Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Today's Top 5: Wednesday

Posted By on Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 8:50 AM

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, March 30, 2011 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

Banff Mountain Film Festival at U.S. National Whitewater Center

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Bobby Long at Visulite Theatre

Earth to Sky exhibit at Mint Hill Arts

Open Mic at Jackalope Jacks

Gifts from Enola at The Milestone

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Best bets in Charlotte comedy, March 29-April 3

Posted By on Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 4:51 PM

As the headline suggests, here are a few of the best places to find comedy events in Charlotte — from stand-up to improv to sketch comedy and more. For a complete listing of all comedy visit www.CharlotteComedyLIVE.com.

Tuesday, March 29

Tone X and Friends at 9:30 p.m.

Tone X and Chris Robinson host.

Lux ~ 200 E. Bland St., Charlotte

Wednesday, March 30

Open Mic at 10 p.m.

Do you have some new material to work out? Sign up at 9:30 p.m.

Jackalope Jacks ~ 1936 E. 7th St., Charlotte ~ Free

Thursday, March 31

Charlotte House of Comedy at 9 p.m.

Brought to you by Charlotte's legendary comedian Nick Lewis.

Allure ~ 1508 S. Mint St, Charlotte ~ $10

Friday, April 1

Open Mic Featuring Chesney Goodson at 10 p.m.

Stand-up and music open mic -- five minute sets.  Sign-up at 9:30 p.m.

Petra's Piano Bar ~ 1919 Commonwealth Ave., Charlotte ~ $5

Friday, April 1 & Saturday, April 2

Mike Speanberg at The Comedy Zone Fort Mill at 8 p.m.  & 10:15 p.m.

Mike was conceived in the back of a '69 Firebird and raised on hush puppies and fried bologna. He has opened for notable comedians, such as Mitch Hedberg, Lewis Black, Dave Attell, and Bob Saget.

Madison's On The Corner ~ 900 Crossroads Plaza, Fort Mill ~ $10

Sunday, April 3

Funny First Sunday at 9 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.)

Funny comedy hosted by Nick Lewis & DS.

House of Jazz ~ 8630 University Exec Park Drive, Charlotte ~ $15 at door

To join Debbie’s mailing list (just one e-mail a week, I promise), e-mail DebbieMillwater@gmail.com with the Subject Line “Subscribe.”

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Insidious trailer

Posted By on Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 2:19 PM

Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson star in this fantasy horror thriller about a family trying to save their child from being sequestered by evil spirits. Opens this Friday, April 1.

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New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Bank of America made billions by screwing homeowners

Posted By on Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 12:31 PM

The brand-new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created to protect American consumers from abusive financial practices and products. The bureau, led by Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren, is barely off the ground, but is already landing punches. Reports are out today of a confidential presentation for state attorneys general that is doubtless being talked about in offices on Tryon Street.

The CFPB accuses the country’s five largest mortgage firms — including Bank of America and Wells Fargo — of earning more than $20 billion since the start of the housing crisis by taking shortcuts while processing distressed borrowers’ home loans. This soars way beyond “under-serving” customers, and lands firmly in “screwing customers” territory. The CFPB’s dollar figure is intended to help regulators, who are discussing ways of penalizing the banks in a settlement of allegations of wrongful and at times illegal foreclosures. Regulators are said to be considering penalties in the $5 billion to $30 billion range, with most of the penalty going toward lowering distressed homeowners’ mortgage payments.

No wonder the country’s biggest banks are urging their congressional sock puppets to  defund the CFPB.  (FYI, Bank of America handed out $2.2 million in campaign contributions to Congressional representatives and PACs in 2010 — 64 percent went to Republicans, 36 percent to Democrats).

One thing this country seriously needs (among other things) is a populace that’s aware of how, and by whom, they’re being screwed, and are willing to do something about it. That's apparently not a problem in the U.K., which last weekend saw between 300,000 and 500,000 protesters hit the streets of London to protest the new Conservative government’s draconian service cuts, and large financial corporations' tax dodging. The British government, by the way, is coupling its service cuts with proposals for additional, huge corporate tax cuts. As the Guardian newspaper described the protesters’ goals, “they were crying for the wealthiest members of the financial sector — which caused the fiscal crisis — to pay their fair share, rather than having the brunt of austerity measures fall on the backs of the poor and middle class.” Meanwhile, in the U.S., paltry attempts to organize protests in 40 cities fell flat. Welcome to the Land of Clueless Zombies, ladies and gentlemen.

Elizabeth Warren, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • Elizabeth Warren, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

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Today in the U.S. Senate: 'Cancer Clusters'

Posted By on Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 12:25 PM

I want to be hopeful about that this Senate hearing will generate positive change, but in a time when our governments are working diligently to strip environmental and health regulations, I'm not going to hold my breath.

