Weekly News Roundup: COVID-19 Cancellations in Charlotte
COVID-19 Cancellations in the Charlotte Area
Due to efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, just about any plans you might have had are probably canceled. But just to be sure, we have compiled this list of all the major local events that have been shut down or pushed to a later date.
Urban Ministry Center announced on Thursday that it will close down its Room in the Inn program two-and-a-half weeks early. Room in the Inn is an emergency program for people facing homelessness, housing them in local churches and gyms during the winter. It was set to run through the end of the month but last night was its last night.
Rich & Bennett’s St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl has been postponed until June 27. Yes, they are going to hold a St. Patrick’s Day event in June. The money will still be green then.
U.S. National Whitewater Center Green River Revival has been canceled.
At the Fillmore and Underground, Stonefest 10 and Colors Worldwide, both scheduled for tonight, have been postponed, as has the Get Sad Y’all emo show scheduled for March 20. At Neighborhood Theatre, Stephen Marley’s Friday night show was rescheduled for August 13 and tonight’s Mija concert was canceled. At Evening Muse, tonight’s Daniel Donato/Taylor McCall show has been canceled, while the late show featuring Native Sun/The Muckers was postponed. At Visulite, tonight’s Brawley’s Black and Blue II event will be rescheduled, as will all shows through March 21.
Carowinds has postponed its opening until April 3.
Sesame Street Live!, which was scheduled for today at Ovens Auditorium, has been canceled. We’re not super shocked about this one there’s just an exclamation point in the title.
Michael Bublé’s March 18 show at Spectrum Center has been canceled.
All Charlotte Hornets and NBA games in general have been canceled until further notice. All ACC tournament and March Madness games scheduled for Greensboro and elsewhere have been canceled. The NCHSAA men’s basketball state championship has been canceled.
All Charlotte Checkers games have been canceled until further notice, as have all Charlotte Independence games and UNC Charlotte athletic events.
The Mexico vs. Czech Republic men’s soccer match scheduled for March 26 at Bank of America Stadium has been canceled.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schhols will move spring break up from April to March 19-27.
All UNC Charlotte classes have gone online until further notice. Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) and Central Piedmont Community College are extending their respective spring breaks until March 27. At JCSU, all undergrad classes will go online and residence halls will close on March 30. CPCC is expected to move classes online, as well. Queens University of Charlotte will go online beginning March 18. Davidson College has canceled classes until March 17, pending further notice.
The Charlotte National College Fair scheduled for March 28 at The Park Expo and Conference Center has been canceled.
Hawthorne Lane Bridge Won’t Reopen This Month
WSOC’s Joe Bruno has been bravely reporting on the never-ending saga of the Hawthorne Lane Bridge reconstruction, and Thursday he dropped another bomb on us, letting us know that CATS confirmed with him that the bridge will not be finished by the previously announced March 22 deadline, but will be pushed back again until late July or August.
The bridge connecting the Elizabeth and Plaza Midwood neighborhoods has been closed since July 24, 2017, making that 965 days as of today, and that number will certainly reach 1,000 before it opens. The expected opening date has been pushed back multiple times, to the dismay of business owners on the corridor. In October 2017, Catch On Seafood Company closed down, citing the bridge construction as the reason for its lack of traffic.
Union County Double Fucked
As if fear of the coronavirus wasn’t enough to deal with, Union County residents had to deal with an E. coli scare on Thursday after a sample from one location tested positive for the bacteria. Union County Public Works (UCPW) issued a boil-water advisory, which was lifted on Friday morning. In the meantime, school was canceled on Friday.
The positive sample was collected near the intersection of U.S. 74 and Grey Fox Road. According to a statement from UCPW, a second sample collected from the same location tested negative for E. coli, though additional testing showed the presence of total coliform, which is not E. coli but can indicate the presence of pathogens. E. coli usually results from fecal matter in water. It can be boiled away, but still … gross.
Shooter in Mr. C’s Robbery Bonds Out
In last week’s Roundup, we reported on the noontime robbery of Mr. C’s Restaurant on March 5, during which 25-year-old suspect Deonte Curry shot Magda Chormovas four times. This week, Curry was released on bond after judge Kim Best dropped his bail from $150,000 to $97,500.
Video surveillance from the robbery obtained by Fox 46 shows Chormovas punching Curry from behind while he pointed a gun at her brother. After she swung on Curry, other employees jumped in the fight. They were still fighting back when police arrived. Curry was arrested, but he had to be hospitalized before being taken to jail. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Surveillance released from shooting at Mr C’s restaurant last week. Both the owner’s sister and father help fight off one of the two men charged with attempted murder. pic.twitter.com/62ukbxNNQ1
— Brandon Earl Smith (@brandonearl_) March 10, 2020
Chormovas told Fox 46 she was upset about Curry’s quick release from jail after he nearly killed her. A statement from Best’s N.C. Judicial Branch District 26 pointed out that he was placed on electronic monitoring.
“In this instance, Judge Best looked at the circumstances of the events, the safety of our community, and the defendants’ prior record level (convictions) in making her bond recommendation,” the statement read.
Teen Among Those Murdered in Charlotte This Week, 18 Homicides on the Year
A 19-year-old woman who was shot multiple times while sitting in her car in west Charlotte on Sunday died of her wounds on Monday. Police say Brianna Stephenson was sitting at a stop light at the intersection of Tuckaseegee Road and Freedom Drive when someone shot her from a separate vehicle. Stephenson’s new boyfriend, Jaquavious Royster, was also in the car and suffered minor injuries. No arrests have been made in the case, though Stephenson’s family told WCCB reporter Trish Williford that it was not a random act of violence, and they believe she was targeted by someone she knew.
Two men have been arrested for the murder of 43-year-old Lamar McNeil, who was shot and killed in University City on Tuesday night. Police responded to a shooting call on Wit Way in the Aspen Charlotte apartment complex and found McNeil suffering from a gunshot wound inside an apartment. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died. On Thursday, police arrested 26-year-old Joshua McClain for McNeil’s murder, and on Friday they arrested 27-year-old Darian Huffman. Both men have been charged with murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.
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