Why teenagers might be hiding in your neighbor’s bushes (free version)
Plus: We answer a reader's question about a former school site; New podcast with the head of Mac's Speed Shop; Toppman reviews the ballet; Check out The Ledger's 2 new newsletters; Covid flashback
Good morning! Today is Friday, March 7, 2025. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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It’s ‘senior assassin’ season, with high school students stalking, dodging and going to extreme lengths to take each other out with water guns
SNEAK ATTACK: Don’t be alarmed if you spot teens jumping out of the hedges armed with water guns, like in the photo on the left posted last spring on an Instagram account for Ardrey Kell High students’ “Blitz” game. Teens use Instagram to communicate rules, like the post on the right by Myers Park High students who clarified “no shooting at school events.”
by Cristina Bolling and Tony Mecia
Around this time each year, you’ll find them — lurking in the bushes before dawn’s first light or crouching between cars in shopping center parking lots, armed with Super Soakers and ready for attack.
It’s “senior assassin” season in Charlotte and across the country, when high schoolers infected by senioritis engage in an organized game of water-gun tag with fellow seniors from their high schools.
With the focus fading from tests and homework, the seniors turn into stalking, ducking, paranoid secret agents, hunting down their classmates while trying not to get soaked themselves.
The game has taken off in recent years, and it works like this: Seniors pay a nominal amount — typically ranging from $5 to $10 — to play and are randomly assigned a target. To advance each week, a participant must:
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‘Senior assassin’: What do you think?
Does “senior assassin” sound like a fun and creative game? Or is it needlessly dangerous? Have you had any experiences with “senior assassin” that you’d like to share? Drop a note in the comments, or send us an email. We might include reader comments in a future edition of The Ledger.
You Ask, We Answer: What’s happening at the site of the former Collinswood Language Academy?
Welcome to the latest installment of “You Ask, We Answer,” in which The Ledger’s crack investigative team tracks down the answers to your most burning questions about local development and other curiosities.
Here’s a question that came in recently from valued Ledger member Kathy M.:
CMS owns a 15-acre property, the former location of Collinswood Language Academy, that they listed for sale in late 2021. In 2022, CMS awarded the contract to a developer with the highest bid of $26M. This school property sits in the middle of single-family home neighborhoods. The developer proposed building 5-6 story apartment buildings. The neighborhoods adjacent to the school property voiced strong opposition and proposed several alternatives, one of which was to provide housing to teachers. At the time, teacher housing was not the focus of CMS.
The project has not proceeded and according to the city planners the rezoning petition has expired. A neighbor said she heard a rumor the property sold, so with your excellent investigative skills, would you be able to find out more on what CMS intends to do with the old school property?
Absolutely. (And thanks for the compliment, Kathy!😊)
We looked at city records, and
Review: Charlotte Ballet artistic director Alejandro Cerrudo puts his stamp on the company as a choreographer with ‘A Realm of Existence’
Two of the three pieces choreographed by Alejandro Cerrudo for ‘A Realm of Existence’ were created in past years; the third was made specifically for and with the current dancers at Charlotte Ballet. (Photo by Taylor Jones)
Ledger arts critic Lawrence Toppman took in the first performance of Charlotte Ballet’s “A Realm of Existence” Thursday night — it’s the first show for the ballet featuring the choreography of artistic director Alejandro Cerrudo.
In his review for The Ledger, Toppman writes:
Alejandro Cerrudo has shown audiences what he wants for Charlotte Ballet since becoming artistic director in 2022. On Thursday, he showed us who he is as a dancemaker.
And he is: Earthy. Thoughtful. Goofy. Sensual. Maybe romantic, though I didn’t think so. (Perhaps that comes later.) In short, a choreographic kaleidoscope whose Knight Theater program “A Realm of Existence” lives up to its cosmic name.
Check out the full review with the button below.
➡️ And to get more Toppman reviews straight into your inbox, we invite you to subscribe to the new free Ledger newsletter “Toppman on the Arts.” Just go to the Manage Your Subscription page and turn on the toggle button to elect to receive it.
🎧 New podcast: How Mac’s Speed Shop barbecue chain grew to 9 locations in 20 years
In 2005, a group of friends with a shared love of motorcycles, beer and barbecue opened a restaurant in an industrial area near uptown known as South End. Today, 20 years later, that restaurant — Mac's Speed Shop — has grown into a company with nine such restaurants in North and South Carolina, with more on the way.
On the latest episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Tony Salerno, president of Mac’s Hospitality Group, talks with Ledger editor Tony Mecia about how this well-known fixture in Charlotte’s restaurant scene has endured and continues to expand. They talk about:
challenges in the restaurant industry
how Mac's tries to stand out in a growing city
the importance of building a strong team
changes in technology — and more
You can listen to the full conversation below:
The Charlotte Ledger Podcast features conversations on local topics including business, nonprofits, education and more. It’s available on major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Check it out!