An environmental group will tell a Senate panel Tuesday that it has identified 42 suspected clusters of cancer, birth defects and other illnesses in 13 states.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, working with the National Disease Clusters Alliance, wants to step up the federal response to investigating suspected clusters. The 42 clusters - either confirmed or under active investigation - are in Texas, California, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. The groups plan to look at all 50 states.

A specific source of chemical contamination - asbestos - was identified in only one of the 42 clusters, in Libby, Mont. But the group notes that in many communities, such as Camp Lejeune, N.C., "the case grows stronger that documented exposure to toxics has harmed the health of community residents."

Read the rest of this The Kansas City Star story, by Lesley Clark, here.

Here's North Carolina's Sen. Richard Burr grilling a Department of Navy nominee about Camp Lejeune a year ago:

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Dear Facebook: I'm just not that into you.

Posted By on Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 12:24 PM

Oh, no dear: The other Facebook. (Thanks to Massimo Barbieri for the photo.)
  • Oh, no dear: The other Facebook. (Thanks to Massimo Barbieri for the photo.)

According to the Associated Press and NBC News, doctors are warning parents about something called "Facebook depression" in teens. The articles discusses how teens who are are already suffering from low self-esteem and depression are most at risk of the social media-induced disease.

I'm, uh, gonna go out on a limb here, though, and suggest that teens aren't the only people suffering from Facebook depression. I've heard of marriages breaking up over Facebook addictions, I've listened to acquaintances talk about what's on everyone else's Facebook pages (creepy) and blinked when they acted surprised that I wasn't cyber stalking them (creepier). And, we've all witnessed the bastardizing of the word "friend" as people collect virtual ones like points in some unwinnable massive multi-player online game. That's not even getting into all of the privacy and security concerns we ignore, or the people who spazz out over imaginary cows for their imaginary farms.

Personally, I hate Facebook ... yet I still have a page and manage a couple others. So, perhaps I have a different type of Facebook depression — I'm-tangled-up-in-this-Web-I-don't-want-to-be-in depression. For me, Facebook has become like work in many ways. In others, it's a guilt factory. There's the chick from third grade that keeps trying to friend me. (Lady! I haven't seen or heard from you since we were eight years old. Move on.) There's my distant family, who sometimes passively aggressively report back to my immediate family — who's not on social media — when they don't agree with something I post. (Hey, distant family! Haven't seen you since I was twelve. Shut it.)

Even as I'm writing this post, I'm going back and forth to Facebook looking for the "delete account" button. But when I bring it up, people act like I'm abandoning them. I mean, really? Remember before Facebook when we actually hung out with each other or talked on the phone or sent long, rambling e-mails venting our troubles?

I do. I miss those types of real friendship experiences with my actual friends.

So, I did it. In the midst of writing this post, I deactivated my Facebook account — which isn't the same as deleting it (I can log back in if I change my mind). I sent a few e-mails alerting people in the groups I manage that someone else will have to take over, and, besides feeling immediately lighter and better, that's it for Facebook for me. (I don't imagine that I'll change my mind.)

When the site asked my why I was leaving, I clicked "other" and responded: "Because I'm just not that into you."

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Today's Top 5: Tuesday

Posted By on Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 8:00 AM

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, March 29, 2011 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

All Time Low at The Fillmore

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Mike Speanberg at The Comedy Zone Lake Norman

College Night at Whisky River

Trivia Night at Kylie's Sports Bar and Grill

Free Yoga at Dharma Lounge

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Rep. George Cleveland proposes banning Spanish voter instructions

Posted By on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 4:47 PM

There are plenty of retro goobers in and among the ideologues in our exciting, new, 100 mph Republican-run N.C. General Assembly. Sure, there are some principled conservatives among our fresh batch of Fearless Leaders, who mostly focus on fiscal matters. But the Assembly is also home to what a group of us in high school used to call “Hicks In Suits” — people in whom prejudice and blind dislike of anyone outside the almighty ruling circle of white Protestants is so ingrained, they cannot, and never will, see it.

I’m talking about retro goobers like Rep. George Cleveland of Onslow County, who is seemingly hellbent on making life as miserable as possible for Latinos in North Carolina. Cleveland, who previously introduced bills to keep undocumented workers from taking classes in public or community colleges and to tighten restrictions on acceptable ID for immigrants, has now topped himself. Last week, Cleveland introduced a bill to repeal the state law which mandates that voter instructions be printed in both Spanish and English in counties where the Hispanic population exceeds 6 percent. It’s a move that just screams, “I’m a prejudiced, spiteful hick in a suit and, by God, I’m proud of it!”

I’ve had it with these knuckle-draggers. Cleveland and his ilk will tell you they’re just trying to “git rid of them illegals what’s takin’ all the jobs,” but that’s pure bullshit. Only American citizens can vote in our elections, not undocumented immigrants. And as shocking and unbelievable as it may be to the likes of Cleveland and his supporters, there are plenty of American citizens for whom English is not their first language. Naturalized U.S. citizens under 50 (or who have been in the U.S. less than 20 years) have to pass an English literacy test, but I can tell you from the personal experiences of some foreign-born family members who became U.S. citizens, passing the English literacy test is a breeze — and certainly doesn’t mean a new citizen could quickly grasp the details of an English-language voter instruction pamphlet.

