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YES! Writers JOHN BATCHELOR MARK BURGER KATEI CRANFORD LYNN FELDER JIM LONGWORTH IAN MCDOWELL
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We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the
3 It’s hard to believe that REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, a film universally hailed as one of the most insightful portrayals of adolescent angst and rebellion, celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.
4 Tilly is an artificially generated woman created by Eline van der Velden, who is a producer for Particle6 and its UK-based Xicoia studios...The AI ACTRESS is an amalgamation of countless images and voices, and is a strikingly beautiful young woman with a (sometimes) slight British accent.
5 DIE MY LOVE, the screen adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s 2012 novel “Die, My Love,” finds screenwriter/producer/ director Lynne Ramsey and producer/star Jennifer Lawrence on somewhat familiar territory, the former for having helmed the similar We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and the latter for having starred in Mother! (2017).
8 North Carolinians cope with SNAP BENEFITS freeze, navigate new food insecurities. Food pantries, social service providers brace for an influx of people trying to stave off hunger amid uncertainty.
11 Fests, feasts, and family affairs amongst fallen leaves, it’s the thick of November, and there’s a bounty of MUSIC TO SHARE around the Triad.
12 Multiple past and present members of the Greensboro Minimum Housing Standards Commission (MHSC) say the city has ignored concerns about slumlords and INFLATED RENTS. Some allege being removed for expressing those concerns.
Rebel Without a Cause goes “OUT at the Movies”
Mark Burger
It’s hard to believe that Rebel Without a Cause, a film universally hailed as one of the most insightful portrayals of adolescent angst and rebellion, celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. It’s the film that cemented James Dean’s star status, marked Natalie Wood’s transition to adult roles, and propelled Sal Mineo to stardom. Wood and Mineo both earned Academy Awards nominations — Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively — as did director Nicholas Ray for Best Motion Picture Story. It was also an enormous box-o ce success, resonating particularly with younger audiences, who could easily identify with the film’s themes and issues.
On Saturday at 7 p.m., Winston-Salem’s LGBTQ+ screening series and festival “OUT at the Movies” will present a special screening of Rebel Without a Cause at Camel City Playhouse, 110 W. Seventh St., Winston-Salem. Tickets are $10 (general admission) and $5 (students with valid ID). For more information or to purchase advance tickets, visit https://outatthemovies.org/rebel-without-a-cause/ “Rebel Without a Cause taps into this idea of searching for a sense of self and belonging in a way that is universal,” observes Max Cullen, director of operations and marketing for the “OUT” festival and screening series. “James Dean’s character looks out at the world and sees hypocrisy, and he doesn’t know how he belongs in it. He doesn’t feel like he can truly be himself in that world, and that’s a feeling a lot of us still struggle with, young and old. From our perspective as an LBBTQ+ film festival, that’s a theme in a lot of the films we show.”
In the film, Dean’s Jim Stark is a brooding teenager in contemporary Los Angeles who finds kindred spirits in Judy (Wood) and Plato (Mineo). As they discuss their lives, aspirations, and frustrations, Jim and Judy tentatively develop a romance while Plato is clearly drawn to Jim, and they become inseparable. It’s not
necessarily a love triangle, nor are they a trio of teen troublemakers, but lost souls wrestling with anguish and parental neglect. Rebel Without a Cause was the first film to truly portray teenagers as they were, in all their insecurities and passions, in a compassionate and sympathetic way. Although some mainstream critics castigated the film, audiences lined up in droves. Of the three films Dean starred in, this is one he’s best remembered for, and his tragic death shortly before its release only enhanced public interest.
“Rebel Without a Cause does a great job honoring and empathizing with its characters, first and foremost,” Cullen said. “It’s novel in its sensitive approach to showing internal worlds, within characters that weren’t always given the chance to explore their internal worlds.
