TCB June 30, 2022 — We Will Not Go Back

JUNE 30-JULY 6, 2022 TRIAD-CITY-BEAT.COM

T O N L L I W E W

K C A B O G

How Carolina Abortion Fund is continuing the fight for abortion rights

by NC Health News | pg. 4

After the Hearing pg. 2

The problem with Cugino Forno pg. 12

Justice for Yvette Boulware pg. 8

UP FRONT | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK:

After the hearing, something beautiful

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e alwould drive him to the Capitol on most Jan. 6, or how he tried to wave off miss the metal detectors for the growing it, in crowd at his rally. our haste to get “I’m the fucking president,” he said. out the door for “They’re not here to hurt me,” he lunch, but then said. right at 1 p.m.

The kid is 19, will be 20 by the end

by Brian Clarey on Tuesday we of the summer. How do I explain to remember the surprise hearing from someone so very young just how the Jan. 6 House Committee. And fucked up all this is? so we sit back down.

We prop my phone on the restauThe kid needs to get out of the rant table and eat ramen during the house, is the thing. It’s been another second half of Tuesday’s session. under-programmed I’ve already paid the How do I explain check by the time we summer break for D, who got left alone in learn that both Mark to someone so the house last week Meadows and Rudy very young just which is like torture for Giuliani asked for someone who doesn’t how fucked up all presidential pardons drive, and D doesn’t after the events of this is? drive. Adamantly so, Jan. 6 unfolded. And truth be told. But the kid is too old we shake our heads all the way to for me to be their personal free Uber the Weatherspoon Art Museum, to — part of being an adult is the ability see something beautiful and pure to move freely and independently after so much filth. about town.

In the second-floor gallery, we But I can get the kid out of the walk through an exhibit of sculphouse in the middle of the day or the tures made to be deliberately late afternoon. Least I can do. dysfunctional: A hammer made of We watch the first session silentmirrored glass, a dress cut from ly, glancing at each other when we burrito wrappers, buttons stacked learn how Trump, when he was mad, into stalagmites, like that. Nothing is liked to pull out the tablecloth at what it seems. Unlike on Capitol Hill, dinner and dump everything on the where there are no more illusions floor, or how he tried to choke out a about Jan. 6.

Secret Service agent when no one

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey

brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach

allen@triad-city-beat.com

OF COUNSEL

Charlie Marion

charlie@triad-city-beat.com

SALES KEY ACCOUNTS Chris Rudd

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Jonathan Jones

AD MANAGER

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

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Sayaka Matsuoka

sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

CHIEF CONTRIBUTORS Suzy Fielders James Douglas

james@triad-city-beat.com

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CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, John Cole, Owens Daniels, Luis H. Garay, Kaitlynn Havens, Jordan Howse, Matt Jones, Autumn Karen, Michaela Ratliff, Jen Sorensen, Todd Turner

TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. ©2022 Beat Media Inc.

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by MICHAELA RATLIFF

THURSDAY June 30

July First Friday @ SouthEnd Brewing Co. (GSO) 6 p.m.

24K Magic — The World’s #1 Bruno Mars Tribute @ Ziggy’s (HP) 8 p.m.

Twilight Localpalooza @ Incendiary Brewing Company (W-S) 4 p.m.

The Twilight Localpalooza is a night market including crafts and other goodies from more than 30 artisans, makers and small businesses. Live music starts at 6 with an acoustic performance

by Justin Cohen. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.

Claying with My Gnomies Workshop @ Distractions (HP) 6:30 p.m.

UP FRONT | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

CITY LIFE JUNE 30- July 3

First Fridays are for shopping, drinking and socializing at SouthEnd. Purchase goods from local vendors, enjoy good food and live music by David Lin Band. More info on the Facebook event page.

SATURDAY July 2 Tie-Dye Party @ Bull City Ciderworks (GSO) 2 p.m.