Let’s cut to the chase, Rep. Cleveland; why be a hypocrite? Just go ahead and propose banning anyone Hispanic from voting, period. You know and I know and your supporters know that’s what you want. At least be man enough to say it, as repulsive as hearing you admit to your gooberdom would be. Because, make no mistake, trying to deny understandable voting instructions from someone because they’re not native-born English speakers is as spiteful, brutish and low as you can get. And I mean really low — to quote an old TV personality, “lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut.”

Rep. George Cleveland, shameless xenophobe
  • Rep. George Cleveland, shameless xenophobe

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Lowe's nears settlement in drywall case

Posted By on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 1:41 PM

For those of you who aren't builders or DIY'ers, this is what drywall looks like. It's the stuff beneath the paint and paper. (Thanks to Moosicorn Ranch for the photo.)
  • For those of you who aren't builders or DIY'ers, this is what drywall looks like. It's the stuff beneath the paint and paper. (Thanks to Moosicorn Ranch for the photo.)

Lowes is headquartered in the Charlotte area (Mooresville, actually).

Here's more on their drywall issues, and how to make a claim from our friends at ProPublica.org:

A Georgia state court has preliminarily approved an amended settlement for people who say they bought contaminated drywall from Lowe’s Companies Inc.

Lowe’s, the nation’s No. 2 home improvement chain, is offering as much as $100,000 in cash to customers who can prove they bought drywall from the retailer and also prove that it caused at least $4,500 in damages. The contaminated drywall releases high amounts of sulfur gas, which can corrode copper wiring and cause air conditioners and other electrical appliances to fail. Some homeowners have also complained that the drywall has affected their health by triggering respiratory problems, bloody noses and headaches. Repairing a house built with defective drywall can easily cost $100,000.

The amended settlement will also be advertised at the bottom of all Lowe’s receipts and in three national publications: Parade Magazine, USA Weekend and National Geographic.

Last year, Lowe’s negotiated a settlement that offered far less money to victims: a maximum of $4,500 in cash and gift cards. The handful of attorneys who negotiated that deal carved out a separate payment of $2.1 million. But following a ProPublica and Sarasota Herald-Tribune story on the settlement, Lowe’s returned to the negotiating table and offered its customers $100,000. A fairness hearing will be held on the new settlement on October 12. Superior Court Judge Bobby Peters will hear arguments for and against the amended settlement and decide whether the attorneys who negotiated the first deal are still entitled to their fee.

In the meantime, customers have begun filing claims through the settlement’s website: http://drywallsettlement.info.

Frank Liantonio, an attorney representing Lowe’s, said that more than 24,000 claim forms have already been submitted and there have been more than 100,000 hits on the settlement website. He said it isn’t known yet how many of the claimants are asking for the $100,000 payment.

Customers are still eligible for two other levels of compensation that were written into the previous settlement: a $50 gift card for those who have no proof of purchase but sign a form saying they bought drywall from Lowe's, and a $250 gift card for those who have proof of purchase but no documentation that they’ve suffered any damages. Those who qualified for the original maximum payment of $4,500 in cash and gift cards will receive a notice informing them that they are now eligible for up to $100,000 in cash.

“Lowe’s recognized the importance of fairly protecting the rights of their customers,” said Gregg Weiss, an attorney with Leopold & Kuvin, P.A., who helped forge the amended settlement. “This agreement brings justice to consumers who desperately needed to tackle the costly process of remediating their homes and will finally give our clients the resources they need to makes their lives whole again.”

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States do a better job regulating chemicals than feds

Posted By on Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 1:34 PM

The Environmental Health News is reporting that a recent article in Chemical and Engineering News finds that, "When it comes to regulating chemicals, states increasingly are leaving the federal government behind and tackling this issue themselves. In recent years, California, Maine, Minnesota, and Washington have enacted laws establishing comprehensive regulatory programs to control substances in products. Now more states are considering this kind of legislation."

Some states, but not North Carolina. No, in our state the General Assembly is actually working to strip the power behind regulatory measures that could stand between our and the environment's health and corporate profits.

There is a move in the Republican-controlled legislature to downsize and make more business-friendly the state's leading environmental agency, a move that has set off alarms among environmentalists.

A measure moving through the Senate would strip the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of several of its functions. And Senate budget writers are considering further downsizing measures.

Lawmakers have also begun holding hearings across the state to review the state's rules and regulations, with environmental regulations a particular area of interest.

"I'd like to see DENR downsized," said Sen. Don East, a Republican from Pilot Mountain and co-chairman of the budget committee that controls DENR's purse strings. "I'd like to see them be a kinder, gentler agency. I'd like to see DENR be a help, not a hindrance to business and industry."

Read the rest of this News & Observer article, by Rob Christensen, here.

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