“From our perspective, the film portrays some LGBTQ+ actors in the roles of young people striving to find their place in a world that doesn’t really ‘get’ them,” Cullen added. “A recurring theme in LGBTQ+ cinema at large is this idea of a ‘found family,’ and that’s a driving message in the film among its three protagonists. Real-life LGBTQ+ icon Sal Mineo plays the role of Plato, which, if you squint your eyes, is a very much gay-coded character. He himself once said, ‘It makes sense that Plato was killed o ; he was, in a way, the first gay teenager in films. You watch it now, you know he has the hots for James Dean.’”
Once again, yours truly turns to longtime Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas for his thoughts on a vintage film classic. Sunset Boulevard (1950) is his favorite film, but Rebel Without a Cause definitely occupies a special place in his heart. “It was extremely reflective of my generation,” he said. “Natalie Wood was the girl of my generation. It was tremendously e ective and really hit the nail on the head.”
When asked if the film is a landmark in LGBTQ+ cinema, Thomas, who is gay, is candid. “I have to admit, I didn’t see that (aspect) at the time,” he said. “But, certainly, it’s possible; people have written about it. Nicholas Ray was a sensitive
and subtle filmmaker, and it’s terrific that people are still celebrating and discussing his work. I think it’s great that the (“OUT”) festival is showing the film, because it’s an important film — a landmark in American film, no question about it.”
“We’re presenting this film as an opportunity to look at an icon of cinema through a di erent lens – to enjoy this
beloved film, but also play around with re-framing it, looking at it from a fresh perspective, and seeing how young gay kids in the ‘50s may have been able to identify with characters in its world,” Cullen explained. “The film came in a time of strict ‘moral codes’ – some imposed by censors, some self-imposed by studios. We think Rebel Without a Cause is a prime example of a director weaving gay identity in a way that could pass the censors but still help gay audiences see themselves on screen. I think it’ll be interesting for a younger generation to take a fresh look at this film.”
The o cial “OUT at the Movies” website is https://outatthemovies.org/. !
See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies.
Contributor
BY JIM LONGWORTH
Hollywood built its reputation on fantasy. Studio bosses, make-up artists, and publicity departments spent tons of money and countless hours making us believe that what
The Threat of Artificial Actors
we saw on screen was real. We didn’t know that Clark Gable had false teeth, that Bogey wore a toupee, that Rock Hudson was gay, or that Lassie wasn’t a female. But now the tables are starting to turn. Soon, instead of issuing fake news about real actors, publicists will issue real news about fake ones. When
that happens, you can blame it all on Tilly Norwood.
Tilly is an artificially generated woman created by Eline van der Velden, who is a producer for Particle6 and its UK-based Xicoia studios. Tilly, who Xicoia describes as a digital human, had her coming out at the Zurich Film Festival earlier this year, appearing in photos and videos. The AI actress is an amalgamation of countless images and voices, and is a strikingly beautiful young woman with a (sometimes) slight British accent.
Her debut comes on the heels of a campaign by talent unions to fight against unauthorized use of human actors’ voices and likeness. But since Tilly doesn’t look or sound like any one particular actress, then van der Velden and Xicoia can’t be sued, much less stopped from selling Ms. Norwood’s services to film and television companies. Upon seeing Tilly, award-winning actress Emily Blunt told Yahoo Entertainment, “Good Lord, we’re screwed. This is really, really scary.”
SAG-AFTRA agrees. In a statement issued last month, the organization said, “Our union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics. [Tilly] has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience…it puts actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
Hey SAG-AFTRA, you’re exactly 100 years too late to be complaining about artificially generated content. In the 1925 silent film The Lost World (as well as in its 1961 remake), actors appeared alongside stop-motion dinosaurs. By 1973, Westworld became the first film to use CGI with live action. In 1982, Tron featured CGI-created live characters and objects, and in 2009, Avatar was absent of any live actors altogether. Human actors might have complained along the way; nevertheless, they agreed to appear on screen with artificial characters and objects because they were paid well to do so.
