10 ideas to harness that extra daylight
Plus: The top news of the week: More people eligible for Covid vaccine — CMS increases in-person learning days — Amazon expands — That south Charlotte smell
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Column: Clocks move forward tonight, and so should you; time for changes in attitude?
by Colleen Brannan
Spring Forward feels different to me this year, like a tough love, suck it up, parental pep talk after a failed test or a big game loss. I've given and received those “dust yourself off” speeches to no avail, so seeing the approaching mandate on my calendar somewhat panicked me.
Views on daylight savings are akin to glass half full/glass half empty. On the one hand, you get an extra hour of daylight. On the other hand, you lose an hour of sleep. As a night owl who appreciates my extra slumber on the weekends, it’s not difficult to guess which camp I’m in, but after this pandemic year of so many losses, I decided it’s time for some intentional wins. That requires a change of attitude.
Starting tomorrow, I have an opportunity to do more with my days, when it stays light later. What could I do with that time? Well, you’re not going to hear any “start exercising” or “stop and smell the roses” crazy talk from me. But I do have some ideas that you can feel free to borrow if something strikes your fancy:
Treat it like the first day of the rest of my life: After getting over the feeling I’m late for something, I plan to approach the day differently. For example, I always grab for my phone first thing to see what I've missed overnight, which delays my feet hitting the floor by at least 30 minutes. Instead, I’m going to charge my phone in another room, which will force me out of bed to see how badly I want to receive all those Instagram pet posts, news alerts and LinkedIn requests.
Decide on drink of summer: Adios, Pandemic Punch! Each year my husband announces his summer drink with great fanfare. The year he found mint growing in the backyard was the Summer of the Mojito. When the Olympics were in Russia, the Moscow Mule. And, of course the World Cup in Brazil called for a Caipirinha (kai-purr-reen-yah), the country’s national drink. I offer the phonetic spelling because he also insisted we pronounce it correctly. Is it too soon for a Vaccini?
Play with the pup: Not feed and walk, but actually play. My rescue dog, Violet, has been so excited to have her people home this year. She spends her days monitoring our every move and napping at our feet. Instead of scurrying past her on the way to my next Zoom call, I’m going to chase her around the yard after dinner and give her the new Squeaky Hedgehog I was saving for a special occasion.
Reset some stalled New Year's resolutions: Mine were well documented in my January Ledger column, How Less Can Be More in 2021, and some definitely went better than others. I am still rockin’ “less formal attire, more stretchy waistbands” and “fewer complaints, more compliments,” but I need to recommit to more hydration and less procrastination.
Switch up volunteer game: In-person volunteering ground to a halt during Covid, but as it returns, I’m going to give my time and talents to different nonprofits. SHARE Charlotte is a great place to find those opportunities, including virtual ones. There are currently 464 volunteer postings on their website, ranging from board member and blood donor to photography and pop tab collection. I just signed up for Virtual Bingo with patients at Levine Children’s Hospital. (Full disclosure: I am the SHARE Charlotte board chair, so I know a thing or two about this.)
Say so long to boots and sweaters while remembering “spring forward” is not the first day of spring. There’s still a solid week between the two where I could look foolish to the fashion police if I break out sundresses and sandals prematurely.
Call the parents. If you're lucky enough to still have them, start their day and yours with a phone call. My 81-year-old dad, forever a Navy man operating on military time, is always up with the birds and guaranteed to answer on the first ring. I have my best conversations with him at that hour when he and Mom aren’t vying for the phone. This past year has been hard on all of us not seeing each other, but now that everyone is vaccinated, I plan to fix that soon.
Practice random acts of kindness, twilight edition. Wheel out or bring in a neighbor’s garbage cans. Make extra dinner and deliver it to a single friend who doesn’t cook and is burned out on meal delivery. Be kind to yourself, too. I need to stop beating myself up at the end of each day for not getting through my never-ending to-do list. Better yet, I should just stop making them.
Make a sunny playlist. I want mine to reflect my aspirational, sunny disposition, so the lineup will undoubtedly include “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves, The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” and Jimmy Buffett’s “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.” Sadly, the Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun,” an anthem of my youth, might not make the cut.
