TCB Nov. 5, 2020 — Waiting game

Greensboro / Winston-Salem / High Point Nov. 5-11, 2020 triad-city-beat.com

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WAITING GAME Who won, who lost and everything in between PAGE 6-14

A bad call PAGE 15

Rich Girls PAGE 17

New restaurants PAGE 16

Nov. 5-11, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

The night before It’s the night before the election and I don’t know what to do.

I voted. I editorialized. I unleashed swarms of reporters —

by Brian Clarey well, two, anyway — into the wild to bring back the truth of these races.

I’ve done all I can, I believe. But I still don’t know what’s going to happen. And the events that transpired back in 2016 loom in my mind. I don’t take hope for granted anymore; it comes along infrequently enough. *** I had my first COVID-19 test today — a long swab up my nostrils, no big deal.

Fifteen minutes later, they told me I was negative, and safe to go to work tomorrow.

Had it gone the other way, I would have been stuck at home while the world moved along without me.

My art director isn’t so lucky. We won’t be seeing him around for at least a couple weeks.

It’s the closest the coronavirus has come to me so far. The day before the election. *** It’s my daughter’s birthday tomorrow.

She came into the world on the night George W. Bush was re-elected. I watched

the results come in with disgust right around the time I snipped the umbilical cord. I didn’t vote that day. Never again.

I’m going to try to get some time with her in the morning, before the gears of the election machinery start to smoke and whine, and then I’ll tuck my notebook under my arm and leave with an apology.

I’ve been apologizing to her a lot since the start of the pandemic. *** Tomorrow I’ll mask up and hit the polls, keeping an eye on my texts and Twitter, alert to any shady dealings. I’ll be looking for candidates and voters who want to talk, gauging numbers from the bellwether precincts, keeping an eye out for Trump trucks and douchebags in tactical gear.

I know at 9 p.m. we’ll have hard numbers for the 4.5 million North Carolinians who have already voted. I know that’s only a few hundred thousand shy of the total vote in 2016. I know that high turnout rarely favors Republicans. And I know that hope can be costly. *** It’s the night before the election, and I don’t know anything more than I did when the whole thing started. But for tonight, I’ve done what I can.

It’s the night before the election and I don’t know what to do.

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

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1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.256.9320 Cover design by Robert Paquette SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com

EDITORIAL INTERN Michaela Ratliff ART ART DIRECTOR Robert Paquette robert@triad-city-beat.com SALES

KEY ACCOUNTS Drew Dix

drew@triad-city-beat.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, Matt Jones

TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. ©2018 Beat Media Inc.

Nov. 5-11, 2020

Coronavirus in the Triad:

(as of Wednesday, Nov. 4, compared to last week)

Documented COVID-19 diagnoses 280,379 (+16,490)

Forsyth

9,336 (+580)

Guilford County

12,173 (+895)

News

COVID-19 deaths

Up Front

NC

NC

4,463 (+245)

Forsyth

121 (+2)

Guilford

211 (+6)

246,318 (+14,707)

Forsyth

8,028 (+496)

Guilford

8,735 (+2,409)

Culture

NC

Opinion

Documented recoveries

Current cases 29,598 (+1,538)

Forsyth

1,187 (+82)

Guilford

3,015 (-1,501)

Shot in the Triad

NC

Hospitalizations (right now) 1,186 (-7)

Forsyth

43 (+2)

Guilford

84 (-15)

Puzzles

NC

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Nov. 5-11, 2020

CITY LIFE Nov. 5-8

by Michaela Ratliff

Up Front

THURSDAY Nov. 5

Shop the Block @ Downtown Winston-Salem (W-S) It’s time to get started on holiday shopping. Until Nov. 8, Shop the Block introduces a downtown shopping experience with exclusive deals offered by local retailers. To view a list of participating stores, visit the event page. *Be sure to check with retailers for hours of operation.

Dine at the Diamond @ High Point Rockers Baseball (HP) 11 a.m.

Culture

Opinion

News

Music Bingo: Classic Rock @ Joymongers Barrel Hall (W-S) 7:30 p.m.

Pitchin’ Kitchen at Truist Point invites you to enjoy “great food with a great view.” To learn more, visit Pitchin’ Kitchen’s Instagram page.

Shot in the Triad

Winter Wonderlights @ Greensboro Science Center (GSO) 5:30 p.m.

Puzzles

Joymongers is hosting a night of music bingo. Classic rock songs will play and the first to five in a row on their board will win Joymongers merch. The event is first come, first serve so arrive early.

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FRIDAY Nov. 6

Virtual LGBTQ Job Fair @ Guilford Green Foundation & LGBTQ Center (GSO) 9 a.m.

Guilford Green Foundation & LGBTQ Center is hosting a job fair exclusively for LGBTQ job seekers. Interviews with 10-12 local companies dedicated to inclusive policies will be held over Zoom. Visit Eventbrite to register.

Winter Wonderlights is Greensboro Science Center’s new holiday light show. The facility will be surrounded by shimmering lights in addition to more surprises. To purchase tickets and view future dates, visit GSO Science Center’s website.

Nov. 5-11, 2020

SATURDAY Nov. 7

Fall Harvest Pancake Breakfast To-Go @ Greensboro Farmers Curb Market (GSO) 8 a.m.

SUNDAY Nov. 8

Grand Opening @ Renaissance Cheesecakes (GSO) 2 p.m.

The staff of Renaissance Cheesecakes is excited to share their baked goods with you.

Check out the event page for more info.