Bruno Mars fans are invited to Ziggy’s to witness a high-energy show by 24K Magic, a Bruno Mars tribute made of professional musicians bringing their smooth vocals and fancy choreography to the stage. Doors open at 7 p.m. Purchase tickets at ziggys.space.

SUNDAY July 3 Barbie’s 4th of July Bash @ Reserving Royalty (HP) 12 p.m.

The world’s most famous doll is stopping by Reserving Royalty to host a 4th of July bash with patriotic treats, glam glitter art projects and more.

Full event details at reservingroyalty.com.

We Won’t Go Back Winston-Salem March (W-S) 1 p.m.

Grab your gnomeboys and gnomegirls and head to Distractions where you’ll learn how to handbuild your own garden gnome from clay. Reserve your space at distractionsartstudio.com.

FRIDAY June 1 Jurassic Quest @ Winston-Salem Fairgrounds & Annex (W-S) 9 a.m.

When’s the last time you saw dinosaurs in Winston-Salem? Exactly. Well now you can at Jurassic Quest! This event features a realistic dinosaur exhibit, interactive adventures, dinosaur rides and even more fun. Purchase tickets at tickets. jurassicquest.com.

Send your events to calendar@triad-city-beat.com for consideration in City Life and the Weekender.

Get a headstart on your Independence Day celebrations by creating a patriotic tie-dye T-shirt at Bull City Ciderworks. The shirt, materials and a pint of cider are all provided. Choose your time slot and shirt size at bullcityciderworks.com.

Wiggle Room Burlesque @ Single Brothers (W-S) 5:30 p.m.

Hosted by Haus d’Katzmeow, the Wiggle Room features a “fantASStically” fun burlesque show with performances by Ophelia Pop Tart, Phoebe Nyx and others. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.

Those infuriated by the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade are invited to participate in a march down West Fourth Street to Main Street and then to the federal courthouse where participants will gather and speak. For more information, visit the event page on Facebook.

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NEWS | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

NEWS

In the wake of Roe v. Wade reversal, Carolina Abortion Fund helps patients afford their procedures

by Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven (NC Health News)

COURTESY PHOTO

A Woman’s Choice is the only abortion clinic in Greensboro and is often met with religious protesters on a daily basis.

This story was first published by NC Health News on June 27.

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nna wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a mom. She was sure that she wasn’t happy with her part-time job — which didn’t offer health insurance — and that she and her partner were in a rough spot in their relationship. A northern transplant to North Carolina in her late twenties, everything felt messy and in flux.

On top of all that, she’d just missed her period.

She knew this was a possibility since she’d switched birth-control methods: from taking the pill to tracking her ovulation, called the rhythm method. It’s a type of contraception whereby somebody tracks their period to figure out which days of the month their body releases an egg. They then either avoid having sex on those days, or use another form of contraception, such as a condom, to prevent pregnancy.

Anna read online that everyone ovulates on day 14 of their cycle — turns out that’s not true. Like most other bodily processes, it’s a spectrum. Anna, she later learned, ovulated around day 18.

So, the rhythm method failed for her. Research shows it fails for anywhere be-

tween seven to 24 percent of people practicing the method.

She spent days thinking about what this meant for her. She soon realized what she needed to do and made an appointment at a nearby Planned Parenthood to have an abortion. There are 14 abortion clinics in North Carolina, and in the Triangle, Anna had access to four of them.

As Anna and the clinic went back and forth about appointment times, something else came up: money.

The cost of an abortion varies. It depends how far along someone is in their pregnancy, the location of the procedure, how much their insurance will cover, and other factors. For Anna, the tab would come to about $600.

She said she groaned when she heard the price.

I’m not gonna not afford this, she thought to herself. She also couldn’t afford to become a parent. Not then, anyway.

Anna’s partner had a more stable job than she did, and he said he would pay. If that hadn’t been the case, Anna doesn’t know how else she would’ve managed. It wasn’t until years later that she learned about, and got involved with, an organization designed to help people in her exact situation: The Carolina Abortion Fund.

The cost of an abortion depends on how far along someone is, the location of the procedure, how much insurance will cover and other factors.

