Thursday, September 29, 2011

Ribbon cuttings

John Anderson in the Charlotte Observer touches on all the ribbon cuttings occurring this weekend, including Kim's Curtains (near Snap Fitness), BP Fill Good Gas Station (near Lowe's), and last but not least, Rock Store BBQ (near Lowe's with BP Fill Good Gas Station).

To end this on a BBQ-related note, how does Rock Store BBQ compare to 521 BBQ & Grill? I haven't been there yet. Do they serve mac & cheese? How are the hush puppies?

Anti-Food Lion movement taking foot

I blogged about the potential new Food Lion here and here.

WCNC has a story on nearby residents attempting to organize to keep the Food Lion from commercializing the property they purchased. A couple snippets:
WAXHAW, N.C. -- Neighbors are banding together in Waxhaw to fight against Food Lion turning 33 acres into commercial property. Right now, the company can't build on the property because it’s zoned for residential use.

...

The property was annexed into Waxhaw, which gives a 60 day window to place a zoning on it. Right now it's zoned for residential property, but down the road neighbors are expecting Food Lion to ask for commercial zoning so they can build a strip mall with a grocery store.

...

NewsChannel 36 reached out to Food Lion and they said they have no current plans to start commercial building. Even if the commission votes to keep it residential on October 11, Food Lion can later petition for re-zoning if they want to start commercial building.
Read the whole thing.

The arguments against as quoted in the article seem to slightly contradict each other. On one hand, commercialization of the property will introduce all kinds of problems, but on the other hand, they're not necessarily against commercial development. Regardless, it seems like Food Lion is in no hurry to push the matter and since they already own the property, I guess they can bide their time.

Bad first date?

I guess this would qualify as such.

Lori linked to this story of a Waxhaw man accidentally shooting himself on a first date over on Facebook that led to a wave of dating related one-liners from commenters.

Weirdcrime.net (of course there's a website devoted to weird crimes; why wouldn't there be?) has some more details that appears to be straight from the police report.
“The victim advised that he was reaching for his gun which was chained up in a bicycle lock underneath the car seat,” a Charlotte police report said. “The victim advised that the gun accidentally went off as he was pulling on the gun which shot him in the left leg.”

NC gov not the jokester she claims to be

When speaking to the Rotary Club earlier this week, NC governor Bev Perdue suggested we suspend Congressional elections for two years. Her complete statement: (my emphasis)
"You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things. I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that. The one good thing about Raleigh is that for so many years we worked across party lines. It's a little bit more contentious now but it's not impossible to try to do what's right in this state. You want people who don't worry about the next election."
The News & Observer, despite being there and having a recording of the proceedings, reported it as a joke as claimed by Perdue spokeswoman Chris Mackey.

The recording, found within this Daily Caller article, illustrates quite clearly that Bev Perdue was not joking despite the claims of her spokeswoman

It's not particularly surprising a politician like Bev Perdue, herself at the mercy of the voters, would come up with an (unconstitutional?) idea like suspending elections in an effort to shield politicians from accountability for their decisions.

Plaza Fiesta playground deal

This is a little outside of town, but for anyone who likes to take their kids to the giant indoor playground at Plaza Fiesta Carolinas near Carowinds, there's a half-off deal running right now in Juice in the City, a Groupon-like website.

$4 for 2 Child Admissions to Happy Zone at Plaza Fiesta

While you won't achieve massive savings from the deal, it will give you a little extra money to spend in the nearby arcade afterwards if you choose.

It appears this deal runs for the next 3.5 days for those interested.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

More on local campaigns

In campaign news:

* Signs for the mayoral race are now out and about. I've seen signs promoting Mayor Gardner scattered strategically throughout town. I even saw a 'Gary Underwood for Mayor' sign or two out there, so I guess he's still running. I haven't seen any signs for Lisa Thornton yet, so I guess that means she's the greenest candidate out there in the mayoral race.