Up Front

Pre-Holiday Pop Up Market @ Sabrina McGowens Art Gallery (HP) 1 p.m.

Artsy People of Color in partnership with Sabrina McGowens Art Gallery is hosting a preholiday outdoor market giving patrons the opportunity to shop with local vendors specializing in skincare, clothing and more. To view participating vendors, visit the event page.

The Lion King @ Carolina Theater (GSO) 2 p.m.

News Opinion

Alex and Tim Amoroso from Cheesecakes by Alex will be preparing your choice of cinnamon apple or pumpkin spice pancakes for patrons to pick up and enjoy at home. To purchase tickets in advance, visit the curb market’s website.

Free Farmer’s Market @ the Farm at New Garden Park (GSO) 10 a.m.

Culture

Carolina Theater will be showing a screening of The Lion King. Only 100 tickets are available to allow for social distancing so head to the theater’s website to purchase yours.

Shot in the Triad Puzzles

The goal of this farmer’s market is for any Guilford County resident experiencing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic to receive up to $30 worth of locally-grown, fresh produce at no cost. Donations to the market are also welcome.

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Puzzles

Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

Nov. 5-11, 2020

NEWS

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Cooper re-elected as governor, Republicans maintain control of legislature

by Jordan Green Democrats watched their dream of retaking control of the North Carolina legislature evaporate on election night.

Democrat Terri LeGrand, who had hoped to unseat Republican incumbent Joyce Krawiec in Senate District 31, retreated into a side room during a watch party in Winston-Salem attended by a handful of glum staffers. When early votes and absentee ballots were counted shortly after the polls closed, Krawiec was up by one point, but as election-day votes came in, Krawiec wound up with a 6-point lead.

After LeGrand’s campaign manager announced she would be making no statement, the candidate could be heard on a phone call ticking off one state legislative race after another that didn’t go in her party’s direction.

“This is not a good night for Democrats in North Carolina,” she said.

State election results provided a remarkably static result, with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper winning a second term by a healthy margin against Republican challenger Dan Forest, signaling that voters support Cooper’s cautious approach to the COVID pandemic over Forest’s demands to reopen the state more quickly.

Forest gave up his position as lieutenant governor to run against Cooper. A polished far-right politician with close ties to the Christian right, Forest will be replaced by Mark Robinson, the first African-American to hold the office and also a right-wing populist and Second Amendment proponent beloved among conservatives for his propensity to heap scorn on progressives, the news media and Black Lives Matter.

Senate District 31, which combines the eastern end of Forsyth County with Davie County, was considered a pivotal race for Democrats, who needed a net gain of five seats to take the majority.

As predicted Democrats picked up two Senate seats — District 18 in the Raleigh suburbs, and District 39 in Mecklenburg County — but narrowly lost the District 9 seat in Wilmington, resulting in a net gain of only one seat.

District 27, which makes a partial ring around Greensboro, was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic-held seats, since Michael Garrett swiped it from Republican Trudy Wade in 2018.

But Garrett handily defended it against Republican Sebastian King, prevailing

54.3 percent to 45.7 percent.

In District 24, covering Alamance County and the eastern end of Guilford County, Democrat JD Wooten overperformed against expectations, with 47.5 percent of the vote, but fell short to Republican Amy Galey, who currently chairs the Alamance County Commission.

Democrats Gladys Robinson and Paul Lowe, who respectively represent District 28 in Greensboro and District 32 in Winston-Salem, won reelection by wide margins, as did Republican incumbent David Craven in District 26, covering Randolph County and parts of High Point.

In state House races, where Democrats needed six seats to retake the majority, Republicans appear to have made a net gain of four seats, with Republicans flipping six Democrat-held seats, while Democrats appear to have flipped two Republican seats. The two Democratic pickups took place in District 63 in Alamance County and District 9 in Pitt County. In District 9, Democrat Brian Farkas prevailed over Republican Perrin Jones, and in District 63, Democrat Ricky Hurtado led Republican Stephen Ross by less than a 1 point. But Hurtado’s election night success is tenuous: It’s within the margin that Ross may request a recount.

In two Triad races that were also on the “pivotal” to Democrats — required for them to take control of the chamber, Democratic challengers fell short against Republican incumbents. In District 59 in Guilford County, Republican Majority Whip Jon Hardister bested Democrat Nicole Quick, 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent, while in District 74 in Forsyth County, Republican Jeff Zenger defeated Democrat Dan Besse. Zenger, a former Lewisville Town Council member, earned 51.6 percent of the vote, compared to the 48.8 percent garnered by Besse, a Winston-Salem City Council member.

The Republicans’ success at defending their majority means they will control the process or redrawing district lines for their own state legislative seats, along with North Carolina’s congressional districts.

The results in the remaining Triad House races were no surprise given the partisan skew of the districts, with easy victories by Democrats Ashton Clem-

Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper was able to win re-election in a mixed bag of state returns.

mons in District 57, Amos Quick in District 58, Cecil Brockman in District 60, and by Republicans John Faircloth in District 62, Donny Lambeth in District 75 and Lee Zachary in District 73.

Democrat Amber Baker prevailed in the contest for the District 72 seat vacated

by Derwin Montgomery. Democrats Pricey Harrison and Evelyn Terry ran unopposed in District 61 and District 71, respectively.

In the attorney general race, Democrat incumbent Josh Stein eked out a razor-thin lead over Republican Jim O’Neill, who currently serves as district attorney in Forsyth County. Stein won 50.1 percent of the vote, compared to 49.9 percent by O’Neill, well within the margin to request a recount.