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ounded in 2011 by a collection of people who wanted to make abortion more accessible, the Carolina Abortion Fund pays for abortions and for the logistics of getting to an abortion clinic. Staff and board members only use their first names or pseudonyms in public for security reasons. Anna is a pseudonym.

The organization is part of the National Network of Abortion Funds, organizations which have existed for years as many states have made abortion increasingly difficult to access even as it remained legal on paper.

Following the Supreme Court’s June 24 decision to overturn Roe v Wade — the landmark 1973 ruling that created a constitutional right to an abortion — abortion regulation will be left entirely up to the states. Millions will find themselves in abortion care deserts.

Even before the reversal, the cost of getting an abortion often proved to be an insurmountable barrier for many nationwide. “​​There’s this saying that the South has always been post-Roe because there’s so many restrictions in the South even with Roe v Wade standing,” Anna said.

In North Carolina, for example, there are significant restrictions on what kind of insurance can pay for an abortion.

“North Carolina statutes bar any state money from covering abortion care, except in very limited cases,” said Tara Romano, executive director of the Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation.

“This includes bans in insurance for state employees and teachers, as well as bans on state Medicaid coverage, in addition to the ban in federal Medicaid, which is part of the Hyde Amendment,” Romano said. “There are also bans on local governments providing abortion coverage for their employees, as well as bans on private insurance bought on the [Affordable Care Act] marketplace from covering abortion care.”

The only insurance plans in North Carolina which are legally allowed to pay for abortions are private health insurance plans obtained through somebody’s private-sector job.

Not all of these plans cover abortion, but they’re all legally allowed to.

Because of all the insurance restrictions, many erroneously think their only option is to pay out of pocket. The Carolina Abortion Fund, and other organizations like it, exist to fill the gap.

people access this money from the clinic where their procedure is scheduled.

For abortions they fund, the Carolina Abortion Fund sends the money to the clinic directly. If it’s for the cost of travel to and from the appointment, or for child care, the money goes to the caller.

They can also connect people with abortion doulas, who support patients through the emotional aspects of the procedure. Abortion doulas used to be allowed into the clinic with patients, but COVID-19 restrictions changed that rule for some states.

The only thing the Carolina Abortion Fund generally cannot help with is the ultrasound fee, which North Carolina law requires patients to receive before an abortion.

NEWS | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

Insurance barriers to care

NEWS

Cost of abortion goes beyond procedure

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bortions generally increase in price as a pregnancy progresses.

According to an amicus brief filed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical organizations, almost half of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned. Irregular periods can make it difficult for people to keep track of their cycles and see that they’ve missed a period.

That means it can take months before someone even realizes they’re pregnant.

One study found that more than half of those surveyed who got an abortion after three months did so because they didn’t know they were pregnant before. Even among those who do get an abortion during their first trimester, nearly 40 percent said that not knowing they were pregnant delayed their abortion.

It’s not only the price of the procedure itself that can be quite hefty. All of the bureaucratic costs add up: time needed to locate a clinic that performs abortions and figure out if their health insurance will cover the procedure (if they have coverage), transportation costs, taking time off work, and for about two-thirds of North Carolinians seeking abortions, finding someone to watch their existing children.

“The logistics issue of how do you get people to clinics is massive,” said Dr. Jonas Swartz, an OB-GYN at Duke Health who provides abortion services. “The funding issue is massive because we already know that abortion is just like other health care services. Abortion is expensive and difficult for people to access.”

The financial and time commitment were already a huge burden, Swartz said.

“We already know that, prior to this ruling, vast disparities existed based on where you lived, how much money you had, and the color of your skin in terms of the type of reproductive health care access [that you had],” he said. “[The ruling] really makes that much worse.”

Even before the reversal, the cost of getting an abortion often proved to be an insurmountable barrier for many nationwide.

