaching Excellence Bonus Expansion and the Veterinary Practice Omnibus Bill, a piece of signature legislation for the veterinarian that initiates a study on mixing doses of different animal pharmaceuticals, and reiterates that a ferrier — or
horseshoe-fitter — is not a vet.
July 12 - 18, 2018
SEN. PHIL BERGER (R-GUILFORD, ROCKINGHAM) DISTRICT 26 About the District: Phil Berger’s piece of the state covers the entirety of Rockingham County, with a few fingers dipping into northern Guilford. A handful of precincts carve out territory in the suburban northwest quadrant of Greensboro. Committee assignments: Senate president pro tem; Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations (chair); Legislative Services Commission (chair) Terms: 9 Bills: 0 Highlights: Nothing on paper this term from the senate president pro tem, but he is currently the most powerful politician in North Carolina, considering that he has a supermajority to override any veto by the governor. Compared to House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), he has a smaller membership, so he can maintain tighter control. Most importantly, he appoints the chairman of the rules committee, who determines what legislation gets a hearing. Pretty much every piece of legislation that is enacted into law has Berger’s fingerprints on it. And everything he backs is fast-tracked — all three of his bills in the 2017-18 session passed into law.
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July 12 - 18, 2018 Up Front NCGA Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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This bill established a statewide sexual assault kit tracking system and requires tracking of all untested kits. Status: Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on June 25 HB 968 — Legislative Response to Emerging Contaminants: Harrison co-sponsored this bill to establish stricter requirements for dischargers of pollutants to the state’s air and water. The bill also provides more funding for the departments of Environmental Quality and Health and Health & Human Services. Lawmakers filed it on May 17, two weeks before introducing HB 1067, which makes polluters responsible for contamination financially responsible for cleanup and is also making its way through committee. Status: Died in committee REP. AMOS L. QUICK, III (D-GUILFORD) DISTRICT 58 About the District: Quick’s district is predominantly black and radiates southeast from the heart of downtown Greensboro. Committee assignments: Quick is the Democratic freshman vice-chair and he sits on committees for Appropriations; Appropriations, Capital; Commerce and Job Development; Education K-12; Homelessness, Foster Care, and Dependency; Judiciary III Terms: 1 Bills: 20, seven as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 1059 — Healthy Mother & Child/ Shackling Prohibition: This bill would have prohibited the use of “restraints on a prisoner or detained known to be pregnant, including during labor, transport to a medical facility, delivery, postpartum recovery, and the postpartum period” except under “extraordinary circumstance.” In the case where a corrections official might make a determination to
use restraints, they must use the “least restrictive manner necessary” and file written findings with a 10-day period. Status: Died in committee HB 1075 — Restore Teaching to an Honored Profession: If passed, this bill would require that NC A&T University is selected to participate in the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program as one of six North Carolina institutions of higher education, would be able to issue forgivable loans to students on track to complete teacher certification. The bill would also reinstate education-based salary supplements for certain school employees, fund professional development and establish a master teacher pilot program. Status: Referred to the Appropriations Committee on June 1, and failed to receive a hearing REP. JON HARDISTER (R-GUILFORD) DISTRICT 59 About the district: District 59 is the most rural district in Guilford County, covering its eastern third. In the north, it covers whiter, wealthier Greensboro neighborhoods but wraps around most of the city. Committee assignments: Hardister is the majority whip, one of the most powerful leadership positions, and sits on Alcoholic Beverage Control (vice-chair); Appropriations (vice-chair); Appropriations, Capital (chair); Banking (vicechair) Terms: 3 Bills: 15, nine as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 1080 — Guilford County Animal Control Records (with Blust, Brockman and Quick): Lawmakers can’t introduce new legislation after a cutoff date each session but often circumvent this rule with a practice called “gut and replace” which entails replacing portions
of bills that have already been through committee hearings with new language. This bill authorizes a new citizen review structure for the Greensboro Police Department at the behest of Greensboro City Council. The Greensboro Criminal Justice Advisory Commission will have access to the same confidential data about police disciplinary actions that the previous citizen review board received, but is granted a broader mandate, including working with the police department to identify concerns and opportunities for progress. Status: Ratified into law on June 25 REP. CECIL BROCKMAN (D-GUILFORD) DISTRICT 60 About the District: Brockman’s district covers most of the southeast quadrant of High Point, a southwest section of Greensboro and slices of a few suburban townships: Friendship, Jamestown, Morehead and Sumner. Committee assignments: Education K-12 (vice-chair) Terms: 2 Bills: 21, four as primary Highlights: HB 1044 — General Assembly/Prevent Workplace Harassment: With women’s stories resonating with the general public in the era of #MeToo, Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg) sponsored