More couples are calling it quits (free version)
Plus: Explaining Red Ventures' latest tech deal; Last day for Bill Spoon's BBQ; Big school meeting tonight; New seminary; Trick-or-treating imperiled as health department prepares Halloween directive
Good morning! Today is Wednesday, September 16, 2020. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Editor’s note: This is a shorter, free version of The Charlotte Ledger sent to people on our free sign-up list. The complete version for paying subscribers went out 15 minutes ago. It included:
An examination of what’s going on with local divorces — and why lawyers and counselors say they seem to be on the rise.
An analysis of Red Ventures’ purchase of tech-review site CNET, which was announced this week — and how it fits into the company’s business. (And we tell you, in plain English, how Red Ventures makes money.)
The full article what the demise of Bill Spoon’s BBQ on South Boulevard tells us about the state of the struggling local restaurant industry. Its last day is today, after 57 years.
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Divorce attorneys, therapists are seeing higher demand as pandemic takes its toll on couples
Charlotte area divorce attorneys and couples therapists say they’re seeing more demand as marriages strain under the weight of the pandemic. (Photo by Eric Ward/Unsplash)
by Cristina Bolling
Here’s another example of how Covid is fraying our family nests — the number of couples seeking divorces and marital help are on the rise.
This should come as no surprise. Many couples are stuck under the same roof 24-7, struggling with unemployment or lost wages and virtual learning childcare duties. And they’re missing their social outlets, exercise regimens and daily schedules.
Spouses who previously traveled non-stop for work have remained grounded for the last six months. For some couples that were already crumbling before quarantine, all this time together has cemented the decision — it’s time to break up.
In plain English, here’s what Red Ventures actually does
Sometimes, in this internet economy, it’s tough to discern what companies actually do.
Nobody ever asked Henry Ford what his company did. It was clear the dude just churned out automobiles.
But what about an outfit like Red Ventures, which has about 2,000 local employees? They’re doing something out of their headquarters in Indian Land, just across the South Carolina border on U.S. 521. The company was in the news this week after agreeing to buy the tech-review site CNET from ViacomCBS for a cool $500M.
If you’ve ever met people who work at Red Ventures and asked what they do, the answer probably had something to do with brands and marketing, blah blah blah, and you probably left the conversation with more questions than answers. (You might have had a similar experience with people who work in certain divisions of Charlotte’s big banks.)
So what does the company actually do?
The simple version, in plain English, would go something like this:
Bill Spoon’s cooks its last pig
The tributes started pouring in barely before the Facebook ink was dry on Monday’s announcement that Bill Spoon’s BBQ on South Boulevard would close after 57 years.
Charlotte magazine called it an exception to the popular sentiment that Charlotte has no decent barbecue joints. The Observer quoted a Facebook commenter who said it was “definitely a huge loss.” Charlotte Agenda posted a BBQ-sandwich-and-hush-puppy-filled video tribute on its new TikTok page, with broken-heart emojis, set to the Whitney Houston tune “I Will Always Love You.”
The owner, Steve Spoon Jr., blamed Covid but acknowledged business has been slow the last few years.
Big school board meeting tonight: a return to classrooms?
Break out the popcorn: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education is holding a special meeting tonight to talk about returning students to the classroom.
It’s unclear how it’s going to go down, but the school system has been preparing in recent weeks and says from the schools’ perspective, it’s pretty much ready to go. The only question is whether the spread of Covid in Mecklenburg County has slowed to the point that officials feel safe reopening schools to students.
Since July, this board has adopted a take-it-slow approach. There have been no indications it is in any rush to return students to in-person classes, though a memo last week suggested special needs or “exceptional child” students might start to return Sept. 29.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of local Covid numbers that have been declining since late July. New figures released Tuesday by the Mecklenburg County Health Department show hospitalizations, the number of cases and the percentage of people testing positive are continuing to drop. The number of daily cases is the lowest since May.
CMS staff, working with the county health department, has devised guidelines based on Covid statistics on when it might be safe to reopen schools. Under those guidelines, Mecklenburg County still has “moderate community spread” and the board should “consider … in-person learning only for specific prioritized student populations.” On their current course, it could be weeks or longer until the numbers are in the “minimal community spread” range that says board members should consider “in-person learning for all schools.” The numbers are just guidelines. It’s the school board’s call.
Worth noting: Should the board surprise everyone and demand students get back to the schoolhouse ASAP, it’s still likely students won’t go back full time anytime soon. They would still likely go back in-person for one week followed by virtual instruction for two weeks, and CMS seems to be planning to phase grades in over the course of 9 to 15 weeks.