How funding works

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o get support from the Carolina Abortion Fund, people first need to have a doctor’s appointment. Then, they call the fund’s warm line, which opens on Monday. They’re directed to a voicemail box, where they leave their basic information alongside their appointment time and location. A volunteer or a staff member calls back every person in the following 24-48 hours to tell them if they have funds to help pay for their care or not.

The voicemail box also closes on Mondays, because that’s typically when the fund runs out of money.

In a typical week, the fund receives about 80 calls and uses $5,000 to cover between 15 and 20 patients. They choose who to fund based on whose appointment is the soonest. The organization encourages those who don’t receive support one week (because their appointment is the following week) to call back when their abortion gets closer in order to receive financial support.

If the fund has to turn somebody away, they try to help patients find another source of money. Many clinics have funds they can pull from to help reduce costs for patients who can’t afford their abortion. The Carolina Abortion Fund helps

‘Folded back into the work’

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he Carolina Abortion Fund was previously a volunteer-based organization, but it now has multiple staff members and a board of directors. The staff is paid through grants, while all of the donations the fund receives go to patients.

Like other funds, the Carolina Abortion Fund raises money from a range of foundations and individual donors. The funds support North and South Carolina residents seeking an abortion in the two states and outside of them, as well as people who live in other states but who come to North or South Carolina for the procedure.

The organization ends up funding more abortions in NC. The state has fewer restrictions, which translates into a higher procedure volume. In SC, about 5,400 abortions were reported to state regulators in 2020, the latest year for data. In NC,

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NEWS | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

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NEWS

T COURTESY PHOTO

The mural outside of A Woman’s Choice in Greensboro welcomes patients with supportive slogans and bright graphics.

that number was around 25,000 in the same year.

In 2019, according to the Carolina Abortion Fund’s latest available tax forms, the organization raised $419,291 and paid out $321,774 in direct grants. They generally cover just part of the cost of the procedure — about $260 — equating to funding for nearly 1,200 people.

Their funding has skyrocketed since the draft of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade leaked to Politico in May. In the week after, the organization

received more than $100,000 from 1,125 individual donations — an amount of money they can use to support around 400 people’s abortions.

Funding and involvement with the organization tends to follow a similar pattern: policies that restrict abortion access lead to more donations. The way the organization intervenes to support people in these moments of personal crisis leads many of its beneficiaries to circle back.

That’s how it was for Camille, who spoke at an event the organization held in Durham shortly after the Supreme Court’s draft opinion leaked.

After getting services from the fund she said she was “folded back into the work.”

“That is what folks are typically doing now when they join reproductive justice orgs,” Camille said. “They are going through their experience, and then they’re coming back to the fight to make sure people don’t go through what they went through.”

In the week after the Supreme Court leak in May, Carolina Abortion Fund received more than $100,000 from 1,125 individual donations.

That was true for Anna. During her abortion, she didn’t know what to expect.

Statistically, she knew she must’ve known people who’d had abortions, “but, like with other things, people don’t talk about it,” she said.

Getting involved with the Carolina Abortion Fund offered her a space to be with others going through the same thing, and to offer them the same support she received during her own experience. She said she hopes she can help people feel confident in their decisions.

More births, fewer resources

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f the 13 states that make up the southeastern US, ours is one of just three where a law to fully or mostly outlaw abortion will not take effect in the coming weeks. Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein issued statements reaffirming that abortion will remain

NEWS | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

legal in North Carolina for the foreseeable future.

But people in other states face increased restrictions or outright bans, and it’ll impact more than just individual families. State bans are expected to increase the number of births exponentially — Dr. Rick Shannon, a Duke OB-GYN estimated that between 600,000 and 800,000 more babies could be born each year in the U.S. in the wake of the decision.

“I cannot imagine that our labor and delivery units are prepared for that influx,” said Dr. Ashley Navarro, a North Carolina OB-GYN who also trains medical students and residents on abortion care. “We have labor and deliveries closing across our state — especially in more rural western North Carolina areas, they’re not opening. And so I’m not sure how we’re going to handle that volume.”