Democrat incumbent Beth A. Wood defeated Republican Anthony Wayne Street, 50.85 percent to 49.15 percent, in the state auditor’s race.

Republican Steve Troxler easily defeated Democrat Jenna Wadsworth in the race for commissioner of agriculture.

Mike Causey, the Republican incumbent in the commissioner of insurance race, outpaced Democrat Wayne Goodwin, 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent.

In the open contest for commissioner of labor, Republican Josh Dobson narrowly defeated Jessica Holmes, 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent.

CREATIVE COMMONS/ WIKIMEDIA

The open contest for superintendent of public instruction also favored the Republican candidate, with Catherine Truitt defeating Jen Mangrum, 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent.

Democrat Elaine Marshall held her position as secretary of state against Republican EC Sykes, 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent.

Republican Dale Folwell won reelection as his treasurer, defending the office against Democrat Ronnie Chatterji.

In the race for the state Supreme Court Chief Justice seat, Republican Paul Newby narrowly led Democratic incumbent Cheri Beasley, 50.04 percent to 49.96 percent, well within the margin to request a recount.

Republicans also prevailed in the two other supreme court races, with Phil Berger Jr. winning election to Seat 2 and Tamara Barringer prevailing in the race for Seat 4.

Republicans swept all five court of appeals judgeship seats, with April C. Wood winning Seat 4, Fred Gore winning Seat 5, Chris Dillon winning Seat 6, Jeff Carpenter winning Seat 7 and Jefferson C. Griffin winning Seat 13.

All results are unofficial until certified during the final canvass on Nov. 12.

While incumbents retook their seats easily in Forsyth county, some races in Guilford county finished with very close results.

Nov. 5-11, 2020

Guilford County commission flips blue; incumbents retake seats in Forsyth

by Sayaka Matsuoka Guilford County races

Up Front News

(L to R) Democrats James Upchurch, Carly Cooke and Mary Beth Murphy upended the balance of the Guilford County Commission.

environmental education and support environmental justice.

Both Guilford county referenda, which related to a school bond and a sales tax increase to pay for the bond, also passed by a wide percentage. The sales tax referendum, which would raise the county sales tax by 0.25 percent, passed by more than 33 percentage points, as did the school bond referendum which would authorize a $300 million bond to improve public schools in Guilford county.

Forsyth County local races

Shot in the Triad Puzzles

In Forsyth County, incumbents had a good evening, winning every single race on the ballot with the exception of a district court race. Democrat Whit Davis beat Republican Mike Silver for the District Court Judge District 21 Seat 8 race.

All three incumbent Republican county commission candidates were re-elected to their seats on the board, outpacing their Democratic challengers by between 2.5 and 5 percentage points.

Incumbent David Plyler, who has served on the board since 1994 — with a gap between 2006 and 2008 — garnered the most votes, making up 19.7 percent. His Republican colleagues Gloria Whisenhunt and Richard Linville also retook their seats in second and third place with 18.4 percent and 17.8 percent of the

vote respectively.

Democratic challenger Christopher Smith, who came in fourth place with 15.2 percent of the vote, told Triad City Beat that the closeness of the race showed that District B isn’t as solidly red as was previously thought.

“Before we had any Election Day votes, we were within 2,000 votes,” he said at the Terri LeGrand watch party on Tuesday night. “They told us this was going to be a blowout, but we showed that it’s not unwinnable…. The goal for me was to raise issues like youth upward mobility, expanding poverty rates and the fact that we have the most failing schools in this county. Winning would have been icing on the cake. We did what we came to do, even though obviously we would have liked to win.”

In the Winston-Salem mayoral race, Democratic incumbent Allen Joines also retook his seat handily, winning 71.7 percent of the vote compared to Republican challenger Kris McCann’s 27.9 percent.

In the Winston-Salem City Council Southeast Ward race, incumbent Democrat James Taylor also rewon his seat by a wide margin over Libertarian challenger Wesley Longsdorf. Taylor won with 84.3 percent of the vote.While there were a number of write-in candidates for the city council races, none garnered enough votes to be competitive.

Culture

T. Dianne Bellamy-Small and Bettye Taylor Jenkins ran unopposed in the general election. Democratic county Commissioner Skip Alston also ran unopposed.

In the Guilford County Register of Deeds race, Democratic incumbent Jeff Thigpen retook his seat easily over challenger Abdul Rashid Siddiqui by more than 38 percentage points. In the Guilford County Soil and Water Conservation Board race, political newcomer and youngest candidate on the ballot Antoinette Weaver beat out five other candidates for the one seat, including incumbent Ray Briggs, to win the seat.

Weaver, who is 23 years old, won with 36.1 percent of the vote.

Canvassing at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Greensboro on Tuesday, Weaver said she was proud of what she and her team had accomplished.

“I have a lot of ideas that I want to implement in the city, and I don’t think my age should get in the way of my ability to perform the job,” Weaver said.

“A lot of young people were excited to see someone their age as well…. They said, ‘You know what, I didn’t think this is something that someone our age could do.’” Weaver is an earth and environmental sustainability studies graduate from UNCG who said they ran to increase environmental awareness, create

COURTESY PHOTOS

Opinion

On Tuesday evening, the composition of the Guilford county board of commissioners flipped from red to blue.

In the District 6 county commissioner race, Democrat James Upchurch beat Republican Jim Davis by 5.7 percentage points, flipping the district for Democrats, giving Democrats the majority on the board. Democrat Carly Cooke also beat Republican Troy Lawson by more than 12 percentage points in District 5.