Lighten up the menu. I think it’s time to put those winter favorites like chili and baked ziti on the back burner and replace with lighter fare. I see and save a lot of recipes but rarely make them. In fact, I’ve been threatening apple nachos for a while now — so this is the week!
However you spend this extra daylight time, make it meaningful to you. I’ll be interested to hear if any of my ideas or your own help put a spring back in your step, post-pandemic. Happy early spring!
Colleen Brannan owns BRANSTORM PR and enjoys shining a light on her own shortcomings to let others know it’s OK to be human. Follow her on Instagram (Colleen_Brannan), Twitter (@colleenbrannan) and LinkedIn or send fan mail to colleen@branstorm.com.
Today’s supporting sponsor is Soni Brendle:
This week in Charlotte: More people eligible for vaccine; New CMS in-person school schedule; Cooper signs Covid relief bill; new business school?
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Politics
Immigration bill: (WRAL) The N.C. Senate passed a scaled-down version of a bill Thursday requiring North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Under the measure, officials would need to determine the identity and immigration status of anyone charged with a violent crime and booked into their county or city jail. Anyone found to be in the U.S. illegally must, under the proposal, be held for 48 hours so ICE agents can pick them up. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed similar legislation two years ago. Senate Democrats called the measure divisive and racially provocative.
Energy legislation: (WRAL) Major energy legislation may be in the works in North Carolina, as representatives from Duke Energy, clean energy lobbyists and lobbying groups for manufacturers and retailers are meeting behind closed doors with lawmakers and are believed to be hashing out long-term energy policy. Lobbyists for environmental and other advocacy groups said no one is in the room representing residential electric customers or environmental groups.
Education
New CMS schedule: (Ledger) (WFAE) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools adopted a new schedule Tuesday that will increase the number and frequency of in-person learning days for students. Students in grades 6-12 will be in the classroom 2 days a week starting Monday. Grades K-5 will go 4 days a week starting March 22. Democrats and Republicans in Raleigh reached a compromise on a school reopening bill that allows districts to open for full in-person instruction in middle and high schools, although CMS seems unlikely to alter its plan.
College aid: (WFAE) Application rates for first-generation and low-income college students are down during the Covid pandemic, as well as applications for FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. In North Carolina, the overall FAFSA completion rate is down 8.7%, according to the National College Attainment Network. For Title I and high-minority schools, the rate is down by 12%.
CPCC recovers from cyberattack: (WFAE) Most classes are back in session and some computer systems have been restored at Central Piedmont Community College after a ransomware that was discovered Feb. 10. The cyberattack caused some lost course plans, grades and assignments, as some systems weren’t backed up or backups were compromised. School officials haven’t said how much money the attackers were demanding.
Local news
N.C. Covid spending bill: (Observer) Gov. Roy Cooper signed a $1.7B Covid relief bill Thursday, the second spending bill this year, as the state allocates billions in federal money. The bill includes money for schools, including to help with a summer learning program for students, $5M for seniors’ congregate and home-delivered meals, $12M for emergency food assistance and $292M for higher education emergency relief.
Vaccine eligibility: (WCNC) Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday said he’s accelerating the eligibility of groups that have not yet been vaccinated. People with health conditions including cancer, asthma and obesity — plus people who live in group living facilities — will be eligible Tuesday. Others in “Group 4” will be eligible April 7.
Business
Amazon expansion: Amazon signed a lease for a huge, 1 million s.f. warehouse in Pineville, The Ledger reported this week. It’s also eyeing other sites in the area, including another facility near the airport, according to the Business Journal.
New executive MBA program: (Biz Journal) UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School is making plans to start a two-year executive MBA program in Charlotte this October, with tuition ranging between $90,000 and $125,000. Kenan-Flagler Dean Doug Shackelford said no location has been selected yet, but he wants the program to be accessible to the business community, which means somewhere in or near near uptown. It would enter an already competitive market for MBA programs — including UNC Charlotte’s.
