NoDa vendors, businesses clash over congestion (free version)
Plus: Aldersgate responds about its finances; Rea Farms construction; Fort Mill moms surprised at charge for 'Drafts Sports Bar'; Former judge sues former colleague for defamation
Good morning! Today is Wednesday, August 23, 2023. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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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 members went out 15 minutes ago. It included:
An insightful look at an emerging issue in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood — concerns over how to keep street vendors while not clogging sidewalks. Some businesses in the neighborhood say the vendors should be regulated.
The latest coverage on Aldersgate, the east Charlotte retirement community that has been battling financial troubles — with a response from Aldersgate’s CEO to our reporting, for the first time.
The most recent installment of our popular “You Ask, We Answer” reader-prompted column. We look into what’s up with some new construction in Rea Farms in south Charlotte.
The details on why some residents in the Charlotte suburb of Fort Mill, S.C., were surprised to see charges for a sports bar on their bank statements last week.
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Sidewalk sellers are keeping the arts in the arts district — but pedestrian traffic and worries about crime are prompting requests for regulations
Abstrak Maniak sells T-shirts and artwork on a sidewalk in NoDa. Vendors regularly set up booths along North Davidson Street, which is allowed by the city as long as vendors don’t obstruct the path.
by Lindsey Banks
For the past month, artist Jason Swepson — also known as Abstrak Maniak — has spent his days stationed beneath a red tent, hand-painting T-shirts and canvases for sale along North Davidson Street.
“This is my livelihood. This is how I make my money,” Swepson told The Ledger on a recent afternoon. “We’re part of the culture in NoDa. NoDa wouldn’t be NoDa if we weren’t able to come out here and do our thing.”
Swepson, who recently moved his art business to NoDa from New Jersey, is just one of the artists who set up shop along a North Davidson Street sidewalk. Vendors are seen as keeping the arts in the arts district as more of NoDa’s galleries close.
But some brick-and-mortar business owners want rules for the currently unregulated practice, which can clog sidewalks with pedestrians and block business doors. Street vendors like Swepson see regulations and permit requirements as threats to their businesses.
On busy weekends, businesses like Fu’s Custom Tattoo, Cabo Fish Taco and Protagonist Beer, which is closing on North Davidson in October, see the most street vendor traffic outside of their doors.
Lindsey Banks is a staff reporter for The Ledger. Reach her at lindsey@cltledger.com
Response from Aldersgate: We’re working through issues and are proud of the steps we’re taking to improve our financial position
Last Friday, we reported the news of financial troubles at Aldersgate, and that the N.C. Department of Insurance has stepped in to oversee the financial operations at the large retirement community that’s operated in east Charlotte for more than 45 years.
Documents filed with the state show that insurance regulators, who oversee the financial aspects of continuing care retirement homes like Aldersgate, have been scrutinizing Aldersgate for months, as the non-profit has worked to overcome years of financial losses and what it described as financial mismanagement.
Officials from Aldersgate didn’t reply to us in time for our Friday article, but on Monday afternoon, Suzanne Pugh, CEO of Aldersgate Life Plan Services, sent a statement to The Ledger through a spokesman:
We have been coordinating with the North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) since earlier this year to develop and implement a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to resolve issues we identified during a thorough review of company operations. Our work and progress are monitored by the DOI and supported through the guidance of independent, third-party resources brought in to assist us.
It is important to point out that Aldersgate received a clean, unmodified opinion from its independent auditors as of 12/31/22. The audited financial statements and related footnotes should be read in their entirety to fully understand our financial position as of 12/31/22 and the significant operating and non-operating activities that occurred impacting Aldersgate’s financial position as of 12/31/22. If the independent auditors had concerns about Aldersgate’s ability to continue as a going concern for the next 12 months, we would not have received an unmodified opinion.
Aldersgate has been paying and continues to pay debt service, vendors, employees and other obligations. The primary obligation in which we are behind in paying are entrance fees refunds for former residents, which we disclosed to our auditors. We acknowledge those obligations and are catching up on those repayments as quickly as possible.
Aldersgate continues to provide outstanding care and service to elders across the continuum of care within this community. We remain dedicated to meeting the needs and expectations of those we are honored to serve.
We are proud of the fact that we have taken significant steps in recent months to improve our short-term financial position and are committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of the long term financial health and sustainability of the organization. We continue to make progress on our plan and our board and leadership remain confident in our ability to resolve these issues while maintaining a thriving Aldersgate community. The health, happiness and stability of our residents continue to be of the utmost importance, and we will remain forthcoming in our communications to our residents, families, staff and community throughout this process.
We’re happy to be able to share her perspective. Anyone can read Aldersgate’s full audit and disclosure statement, which are available online.
If we have one quibble with Pugh’s interpretation, though, it’s
Related Ledger articles:
“State says Aldersgate is potentially ‘insolvent’” (🔒, Aug. 18)
🎧 Podcast: “Guiding older adults through their golden years, with Jennifer Szakaly”
➡️ The Ledger will continue following this story as it unfolds. What questions do you have about Aldersgate or other retirement communities that we might answer? You can send us an email with your thoughts.