* Election and re-election Facebook pages are now coming out of the woodwork.

Lisa Thornton / Daune Gardner / Martin Lane

Follow the links to check them out. If I become of other candidates' pages, I will update.

* Any word from candidates Mike Stewart and/or Sean Poccia? With the exception of a sign for Mike, I haven't seen anything from these two, who are running for town commissioner. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Daune Gardner endorsed one of them a while back on her Facebook page, but I can't remember which one and don't have the superhuman fortitude that would be required to slowly work my way back page by page through all her posts to find out which one. The downsides of having a social network-savvy mayor, I suppose.

Barnful of Quilts

When we first moved to Waxhaw, the first event we attended was Barnful of Quilts if my memory serves. We haven't been back since mainly due to scheduling issues.

I'm not a quilt connoisseur by any means, but I must say the quilts on display were pretty impressive. It's coming up again the same weekend of Autumn Treasures on October 8th, so perhaps you can find the time to check it out at the Fox Family Farm.

Land of the Waxhaws

Jim Black continues to churn out more videos than I can watch with his online Land of the Waxhaws video show. While the earlier iteration of the show seemed more like the Daune Gardner show given her frequent appearances, it appears Town Manager Mike McLaurin has scratched and clawed up to co-headliner status as he has appeared in a number of recent clips. No word on how the mayor is taking this.

Seriously speaking, there's probably some decent info in these clips for those interested, so check them out if you've got some time to burn.

One suggestion for Jim since election season is coming up: why not give all the various candidates a forum to discuss their thoughts on Waxhaw and what they hope to accomplish if they get elected? Currently only Daune has been able to expound on a given topic and it'd be nice to hear what the other candidates have to say as well. Perhaps he has already invited the other candidates to do so, but if no, I feel this is well worth looking into as it will be a benefit to Waxhaw voters.

On a sidenote, I joined the Land of the Waxhaws Facebook group but had to remove myself from it due to the sheer clutter. I signed up to learn when new video clips were available, but the group was in my opinion overrun by inspirational quotes, citizens of the world, and things having little if anything to do with Waxhaw. Not for me and my already cluttered Facebook page.

NC BBQ makes national headlines

No, my post on Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook-Off needing more judges hasn't yet gone viral. That is equal parts unfortunate and inexplicable.

No, the national headlines surround a years ago incident when presidential candidate Rick Perry put his foot in his mouth about North Carolina BBQ no less. Referring to some Eastern NC BBQ, he was quoted as saying "I've had road kill that tasted better than that," which of course doesn't sit well with those who take their BBQ seriously.

The whole article in the LA Times is an entertaining read filled with lots of good barbs and one-liners; check it out.

Waxhaw GIS

Waxhaw introduced a web-based GIS (geographic information system) a few months back. The blurb from the town's web site:
The Town of Waxhaw is proud to announce that we now offer web-based GIS mapping through ConnectGIS. You can access this information at http://waxhaw.connectgis.com. This service allows you to look up property information, topography, zoning, future land use designations and view aerial photography. You can also print maps from the website that contain only the information you find useful. In the coming months, staff will be adding information such as floodplain data, subdivision data, sidewalks and other planned pedestrian infrastructure. If you have any questions about the website or if you have any ideas about the information that you would find helpful, please contact Katie Ross at kross@waxhaw.com or 704-843-2195 Ext. 238.
This sounds like a useful idea for the limited handful of people who need or would like access to this type of information. However, those with too many people on their enemies list may not like the fact that a homeowner's address can be easily obtained by those up to no good.

Although it's probably not worth worrying about since unfortunately that information is likely online on numerous other places.

Tuesday pint nights @ Maxwell's

Per a Facebook update, every Tuesday will be a Stella pint night starting tonight.
EVERY Tuesday...Stella Pint Night! Buy a pint of Stella Artois on draft, and keep the glass! Starting today!
They had me at "keep the glass." What can I say? I'm a simple man.