There are, of course, advantages to studios for using AI-generated performers like Tilly. For one thing, she will work
for less pay than human actors and, as Eline van der Velden said, “She will be endlessly adaptable, always available, and immune to scandal.” It is just a matter of time before Xicoia creates a male version of Tilly, and then you’ll probably hear objections from the likes of Daniel Day Lewis and Tom Cruise. But even then, it is the female artists who will feel most cheated by the AI storm because they were finally making some progress in the equal pay department. Actresses are also better protected now from sexual harassment than ever before, freeing them up to concentrate on the work instead of lodging complaints with HR. But all that progress could be moot if Tilly Norwoods start getting all of the jobs.
For now, though, established stars don’t have much to worry about because audiences aren’t going to prefer Tilly Norwood over Sydney Sweeney. However, in due time, AI-generated performers could be on the same footing with young, up-and-coming actresses, and that’s when the job market for human performers could dry up quickly. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer my film fantasies to be created by real people who act fake instead of the other way around. !
JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. on ABC45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 11 a.m. on WMYV (cable channel 15) and streaming on WFMY+.
Tilly Norwood, the AI actress.
Jennifer Lawrence, a woman undone in Die My Love
BY MARK BURGER
Die My Love, the screen adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s 2012 novel “Die, My Love,” finds screenwriter/producer/ director Lynne Ramsey and producer/star Jennifer Lawrence on somewhat familiar territory, the former for having helmed the similar We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and the latter for having starred in Mother! (2017). Die My Love isn’t as tightly coiled as Kevin nor as excessive as Mother! but finds a fruitful middle ground that allows both to combine their impeccable talents to fashion a compelling work that stands on its own.
The inaptly named Grace (Lawrence) and her partner Jackson (Robert Pattinson) have just moved into his late uncle’s remote house in rural Montana, ostensibly for Grace to write her Great American Novel and for them to start a family. It’s clear early on, however, that their relationship is as combustible as it is passionate — and sometimes both. Cabin fever sets in early for Grace, who soon finds herself pregnant while Jackson, whose occupation is never made clear, spends much of his time away from home. Too much, as it turns out. From the get-go, Ramsay establishes a constantly shifting mood in which things aren’t always what they seem, and although the film goes into overdrive at the climax, there’s no denying that it’s been heading that way all along. Die My Love expertly twists the screws.
All eyes are on Lawrence throughout the film, and she dominates the proceedings with a performance both fearless and fearful, and certain to be an awards contender. One is never quite certain what Grace is capable of, and whenever she comes close to her infant son there’s a palpable sense of uncertainty. Yet she’s also empathetic, and her attempts to conquer her post-partum depression never seem contrived. Even after a brief stint in a mental institution, it’s obvious she’s not cured. She’s just “normal” enough to
be released into Jackson’s care, but it’s only a matter of time before something else sets her o . When it does, look out.
The acting is fine all around, with Pattinson as a man unable to control his wife’s impulses any longer, which further drives a wedge between them. Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte play Jackson’s parents, with Spacek exuding warmth, compassion, and an understandable worriedness. Nolte, whose role could’ve been larger, is still a force to be reckoned with, a lion in winter who e ortlessly commands the screen. LaKeith Stanfield appears as a character who may or may not be a figment of Grace’s imagination. The reliable Stanfield is always a welcome presence, but hasn’t much to do here except smolder, which he does exceedingly well.
As you might have surmised, there aren’t a lot of laughs in Die My Love, but Ramsay carefully incorporates a few touches of black comedy and even had a hand in the film’s score, going so far as to croon the song “Love Will Tear Us Apart” over the end credits. If ever a song was perfectly appropriate for a film, this is it. The song says it all. !
[WEEKLY ARTS ROUNDUP]
ARTS COUNCIL HOSTS TONIGHT’S SPECIAL COMEDY SPECIAL
SUBMITTED BY KATE CARSON-GRONER
A new comedy variety show is coming to Winston-Salem starting Nov. 15. Featuring stand-up, improv, sketch, musical comedy, storytelling, and more, Tonight’s Special Comedy Special is the brainchild of North Carolina-born and Chicago-trained theater artist Kate Carson-Groner in collaboration with the Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, friend and musical director Trevor Gabriel, and a team of hilarious friends and comedic colleagues.