a bill on May 31 that would require the General Assembly to develop a mandatory ethics training on workplace harassment and all other forms of workplace discrimination, to adopt “effective and clear” sanction policies for harassers and develop a confidential complaint filing process for all lawmakers, officers and legislative employees. The process is currently non-confidential. All female lawmakers in the NCGA Joint Legislative Democratic Women’s Caucus sign on in support of the bill which also writes in specific protections for interns, pages and unpaid volunteers who tend to be young adults or high school students. Status: Referred to the Committee on State and Local Government II on May 31, and failed to receive a hearing HB 1068/SB 789 — School Performance Improvement Study Commission: The bill establishes a commission tasked with studying “alternative models to replace the Innovative School District as a method of improving school performance in low-performing schools.” The commission will deploy teams of “exceptional” administrators and
teachers from high-performing schools to identified low-performing schools to provide consultations and team-based training. They will also use “specialized professional development programs” for teachers and administrators in identified low-performing schools. Status: Died in committee REP. JOHN FAIRCLOTH (R-GUILFORD) DISTRICT 61 About the District: Faircloth’s district envelops the lower half of Brockman’s, extending from the lower half of Deep River township in the northwest to the southern border of High Point township and then east in an L-shape, containing most of Jamestown, along with unincorporated parts of the county. Committee assignments: Appropriations (chair); Ethics (chair); House Select Committee on School Safety (vice-chair); Judiciary II (vice-chair) Terms: 4 Bills: 19, 10 as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 277 — Naturopathic Study: Faircloth’s bill established a work group to make recommendations for “appropriate oversight and regulation of the practice of naturopathic medicine” in the state in an effort to protect citizens from “deception, fraud, and damage to their health status.” The NC Association of Naturopathic Physicians will select two naturopathic doctors and the NC Medical Board will select a medical doctor with knowledge of the practice to join the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the work group. The group is mandated to return findings and recommendations on or before Jan. 15, 2019. Status: Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on June 22 REP. JOHN M. BLUST (R-GUILFORD) DISTRICT 62 About the District: Blust’s territory emanates from the northwest corner of Guilford County to parts of west Greensboro and north High Point. Committee assignments: Finance (vice-chair); House Select Committee on Judicial Redistricting (vice-chair); Judiciary II (chair) Terms: 9 (one in Senate) Bills: 6, four as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 1039 — School Self-Defense Act:
Shot in the Triad
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Culture
REP. JULIA HOWARD (R-FORSYTH, DAVIE) DISTRICT 79 About the district: D-79 includes the western tip of Forsyth County, including Lewisville, along with the entirety of Davie County. Committee assignments: Banking (chair); Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance (chair) Terms: 15 Bills: 14, five as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 931/SB 717 — UI Technical Changes: Makes technical changes to the state’s unemployment insurance law. Status update: Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on June 25 HB 1003 — Hunt or Trap Fox/Coyote Forsyth/Davie (with Conrad, Lambeth): Would establish open season on foxes and coyotes with weapons and traps in Davie County and portions of Forsyth County outside Winston-Salem. Status: Died in committee.
Opinion Puzzles
REP. DONNY LAMBETH (R-FORSYTH) DISTRICT 75 About the district: D-75 covers much of the southern suburban-rural doughnut of Forsyth County, including Clemmons and a wide swatch of the county’s southeast corner that also covers outlying areas of Kernersville. The district also includes a finger that reaches into Winston-Salem from the southwest, covering Hanes Mall and the Ardmore neighborhood. Committee assignments: Appropriations (chair); Health (chair); Health Care Reform (chair); Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services (chair); Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid and NC Health Choice (chair) Terms: 3 Bills: 25, 16 as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 403 — Medicaid and Behavioral Health Modifications: Modifies the state Medicaid program, including making provisions for a prepaid health plan for individuals with behavioral health challenges or intellectual developmental disabilities. Status: Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper HB 651 — State Pension/Ret. Health Ben. Fund Solvency: Establishes an unfunded liability solvency reserve. Status: Signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper on June 22 HB 1045 — Health-Local Confinement/Prison HealthConnex: Amends state law to require local jails to notify the medical examiner and coroner when
an inmate in its custody dies, regardless of the physical location of the inmate at the time of death, and requires the jail administrator to file a report with the state Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, the law only requires notification if the inmate dies in the jail. If such a law were in place in 2014, the Forsyth County jail would have been required to report the death of Jen McCormack, an inmate who died after being rushed to Baptist Hospital. Status: Died in committee after favorable hearing before the Health Committee, which Lambeth chairs, on May 31.