“I’m incredibly honored that voters of District 5 chose me to represent them on the board of commissioners,” Cooke told Triad City Beat in a statement on Tuesday night. “I’m proud of the campaign we ran and thankful for our supporters….I’m humbled by the responsibility ahead, committed to serving earnestly and excited to get to work.”

One race in particular could still be in play depending on the number of absentee ballots that are counted in the next nine days. A recent US Supreme Court ruling stated that for North Carolina, as long as absentee ballots are postmarked

by Nov. 3, they will be counted for the general election if they are received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12. In the Guilford County commissioner race for District 4 between Democrat Mary Beth Murphy and Republican incumbent Alan Branson, Murphy was leading Branson by just 0.04 percent, or 18 votes at the end of the night on Tuesday. With Murphy’s lead and Upchurch’s win, the composition of the board went from five Republicans and four Democrats to seven Democrats and two Republicans.

“I am so grateful to all of the groups of individuals that have leaned in to support our campaign,” Murphy said in a statement to TCB on Tuesday night.

“Tonight we are cautiously optimistic and looking forward to seeing the results certified.”

Both contested Guilford School Board races in District 3 and District 5 were also very close. In District 3, Democratic challenger Blake Odum trailed incumbent Republican Pat Tillman by just 0.24 percent or 88 votes. In the District 5 school board race, unaffiliated candidate Deborah Napper had a slightly larger lead over Republican Michelle Bardsley by 0.52 percent, or 187 votes.

Democratic school board candidates

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Nov. 5-11, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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With absentee ballots still coming in, federal races hang in the balance

by Brian Clarey The day after the election in North Carolina, we still do not know who won.

In a record-high turnout, President Donald Trump was able to overcome an early lead by Joe Biden as late results came in, and is now leading Joe Biden by almost 100,000 votes and 1.41 percentage points. State board of elections officials say the final tally will probably not be in until Nov. 12, the last day to count absentee ballots.

Sen. Thom Tillis is hanging onto his Senate seat by a similar margin. But the absentee ballots could change the results.

The Associated Press had not called the election in favor of either presidential candidate or the Senate race for North Carolina as of Wednesday morning.

Trump was losing both Triad counties by hefty spreads — Biden took more than 60 percent of the vote in Guilford, and won Forsyth by more than 10 points — on Tuesday evening. But heavy leads in the state’s urban counties seem to trail the red, rural wave as of Tuesday night’s results.

Steven Smith, 27, cast his vote for Trump at Brown Recreation Center in Greensboro after voting for him before in 2016. He said his main issue is the Second Amendment.

“I feel like once the Democrats get in, the guns laws are going to be changed drastically,” he said. “It’s just going to be too much, even coming close to repealing the Second Amendment might be possible, which is crazy to think about.”

As of Wednesday, Biden led in electoral college votes 237 to 214. Trump leads in Alaska, Pennsylvania, NC and Georgia, while Biden is ahead in Michigan, Arizona and Nevada. Most of these results will be in by the end of the week.

Both have several paths to victory, and there is even the possibility of a 269-269 Electoral College tie, though it’s remote.

Cal Cunningham, the Democratic challenger to Thom Tillis, is also trailing as of Wednesday morning, by two points. The contest followed much the same pattern as the presidential election, with Tillis coming in a bit behind Trump in total votes on Tuesday. Absentee ballots could flip this one as well.

In the quest for a Senate majority, Democrats have flipped two seats so far, in Colorado and Arizona, and Republicans have picked one up in Alabama. It’s 47-48 right now, to the GOP’s advantage, with five seats still up in the air.

Democrat Kathy Manning was able to secure the seat in the newly formed 6th

Kathy Manning hit the precincts on Election Day.

Congressional District, which includes Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point. She defeated Republican Lee Haywood by 25 points. Court-ordered redistricting essentially made the district a lock for a Democratic candidate.

Republican Mark Walker, who currently represents the district, decided not to seek reelection after the district was redrawn.

“Today, voters from across North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District voted for change,” Manning said during her Zoom viewing party.” I’m honored to earn their confidence and their support.

As our nation faces a convergence of several crises, families in the 6th District are being left behind. In Congress, I will fight to help bring an end to the CO-

VID-19 pandemic and to get resources to the families, small businesses, and local governments in need of support. I will also fight to address systemic racism in policing, housing, employment and education.”

Including Manning, Democrats have flipped two seats, both in NC — the other is Deborah Ross in District 2. But Republicans have picked up seven seats as of Wednesday, in Minnesota, Iowa, Florida (2), South Carolina, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

As of Wendesday, Democrats have 203 seats, Republicans have 187 and there are four still to be settled.

Turnout in North Carolina topped 74 percent, more than four points above than the high-water mark of 70 per-

TODD TURNER

cent established in 2008, when Barack Obama won the state on his way to becoming president.

More than 4.5 million North Carolinians voted before Election Day through early and absentee voting, shattering all previous records. But the high earlyvoting numbers meant slower traffic at precincts on Election Day. At the Tabernacle Baptist Church in High Point, Chief Judge Lisa Harris said she had seen 277 in-person voters by 3 p.m.

“Most of our voters, over 2,000, voted early,” she said. “Oh my goodness, I’ve been working here forever and it’s the highest I’ve ever seen.”

Nov. 5-11, 2020

March on Graham Redux: A thousand head to the polls Jordan Green and Brian Clarey

Up Front News Opinion Culture

a seizure, and protesters—including at least three children—left vomiting, while others cried out in agony after becoming overcome by the chemical irritant.