You Ask, We Answer: What’s up with new construction at Rea Farms?
Welcome to the latest installment of “You Ask, We Answer,” The Ledger’s attempt to help satisfy your burning 🔥 development questions.
From running down rezoning requests to figuring out why bulldozers are a’blazing, we’ll hunt down the answers to what’s going on. Have a question you’d like us to look into? Email us.
Today’s question comes from reader Chris Corcoran, who asks:
Can you tell me what is under construction at Rea Farms? Looks like the next phase has started.
Thanks for the question, Chris. The
Fort Mill moms actually didn’t walk into a bar
Residents in Fort Mill got a surprise last week when charges on their bank accounts showed a purchase at “Drafts Sports Bar and Grill.”
As legitimate as that name sounds, Fort Mill has no such sports bar.
Turns out that the charge actually was a bank draft from the town’s utilities department to Wells Fargo customers — and it was their monthly water bill. (Paying for water is a lot less fun than going to a watering hole.)
You might be interested in these Charlotte events: Regional Transportation Summit, speaker on teen mental health
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
SEPTEMBER 11: Regional Transportation Summit, 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., Ballantyne hotel. Come hear from federal, state and municipal leaders about one of the keys to economic development and quality of life in the Charlotte area: transportation and mobility. South Charlotte Partners once again brings together stakeholders to discuss the current status and future direction for transportation and mobility in the region. Tickets are $100; table sponsorships available.
SEPTEMBER 13: The Sooner, The Better: Addressing Today’s Adolescent Mental Health Crisis, 6-7:30 p.m., Central Piedmont Community College’s Parr Center, New Theater. Join HopeWay's educational event about today’s adolescent mental health crisis. Dr. Harold Koplewicz, a leading child and adolescent psychiatrist, will address the top challenges youth are facing and ways to offer meaningful support and help build resiliency. Tickets are $35.
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief
Judge v. judge: Former Superior Court Judge Kimberly Best is suing fellow former Superior Court Judge Lisa Bell for defamation, claiming that Bell provided “false and defamatory” statements about her to the news media. The suit stems from an incident last year in which Best got into a “heated argument” with a courthouse delivery driver after Best “tried to drive around a delivery truck that was parked at a loading dock and scratched her Porsche SUV,” according to WBTV. Bell declined to discuss the lawsuit.
Deadly house explosion: A $3M home in Mooresville owned by a Tennessee Titans player exploded and collapsed early Tuesday, killing a 61-year-old man. The 6,500 s.f. home is owned by Titans cornerback Caleb Farley, who was not home at the time. (WBTV)
UCity data center: American Real Estate Partners says it wants to build a 2.5 million s.f. data center in University City, near the intersection of I-485 and University City Boulevard. Some residents have said they are worried about the potential for noise. (WFAE)
Overdoses on the rise: Overdose-related deaths are up 20% in Charlotte so far in 2023, police said at a news conference. Sixty percent of those deaths are among people under 40. (WFAE)
Parents’ bill of rights: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board of education approved four new policies Tuesday to comply with the state’s new parents’ bill of rights law. Among the policies are rules that students can’t participate in sex education unless parents opt-in to the instruction; a ban on instruction on gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in grades K-4; a policy that parents will be notified if a student wants to use a different name or pronoun; and a rule giving parents the right to review instructional materials and challenge them. (WFAE)
Duke grad students unionize: Graduate students at Duke University voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to form a labor union, in what will be the largest graduate student union at a private university in the South. (WUNC)
New local streaming network: Cox Media Group (the parent company of Axios Charlotte and WSOC) and McClatchy (the parent company of The Charlotte Observer) are teaming up to launch "Neighborhood TV," an ad-supported free "hyper-local streaming network" that airs 24/7. It has been tested on newspaper websites, including in Charlotte, where it is a pop-up video on the Observer’s homepage. Segments that aired Tuesday in Charlotte included “Wacky N.C. laws” and information on how to report water leaks in Salisbury. (Axios Media Trends)
Restaurant switch at Birkdale: Rare Roots Hospitality plans to close the original Dressler’s Restaurant at Birkdale Village in Huntersville and replace it with the second location of Fin & Fino. (Biz Journal)
Hickory Mountaineers: Appalachian State University started holding classes Monday at its new campus in Hickory. (The Appalachian)
Quotable: Giving credit where credit is due
Charlotte reporter and radio host Brett Jensen, on WBT’s “Breaking With Brett Jensen” on Monday night, during a segment about WSOC failing to acknowledge that he was first to report a story last week:
There are a couple of people in the Charlotte media that actually give credit to others who break the story first. One, David Hodges of WBTV does it all the time. All the time. And the only other outlet that I know that actually gives WBT credit or me credit or any other reporter credit for breaking it first is The Charlotte Ledger. That’s it. The Charlotte Ledger is really, really, really good about it. As a matter of fact, they’re almost anal about it, in crediting people first.
Programming note: Ledger editor Tony Mecia appears as a guest on 90.7 WFAE at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on Thursdays for a discussion of the week’s local business news in the station’s “BizWorthy” segment. Audio and transcripts are also available online.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project