NCGA
REP. ED HANES (D-FORSYTH) DISTRICT 72 About the district: Covering the northern urban portion of Winston-Salem, D-72 is bisected by University Parkway, a de facto racial and economic dividing line in the city. The district includes Smith Reynolds Airport and Wake Forest University. Committee assignments: Energy and Public Utilities (vice-chair) Terms: 3 Bills: 21, five as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 1030 — UNC-Chapel Hill/Monument Relocation (with Harrison): Hanes isn’t a primary sponsor on this bill; he and Rep. Pricey Harrison, a
REP. DEBRA CONRAD (R-FORSYTH) DISTRICT 74 About the district: D-74 covers the northern suburban-rural doughnut of Forsyth County, including Tobaccoville, Rural Hall and Belews Creek. The district reaches a finger into affluent, Republican-leaning areas on the west side of Winston-Salem south of Robinhood Road. Committee assignments: Commerce and Job Development (chair); Education — K-12 (chair); Appropriations, Education (vice-chair) Terms: 3 Bills: 35, 13 as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 1057 — Dissolve Airport Commission of Forsyth County (with Hanes, Lambeth and Terry): Authorizes the Forsyth County Commission to restructure the Airport Commission of Forsyth County. Status: Ratified and enacted as law on June 27. HB 646 — Amend PED Statutes (with Faircloth, Harrison): Clarifies state law to make it understood that the Program
Evaluation Division of the Legislative Services Commission has the authority to evaluate nonprofits that receive state funds. Status: Became law without Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature on June 26 HR 1102 — Study Best Practice/ Advanced Ed Opportunities (with Hanes): Establishes a House study committee “for promoting access to advanced educational opportunity in our public schools for economically disadvantaged students who demonstrate high academic achievement.” Status: Adopted by House on June 28 HB 978/SB 749 — Powell Bill for Parks/Tobaccoville (with Krawiec): Would authorize the use of federal funds for the village of Tobaccoville to use for the planning, construction and maintenance of parks and recreation facilities. Status: Died in committee
Up Front
REP. EVELYN TERRY (D-FORSYTH) DISTRICT 71 About the district: D-71 is centered in the southeast quadrant of Winston-Salem, but also covers downtown. It includes Winston-Salem State University, Salem College and the UNC School of the Arts. The district includes a narrow, westward corridor hugging Business 40 that reaches to Hanes Mall Boulevard. Committee assignments: Homelessness, Foster Care and Dependency (vice-chair) Terms: 3 Bills: 21, four as primary sponsor Highlights: HB 1072/SB 782 — NC Adopt Equal Rights Amendment/Funds (with Harrison): Would ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, holding: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” Status: Died in committee.
fellow Democrat in Guilford County, are cosponsors. Even so, his role in his ill-fated legislation bears mention. After the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, calls for the removal of the Confederate “Silent Sam” monument on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill escalated. The monument is a flashpoint of political tension: In February, a group of anonymous faculty members threatened to take it down, evoking the specter of a similar direct action in Durham. And in late April, doctoral student Maya Little dumped red ink mixed with her own blood on the monument, drawing death threats. Notably, Silent Sam is not subject to a pending decision by the Confederate Monuments Study Committee on the fate of three monuments on the State Capitol grounds. HB 1030 could have potentially defused a volatile issue, authorizing UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt to temporarily relocated the monument to an indoor site on campus and eventually move it to a new, permanent site. Status: Died in committee HB 1048 — Require Equal Access to Advanced Classes: Requires public schools to provide access to advanced classes for all students who score Level 5 on end-of-grade tests in third through seventh grades. Status: Died in committee.
July 12 - 18, 2018
On May 31, Blust introduced a bill that would allow public-school faculty and staff to carry handguns on school grounds in order to respond to “acts of violence or an imminent threat of violence” so long as those employees comply with several criteria such as completing 16 training hours and a maintaining a concealed carry permit. The bill would set aside $500,000 to establish a School Faculty Guardian program responsible for active shooter trainings. Any school could opt out of this state allowance. Status: Died in committee
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July 12 - 18, 2018 Up Front NCGA Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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Major legislation of 2018 1. NC Farm Act of 2018 (SB 711) Sen. Brent Jackson, a Republican lawmaker from Sampson County, filed SB 711 to insulate North Carolina hog farmers against nuisance lawsuits filed by neighboring property owners in reaction to a federal court judgment against Smithfield Foods and a hog farm operated by Murphy-Brown LLC. The bill prompted impassioned protests by Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford) and Rep. Billy Richardson (D-Cumberland). Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the legislation, writing, “North Carolina’s nuisance laws can help allow generations of families to enjoy their homes and lands without fear for their health and safety. Those same laws stopped the Tennessee Valley Authority from pumping air pollution into our mountains.” Cooper continued, “Our laws must balance the needs of businesses versus property rights. Giving one industry special treatment at the expense of its neighbors is unfair.” The bill became law on June 27 after the General Assembly overrode the governor’s veto. How they voted: Yes: Sen. Phil Berger (R-Guilford), Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), Rep. Debra Conrad (R-Forsyth), Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford), Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford), Rep. Julia Howard (R-Forsyth), Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) No: Sen. Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth), Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford), Rep. Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford), Rep. Ed Hanes (D-Forsyth), Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), Rep. Amos Quick (DGuilford) Excused absence: Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford) 2. Constitutional amendment requiring voter ID (HB 1092) HB 1092 allows North Carolina voters to decide by referendum in November whether to amend the state constitution to require that voters present photo ID before voting. Voter ID was part of the omnibus election law passed in 2013, which was later struck down by the federal courts in a ruling that accused state lawmakers of “target[ing] African Americans with almost surgical precision.” How they voted:
Yes: Sen. Phil Berger (R-Guilford), Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford), Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford), Rep. Jon Hardister (RGuilford), Rep. Julia Howard (R-Forsyth), Rep. Debra Conrad (R-Forsyth), Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) No: Sen. Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth), Rep. Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford), Rep. Ed Hanes (D-Forsyth), Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), Rep. Amos Quick (D-Guilford), Rep. Evelyn Terry (DForsyth) Excused absence: Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford) 3. Constitutional amendment enshrining right to hunt and fish (SB 677) You got that right: The General Assembly is putting a constitutional amendment before voters to determine whether the state constitution should guarantee the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife (“subject only to laws enacted by the General Assembly and rules adopted pursuant to authority granted by the General Assembly…”). In other words: Feds, butt out. Bet you didn’t know the right to hunt was imperiled. This is pretty much designed to try to goose the Republican base turnout in November to mitigate the damage from a feared blue wave. How they voted: Yes: Sen. Phil Berger (R-Guilford), Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), Sen. Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth), Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford), Rep. Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford), Rep. Debra Conrad (R-Forsyth), Rep. John Faircloth (RGuilford), Rep. Ed Hanes (D-Forsyth), Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford), Rep. Julia Howard (R-Forsyth), Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth), Rep. Amos Quick (D-Guilford) No: Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford), Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) 4. Constitutional amendment capping the state income tax at 7 percent (SB 75) The ballot measure fulfills a Republican goal of constraining spending and limiting the size of state government. How they voted: Yes: Sen. Phil Berger (R-Guilford), Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), Sen.
Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford), Rep. Debra Conrad (R-Forsyth), Rep. John Faircloth (RGuilford), Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford), Rep. Julia Howard (R-Forsyth), Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) No: Sen. Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth), Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford), Rep. Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford), Rep. Ed Hanes (D-Forsyth), Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Harrison), Rep. Amos Quick (D-Guilford), Rep. Evelyn Terry (DForsyth) 5. Constitutional amendment establishing Board of Ethics and Election Enforcement (HB 913) The ballot measure would create the equivalent of a state board of elections with eight members, with no more than four from any one political party. Four members would be appointed by the House and four from the Senate. The governor has traditionally determined the balance of power on the state board of elections. Coming after Democrat Roy Cooper’s arrival at the Executive Mansion in 2017, the amendment represents a power grab by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. How they voted: Yes: Sen. Phil Berger (R-Guilford), Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford), Rep. Debra Conrad (R-Forsyth), Rep. John Faircloth (RGuilford), Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford), Rep. Julia Howard (R-Forsyth), Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) No: Sen. Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth), Rep. Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford), Rep. Ed Hanes (D-Forsyth), Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Harrison), Rep. Amos Quick (D-Guilford), Rep. Evelyn Terry (DForsyth) Excused absence: Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford) 6. Constitutional amendment to strengthen victims’ rights (HB 551) The ballot measure would amend a section of the state constitution outlining the rights of victims of crime. As an example of the kind of tweaking the amendment undertakes, a victim’s “right as prescribed by law to be informed of and to be present at court proceedings of the accused” is replaced with the “right, upon request, to reason-
able and timely notice of all criminal and juvenile proceedings.” Similar to the ballot initiative enshrining the right to hunt and fish, the “victim’s rights” amendment seems designed to encourage turnout by a key GOP constituency through an appeal to “law and order.” How they voted: Yes: Sen. Phil Berger (R-Guilford), Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), Sen. Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth), Sen. Gladys Robinson (D-Guilford), Sen. Trudy Wade (R-Guilford), Rep. Cecil Brockman (D-Guilford), Rep. Debra Conrad (R-Forsyth), Rep. John Faircloth (RGuilford), Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford), Rep. Julia Howard (R-Forsyth), Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth), Rep. Amos Quick (D-Guilford) No: Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford), Rep. Evelyn Terry (D-Forsyth) Not voting: Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford), Rep. Ed Hanes (R-Forsyth)
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July 12 - 18, 2018
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July 12 - 18, 2018
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OPINION
Charlottesville to GSO, resistance and reconciliation
Greensboro and Charlottesville, two small Southern cities scarred by racist violence, are inextricably bound by shared tragedy from two barbaric ruptures and the continuing psychic wounds of fear and mistrust that linger — one on Nov. 3, 1979 and the other on Aug. 12, by Jordan Green 2017. Two busloads of residents from Charlottesville and Albemarle County filed into Faith Community Church on Monday during a stop on the Charlottesville Civil Rights Pilgrimage. The delegation, which included Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker and Susan Bro — the mother of slain antiracist activist Heather Heyer — carried soil gathered from the site in Charlottesville where John Henry James, a black man, was lynched in 1898. By Thursday, they will have deposited the soil at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala. But this Monday morning, they listened to the Rev. Nelson Johnson, who lost five friends in a fusillade of bullets fired by a caravan of Nazis and Klansmen who opened fire in a black housing project in Greensboro in 1979. As Johnson described white supremacists promising to come to Greensboro, the violence that took place “in broad daylight and with cameras rolling,” the police showing up several minutes afterwards, and frustration with the legal process, murmurs of “mm hmm” and “sounds familiar” could be heard in the audience. On the eve of the Aug. 12, 2017 Unite the Right rally, white supremacists with torches surrounded antiracist worshipers in a church. The next day they fought anti-fascist activists with sticks and shields, as the police stood on the sidelines, and viciously beat DeAndre Harris, a young black man, in a parking garage as the rally was breaking up. James A. Fields Jr., who participated in the rally with the white nationalist group American Vanguard, later accelerated his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of antiracist marchers, killing Heyer and injuring several others. On Monday, Johnson expressed his condolences to Heyer’s mother, and he shared with the audience that Susan Bro told him her daughter’s death “was not in vain, that it opened up an enormous possibility to let the truth flow over Charlottesville, in North Carolina and all over the nation.” The Johnsons have been fighting to have their truth heard for almost 40 years. After the massacre, they faced hostility from the local political establishment and much of the citizenry, who in many cases were quicker to blame them for standing up to the Klan than the perpetrators of the violence. In 2017, the president of the United States would echo that rhetoric with his assessment that there were “some very fine people on both sides.” The Charlottesville residents were eager to hear Nelson’s wife, Joyce, describe the atmosphere of fear among the survivors after the Greensboro Massacre. “Those of us who were immediately impacted did not know whether we would subsequently be killed,” Joyce Johnson said.