Justine, a staff member at the Carolina Abortion Fund, said the organization’s call volume “is expected to go up by 5,000 percent.” With Roe v Wade overturned, many expect North Carolina will become a destination for abortions for people from all over the South.

“It feels like a number that sounds fake,” she said.

The organization plans to keep its eye on both North and South Carolina’s state legislatures over the coming weeks, namely South Carolina as the state is expected to hold a special legislative session to implement further abortion restrictions. The state previously passed a law banning abortion after six weeks — before many even know they’re pregnant — but an injunction prevented it from being implemented.

Now that Roe is no longer the law of the land, it’s likely to take effect.

“People deserve care where they live. It doesn’t matter what your ZIP code is,” Justine said. “The bottom line is, it’s not justice.”

NC Health News editor Rose Hoban contributed reporting for this story.

North Carolina Health News is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit, statewide news organization dedicated to covering all things health care in North Carolina. Visit NCHN at northcarolinahealthnews.org.

D OW N TOW N

S U MME R M U SI C SERIES

SUMMER ON LIBERTY

JULY 2 SMITTY & THE JUMPSTARTERS 6TH & LIBERTY

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NEWS | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

NEWS

More than a month later, Triad Abolition Project calls for charges against Yvette Boulware to be dropped

by Sayaka Matsuoka

COURTESY PHOTO

Yvette Boulware, a member of the Triad Abolition Project, is facing charges stemming from a May 17 arrest in which officers allege she assaulted one of them with an ink pen. Boulware was also arrested in the summer of 2020, as seen in this photo, during an occupation of Bailey Park that aimed to shed light on the John Neville case.

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fter more than a month, activists with the Triad Abolition Project In a previous article, Christina Howell, the public information officer for the say that one of their organizers, Yvette Boulware, is facing more Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, told TCB that Whitaker sustained a minor head than four years in prison for charges stemwound but did not clarify if he was assaulted with an ink ming from a May arrest. pen.

On May 17, Boulware was arrested in Winston-Salem According to TAP, Boulware said that she had a pen for while attending a court hearing for two members of TAP. note taking during court when she was released.

According to the organization, Boulware was grabbed and “TAP is committed to keeping Ms. Yvette free,” the orgatackled to the ground by bailiffs as she tried to leave the nization said in a statement. “We are not surprised the state courtroom. Court documents state that Boulware was arhas continued to perpetuate its brutal violence on this elder rested for assaulting Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Black woman, as we are well aware that the purpose of the Terry Whitaker with an ink pen, which resulted in a felony carceral state is to uphold white supremacist rule.” charge of assault against a government official as well as a Members of the organization said that the ultimate misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. goal is for Boulware’s charges to be dropped immediately, TRIAD ABOLITION PROJECT The charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a calling for Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill to governmental officer has a maximum punishment of 59 dismiss the charges. O’Neill’s office did not respond to mulmonths, close to five years. Boulware’s charge has been tiple requests from Triad City Beat for comment on this case. classified as a felony rather than a misdemeanor, according to arrest documents, Both Boulware and members of the TAP have been fighting for justice in the because she “willfully” assaulted Whitaker in the head with a pen, which is noted killing of John Neville by Forsyth County detention officers since his death on Dec. as “deadly weapon” and caused Whitaker “serious injury.”

4, 2019. On June 23, a federal district judge approved a $3 million settlement in

[W]e are well aware that the purpose of the carceral state is to uphold white supremacist rule.

Yvette, but it’s also for every prisoner of the state because we know that Fannie Lou Hamer was accurate when she proclaimed, ‘Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.’”

According to the organization, Boulware was tackled in the courtroom after she tried to leave when the bailiff told her to stay in the courthouse after the hearing. Earlier in the day, Boulware had exchanged words with a bailiff who asked her to remove sunglasses that she had on the top of her head. To that, Boulware told them that she would keep them on unless they could cite the statute she was violating.

However, Whitaker and AL Hughes, another sheriff’s deputy, state in a court document that Boulware hit Whitaker “in the side of the head with an ink pen” as he was “bringing the subject before the judge in court.”