This time around, the protest—in Alamance County, a Republican-leaning area where Trump needs to run up a sizable electoral margin to carry the crucial swing state of North Carolina—largely went off without incident. Ann Jones, one plaintiff in a lawsuit filed Monday over the violence at the last march, successfully cast her ballot Tuesday afternoon.

“I want you to give the beloved community a hand because we are here to stand with the citizens of Alamance

County to run hate out of this county and to welcome love into it,” Drumwright said, addressing the crowd gathered at Wayman Chapel AME Church.

“Most of you have already voted in your hometowns and your respective districts,” he continued. “But you’re here to stand as a symbolic witness to celebrate the rights of all people, all people here to be able to cast their vote.”

Three police units idled in the parking lot of the polling place at the Graham Recreation Center. John Coleman, a Democratic candidate for the AlamanceBurlington Board of Education who was at the march Tuesday, noted of police: “They can claim they’re here for park-

ing, but everyone knows they’re here for voter intimidation.”

“When poll observers asked them what they’re here for, they wouldn’t answer,” he continued. “And they’re within 50 feet of a polling site.”

During the previous march, law enforcement’s insistence on keeping the streets clear around the Historic Courthouse was the point of friction they used to justify an attack on the marchers with pepper spray.

“They were under the same understanding that we were, we thought, when the event started that they were not

Cont. on pg. 12

Puzzles

Three days after volleys of police pepper spray disrupted a peaceful procession of mostly Black activists to the polls here, ending in mass arrests, injuries, and trauma to children caught in the mayhem, marchers returned in force.

Under the direction of Rev. Greg Drumwright, almost 1,000 people retraced the steps of the original march, a trip that took them from Wayman Chapel AME Church, to two polling places, and then to a Confederate monument, where a few-dozen counter-protesters met them.

The chaos that unfolded days earlier saw a disabled woman fall out of a motorized wheelchair after experiencing

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Shot in the Triad

After getting pepper-sprayed and arrested there on Halloween, Rev. Greg Drumwright returned to downtown Graham on Election Day with a group twice the size of the first for a peaceful follow-up.

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Almost 1,000 returned to Graham on Election Day.

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Rev. Greg Drumwright had to wait 72 hours after his arrest to legally return to the city.

CAROLYN DE BERRY

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Nov. 5-11, 2020

Cont. from pg. 9

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authorized to keep the road closed for an extended period of time,” Graham Police Lt. Daniel Sisk said during a press conference on Sunday. “That the road closure was temporary just to accommodate the march, which we led by from the chapel, had road closures up to the courthouse, and when the order was given to clear the road, when it was clear to our officers that the people had no intent of clearing the road, that’s when we deployed the pepper-fogger measures to get them out of the roadway.”

After police and sheriff’s deputies deployed pepper spray for a third time during the Oct. 31 gathering, marchers fled north on Main Street and broke up, with few if any making it to the polling place a block west of the Confederate monument. It was the final day of early voting in North Carolina, during which voters may register and vote on the same day, but may only vote on Election Day if they’re already registered.

“There were folks that did not make it to vote,” Drumwright told the Daily Beast. “There are people who won’t get to vote, unfortunately, because they didn’t get to register on the last day of early voting. We’re sad because the police action resulted in voter obstruction.”

During the Election Day march, marchers scrupulously stayed on sidewalks or marched in ones and twos along one side of streets without sidewalks.

The march wound through residential neighborhoods to pick up the two polling places. A brass band enlivened the march, and children ran to windows in houses along the route to greet the marchers.

Danielle Cattouse and her son, Kamren, filmed the march on their phones as they waited to exit a parking lot onto the street.

“This is amazing,” Danielle Cattouse said. “You’ve got to fight for something—democracy. It’s crazy how this nation is divided because of the man who is president.”

When the marchers reached the Historic Courthouse where the monument is located, protest marshals ushered them across the street to the courthouse steps, while a couple dozen counter-protesters waved Confederate flags, jeered, and chanted, “Four more years.” One man waving a Trump flag urged motorists to keep driving around the traffic circle to prevent marchers from getting across the street and bottle-neck them in the area where the counter-protesters were. He tried to start several fights and shoved a man. A parade marshal and a pastor

Nov. 5-11, 2020 Up Front News CAROLYN DE BERRY

A group of about 50 counter-protesters waited in downtown Graham.

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Culture

The Election Day march ventured into the evening without incident.

Opinion Shot in the Triad

approached him to de-escalate.

Alamance County, a semi-rural former textile hub tucked between Greensboro and Durham, has a long history of racism, going back to the lynching of Wyatt Outlaw, a Black town commissioner and constable, by the Ku Klux Klan in 1870.

The Confederate monument, erected near the site of Outlaw’s lynching, has become a focal point of bitter conflict between antiracists and far-right proConfederate groups. Terry Johnson, the current sheriff, was sued by US Justice Department for racial profiling. A federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush ultimately dismissed the government’s case while condemning ethnic slurs used at the Alamance County jail as “reprehensible.” The government lawsuit cited Johnson for calling Latinx people “taco eaters,” and as recently as 2019, he told county commissioners that criminal immigrants were “raping our citizens.”

Antiracists have repeatedly called out what they see as a friendly relationship between Johnson and the monument supporters during repeated protests over the summer. In July, a federal judge ordered the city of Graham and the sheriff’s office to lift a ban on protest that had been in place at the monument off and on since protests erupted in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. On Monday evening, Drumwright filed a federal lawsuit against Sheriff Johnson and Graham police Chief Kristy Cole, claiming violations of their First and Fourth Amendment rights, along with the violations of the Voting Rights Act and Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.