Carson-Groner, a native of Elkin grew up taking classes at the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, including her first ever improv class. After studying theater and co-founding the first improv team at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Kate moved north to Chicago to pursue a career as an actor, voiceover artist, and improviser. She completed the Second City Conservatory and Music Improv Conservatory and the iO Training Center before performing professionally at iO, Second City, and music improv powerhouse Baby Wants Candy. She toured to regional theaters, voiced national commercials, and began directing and producing theater, improv, and storytelling events. Since returning to Winston-Salem, she has directed with Spirit Gum Theatre and Peppercorn Theatre, and has taught improv and theater with the library, Bunker Dogs Improv, Theatre Alliance, and The Little Theatre. She’ll also be directing with both Spirit Gum and The Little Theatre in 2026.
“I hope to bring together all types of comedy and cultivate an environment where humor and collaboration can really thrive,” says Carson-Groner, “and I’ve found such inspiration working with other hilarious and creative folks to make something new that brings joy to audiences.” When planning the show, Carson-Groner recognized the importance of seeking
out talented people beyond her existing network.
Nevin Sharma, performing standup in the Nov. 15 show, is a writer and comedian based in Winston-Salem who has written for The Onion, Camel Gate Comedy, Points In Case, Slackjaw Humor Magazine, and was the 2024 Ohio Pumpkin Festival Tall Tale Contest Winner with specials streaming on all platforms. Nevin was also a recipient of the Comedic Artist In Residence grant from the Steel City Arts Foundation in Pittsburgh, Pa. Another featured performer, Royce Shockley, is a comedian, actor, and director on stages across Los Angeles and beyond, and he currently serves as managing director and owner of The H.I.T., one of the few Black-owned comedy theaters in the nation. Tonight’s Special will return monthly, featuring different guest artists each show. The Nov. 15 show boasts stand-up comedians Nevin Sharma and Alexander Stone, musical sketch comedian Royce Shockley, music improv team Instant Musical!, and group improv games fueled by audience suggestions.
Tickets are just $19, available at IntotheArts.org !
[WEEKLY SUDOKU] [KING CROSSWORD]
ACROSS
Stood for
Mountain peak topper
Place to keep cargo
Proprietor
Seat of Nassau County, New York
Holiday marches
1970 Best Actress nominee for The Great White Hope
Enigmas
Walk- — (tiny roles)
Rank above maj.
— acid (vinegar component) 30 Ruhr article
31 Desperately, informally 35 Country singer with the hit “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
“Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer
No, in Nuremberg
Ending for peek or bug
Making a comeback
Month, in Mexico
Strong — ox
She won gold in the 200-meter dash at the 2012 Olympics
French term for unrefined works, as by untrained painters
on Battlestar
Furry wrap
“It could be”
Make a phone call to
Film directors Joel and Ethan
Hour div.
He played Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad
North Carolinians cope with SNAP benefits freeze, navigate new food insecurities
Food pantries, social service providers brace for an influx of people trying to stave o hunger amid uncertainty
BY RACHEL CRUMPLER AND ROSE HOBAN North Carolina Health News
Update Nov. 3, 2025: The Trump administration said Monday afternoon it will issue partial SNAP payments this month in response to a lawsuit in federal court. However, o cials have said there could be delays in distribution, leaving the timeline for when recipients will receive the funds uncertain.
Jessica Bollinger, a single mother of two from McDowell County, spent Saturday poring over her family budget and trying to make the numbers work. On the third of each month, she usually receives $318 in federal food assistance to buy groceries.
But this month, as the federal shutdown continues, Bollinger and many North Carolinians are anxiously waiting — uncertain when, or if, those funds will arrive.
The delay has left a sizable gap in Bollinger’s food budget and caused mounting anxiety about how to keep her 14- and 5-year-old daughters fed.
“My biggest worry is keeping food on the table for my children,” Bollinger said. “Parents like me are doing everything we can to survive, and sometimes it becomes a daily struggle.”