After serving 31 hours in the Forsyth County Detention Center, Boulware was released on a $5,000 bond and is currently awaiting her next court appearance for the charges on Aug. 11. She is also due in court on July 28 for a protest arrest charge stemming from her activity during the Bailey Park occupation.

“The amount of energy, time, and funding required to respond to this level of state violence is imCOURTESY PHOTO mense,” TAP’s statement reads. “It Yvette Boulware has been active with Triad Abolition Project for years. is imperative that the community understand that what happened the wrongful-death lawsuit filed to Ms. Yvette is not an isolated by the Neville family, according to incident, nor an anomaly. Judges in court records.

Forsyth County, and across this state In the summer of 2020, members and nation, can order our neighof the organization held an occupabors to be jailed at any time for the tion which lasted 49 days in Bailey most absurd of reasons, including Park to bring light to the Neville chewing gum, yawning, or having an case. Several members of TAP, untucked shirt in court.” including Boulware, were arrested at As of June 2, the case was conthe time for civil disobedience. tinued because “discovery is still The latest charges against forthcoming in the case and neiBoulware are a continuation of the TRIAD ABOLITION PROJECT ther party is prepared to proceed,” harmful prison industrial complex according to an order continuing a that allowed for Neville’s death in probable-cause hearing. Boulware’s the first place, say TAP members. attorney, James Quander, reached by phone on Monday, “As we fight for Ms. Yvette’s freedom, we also continue declined to comment on the case at this time. our practice of abolition working to dismantle the prison industrial complex,” the statement reads. “This fight is for Ms.

NEWS | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

NEWS

It is imperative that the community understand what happened to Ms. Yvette is not an isolated incident...

JULY 2 @ 8PM VIOLINIST LARA ST. JOHN

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OPINION | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

OPINION

EDITORIAL Impeaching Supreme Court justices: We’re with AOC

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ur nation is a complex web of checks and balances, designed to keep the ship of state running, if not always smoothly, at least in a somewhat orderly fashion.

This system, involving lawmakers, courts and, ultimately, elections, is built for accountability.

And if we follow the rules that have long been laid down, there are remedies for even the most egregious affronts to the Constitution and our form of representative government.

In its overturning of Roe v.

Wade, abandoning precedent and centuries of civil rights advances, the Supreme Court has upended the normal order of things. And they broke the rules to get there.

“If we allow Supreme Court nominees to lie under oath and secure lifetime appointments to the highest court of the land and then issue — without basis, if you read these opinions — rulings that deeply undermine the human civil rights of the majority of Americans, we must see that through,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning.

“There must be consequences for such a deeply destabilizing action and the hostile takeover of our democratic institutions,” she added.

She’s talking about impeachment, specifically of justices Bret Kavanagh, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, all appointees of President Donald Trump, who

during their Senate confirmation hearings indicated they would respect the precedent set by Roe. Which means they lied to Congress. And that, friends, is a crime.

It’s what Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was convicted of in 2018. He did three years in federal prison for it.

Fully one-third of the Supreme Court committed this crime on live TV — although they did not technically become criminals until they cast their votes to end 50 years of federal protections for child-bearing people.

Surely everyone agrees that we can’t have criminals on the Supreme Court, yes?

There’s a mechanism for this.

So far, 14 federal judges have been impeached since we started this thing in 1776, just one from the Supreme Court: Justice Samuel Chase, a George Washington appointee who was impeached by the House in 1804 for ruling cases in a partisan manner. He was later acquitted by the Senate, but still.

Another one, Justice Abe Fortas, stepped down under the threat of impeachment in 1969, after accusations of financial impropriety.

This case has elements of both — Kavanagh’s finances are shady AF. And though we’ve never had to remove three at once before, there is no other remedy.

AOC called the current state of SCOTUS a “crisis of legitimacy” in her bid to unseat these corrupt and criminal adjudicators. And we are here for it.

Jen Sorensen jensorensen.com

Surely everyone agrees that we can’t have criminals on the Supreme Court, yes?