Covid by race: One of the concerns likely to be aired at the meeting is that minority communities are especially vulnerable to Covid. Here’s the breakdown of how Covid cases and deaths in Mecklenburg stack up by race and ethnicity, compared with the county’s population:
Whites have fewer Covid cases than the population would suggest (46% of the population, 27% of the cases), but more deaths (58%).
Blacks are underrepresented in Covid cases (33% of the population, 27% of cases), but the share of Covid deaths (37%) is slightly higher than the share of population.
Hispanics have far more Covid cases than their population (41% vs. 14%), but they have far fewer deaths (2%).
Tonight’s meeting comes as other school districts that started fully remote are shifting to a mix of in-person and virtual learning. Buncombe County Schools outside Asheville are returning for a few days a week in-person starting at the end of the month, and schools in Henderson, Jackson, Madison, Sampson, Stokes, Surry and Wilkes counties made similar decisions in the past couple weeks, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. In Georgia, Fulton County Schools, which includes Atlanta, plans to return some students to class next week, with a full return possibly by Oct. 14, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.
In addition, although 54 public school districts in North Carolina totaling 446,000 students opened the year with a mix of in-person and remote learning, the state said as of Tuesday that just 7 schools have reported clusters of Covid cases.
Ledger prediction: Look for the board to settle on a plan for returning students to in-person classes … but one that won’t actually reopen schools to all that many students for weeks or months.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and can be viewed on the school board’s Facebook page. —TM
Catholic college seminary opens near Belmont Abbey
The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte on Tuesday inaugurated the 30,000 s.f. St. Joseph’s Seminary, which will serve as home to as many as 40 young men who are exploring a vocation to the Catholic priesthood while also pursuing their undergraduate degrees at nearby Belmont Abbey College. It’s the only college seminary program between Washington, D.C. and Miami, and has proven so popular since it began in a temporary location four years ago that enrollment has tripled, diocesan leaders said in a statement. The diocese launched the college seminary program in 2016 with eight students and now has 27 in residence. Donors have contributed more than $15.5M toward the $20M project. (Photo courtesy of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte)
In brief
Filming in Charlotte: Two productions filming in Charlotte — a TV series and a made-for-TV movie — were approved for state grants, the state commerce department announced this week. “A Nashville Christmas Carol,” according to the state, “tells the story of a busy film director and producer who is visited by the Ghosts of Country music past and present.” “Delilah,” a new series from Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, is “about a headstrong, highly principled lawyer in Charlotte who left a demanding white-shoe law firm a decade ago and hung her own shingle so she could make raising her children her top priority.” Those sound like a couple of winners. (N.C. Commerce Department)
Lawsuit criticism: Some critics of a parent lawsuit that’s trying to compel Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to open classrooms say they question the motives of the suit because the plaintiffs are white. “To have the lawsuit launched by a racially homogenous, upper middle-class group of plaintiffs didn’t sit well,” said Justin Perry, a black parent who co-founded a group that works for educational equity. (WFAE)
Panthers’ house for sale: Former Panthers quarterback Josh McCown is listing his 8,000 s.f. home near Charlotte Country Day School for $3.95M. It has six bedrooms, six full bathrooms and three half-baths and is on 1.3 acres. McCown helped coach Myers Park High’s football team last year, where his son played, but the family moved to Texas earlier this year. (Agenda)
Dilworth development: Alpine Ski Center in Dilworth may be demolished and replaced by a mixed-use, live-work project. A pre-submittal document filed with the city of Charlotte mentions first-floor retail space, a two-story restaurant and loft units on the second floor. But one of the developers involved tells the Charlotte Business Journal that no plans have been developed yet. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
South End apartments: RangeWater Real Estate of Atlanta has filed a rezoning request with the city to build up to 300 apartments and 5,000 s.f. of nonresidential space near the intersection of West Tremont Avenue and South Tryon Street. Plans call for a six-story building up to 75 feet high. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
Speed Street postponed: The Speed Street festival, which celebrates racing in uptown every spring to coincide with the Coca-Cola 600, has been postponed until May 2021. It had been pushed from May 2020 to October due to the pandemic, but organizers this week decided to postpone yet again. It’ll happen May 27-29, 2021. (CharlotteFive)
No Halloween? County health director Gibbie Harris told county commissioners Tuesday that her office has been receiving inquiries about whether it’s safe to hold Halloween this year. She said her department is working to develop guidance on the issue and “should have something out fairly soon.” Commissioner Susan Harden said she’s aware of Halloween plans in the works in her neighborhood and “it would be better to go ahead and pull the Band-Aid off the bad news early.”
Nothing more ‘essential’ than staying flexible
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: David Griffith