Two new newsletters from The Charlotte Ledger
In case you missed our announcement yesterday: We’re expanding our coverage with two new newsletters, delivering in-depth insights straight to your inbox:
🖼️ Toppman on the Arts – Featuring reviews from veteran critic Lawrence Toppman, this newsletter will cover theater, ballet, music, and museum exhibits in Charlotte. Free to all, it will publish several times a month.
🏗️ Real Estate Whispers – Your go-to source for inside scoops on Charlotte’s growth and development, from major commercial deals to neighborhood changes. Available exclusively to paying Ledger members, it will be published several times a month.
If you want to read them, you’ll need to opt in. Unlike other media whose business models rely on spamming as many people as possible, we’re heading a different direction — going deeper in a variety of areas and allowing readers to choose the topics they find most relevant, while also keeping the information contained in email so you don’t have to constantly click.
To sign up for these two new newsletters, go to the Manage Your Subscription page and turn on the newsletters you want. You can turn off the ones you don’t want.
These new newsletters are part of The Charlotte Ledger’s mission to provide high-quality, original local journalism that keeps readers informed about the topics shaping Charlotte. We know our audience values in-depth, specialized coverage, so we’re expanding our offerings to deliver expert insights directly to those who want them.
5 years ago in The Ledger: N.C. reports its first 2 cases of ‘Covid-19’
Over the next few weeks, The Ledger is going to look back five years ago at our coverage of Covid. You can see how it unfolded in real time, as Charlotte grappled with a once-in-a-century pandemic.
From The Charlotte Ledger, March 7, 2020, “NC now has two reported cases of coronavirus”:
As of Friday night, two state residents were reported to have COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The first case involves a Wake County man believed to have been infected when he visited a long-term care facility in Kirkland, Wash., the site of an outbreak. On Friday, a second, unrelated case of COVID-19 was reported by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The second infected person, from Chatham County, had traveled to Italy in February. He is in isolation at home and reported to be doing well.
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
TODAY AND SATURDAY: 2025 Carolina Lily Quilt Show, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. at The Park Expo Center, 800 Briar Creek Road, Charlotte. Charlotte Quilters’ Guild presents Carolina Lily Quilt Show. Enjoy 200 beautiful, judged quilts plus vendor mall, raffle drawings, and boutique with handmade items. Parking is $10.
SATURDAY: Bad Shabbos - Movie & Virtual Talkback with director, 7-9:30 p.m. at the Independent Picture House, 4237 Raleigh Street, Charlotte. Join us after the 7 p.m. screening for a virtual discussion with director Daniel Robbins, moderated by Michelle Rusgo. Kyra Sedgwick and Cliff “Method Man” Smith lead a hilarious ensemble cast in the award-winning new comedy “Bad Shabbos,” winner of the Audience Award at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival! Tickets are $12.85.
MARCH 13: Taste of the Mint: Food for Thought Art Tours, 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Mint Museum Uptown. Immerse yourself in a multisensory experience that celebrates the intersection of fine dining and fine art. Enjoy a specially designed tasting and wine pairing at Mariposa (March 13) or Coquette (March 20), and then take a museum educator-led tour at Mint Museum Uptown. This event takes place at two restaurants on separate evenings. Tickets are $60 for guests and $50 for members.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief
Feds drop Zelle lawsuit against BofA, Wells: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped its lawsuit against Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other financial companies that had alleged they failed to guard against fraud on the payment platform Zelle. The agency has dropped several enforcement actions in the last few weeks, following the Trump administration’s dismissal of its director. (Associated Press)
Criticism over $100K watch party: Mecklenburg County Democrats are facing criticism after spending more than $100,000 on an election night watch party, with critics questioning financial priorities and engagement with minority communities. Party Chair Drew Kromer defended the spending but acknowledged concerns, while other Democrats called for new leadership. (WCNC)
DOGE cuts leases on 2 Charlotte offices: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said on its website that it is terminating two small leases in Charlotte – 5,300 s.f. for the U.S. Geological Survey and 2,200 s.f. for the Environmental Protection Agency. The move would save $172,000 a year. The USGS has an office off Tyvola Road in south Charlotte, and the EPA’s criminal investigation division has a suite on Fairview Road in the SouthPark area. (WSOC)
New headquarters: Odyssey Logistics is moving its headquarters to Charlotte, in a move that will create about 80 jobs. (WCCB)
Quarry death: One person was killed Wednesday morning in an industrial accident at a rock quarry off Westinghouse Boulevard in southwest Charlotte. (WSOC)
South End beer hall: A new beer hall called Distro Beer Hub is expected to open on Distribution Street in South End this spring, with stalls for four N.C. breweries. (Team coverage: Axios Charlotte, Observer, Biz Journal)
From Dilworth to Baxter: Dilworth Neighborhood Grille is opening a location in Baxter Village in Fort Mill, under the name Dilworth Grille at Baxter. (Observer)
Where to eat fish during Lent: As the Christian season of Lent begins, Charlotte Five rounded up a list of places around Charlotte that serve fish sandwiches, including the flounder filet sandwich at Brooks’ Sandwich House, the fish sub at Lulu’s Express Fry House and the tuna melt at Pinky’s Westside Grille.
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