With then-Mayor Jim Melvin framing the massacre as a “shootout” and portraying the antiracist activists as “outside agitators,” Johnson said, “All of a sudden we were outsiders. Folk would move because they thought we were the purveyors of the violence. And even those who knew [better] came later and told me: ‘I knew it wasn’t y’all, but I was scared I would get killed. “We had to move out of our home for safety,” she continued. “Yet when we tried to rent other places people wouldn’t rent to us because they were afraid that Klan and Nazis would show back up. So a bunch of us just huddled into two or three houses. Many of us lost our jobs. I was one of the few people who kept my job. I was on the faculty of the School of Business at A&T. And my dean who was from Alabama, he said he was visited by — it was either the SBI or the FBI; I’m not sure which — and he was ordered to fire me. He said, ‘I’m not. There’s no basis. And I know who the Klan is. I’m from Alabama.’” Repairing the damage of racial violence is difficult, and genuine reconciliation is tricky. In the mid-2000s, Greensboro hosted the first truth and reconciliation commission in the United States. Reconciliation without an acknowledgement of the harms inflicted by white supremacy can easily turn into mushy kumbaya sentimentality that invites false equivalencies. Gloria Beard, a Charlottesville resident old enough to remember riding on the back of the bus and marching for civil rights with her mother, talked about a sense of fear that has paralyzed Charlottesville since Unite the Right. “Why aren’t we participating?” she asked. “It’s about us. If one person’s hurting, then we all are going to be hurting. I don’t care if you go down with a gun or what. We got to stick together. We got to start planning how to start businesses, buy land together and work together. How do we get people to understand this?” Nelson Johnson’s views on the moral and practical considerations of combating white supremacy have evolved over the years. “As someone who has really kind of endured the spectrum of organizing, I’ve come to the view that people have the potential of growing out of wherever they are,” he said. In 1987, when the Ku Klux Klan was planning to return to Greensboro, Johnson traveled as a divinity student to Rowan County to plead with Klan leader Carroll Crawford to not come. “This was my effort to try to speak to the soul that I had to believe was in there,” he said. “Otherwise my action was to shoot him before he shoots me.” Although the Klan still came to Greensboro, Johnson was still able to make a human connection with Crawford that he believes made a difference. “I was fighting for his soul,” Johnson said. “I don’t recommend it for everybody. We have different roles to play. But I had that role to play. Nobody was demonized as much as me, hated as much as me, so I had to confront him with the opposite of his belief so that he had to look me in the eye, and we had to press toward each other.”
July 12 - 18, 2018
EDITORIAL
The wild ride of Pool Card Adam
Up Front NCGA Opinion
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Winston-Salem pool patrolman Adam of their lives, both to hold a mirror up Bloom caught his 15 minutes of real to the oppressor and also to remind fame last week after showing his hardass the oppressed that they don’t have to at the Glenridge Community Pool, take this nonsense, that justice can be where he was captured on cell-phone leveraged with just a few seconds of footage acting like a complete tool. unfettered reality. The short piece of video, showing a Maybe these daily reminders of racial shirtless, haughty Bloom questioning injustice, a rapidly filling database of the veracity of Jasmine Abhulimen’s microaggressions and outright hostility claims of residence at and other examples of the pool on the Fourth white people behaving of July — even after she badly, are the best we demonstrated a workcan do right now. If you want to act ing access card — shot That, and mete through our digital meout consequences. like a racist fool, diasphere like the firing For there must be don’t bring that of a collective synapse, accountability in order and before the last of for change to take mess to Winstonthe week’s fireworks root. Salem. had fizzled out Bloom When the business had lost his job of five end of the hamyears at Sonoco Paper mer came down on Products, resigned from Bloom, it perhaps the Glenridge Homeowners Associagave pause to every other aspiring Pool tion and even forfeited his post as pool Card Adam and Permit Patty and BBQ chairman. By now it’s old news. Becky before him: a reminder that white But, hopefully, the lessons remain. people do not have innate authority It’s good for white people to see the over everyone else, a caution against sort of treatment their black and brown projecting their fears and insecurities neighbors suffer at the hands of the onto the “other.” worst among them, to internalize the And if you want to act like a racist fact that they are spared this sort of fool, don’t bring that mess to Winstonscrutiny in public spaces. Salem. It’s important for the victims to continue to document the daily injustices
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July 12 - 18, 2018 Up Front NCGA Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles
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CULTURE At Goodwill, lunch, and a little shopping
by Brian Clarey
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t’s not fancy. Edgar’s Corner Café, in Goodwill’s Greensboro headquarters just a couple blocks away from the Triad City Beat offices on South ElmEugene Street, is now what it has always been: a cafeteria, with steam tables behind fogged glass, stainless-steel tray runners, an urn of sweet tea. It’s been here since the building opened in 1993, on the north side opposite the thrift store and drop-off bay, begun as an amenity for employees and Goodwill’s service clients. And it looks like a time capsule from that era: almond and aqua with splashes of pale pink, institutional lighting, padded chairs of bent steel. It is not now, nor has it ever been, a trendy spot, even for the staffers at Goodwill. But now the space is open to the public with a new name — the aforementioned Edgar’s, named for Edgar Helms, who founded Goodwill International in the 1890s — albeit a similar mission: to provide affordable food for whomever wants it. Actually, says Goodwill staffer Sarah Lanse, it’s been open to the public for a couple years but it never seemed to catch on. She’s hoping a new marketing push, branding the spot as an “in-house bistro,” will help. It makes a lot of sense — they have the space and the staff, and Goodwill’s entire business model is built on resourcefulness. Even the term “bistro” is not so far off, as a true bistro is a neighborhood restaurant that springs organically from the character of the area. It’s weird, though. This may be the only restaurant in town, besides the various country clubs, where one must sign in before entering. A smiling receptionist awaits through the doors of the main entrance, and can guide visitors through the touch-screen protocol, help them attach their laminated visitor badges and give directions down the hall and to the right where the doors to the cafeteria are located. Behind the glass at Edgar’s hot line rest fried fish filets, browned burger patties, vats of chili and hot dogs ready to go. There are fries, onion rings and hushpuppies, and if you don’t see what you want they’ll take a stab at making it for you. A special order of grilled cheese on wheat with a burger patty slipped in between raises nary an eyebrow before
Edgar’s Corner Café, inside Greensboro’s Goodwill headquarters, specializes in basic cafeteria fare and toasty goodness.