Sports
Covid hits ACC tournament: (Observer) Duke and Virginia were forced to bow out of the ACC tournament because of positive Covid tests. Georgia Tech and Florida State play tonight at 8:30 for the championship. It’s the first time in 31 years that a North Carolina university has not appeared in the ACC tournament final.
Good reads
Taking on the state’s ABC Commission: (The Assembly) The owner of a Durham whiskey distillery, faced with a $1,000 fine from the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for having 17 whiskey bottles stored in the wrong place, could have acquiesced and settled the charges. But he decided to fight. “There is no way somebody’s gonna pay their lawyer $40,000 to litigate some sh— like this,” he said. “We all have businesses to run. You pay the fine and you walk away. The thing is, I don’t want to be bullied.”
Elderly TikTok sensation: (Queen City Nerve) Funky Geezer is a 72-year-old longtime staple of the Charlotte music scene who has amassed 2.7M followers on TikTok. “I’m doing things old people shouldn’t do; I’m dancing with a walker,” he says. “It juxtaposes. It’s a quandary, and I think that’s what catches [people] off guard.”
Ledger originals
Possible 2040 plan changes: (Friday 🔒) After some skepticism from City Council last week about parts of the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, City Hall dealmakers are looking at revisions.
2 views on 2040 plan: (Monday) We took a closer look at the 2040 plan by providing you with two very different perspectives in a couple Q&As: We talked with David Walters, a semi-retired architecture professor and urban planner; and with Alan Banks, chairman of Charlotte’s Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition (REBIC).
Development and the arts near NoDa (Friday): A plan for a community arts hub off Sugar Creek Road is expected to accelerate development in an industrial area just north of NoDa. In a media collaboration, The Ledger looked at development in the area (🔒), while our friends at The Biscuit — the media channel of Charlotte Is Creative — went deeper on the effect on the arts community. There’s also a podcast 🎧 on the topic.
Hair care businesses during Covid: (Wednesday 🔒) Charlotte barbershops and hair salons have been operating with new practices like 7 a.m. appointments and cape sanitization to make customers feel more comfortable returning to the chair during Covid. Some have seen business bounce back after the shutdown; others have struggled.
Dilworth hair salon closes: (Wednesday 🔒) T.Reid & Co., a fixture in Charlotte’s hair salon scene for 20 years, will close April 2. Owner Tonya Reid told The Ledger that the closure isn’t a pandemic casualty, and explained why she’s decided to hang up her shears.
Hotel planned for Dilworth?: (Wednesday 🔒) In the latest installment of The Ledger’s “You Ask, We Answer” development series, we tracked down what’s happening with a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel that was slated to open in 2020 one block from East Boulevard in Dilworth.
February’s hot rezonings 🔥: (Tuesday 🔒) Developers file plans, and we share them all before they hit the city’s main rezoning website. Highlights for last month include plans for townhomes in Myers Park on the site of a 1950s church, a 300-foot tower on Kings Drive in Midtown and a mixed-use development on Central Avenue in Plaza-Midwood on the site of a gas station. Plus lots of townhomes and apartments all over the place.
Self-storage rocks out: (Monday) A self-storage company on South Boulevard has opened a co-working site called Jambox for bands looking for a place to practice. It has 12 rooms and an event space.
Awful smell: (Friday 🔒)What’s the cause of the wretched stench in the air over Ballantyne, Waxhaw and Indian Land that’s been aggravating area residents the last several days?
Covid coverage: A year ago in The Ledger
From “BREAKING: CMS to dismiss students starting Thursday,” March 13, 2020:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will send students home starting Thursday of next week — a move that could affect the work schedules of thousands of Charlotte parents.
In an emergency session tonight, the school board voted 7-1 to shift the school calendar so that there will be teacher workdays Thursday and Friday of next week, according to media reports. Spring break, scheduled originally for mid-April, will instead start March 23. …
It’s unclear what happens after the new spring break, but it sounds as though the district would like the time to get ready for the possibility of virtual instruction. …
What it means: This move by CMS is going to ramp up pressure on companies to allow employees to work from home, if they are able to.
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