Drumwright said protesters will continue to pressure local officials for police reform in Alamance County, and is calling on state and federal authorities to investigate.

“People in Alamance County don’t feel safe,” he said. “If you’re Black in Alamance County, if you’re Hispanic, you don’t feel safe calling the police.”

“Every demonstration we’ve done throughout this entire summer I’ve been told by people I look up to not to do it,” he said. “We need the organizers of yesterday to know the organizers of today are not going to stop until we see justice for the next generation.”

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Up Front

Nov. 5-11, 2020

OPINION Why we called the race for Trump

by Clay Jones

Up Front News

claytoonz.com

Opinion Culture

In a bout of late-night pessimism on need to win about 184,000 of those election night, Publisher Brian Clarey votes, about 63 percent of them, in called the state of North Carolina order to claim North Carolina. for Donald Trump. But we have since The Senate race between Cal Cunrescinded that call with an explanation ningham is still live too — we called it and an apology. for Tillis after he claimed victory on The state elections database had reElection Night, but a closer look at the ported 100 percent of precincts reportnumbers gives us pause again. ing shortly after midnight, with Trump Right now, Tillis is up by 96,689 holding the lead by 76,701 votes, votes. Cunningham would need more according to the state Board of Electhan 193,000 of the remaining ballots, tions site (76,737 according to the NY more than two-thirds, in order to win Times) and almost 1.5 the Senate seat. percentage points — a Both of these NC reported all margin that still stands scenarios are possible, as of Wednesday if not exactly likely. But precincts after morning. Combined they underscore the midnight, with with the high turnout importance of countof 74.6 percent of the ing every single vote Trump holding the electorate, we felt it before making the call lead, but absentee was only a matter of in a battleground state. ballots are still betime before the major And they show just how media operations called ing counted. important every vote the state for Trump, can be. plus we were exhausted In North Carolina, and distracted. And so we went with it, we’re muddling through the absentee feeling less sure of the call with every ballots today, and perhaps we’ll have passing minute. clear winners in both races before the As it stands, there are perhaps Nov. 12 deadline.

290,000 votes left to be counted, And as state totals fall in, the answer according to the NY Times estimate, to our most nagging national question absentee ballots that, after numerous may be provided by the end of the rounds of lawsuits, can be tallied as late week. as Nov. 12, as long as they are postThis time, we promise we’ll wait until marked by Election Day. Biden would the end to make the call.

Claytoonz

Nov. 5-11, 2020

EDITORIAL

Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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Nov. 5-11, 2020 Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

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Nik Snacks Keep calm: New restaurants, bars and bakeries persevere through pandemic

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pening a restaurant is daunting at any time, but doing so during a pandemic is forcing some veteran and fledgling restaurateurs to cook up survival strategies before they are able to take their first orders.

by Nikki Miller-Ka According to the National Restaurant Association, out of 100,000 restaurants nationwide, nearly one in six have gone under as a result of the pandemic. That could be a harbinger of tough times for the industry, but it’s definitely a time for opportunity to thrive and take hold.

There isn’t a documented handbook on how to open a food establishment during a global pandemic, but there are some out there making it work. Here in the Triad, there are nearly 2,000 restaurants and over two dozen of them have opened since March. For every restaurant opening in Greensboro, there are five in Winston-Salem opening. Liz Grubbs of Slice of Napoli, in the Club Haven Shopping Center on Country Club Road, is one of them.

“We needed to find a spot that was previously a restaurant,” says Grubbs, who owns Slice of Napoli with her husband, Daniele Scala. “That way it saves money on our end. My husband wanted a small pizza place and that’s exactly what it is.”

A fire closed their previous restaurant, Little Italy #4 in Welcome and sent the couple on a three-and-a-halfyear search for the perfect spot. They found the space, formerly occupied by Kiro Family Restaurant, in early March.

“When we found it, we took it over; we bought the equipment inside,” Grubbs says. “You know, that was our savings. And then the pandemic hit the US. We had no option, to be honest with you. It was super scary. But we put our all into it. All of our savings into it, so there was no waiting. We had to do it.”

The original plan was to open in June, but Slice didn’t open until mid August. Grubbs says everything took longer: inspections, construction. Some of their equipment was shipped from overseas and delivery took longer too.

“We’re going to give it our all and it’s going to work out just fine,” Grubbs says. “It could be better; we want it to be better and eventually it will be better. But we’re paying the bills at work. And we’re able to pay the bills at home.”

While not a restaurant or food cart, Smoke City Meats, an artisan butcher shop in Winston-Salem, already had plans in place to open when the pandemic hit too. The original grand opening date was planned before ruminations of the coronavirus at the beginning of the year.

“We planned to open at the beginning of May, says Kate Bowers, Smoke City Meats marketing director.

“We just pushed forward because people were counting on us.”

While many shoppers didn’t feel comfortable going

to the grocery store due to coronavirus restrictions and health concerns, the small shop on Reynolda Rd in the West End neighborhood provided a safe way for customers to get local meat and provisions via curbside pickup. According to their website, they source their meats from farms in Caldwell and Wilkes Counties and Joyce Farms in Winston-Salem.

“We didn’t want to let our customers down and we didn’t want to let our farmers down who were counting on us to open and purchase from them,” says Bowers.

“If you had told us before we opened the doors we’d be opening during a pandemic, I think we still would have gone for it because it was something that the community needed.”