BRIAN CLAREY
setting into action an efficient — and cheerful! — series of for lunch is less than two hours. Check averages are about motions that turned out the finished product in just a couple 5 bucks, and the turnaround times, crucial for the weekday minutes. And they have every lunch and breakfast crowds, kind of drink you would ever run maybe 20 minutes. There want, as long as it’s sweet tea, is no mechanism to leave a tip, Edgar’s Corner Café; 1235 S. Elm-Eugene St. lemonade or water. though the cashier will ask if GSO; triadgoodwill.org/edgars-corner-café Presentation at Edgar’s is you’d like to round up to help informal; every order arrives in the mission of Goodwill, and a Styrofoam clamshell; every you will say yes. drink relegated to a Styrofoam There will still be time left cup. Condiments come in packages. There are no garnishes. on your lunch hour to walk around to the other side of the It’s the sort of austere lunch that many workaday folks — building and poke through the stacks at the retail store, where journalists, certainly — find appealing in its simplicity and the few dollars saved on lunch can go a pretty long way. honesty. They’re open weekdays, for breakfast and lunch — breakfast comes in two sittings, at 8 and 10 a.m., and the window
CULTURE Generosity from da Ruger, rap’s servant leader
July 12 - 18, 2018
by Jordan Green
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Up Front NCGA
Rapper Miik Deaux grabs a selfie with Ed E. Ruger at Music For Meals.
Shot in the Triad Puzzles
and songs placed on “Breaking Bad” and “Boondocks,” Ruger’s not one to hog the limelight. He says he booked Indo for a show at Comedy Zone once and she showed up in a white dress with a cast of backup singers. Her flow was so fierce that Ruger decided that from then on he wouldn’t be following her on stage. True to form, he cuts his own set — bracketed between Miik and Indo — short since the show is behind schedule. Ruger and his longtime music partner DJ Phillie Phresh blaze through two songs from their dubstep album, released last year under the name Dub-Boro. “What They Talkin Bout” (“Y’all see what Phillie do to the speakers/ Keep bumpin’ all night like tweakers/ Gon’ pass that s*** to the leakers/ S***’s dope, start heatin’ up the beakers”) highlights the mad-chemist quality of Phillie’s mixology. Around 11:30 p.m., there’s a noticeable ebb in the energy, likely a function of the event’s long running time and much of the hip-hop crowd clearing out during a lengthy set-up for a rock band. As the death-metal band Chaos Ensues deploys its elaborate stage set, Ruger sneaks in an extra two songs that showcase longtime cohort Ty Bru. Chaos Ensues, who hail from Winston-Salem, slays. Artful filigree, crushing riffs, and machine-gun beats lays a sonic field for the band’s vocalist, known as PsYcHo, whose rumbling basso resembles a turtle mic-ed through a Marshall PA. With indiscriminately offensive material celebrating the murder of both pedophiles and priests, they don’t bow to any tender sensibilities. But PsYcHo also thanks the organizers and the fans who built the tower of canned goods on the pool table. And as much to the subdued drinkers in the back as the handful of headbangers in front of the stage, PsYcHo says, “You’re too kind, you’re too kind.”