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CULTURE | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

CULTURE

IN THE WEEDS

Cugino Forno comes under fire from DOL, locals OWENS DANIELS

Bailey Park is the current crown jewel of downtown renewal efforts and the home of Cugino Forno.

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he specially imported ovens from Naples fire revealed that the owners collected tip money left for workers by customers up. Outside, the Coal Pit has already beckand used them to pay wages for other employees. It was also determined oned a rambunctious crowd that forms a that employees were not paid the required overtime rate when doing so. line entering the revitalized power plant. It’s Ultimately, the owners of Cugino Forno paid back a whopping $276,048 to Saturday, and to many people in the suburbs and small, the 63 employees. strip-mall towns surrounding downtown Winston-SaCo-owner Joseph Ozbey, named one of the Triad Business Journal’s “40 lem, this is as close to a metropolitan experience that a Under 40” in 2021, claimed in an interview with the Winston-Salem Journal

by James Douglas 30-minute drive will allow: a strategic, concrete playhole that it was merely a “miscalculation” and that the employees were compenthat shields the unassuming suburban public from the “poors,” the hustlers, sated. skateboard punks and other unmentionables that From the article: “Instead of telling (employees) might contaminate this shiny oasis surrounded by they were going to be paid $2.13 per hour and tips, The investigation revealed a sea of uncertainty. This is Bailey Park, the current we promised them $10 [an hour],” Ozbey said. “We crown jewel of downtown renewal efforts. used the tips that were collected and paid them, that the owners of Cugino On a sunny day, you can expect to see people and on top of that we paid from the company if Forno collected tip money left lounging on blankets across the lawn, enjoying tips weren’t enough to reach $10 an hour…. That’s for workers by customers and cocktails on the porch of Fair Witness, and children where the miscalculation came.” chasing each other in the enclosed coal pit while For those unfamiliar with how the service indusused them to pay wages for their parents catch up over lunch or dinner. While try works, this does not mean that the workers other employees. the crowd mingles outside, the workers are hard at made $1.19 an hour while working at Cugino Forit inside selling beer, coffee, Tex-Mex, and front-andno. If this were the case, who would work there? center: the pizza.

A measly $1.19 doesn’t buy a cup of coffee, much Despite the popularity of Cugino Forno, the Neapolitan pizza chain based less a pitchfork. Tips are part of the job, even though there’s no table serin Greensboro, the owners have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after vice. Ultimately, it’s a newer concept that owners have utilized to save mona June 15 press release by the Department of Labor stated that the chain ey on labor. But people still tip, and it’s illegal for owners to pocket them. “paid as little as $1.19 per hour as a cash wage to workers, which forced The racist origins of tipped workers were not taken into account when them to rely almost entirely on tips for their income.” The investigation the job classification was omitted in the establishment of the Fair Labor

CULTURE | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

CULTURE

and Standards Act (which established the Federal Minimum Wage) in 1938.

In 1966, in one of many responses to the Civil Rights Movement, Congress finally set a standard for tipped workers. It established that employers of tipped workers were supposed to pay half of a worker’s minimum wage and that tips would cover the rest. For 30 years, tipped minimum wage stayed mostly parallel to the Federal Minimum Wage. In 1996, the $2.13 tipped wage was that standard to the $4.75 Federal Minimum Wage. All’s well, right?

Enter the National Restaurant Association, then led by Godfather’s Pizza owner, future presidential candidate, COVID denier and eventual COVID victim, Mr. Herman Cain. Cain’s aggressive lobbying led to an agreement with Congress that the tipped minimum wage would thereafter be frozen and not be at the whim of the steadily rising minimum wage.

It has remained at $2.13 for the past 26 years and even outlived Cain himself. Where the tipped minimum wage was, on average, 50 percent of the standard minimum wage, it stands at a mere 29 percent today. Why am I telling you this? Tipped employees have a poverty rate that is twice that of non-tipped workers. There are rarely benefits, and the average pay for most tipped workers is still among the lowest in the country. If we want to break it down even more, female tipped workers report twice as much sexual harassment and even lower pay.