To cover the funds caught up in the federal government’s gridlock, Bollinger plans to shift money she’d normally use for other bills — rent, electricity, her phone — toward groceries. Not because she has extra to spare, but because she has no choice. She said her landlord has already agreed to let her pay half her rent at the start of the month and the rest at the end of the month.
The sudden loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits — which Bollinger calls a lifeline — has left her in a precarious position. Even with her fulltime job as a case manager at The Friendship Home for Women and Children, a
kids and 151,000 seniors across the state. SNAP payments average about $175 a month per North Carolinian recipient — more than $200 million total for the state — each month to help cover food and nutrition needs.
For several weeks, though, SNAP participants, food pantries and other social service providers and county and state o cials have been bracing for that money to stop flowing amid the government shutdown that moved into its second month over the weekend.
Jackson joined one of the federal lawsuits last week, seeking to compel the Trump administration to continue the funding. On Friday afternoon, Oct. 31, federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island both ordered the Trump administration to provide SNAP recipients with benefits in November, either through a contingency fund at the Department of Agriculture or through continuing SNAP benefits. Trump had not announced by Sunday afternoon whether he planned to appeal those decisions.
homeless shelter in Marion, she said she has little margin to make ends meet as a single parent.
“The insecurity hits fast,” Bollinger said. “Food runs low, the kids start to worry and stress fills the house. It is not just about hunger.”
Her 14-year-old daughter recently asked, “Mom, what are we gonna do? Are we gonna have food?”
Bollinger told her, “Yeah, you will have what you need,” even though she wasn’t certain herself. To help fill some of the gap, she’s turning to community resources and local food pantries.
Bollinger’s experience mirrors that of more than 1.4 million low-income North Carolinians who depend on federal assistance from SNAP to help put food on the table — including more than 580,000
It was a weekend of confusion for many in the food assistance world.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the SNAP program, has about $5 billion in a contingency reserve, but questions over whether those funds can be or should be used during this shutdown are being weighed in two lawsuits pending in federal court.
Federal agriculture department o cials announced Oct. 24 that they would not tap the emergency reserves to keep payments flowing to the 42 million SNAP recipients across the country, contradicting earlier communications from the agency. In other government shutdowns, SNAP was always a constant, something that was true during a shutdown in Trump’s first term.
North Carolina Attorney General Je
Trump posted to his social media platform on Oct. 31 that “government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority” to continue paying for SNAP, despite the fact that his administration has tapped multiple accounts to pay military troops during the shutdown.
Amid the uncertainty, SNAP benefits didn’t flow for the first time in the program’s 60-year history. Once a plan is in place to resume SNAP funding, it will still take time for federal and state o cials to distribute the benefits.
PROVIDERS FACE AN INFLUX OF NEED
Even before the Nov. 1 lapse, food pantries across the state saw more demand. Many reported fielding a flood of phone calls and inquiries from community members desperate to piece together ways to
Photo courtesy of Jessica Bollinger Jessica Bollinger with her 5-year-old daughter. She is one of more than 1.4 million low-income North Carolinians who depend on SNAP benefits to help put food on the table.
Photo by Jennifer Fernandez / N.C. Health News
Boxes of food donations wait to be loaded into cars to be delivered to a local Freedom Fridge and pantry in Greensboro. Organizer Tami Clayton with Indivisible Guilford said she was surprised by the turnout and how much people donated — enough to fill several cars — at the event on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
feed themselves and their families.
Amy Stevens, program manager at McDowell Access to Care and Health, a nonprofit dedicated to providing people with the resources they need to be healthy, found more than 50 voicemails waiting — all people asking about food resources — a week ago when she arrived at work. More than one-third of McDowell County residents report experiencing food insecurity, according to the county’s 2024 Community Health Assessment, and about 15 percent of the county relies on SNAP.
The organization operates a food box delivery program in partnership with Foothills Food Hub. Usually, they deliver about 70 boxes a week, but Stevens said they distributed more than 100 boxes on their first delivery day last week.
“The pause hadn’t even started,” Stevens said. “People are trying to prepare.”
“We’re getting calls every day about, ‘Where can I go to get food? What can you guys do to help?’” Stevens added. “People are scared, and we’re scared because the resources are slim.”