While some restaurants like Smoke City Meats continued full-steam ahead with plans made before the pandemic, others opted to move locations or adopted new business models.

“Overall, helping people get jobs and all of that hasn’t changed, but I think the market segment that we’re going to be operating in and how we do things is going to be a lot different moving forward,” says Jeff Bacon, executive director of Providence Restaurant and Catering.

Providence Restaurant opened in 2018 and operated out of the DoubleTree Inn on University Parkway in Winston-Salem. The restaurant, catering operations and the Providence Culinary Training Program all moved to take over culinary operations at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons in late September.

“We lost our market segment at Providence Restaurant because of the whole COVID shutdown,“ Bacon says. “We thought, Are we going to rebuild from scratch?

Because hotel business went totally away for a time out there, and we had worked really hard to build up our following out there.”

When the pandemic started, the restaurant was on a month-to-month lease at the DoubleTree. The Providence team started looking at it from a financial aspect and it made sense to move out to Clemmons. What’s new: The Providence Team will staff the newly named enterprise- Providence at the Manor House, a 10-room bed and breakfast inn. Providence will also manage and staff food and beverage operations at Providence Grill in the Golf Club House. Right now, the Manor House only serves breakfast to overnight guests staying onsite. In the spring, plans for dinner service will begin.

Currently, Providence Grill inside the main clubhouse is open to the public seven days a week.

The largest segment of food businesses that have opened since March are coffee shops and bakeries. Typically, overhead and cost of ingredients is lower for these ventures when compared to restaurants. But, the same trials and tribulations can befall a bake shop too.

Just like Providence, Shayna and Jesse Wesselink had to shift their business model for Oh Goodness Bakery in Greensboro to accommodate COVID-19 and the pandemic. What started strictly as a wholesale operation specializing in low-carb and gluten-free baked goods in December 2019, turned into a retail storefront in July.

“We scaled back our wholesale because I couldn’t get sugar and chocolate chips shipped in a timely manner,” says Shayna. Making use of the Out Of The Garden Project shared-use kitchen, and providing baked goods to places like Deep Roots Market in Greensboro and The Only Earth health food store in High Point, their wholesale business dried up and the owners had to decide what step to take next to save their business.

“My husband was out walking the dog and he saw the space,” Shayna says. “The landlord was willing to work with us and we opened a pop-up location.”

The little storefront opened the first week of October on the corner of Elm and Gate City Blvd. Within four hours of opening the doors, the shop went through all of its inventory. The same crowds continued to buy everything in the case day after day. Currently, the shop kitchen is being upfitted for an on-site kitchen. Shayna is looking to expand even more and is currently searching for a bakery assistant to help with production.

“You just never know what’s going to happen when you take that leap,” says Shayna.

Below is a list of food establishments that have opened in the Triad in the last couple of months:

Winston-Salem

Cibo Trattoria - Italian eatery - 529 Trade St NW Kasturi - Indian cuisine - 612 Hanes Mall Blvd Slice of Napoli - NY and Sicilian pizza - 5089 Country Club Rd Mojito Cuban Soul - Cuban and Latin cuisine - 723 N, Trade St Smoke City Meats - Artisan butcher shop - 833 Reynolda Rd NW Joyner’s - Cocktail bar - 854 W 4th St Bygood Coffee - Coffee shop - 301 Brookstown Ave Suite 300 Known Coffee - Coffee shop - 1231 Polo Sayso Coffee - Mobile coffee bar - 400 S Green Canteen Still Life - Coffee and wine bar - 411 W 4th St Bar La Ch.ngada - Tequila and mezcal bar - 418 W. 4th St Whiskey Dawgs - Bar and grill - 915 Brookstown Ave Coffee Shed - Coffee shop - 206 W. Acadia Ave Southern Thyme Tavern - Upscale southern cuisine 4926 Country Club Rd

Greensboro

Lil Chef - Chicken and seafood - 2523-B Phillips Ave Oh Goodness Bakery - Keto/Gluten-free bakery 631-A S Elm St My Sweet Little Bake Shop - Custom and gourmet cakes - 3610 N Elm St Suite C

By Michaela Ratliff

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Up Front News Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

hat appears to be a soda machine in the lobby at the Rich Girls Museum is actually a door.

“They don’t even know this is back here at all,” says owner MarTeekia Sweat, referring to the museum situated behind the Rich Girl’s clothing shop.

“They’ll think they’re going out the door like, ‘Okay, where are we going?,’” Sweat says. “Then I open the door and they’re like, ‘Oh, my God. I didn’t know that was a door. It’s a soda machine.’”

The Rich Girls Museum opened on Oct. 22 in Greensboro to tremendous popularity due to a Tik Tok posted by Sweat that went viral. The museum is composed of a set of rooms designed to “provoke imagination and creativity” from its visitors. It offers unique backdrops for photos taken in the museum.

It’s basically Instagram paradise.

The traffic the first day was heavier than the sparkly rock Sweat dons on her left ring finger given to her by her fiancé Josh, according to Sweat. Josh works at Underground Rich Studios next door to the museum. When the space where the museum is located became available, the couple couldn’t resist the opportunity to claim the suite.