Culture
nally a duet between Nas and his sister, but tonight Tykiyah is performing her aunt’s verses with poise and crisp enunciation. At the conclusion of the song, Nas says, “Your sisters gonna do something too? I’ll get off the stage.” T’Yauna, 8, and Tymeira, 5, troop onto the stage, and they perform a song the whole family wrote together, with Tykiyah carrying most of the lyrical weight. “I am a straight-A student, that means I am at school,” she raps in “Sistaz.” “Everybody wants to know me, I guess I am so cool/ My parents come and get me if I don’t play by the rules.” By 9 p.m., the families with children have largely filtered out and a more hyped crowd with mixed drinks and beers is filling into the space in front of the stage, although the regular drinkers at the bar passing the stage to get to the restrooms remain a constant. The lyrics get more hard-edged and blunt, the delivery more aggressive as the adult segment of the show takes shape, with two emcees both representing Greensboro’s Southside drawing maximum crowd respect and energy. “They say sticks and stones are bound to break bones,” goes the hook in one of Miik Deaux’s newest Soundcloud tracks. “One thing about these streets, they gon’ always be cold.” A subsequent set by Indo Da Diva amps the crowd even higher with material that plays on similar themes of personal respect and pride of place. A good portion of the words in “Southside in Dis B****” aren’t fit to print in this publication: “N****, act like you know what’s a mothaf****/ Southside in dis b****/ I ain’t got time for hate, I’m just trying to get filthy rich.” As a hip-hop artist, Ruger’s strength as a talent booker naturally falls in his native idiom, and Indo is his trump card tonight. He pronounces himself pleased with the turnout and reception after Indo’s set. Although he’s got plenty of bragging rights, with his ninth album due for release in October
JORDAN GREEN
Opinion
eated on a planter outside of Shiner’s, a venerable institution for working-class diversions near Greensboro’s Guilford College, Ed E. Ruger spots one of the performers on the massive lineup for Music For Meals, his annual fundraiser. With his three daughters in tow, the rapper Nas-T threads through the crowd of families enjoying a bounce house and cornhole on this resplendent Saturday afternoon. “They’re gonna steal the show,” Ruger predicts. “Watch out.” The annual fundraiser, which hit its 5-year anniversary, is an ecumenical affair building out of Ruger’s tireless efforts as primary convener in the Greensboro hip-hop scene. But the 20 acts on the lineup transcend hip hop, also encompassing rock, metal, poetry and even drag comedy. Greensboro Pride is tabling at the event, and Ruger notes that he’ll be performing at Pride’s annual celebration, in September. “I love those guys,” he says. “They’ve always taken me in as an ally.” As for the something-for-everyone approach to booking the event, Ruger’s operating on the assumption that diversity will maximize donations, and a pool table at the end of the bar piled high with canned goods and other nonperishables inside indicates that he’s right. The donated goods are going to Out of the Garden Project, a local nonprofit that provides food assistance to families in Guilford County. Ruger says he became aware that hunger was a problem shortly after his daughter finished kindergarten. “She said, ‘I want to go see my friends at school,’” he recalls. “We said, ‘It’s summertime, honey. Your friends aren’t going to be at school.’ We didn’t realize that the schools provide meals to kids in the summertime because families can’t afford to buy food.” The early start time at 4 p.m., as Ruger notes, allows the event to capture parents with kids who might not ordinarily come out for a music event. Buoyed by frenetic energy of the instrumental track, Nas-T delivers a couple rap attacks with concise flow and purposeful diction, Nas feigns surprise at Tykiyah, his 11-year-old daughter, standing alongside him onstage, mic in hand a couple songs in. “Dad, can I rap?” she asks. The song, “Lemme Think,” was origi-
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July 12 - 18, 2018
CULTURE Learn to Speak Doll draws from the life and times of Angelou
by Lauren Barber
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Nadiyah Quander (left), who portrays Ms. M, and Kenna Gokey, playing her talking doll Della, recite poetic incantations to support Cadence as she adjusts to life in Winston-Salem’s Westside.
I
don’t write poems. I am poetry,” explains Ms. M, wrapped in a patchwork of crimson and tangerine clothing, to Cadence, an Eastside girl in Winston-Salem’s Westside world. Charli Hicks portrays Cadence, the young and spirited protagonist of Learn to Speak Doll, a Peppercorn Theatre at Kaleideum play written by Angelica Chéri that’s showing at HanesBrands Theatre through July 15. The hour-long play follows Cadence, a young black girl who finds herself isolated and outcast when her family moves to the other side of town (“a whole different country”) after her mom lands a new job at Wake Forest University, and is inspired by the late Maya Angelou, who is connected to Winston-Salem through many decades of teaching at Wake Forest from 1982 to 2011. Nadiyah Quander portrays “Ms. M,” a nod to Angelou, whose every morning begins with tea in a magical
DANIEL SIMONSON
room bursting to life with talking dolls. desert and there’s no shade in sight.” As Cadence will come to learn, “Mornings begin with the It helped, until the first day at the Westside school. No one mouth, what you drink, what you eat,” Ms. M says. “But most looks like her except Ava, a mixed-race “bougie black girl” important of all is what you say…. One word can throw the played by Sarai Rasheed, the first peer Cadence meets in the bluest sky to the dogs… either bring the clouds or chase them halls. Though Ava joins mobs of white children in taunting away.” Cadence for being a “hoodrat” and “baby” for carrying a doll, Ms. M and her dolls would chase thunderous skies away the tables turn when Cadence hits a nerve and learns that her throughout Cadence’s tumultuous transition when her own words can be violent, too. beloved doll Bella isn’t “‘Humiliated’ is when enough. you’ve been embar“Mom let her rich rassed so badly that it Learn more at downtown.kaleideum.org/peppercorn. new friends get in her hurts,” Ms. M explains head,” Cadence tells the with a sullen face. audience. “They said my And Cadence did hurt. old school was low-per“Words can be a disasforming — something stupid about test scores. Who cares? My ter,” she laments. whole heart and soul is at that school.” But Ms. M suggests the greatest disaster of all is failing to She hangs tight to Bella, who suggests Cadence write a stand up for yourself when others throw degrading language poem to work through her feelings. your way. “What once was up has now turned down/ what once was “Never let them take your voice,” Ms. M urges. “Use it to black is white/ what happened to this world I know?/ I guess speak, to shout, rejoice! Words are a precious gift of life. They it crept away one night/ and now’s the dawn of a new day/ can be smooth like silk, or sharp like a knife. Words can save the sun is burning bright/ it’s like I’m in a desert, parched and your soul, when everything fails, words can take control…. alone and there’s no shade in sight/ it’s like I’m in a Westside Reclaim your voice or pay the price.”