Unfortunately, Tuesday's aren't very convenient for me with Cub Scout and other duties, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to score myself a Stella glass. I may have to make some time the next few weeks.

Monday, September 26, 2011

89 people in Waxhaw

According to one of the many emails I get inundated with from the Barack Obama campaign, 89 people from Waxhaw have thus far donated to the Obama campaign.

Given the sheer number of emails they send out and the fact this latest was asking for a donation of a mere $3, they may be getting a little desperate.

Since this post is somewhat political in nature, here's a funny video on a rather lame attackwatch.com website created by the Obama campaign:

BBQ judges needed

From the town's Facebook page:
We are looking for folks that might be interested in judging our Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook-off sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) on Sunday, October 9. KCBS prefers their own judges, but right now we may be short a few. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!. You would get a little training before hand and would be required to attend from 9:30am-1pm on Sunday. Please e-mail Cathy at events@waxhaw.com if interested.

Here's a testimonial on the fun from one of last year's judges, Martin Lane: "Nothing to it. I would love to do it again, but won't be in town until that afternoon. Let me give you all the low down. You show up at 9:30. The guy tells you to pick your favorite, then you eat free BBQ until lunch time. You get some cool stuff and all the leftovers, then you go home. Seriously, its that easy."
I'm sure there will be lots of interest in free BBQ so get your email in to Cathy ASAP if you want to be considered and more importantly if you can be a fair and evenhanded arbiter in this competition.

And if you fail to be selected due to plain bad luck or some town conspiracy, both nefarious and nebulus, you can still come out and sink your teeth into some excellent BBQ for a good cause. I hear this year the money raised benefit the Waxhaw Athletics Association (WAA).

Blogger meets mayor

I'm not sure this qualifies as blog-worthy news, but it was a pleasure to finally meet the mayor this weekend. She showed up at the Cub Scouts first campout this weekend and the pack leader was giving her a tour of the arena where we set up tents.

Due to baseball games, I was a late arrival, working with my youngest to get the tent up before a shower came through.

I introduced myself and had to tell her a couple times that I did "the blog," but she soon realized who I was. It was an altogether nice but brief experience except for the fact that neither the pack leader nor the mayor offered to help us set up the tent up.

I'd like to tell you my youngest said "Daddy, why is the mayor and pack leader not offering to help us before the rains come?" with a forlorn look in his eyes as they turned their backs on us to walk away, but to be honest he didn't say that.

I can't think of a better way to earn my vote than to get down in the mud and help me get my tent set up. Failing that there's always warm freshly baked cookies.

Regardless, my 5-year old and I were able to help another first-time camper get their tent set up before finishing our tent just as the rain arrived.

Young & Polite LivingSocial deal

For those area folks looking for a children's dentist, Young & Polite is offering a deal on LivingSocial for the next six days.

Comprehensive Exam, Cleaning, up to Two X-Rays, Oral Hygiene Instruction, and Nutritional Counseling for $70

Follow the link if you're interested.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Wounded Warriers fundraiser at Rippington's

Sunday night's Grand Re-opening at Rippington's doubles as a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project.

The event runs Sunday, September 25th from 5-8pm at Rippington's. Per Lori:
15.00 PER PERSON. THIS INCLUDES CHOICES FROM OUR BAR MENU AND 3 DRINKS. THERE WILL BE LOTS OF GREAT DOOR PRIZES. WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED AS WE ADD SOME EXCITING THINGS TO THIS EVENT.
See the Facebook page for all the details. First come, first served.

I'd really like to attend the event. Not only is it an excellent cause, but it's also affordable for regular joes. A lot of times, charity fundraisers can seem a little daunting because of entry cost or perceived cost. I'm not sure if I'm speaking for others or just myself.