When it comes to Cugino Forno, the $276,048 is a big “whoops, my bad” to pay back. They claimed to have paid their employees, just not what they were entitled to, according to the DOL. But they were also the recipient of federal money as well. The Greensboro and Winston-Salem LLCs both applied for and received two federal PPP loans during the pandemic that totaled $382,423, and wouldn’t you know it, all four were forgiven.

How many of their employees relied on the COVID unemployment payments? From January of 2020 to April 2020, NC saw a drop of almost 240,000 workers in the Leisure/Hospitality Industry alone. Many had to go on unemployment. How many had auditors coming around to claim it back?

This is one restaurant in an ocean of bad actors in the industry. How many are still swimming around, avoiding capture?

JULY 2 @ 8PM VIOLINIST LARA ST. JOHN

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SHOT IN THE TRIAD | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

BY CAROLYN DE BERRY

West Market Street, Greensboro

Protesters hold signs during morning traffic at the “We Won’t Go Back Piedmont NC” rally in downtown Greensboro.

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SUDOKU by Matt Jones

by Matt Jones

PUZZLES | JUNE 30 - JULY 6, 2022

CROSSWORD

‘Citing Your References’ — it’s not exactly how it looks.

© 2022 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS:

© 2022 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

Across

1. Song by The Kinks 5. Pan for gold, e.g.

9. Dragged fishing net 14. Eye color location 15. Rainbow Bridge National Monument state 16. Placed a curse on 17. Fathom divisions 18. Halliwell once known as Ginger Spice 19. “Doesn’t ring ___” 20. See66Across 23. Go out to play?

24. Performer’s booking 25. Buck’s companion 27. Undergarments in a drawer 30. Reproductive part of a flower 35. Kendrick who voices Poppy in the “Trolls” movies 37. Feels lousy 39. Bus driver’s itinerary 40. See8Down 43. Bean or horse variety 44. Dreamcast maker, once

45. Suffix after “suit” or “wear” 46. Spanish architect Gaudi 48. Smallest chess piece 50. Fleur de ___ (Hubert Keller’s famed S.F. restaurant) 51. Econ. indicator 53. Riviera resort city 55. See43Across 62. Home of ancient Bethlehem 63. “___, said the fly” 64. Classic TV kid nickname, with “The” 65. Arctic, for example 66. Egg timer noise 67. Painter Magritte 68. Literature category 69. Wilder formerly of Depeche Mode 70. Throws in

Down

1. Raise up 2. Cookie that collaborated with Ritz in 2022 3. Uhura’s rank on the original “Star Trek” 4. “The Jetsons” dog 5. Nickname used by at least two boxers 6. Checklist bit 7. Cost of a ride 8. Alternative to “person” or “place” 9. Marlo Thomas sitcom 10. “It’s Your Call” singer McEntire 11. Battle weapons 12. TV bandleader and accordionist Lawrence 13. “Bad” cholesterol initials 21. Worn-down pencil 22. Insider’s offering 25. Defense Dept. tech agency 26. ___ a million 28. Goes on TV 29. Hit the sack 31. Tofu source, in some places 32. Stock Western prop 33. Winter Olympics host country of 2006

34. Starts of news articles 36. Saxophone range 38. Drawn-out drama 41. Attribute for a unicorn, or, say, Fabio 42. It may show support for a graduating student or a political candidate 47. Suffix for hydrox 49. Nothing, to Nigel 52. “Kung Fu ___” (2008 animated film) 54. “King” of snakes 55. Purplish brown 56. Barbara who played a TV genie 57. Back end 58. Work too hard 59. Vesuvius’s Sicilian counterpart 60. Hit the tarmac 61. Saint Laurent of fashion 62. Get some morning exercise, maybe

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Spacious outdoor amphitheater | FREE Midday Mountain Music Music Center Road, Galax, VA | Parkway Milepost 213 | (866) 308-2773, ext. 212