July 12 - 18, 2018 Up Front
DANIEL SIMONSON
Opinion Culture
Like Angelou, who didn’t speak for years as a child in the aftermath of rape, Ms. M reveals to Cadence that she vowed never to allow anything, or anyone, come between her and her voice again. Also, like Angelou, Ms. M preaches the healing power of language, an overarching theme on the stage. There are a few more charming allusions to Angelou’s life and works that make Learn to Speak Doll a unique experience for adults in the audience, including a reference to one of Angelou’s closest friends “Dolly.” In the play, Cadence discovers a line of connection to the local poet when Ms. M reveals her friend as Cadence’s grandmother, the one who gave her Bella before her passing. In real life, Dolly McPherson taught at Wake Forest before and alongside Angelou for decades. (In 1974, McPherson became the first full-time African-American woman faculty member.) It’s a hometown play, after all, but its appeal is universal. Dialogue may spell out motifs with blunt force, but there’s nothing wrong with that here — Learn to Speak Doll is a play for children and it’s sweet like the sugar in Ms. M’s healing teas. Her words, Angelou’s words, are for everyone, but especially girls like Cadence who are finding their voices in a culture than demeans and dismisses them, learning that what they have to say matters and harnessing the courage to speak.
NCGA
Cadence, portrayed by Charli Hicks, knows that dance is a healing language, too.
Shot in the Triad Puzzles
17
July 12 - 18, 2018
E. Bessemer Avenue, Greensboro
Shot in the Triad
Culture
Opinion
NCGA
Up Front
SHOT IN THE TRIAD
Three months after the tornado.
CAROLYN DE BERRY
PIZZERIA
Puzzles
L’ITALIANO
18
Large 1-topping pizza
11
$
99
Good through 8/4/18
Monday – Thursday
4-cheese pizza
10
$
WE ! DELIVER
99
Order online at pizzerialitaliano.net
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57 Modern cheesecake ingredient 58 ___ Interwebz (intentional online misspelling) 59 Onetime Sidekick maker 60 Helicopter designer Sikorsky 61 Country set to share the 2026 World Cup 62 Lounging chair 63 Multiple-day music gathering, e.g. 64 Dir. at 202.5∞
Answers from previous publication.
Opinion
39 Kids’ meal prize 42 Terrier type, informally 44 “Julius Caesar” conspirator 45 Way out 46 Cowboy’s yell 48 Game with a bouncing ball 49 Cricket, say 50 Wailuku’s island 51 Updo, e.g. 52 Entreat 53 They share the same season as Geminis 54 Sine’s reciprocal, in trig (abbr.) 55 “Well, that’s obvious!” 56 Head producer for the Wu-Tang Clan
NCGA
Down 1 Paid to the church 2 Jump to conclusions 3 Innermost of Mars’s two moons 4 Coinage 5 Heinous 6 Seize ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 7 Microbrewery brews 8 On the job 27 Just over 99%? 9 Geometric figure 29 Low number in Naples 10 In this location 30 Word misspelled in a tattoo meme 11 Prefix with play, at some cons 31 Part of ACLU 12 Tennis’s Ivanovic 32 Discover 13 Just out 34 Kimono sash 21 Weed whacker, e.g. 35 “C’est la ___!” 22 Shell in a “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” 36 Hold’s partner running gag 37 HI-strung instruments? 25 Early Atari game 38 “The Puzzle Palace” org. 26 Start of a Frank Loesser title
Up Front
Across 1 Faucet 4 Self-referential, like this clue 8 American realist art school 14 Sorta, in suffix form 15 Planetary path 16 Mr. or Ms. Right 17 General linked to chicken 18 Company named for a goddess 19 1955 pact city 20 Sky viewer used at an airline’s main airport? 23 Atlanta university 24 Catan resource 25 Org. with a tour 28 Lucille’s co-star 29 Cargo carrier 32 Diamond call 33 Rita of Netflix’s “One Day at a Time” 35 LPs and 45s 36 The origins of singing wordlessly? 39 George of “Star Trek” and Twitter 40 Excited 41 Finished 42 “Fiddler on the Roof” matchmaker 43 Follow commands 47 “Indubitably!” 48 Scribble (down) 49 Sudden onrush 50 Scratch some statuary? 54 Music organizer on a wall, maybe
July 12 - 18, 2018
CROSSWORD “A Noble Effort”--dropping those last few.
SODUKO Culture
Answers from previous publication.
Shot in the Triad
©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)
Puzzles
19