Morning, gang.
When I was tending bar 20 years ago, customers could smoke. The success of Sex & The City was selling a lot of Cosmos and the folly of mid-2000s youth moved a lot of Red Bull and vodka.
It was a different time. But isn’t it always?
Case in point: This weekend’s Cannabis Crawl in downtown Greensboro. As Sayaka Matsuoka reports, the growing popularity of THC-infused drinks is reaching the booze trend high water marks once seen by Zima and Appletinis. Just, you know, without the booze.
We’re also bringing you the story of Greensboro residents who may have their votes tossed out in the ongoing fight over a North Carolina Supreme Court seat as well as a look at the city’s attempt to address homelessness as we move from the chill of winter to the heat of summer.
Let’s get into it.
— Joe Killian
Greensboro Cannabis Crawl Offers A Different Kind of Buzz
Imagine a typical bar crawl—St. Patrick’s Day, a friend’s birthday, a bachelor or bachelorette party.
There’s a good chance someone has a little too much to drink and finds themselves slumped over a bar or, worse, a toilet.
Now, imagine a different kind of bar crawl. One in which you still get to try cocktails or fizzy refreshments at every stop, but you don’t feel sluggish or out of control. Instead, you feel kind of light, relaxed. At worst, you might feel a little sleepy.
During this weekend’s Cannabis Crawl, participants will get to try Little Brother Brewing’s Delta Spirits or the canned seltzers at local spots like Lawn Service in LeBauer Park, Natty Greene’s, Chandler’s, and Grey’s Tavern.
Read the full story here.
— Sayaka Matsuoka
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Longtime N.C. Voters May Have Their Ballots Wrongfully Tossed in Supreme Court Race
The so-called “never resident” list appears to include some longtime residents, while other voters appear in two different challenge categories–leaving the fate of their ballots unknown after Friday’s state Supreme Court ruling.
It didn’t take long to find a Greensboro voter at imminent risk of having their ballot discarded from last year’s Supreme Court election. And for some, the issues can’t be corrected.
Vidyaranya Gargeya is a retired professor who taught at UNC-Greensboro for 30 years who, according to the school, has visited every college in the state. He’s paid property taxes at the same suburban Guilford County home he’s owned since 2003, according to public records. And voting records show he voted in-person on Election Day eight times without issue, and has voted in every midterm and presidential general election since 2006. He appears to have cast an overseas mail-in ballot for the 2024 election.
But a protest filed by Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin labeled Gargeya as a “never resident.” On Friday, the state Supreme Court directed the State Board of Elections to promptly remove 260 never-resident ballots without any opportunity for remedy or discussion, including Gargeya’s.
Read the full story here.
– Bryan Anderson
Read this newsletter online or contact The Thread team with tips and feedback at greensboro@theassemblync.com.
By The Numbers: The Doorway Project Opens for Summer at Former Regency Inn Site
As the temperature spiked more than 20 degrees over the weekend, hitting 80 on Monday, Greensboro’s Doorway Project residents rested comfortably in their air-conditioned units.
The program, one of the city’s attempts to tackle the growing problem of homelessness, is in its third year. Run by the Interactive Resource Center (IRC), the program uses portable shelters by a company called Pallet that house two people each.
In its first two years, the shelters were installed at Pomona Park during the coldest months of the year, from October through March. This year, rather than take them down during the summer, the city moved them to 2701 N. O. Henry Boulevard, where the Regency Inn stood before it was demolished in October.
State law limits the number of days temporary shelters can stay up at a single location to 180 days, according to Briana McDuffie, the IRC’s program director. After six months, they have to be moved.
Now, with a place to install the units for the summer, the residents there will be able to continue living in their shelters for the remainder of the year without interruption.
While the IRC has secured funding for the summer program, director Benita Curtain told The Thread it has yet to get funding to return them to Pomono Park in the winter.
Here’s a By The Numbers look at the details of the program this year.
$570,950 – The amount city council approved for the summer Doorway Project.
$250,00 – How much the Doorway Project costs the IRC each season.
30 – Pallet shelters up and running for the summer. One of the shelters is used for security.
6 – Months the summer program will last.
56 – Beds, and thus residents, in the shelters.
2 – Handicap-accessible rooms onsite.
2 – Bathroom units with five showers and five toilets total.
83 – Beds the Doorway Project operated in the winter due to the addition of 2 RVs which were not relocated.
17 – People found permanent housing through the Doorway Project this past season.
3 – Years the Doorway Project has been in operation.
30/60/90 – Days at which residents will be evaluated to ensure they are working towards goals to find permanent housing.
70 – People currently on the waitlist for the Doorway Project.
– Sayaka Matsuoka
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