Of course, Sunday evening, especially on Cub Scout camping weekends, tend to be busy with getting caught up with homework and winding down before a long week of early rising. We'll see if we can swing it, but if you've got that portion of your schedule open, I cannot think of a better place to be. I imagine Rippington's will be filled to capacity.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Presidential candidate coming soon to Waxhaw

Per the Lisa Thornton for Mayor Facebook page , Republican Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is coming to town next week for breakfast and she won't be dining at Stack's or Main Street Grill.

Lisa and others are hosting a breakfast fundraiser at a private residence for the candidate.

The details:
For all of you who have been asking, here are all of the details for the breakfast with Presidential Candidate, Michele Bachmann that I am hosting along with Jason Lambert and Lisa Davis France....This event is on Thursday, September 29,2011 at 9am. It is a private event in a home in Waxhaw. Tickets are $150. Checks can be made out to Bachmann for President. We are keeping the numbers low to create a more intimate environment. We will have approximately 50 guests. If you would like to attend, please let either myself, Jason or Lisa France know asap.
Space is obviously limited so contact Lisa, Jason Lambert, or Lisa Davis France to reserve your spot.

Another pint night at Maxwell's

Maxwell's Tavern is having another pint night on Friday, October 7th from 5-8pm.

The nitty-gritty:
buy a pint of Olde Mecklenburg's Mecktoberfest and keep the glass
(two per customer)
See the Facebook page for all the details.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Les Brown and his Band of Renown

If you're going to listen to a band, would you not choose a band of renown?

John Anderson writing for the Charlotte Observer has the story of Waxhaw resident Ken Dutton, who toured with Les Brown and His Band of Renown from 1936-1941. The Band of Renown even has some CDs available at Amazon.

The "Live at the Palladium" show, unfortunately, was taped in 1953 so it was performed long after Ken Dutton left the band. It'd be neat to dig up recordings from the time he was in the renowned band. I'm not sure if there's any circulating

I wanted to highlight this week's ago, but what can I say? I've been busy.

Read the whole thing.

"Jesu of Fondue" opens this weekend

I mentioned it earlier, but the first show of the Storefront Theatre's season opens this weekend, "Jesu of Fondue."

John Anderson, writing for the Charlotte Observer, has the story. He seems to keep a close eye on the happenings over at the Storefront Theatre. A snippet:
At 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Museum of the Waxhaws - 704-243-7283 - The Storefront Theatre will open the season with a concert reading of "Jesu of Fondue," by Rocky Mount author and playwright Dawn DeAnna Wilson.

"It's the story of a housewife who sees the face of Jesus in a billboard advertisement for a fondue restaurant," Simpson Cook said. "That's when small-town North Carolina becomes a media circus that involves a wayward seminary student, a zealous reporter and a teenage runaway."
Sounds interesting, although I don't picture small-town North Carolina having a fondue restaurant for what it's worth. If you don't have plans, consider checking it out.

Waxhaw represented on 'Big Brother'?

I have never once watched 'Big Brother' despite it being on tv for a small eternity, but it sunk its claws into my in-laws long ago.

I never thought it'd be mentioned on this blog, but that was before I knew someone from Waxhaw was on the show...twice. Jordan Lloyd of Waxhaw has been recently kicked off the show for the second time.

The Charlotte Observer's got the story.

Stack's featured in Observer

There was a review of Stack's Kitchen in the Charlotte Observer the other day. Needless to say it was positive.

Read the whole thing here.

Luigi's menu

As I wondered here, it turns out Waxhaw's Luigi's is run by the Rizzo family, who runs the Luigi's in Rock Hill.

The menu at the Waxhaw restaurant is apparently the same as the Rock Hill, so the lunch menu and dinner menu are available here for those interested.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Couple local deals

This isn't in Waxhaw but nearby. LivingSocial has a deal going for the next six days for Sports Connection near Ardrey Kell and 521.

For $7, you get one attraction and a $5 video game card, good for bowling, the bounce room, or Laser Tag. Click here for all the details.

I got four of them and envision our family duking it out for laser tag supremacy. Is there any doubt that I expect to be the last man standing when the dust ultimately settles?