After graduating from North Carolina A&T University in 2012, Sweat relocated to Los Angeles for what she described as a “new experience” to contrast with mundane Greensboro. It was there that she got the idea for a selfie museum, MICHAELA RATLIFF MarTeekia Sweat and her fiancé, Josh, run the Rich Girls Museum selfie palace. visiting one every two to three months to learn more about how to operate it walls. The walls are lined with what seems like endless mini Despite the sign, Fisher noted the museum’s cleanliness, an and to gain inspiration for the museum’s gumball machines filled with all white or yellow gumballs. It’s effort done by Sweat after each visitor. eight rooms. just one of many rooms — a VIP club section, a bubble bath Rich Girls Museum is also host to Rich Girls Collection, Selfie museums are in the category filled with blue and pink plastic balls to represent bubbles, and Sweat ‘s clothing line for women. The line features everything of “Instagram museums” — museums a pink private jet. from track suits to tube dresses, aiming for versatility, yet with exhibitions Ashley Fisher, another graduate of comfort. designed to be NCA&T who is also a blogger, enjoyed “Most of my outfits, you can wear sneakers and heels with as photogenic on The Rich Girl’s Museum is loher recent stop at the pink private jet it,” she says. “It depends on your personal preference and social media as during her photoshoot at the museum where you’re going.” possible. They’re cated at 4000 Spring Garden

by JamieJack Photography.

Some of the outfits from the collection hang on the walls in popular with those St, Ste M. To book your visit, “The entire experience from start to the front lobby of the museum, situated for the convenience that want their go to RichGirlsMuseum.com. finish was amazing,” Fisher says. “As of visitors seeking new outfits before their photoshoots. page to be aessoon as I walked into the lobby, the Sweat says she opened Rich Girls Museum in the Triad for thetically pleasing To shop Rich Girls Collection, lighting and scenery impressed me.” one reason. or those hoping visit RichGirlsCollection.com According to Sweat, one of the most “It’s boring,” Sweat says. “There’s nothing to do here.” for sponsorships popular rooms with visitors has been She chose the location knowing the unique business would from companies the Dirty Laundry Room. Its purple glow be a refreshing change to common activities found in the in exchange for immediately draws the eye to the single Triad, like movie theaters or skating rinks, many of which are advertisement of their products. white washing machine in the center of the room. On top of still closed.

Upon entering the Rich Girl’s Muthe washing machine is a laundry basket filled with imitation “This is something Greensboro’s never had,” she says. seum, the visitor is perpendicular to the $100 bills for visitors to throw while a teal “dirty” neon sign bubblegum room, with plush, yellow hangs behind them. benches and yellow-and-white striped

Nov. 5-11, 2020

CULTURE For the ‘gram’: Rich Girls Museum elevates selfies to new heights

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West Harden Street, Graham

Nov. 5-11, 2020 Shot in the Triad

Culture

Opinion

News

Up Front

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

Puzzles

Rev. Greg Drumwright leads hundreds of marchers to a polling site on Election Day in downtown Graham. This march was two days after the I Am Change: Legacy March to The Polls was cut short after police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd and multiple people were arrested.

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CAROLYN DE BERRY

Across

by Matt Jones

Up Front

©2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords

(editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

News

Answers from previous publication.

Opinion Culture Shot in the Triad Puzzles

1 Actress Anna who left “Mom” after season 7 6 Carry through the air 10 Lose it 14 The “fifth taste” 15 Penne ___ vodka 16 Cuban greeting 17 Yoda, for one 19 Caught in ___ (trapped) 20 Letter opener, for short?

21 Grub 22 Language that gave us “robot” and “howitzer” 23 Not out of the question 25 Written companion to a Twitch stream 26 It might obscure identity © 2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 31 Lithe 34 “Frozen 2” character 35 Sorento maker 36 Francis’s title 37 Nonstick brand 38 TV Batman Adam 39 Kentucky-born boxer 40 Chancellor Helmut 42 Team that won the most World Series in the 2010s Answers from last issue 44 Creator of another crater, maybe 47 Got out quick 22 Kitschy plant from the mint family 48 “Cocoon” Oscar winner Don 24 Diner staple letters 51 Part of a black suit 25 Items stuck in some car changers 53 Insightful 27 Kingdom 55 Tony of “Veep” 28 Nightmarish street 57 Overly formal 29 Central idea 58 Question from someone who just resurfaced 30 Uber ___ (delivery service) (like me after running “best of” puzzles?)

31 Luxury resorts (remember those?)

60 Carbonated drink 32 Lemminglike rodent 61 Israeli Golda 33 Entertaining displays of ineptitude 62 “___ Dragon” (2016 Disney remake) 37 Symbol of the golden ratio 63 One “A” of AAA 38 Emmy-winning 2019 HBO miniseries 64 Just say no 40 One of an elephant’s four 65 Flavoring for Greek cookies 41 Like one 42 Took advantage of, as a system Down 43 It may get crushed 1 Apple variety from Japan 45 Gary who’s 13 days younger than Gary Numan 2 “FoxTrot” cartoonist Bill 46 Danish, for example 3 “On the Media” medium 49 Dominican Republic neighbor 4 Worthy of copying 50 “It’s nobody ___ business” 5 ___City (classic computer game) 51 Adoption agcy.

6 Nut and bolt spacer 52 They do it for a living 7 Part of SATB 53 “This is exciting” 8 Went quickly 54 Comedian and “Love Island” narrator Stirling 9 Goo in a prehistoric pit 56 Caesar’s “to be” 10 2019 Zachary Levi film 58 Target of early-2000s U.N. inspections 11 Reply to “No offense” 59 Drink with a high IBU 12 Jim’s counterpart in recent “SNL” cold opens 13 Garden route 18 “Get ___” (GSN show of 2020)

Nov. 5-11, 2020

CROSSWORD ‘Going Dim’—turn down for what? SUDOKU

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