The scarcity has been exacerbated by the termination of the Medicaid-funded Healthy Opportunities Pilot, or HOP, which Stevens said had been “robust” in McDowell and provided a way to get local, fresh food to community members.
“There was this beautiful variety of fresh foods, and [we] really saw some incredible benefits, healthwise,” she said. “The cessation of HOP had already driven up the need.”
Some help is coming from the state.
Who uses SNAP in North Carolina?
• SNAP provides food benefits to one in eight North Carolinians.
• Four in five families participating in SNAP have either a child, a senior or an adult with a disability. More than 66 percent of participating families have children, and more than 34 percent of participating families include seniors or adults with disabilities.
• Between 2019 and 2023, an average of 80 percent of SNAP households across the state included someone who was working.
• More than 46,000 military veterans receive SNAP benefits.
• One in six North Carolinians living in rural areas or small towns benefited from SNAP, compared to one in nine North Carolinians living in metro areas.
On Friday, Gov. Josh Stein announced that North Carolina would reallocate $10 million from the Department of Health and Human Services to local food banks across the state. Another nearly $8 million is being contributed by philanthropic foundations and other private donors.
And on Sunday afternoon, Mecklenburg County government o cials said they will announce plans to devote $740,000 to support food resources for more than 126,000 SNAP recipients in the county.
That’s a drop in the bucket compared with the more than $200 million that’s needed each month in North Carolina to keep SNAP going. Private philanthropy won’t be able to fill the growing need for all the residents experiencing food insecurity, food program directors have said.
Even a short interruption of benefits has an impact, multiple providers across the state told NC Health News. Food assistance providers are anticipating a surge of individuals and families like Bollinger’s looking for sustenance without their monthly SNAP dollars.
“It may seem that one day or one week or even one month is not a big deal or not extremely impactful, but for the child, for the senior, for the adult who’s trying their best, one day is very long if you’re hungry,” said Brianna Goodwin, executive director of Robeson County Church and Community Center, which operates the county’s largest food pantry that serves at least 600 households a week.
Almost a third of Robeson County’s 116,000 residents rely on SNAP funding, the largest percentage of SNAP recipients in any county in the state.
In Forsyth County more than 56,000 residents (14 percent) rely on SNAP. At The Shalom Project, one of WinstonSalem’s longest-operating food pantries, Je rey Foster, program director and manager of food distribution, said they saw one of its biggest turnouts in a decade recently when they served close to 150 families in the span of three hours.
‘A GAPING HOLE’
Jason Kanawati Stephany, vice president of communications and public policy at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, said SNAP is the nation’s “first line of defense against hunger” because it “puts money directly into families’ pockets to buy food.”
Research shows that SNAP increases food security, improves health outcomes, reduces poverty and decreases health care costs.
Source: N.C. DHHS SEE SNAP, PAGE 13]
LOS LONELY BOYS
NOVEMBER 21, 2025 @ 7:30PM
DANÚ
50TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
HP Ballet
Nutcracker
December 19-21, 2025
Matthew Whitaker Quintet
January 17, 2026
Cirque FLIP Fabrique - Blizzard February 21, 2026
Noche Flamenca: Searching for Goya
March 5, 2026
Piff the Magic Dragon April 18, 2026
Kandace Springs
May 2, 2026 Acts
FFeasts, fests, and family a airs: Fall holiday season in the Triad
ests, feasts, and family a airs amongst fallen leaves, it’s the thick of November, and there’s a bounty of music to share around the Triad. Coming up this weekend, the Winston-Salem Rap Round Robin celebrates its 10th year on Nov. 15 with a return to downtown Winston — finding its 2025 home at Fair Witness with a bill of familiar faces, new and old, including: Winston’s PhazeGod DC’s Prowess the Testament, Mikal Khill & Tribe One (from Boone), the WS-ATL hybrid duo Twinny & The Bride, and the stalwart showhosts: OG Spli and Emceein’ Eye.