On another note, for those who like City Tavern in Piper Glen, they've got a Groupon deal going through tomorrow -- either $10 for a $20 gift certificate or $20 for a $40 gift certificate. Click here for all the details.

AdamFest

On Saturday after our baseball game, we took the kids to the 4th Annual AdamFest up in Ballantyne, a fundraiser for pediatric cancer research put together by the Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation.

As far as I can tell, this was an under-publicized event (my wife only found out about it through Levine's Children's Hospital which helped sponsor the event), but our kids had a blast. They were more involved than at any other fundraiser festival we'd attended in recent years. For $20 per kid, they had the run of the place, including unlimited attempts at the rock climbing wall, surf simulator, bounce houses, swing carnival ride, train rides, slides, etc. etc. Face and hair painting, cotton candy, and funnel cakes. Corn hole, ladder toss and a high striker (strong man game), the latter of which might have been our kids' favorite.

Don't quote me on this since I'm not certain, but I believe we actually got to see Adam as he was kicking butt on the surf simulator. My son was waiting his turn and didn't do quite as well.

Pediatric cancer is an issue close to our hearts and given the good time we had this year, I highly recommend you keep your eyes peeled for details of this event next year, especially if you have young kids. I can practically guarantee you'll have a good time if you get the unlimited pass.

I wish I would've posted something beforehand had I had a little more notice about the event.

For more details, here's the Adam Faulk Tanksley Foundation Facebook page and a WCNC story as well.


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Southport Gift Shop closing

Just a quick note that Southport Gift Shop is closing per the sign on their window.

From looking back at my archives, it appears I never touched upon the fact they moved from their old Spice-tainted location (see here) to their new much smaller storefront near in the Main Street Grill plaza.

Past posts have illustrated that maintaining a business in Waxhaw is difficult, but it's too bad to see Southport go since there's not many shops in Waxhaw where you can go pick up a gift or knick-knack for someone. Where else can you go in town to pick up a non-antique gift for someone? That's not a good thing for procrastinators like me.

Campaign heating up, at least for mayor

You can tell the season of politics are nearly upon us as the local campaigns are starting to heat up. The signs are everywhere if you just look for them. For example:

* Lisa Thornton held her campaign kickoff party this weekend. The campaign speech she apparently gave is available here for those interested. Earlier, her daughter wrote a letter in support of her to the Union County Weekly.

* Daune Gardner published the first part of what reads like a campaign commercial in the Union County Weekly. I wonder if Lisa Thornton and the as yet unheard from former Waxhaw mayor Gary Underwood.

* Pictures from the Jackson Jam follow-up concert (mentioned here) show some attendees sporting 'Daune Gardner for Mayor' stickers.

UPDATE: Fixed typo in header.

New Gazette

Times sure flies. Another new Waxhaw Gazette was released on Friday.

Apparently he dined with the current mayor this week in his effort to hobnob with all the mayoral candidates.

Read the whole piece here.

Rendini's now Luigi's

Per a mayoral Facebook post yesterday, it appears Rendini's is no more. It has been replaced with Luigi's. Who knew?

It is also apparently a local chain. Once again, who knew? Per comments to the same Facebook thread, there's another Luigi's in Rock Hill and one coming in Matthews. The question is if it is the Luigi's Pizzeria on Cherry Road or the Luigi and Sons on Dave Lyle Blvd.

Here's the post in full:
really enjoyed the spinach ravioli at Luigi's (formerly Rendini's) tonight. You should check it out!
The bad news I suppose those Rendini's coupons you have (from that nifty Waxhaw Town calendar mentioned here) are now null and void.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

"Waxhaw" Kohl's opening soon

Per the Charlotte Observer, the "Waxhaw" Kohl's is opening soon.

My wife and I are fans of Kohl's so not having to trek out to South Blvd. to shop there will be nice.

Yippee! Another Waxhaw Groupon

I just checked my email and see there's another Waxhaw Groupon - this time for El Vallarta. Besides the Waxhaw location, it's good for the Monroe and Marshville locations too.

$10 for $20. It must be used by Jan 12, 2012. Since this is a weekend Groupon, you've got about three days to decide whether you'd like to purchase it.

Here's all the details.

Waxhaw blog defunct?

Nah, I've just been awful busy lately. With school starting up, blogging must sometimes take a back seat to homework, baseball, Cub Scouts, chores, etc. I hope to catch up a little this weekend.

We'll see what the future holds.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Don't forget -- WAA fundraiser on Saturday!

Just a reminder that the big WAA fundraiser is on for this Saturday at the fields behind Kensington Elementary at H.C. Nesbit Park. I posted about it earlier here, but figured I'd mention it again in case anyone forgot.

Commissioner Martin Lane has compiled a team to take on the Waxhaw police in the Whiffle Ball tournament. Hmm, I wonder who I'm gonna root for? A politician or the police? Not a tough decision as far as I'm concerned. Regardless of who you might root for, rooting for, I'm sure this game will be a heated affair.

Besides the tournament, there's BBQ, raffles, tee shirts, various sporting contests, bonfires with an undisclosed family movie, campsites, and an all-around good time I suspect.

And if you camp, there will be plenty of time for you to break camp, make church, and even attend the town's 9/11 ceremony in the early afternoon.

If anyone has any questions, contact Lisa via email for more details -- lisalbarfield AT yahoo.com.

New Gazette

John released another issue of the Waxhaw Gazette last Friday.

Of note is his "Free Lunch" column directed towards Vivian Riegelman, a local businesswoman.

It begins with the back story:
Recently I received an e-mail from Vivian Riegelman, of AAA APPRAISAL CO. Following is the entire e-mail:
“As a member of the Waxhaw Business Association, I am disappointed that my antique appraisal business is not listed on your website.“
That was it, just a complaint, and not the first, although the first from her. No call, no PR release on her company, no advertisement order, just disappointment that the Gazette should have divined that her and her business were there and automatically blessed her with some free advertisement....
It continues with a rather judicious response from John that's worth reading in its entirety. Check it out.

Leo's Kitchen

Apparently a new take-out restaurant is opening up in the old Just Wing It location.

Called Leo's Kitchen, my take from reading their Facebook page is that it sounds like a cross between Dream Dinners and a restaurant. Speaking of Dream Dinners, are they still around? I didn't notice it as I drove by last time.

Grand opening is set for October 1st.

Jackson Jam follow-up not free

Just a heads up since I reported otherwise in this post, but the Jackson Jam follow-up concert set for this Saturday night is not free for everyone as I stated, but $15/person per Gay Diller in this Land of the Waxhaws video. The impression I got from the earlier Land of the Waxhaws video

For more details as to what is planned, see the video linked above. If I'm anywhere that evening, I'll be at the WAA fundraiser mentioned earlier here.

Friday, September 2, 2011

First Friday rained out tonight?

I imagine First Friday (or at least the movie "Tangled") got rained out.

We headed to the Knights game tonight only to watch 1.5 uneventful innings before they brought the tarps out. The rains arrived around 8pm if memory serves. Special thanks to Nintendo DS for giving us the ability to stick around until 9.30pm with minimal complaining.

Reminder: First Friday tonight

Just a reminder for those of you that First Friday is tonight.

Highlights can be found here.

Aw shucks, another Groupon

Aw Shucks has a good Groupon for essentially half off general admission tickets. The specifics are that you can purchase two general admission tickets for $8 and you're allowed to purchase two of this Groupon, so you can get tickets for a family of four for just $16.

We try to head to Aw Shucks once a year (I've posted about last year's trip), so if you've been never been, you're not likely to beat this price. And it's pretty fun, especially if you've got younger kids.

Check out all the details of the Groupon here.