While the venue is new, the heart and format remain the same: audience in the middle, encircled by a nonstop action of hip-hop on display. And bringing that action to Fair Witness o ers a particularly endearing space to celebrate the WSRRR’s 10-year milestone, given the familial ties intrinsic to the festival started by Aaron Brookshire (Emceein’ Eye) and the late Joshua “Unspeakable” Brookshire. Together, the pair performed as the cosmically conscious hip hop brother duo, Speak N Eye. With its “No Bullies, No Draculas” motto, creed and killer vibes, Fair Witness’s co-owner, Blake Livengood, is half of another sibling pair invaluable to the Winston-Salem art and music scene (his twin brother, Christopher Livengood, is part of the husband-and-wife operation behind EMBER Audio + Design).
With dedication to community through the lens of music, design, and art, the folks at EMBER have been hosting a monthly “Vinyl Lounge” series at NCMA Winston-Salem that invites the public to share records and play selections on crazy hi-fi equipment. The next round, on November 20, will be the first of a sort of two-day EMBER takeover of the Hanes House at NCMA W-S, with the
first-ever “EMBER Session” concert, with Chris Staples and Verity Den, the following evening on Nov. 21.
Staples is an indie songwriter from RVA by way of Portland, Fla., and the highways in between who, according to NPR’s All Songs Considered, “reveals life’s greatest mysteries in humanity’s smallest moments.” Verity Den, in a sonic contrast, has been called “unintentionally cinematic,” the quartet (composed of former Drag Sounds’ers Trevor Reece and Mike Wallace, paired with Casey Proctor and Reed Benjamin) conjures a sound that, as David Kenneth Nance said, “soaks in an Epsom salt bath after a long day of being pummeled by your 9 to 5.”
Shifting back to Fair Witness, R&B Karaoke is also finding its new home on the 4th/Patterson corner, where they’ll host DJ Ena Pop, Lady C, and the RBK Band for a canned food and hygiene drive on Nov. 22, and jumpstart some goodwill for the impending holiday season.
Oden Brewing in Greensboro is also getting into the goodwill game while celebrating its sixth anniversary with a chili cook-o anniversary party and “Water San Jam,” an all-day concert festival to benefit water sanitation projects in Westmoreland, Jamaica. “After the recent hurricane devastated parts of Jamaica, clean water is more important than ever,” organizers said, listing featured performers like: Rushton Hotel, Me Against Me, Justin Reid, Michael C. Parris & Krista Jo, Momma Molasses, and a trio from Bill West, Tom Troyer & Time Fogarty. “We’re coming together to help support this amazing community and make a di erence.”
And in Winston-Salem, FemFest N.C.’s annual benefit concert returns, with its 12th year taking place at the Ramkat on Dec. 6. As in years past, FemFest N.C. will serve as a fundraiser for the emergency shelter operated by Family Services of Forsyth County, which provides a safe space for victims, survivors, and the families experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault. “We’re honored to have FemFest N.C. alumni bands Pie Face Girls and The Gramps returning to the stage,” organizers said, with excitement at also
hosting a reunion from Finks!, as well as FemFest N.C. first-timers: Burlap Circus and YAWNi.
With goodwill and the spirit of gathering in the air, GlendonFest will o er its autumn round at Laura Jane Vincent’s historic pastoral Glendon compound, Nov. 14-16. Friday evening festivities open with a bonfire and porch jam led by Ashley Virginia, who’ll join Vincent on the Saturday lineup that includes Tom Troyer, Big Dumb Hick, Ghent & Joni Note, Emily Stewart, Aaron Pants, Oli Cosmos, and Modern Robot. Sunday rounds out with an early afternoon o ering from Sam Thorn, Mountain Flowe, Pine Moon, Crushing Quiet, and Colin Cutler. “Just take a look at all these sweet souls who are willing to come play live at my old house in the middle of the woods!” Vincent said. “What a crew — we’re gonna have a blast. All are welcome, no hate speech, be cool to everyone. If you don’t know my address already, message me or ask a pal who’s been before…past or present or future, if you’re here, you’re a part of the #Glendonfest family.”
With chilly nights and Brunswick Stew on the GlendonFest menu, Vincent will likely bring a pot along to the Flat Iron Sunday evening for the All Y’all Country Allstars Potluck party on Nov. 16. Ushering the start of the feastin’ festivities, the Allstars are a supergroup of musicians from the All Y’all Records family, featuring Dave Hedeman, Dillon Partin, and Chris Russell (The Gone Ghosts), Hugh Swaso (Heat Preacher), Luis Rodriguez (Charles Latham & The Borrowed Band), Je Larsen (Beggars Banquet) and Eliza Mae serving up a “powerhouse tribute to classic and outlaw country, delivering legendary songs with their own electrifying twist.” In proper potluck fashion, attendees are invited to bring a dish!
Heading into Thanksgiving week, it’s all about the jams in Greensboro. At the Flat, the Carri Smithey band will join Josh King in hosting a Thanksgiving Eve Jam on Nov. 26. “This will be a gathering of friends and musicians from the Triad and Triangle celebrating our love for each other and our love for music,”
organizers said, noting “you never know who is going to show up to play.” It’s a similar situation at Wahoo’s Tavern as Casey Cranford (no relation, despite the pleasure of being buds for a couple of decades now) hosts the seventh annual “Cransgiving,” a celebration of “friends, music, and season, with the purest vibes you’ll ever find, all under the roof of the beloved temple.”
The Thanksgiving-eve minifestival, presented by Uncle John’s Bone, will be something of a “ranford” a air with Cranford joined by Ranford Almond in the featured performer slot.
And over on Elm Street, the Ziggy’s crew is bringing their annual Thanksgathering festival to the new Greensboro location, with Drew Foust and the Wheelhouse on Nov. 26, Red Panda on Nov. 28, and Big Daddy Love and the Wright Ave on Nov. 29.
The BDL family are something of Thanksgiving enthusiasts — and by that I mean their buds in Possum Jenkins have maintained a “Black Friday” show tradition that continues into 2025 at Wiseman Brewing on Nov. 28. “Another year has come and gone, and STILL Possum Jenkins won’t quit pickin’, cussin, smokin’ or DRINKIN’!,” the band said, inviting folks to wash down the leftovers with two sets of “Live Possum” tunes (and plugging a pint or two of their signature “Possum Drinkins” Wiseman brew).
Carri Smithey is also a busy bird Thanksgiving weekend — her band will join Walt Atkison in the lineup for the Ends’ annual “Turkey Jam,” a kid-friendly concert and canned food drive at the Elon Community Church’s Community Life Center in Elon on Nov. 28.
In Greensboro, a new tradition will rise with the first-ever Greensboro Renaissance Fair on Nov. 30 at the Back Table — no word on Turkey legs, but there’s certain to be music and merriment fit for kings, queens, jesters, and more! Feast your eyes and fill your ears with the bounty of Triad festivities this Fall holiday season! !
KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who enjoys spotlighting artists and events.
Katei Cranford
Contributor
Housing commissioners allege retaliation
Multiple
past and present members of the Greensboro Minimum Housing Standards Commission (MHSC) say the city has ignored concerns about slumlords and inflated rents. Some allege being removed for expressing those concerns.
MHSC Chair Franklin Scott and Vice Chair Samuel L. Hawkins said pushback began after commissioners questioned why code enforcement cases always seemed to involve homeowners rather than landlords.
“We talked about how this was ignoring renters,” said Hawkins. “Commissioners who’d served longer than me said the city didn’t like us focusing on rental properties, because the case against Arco was bungled.”
Arco Realty owned the Cone-Summit complex where, in 2018, five refugee children died in a fire. In 2019, the city sued Arco for $682,000 in unpaid fines. In 2021, the lawsuit was quietly settled for $200,000, due to what Mayor Nancy Vaughan called “misplaced evidence.”
Scott and Hawkins said the MHSC made repeated requests for a work session with city council. Although former Deputy City Attorney Tony Baker told them these requests were passed on to the mayor and city manager, they say there has been no response.
According to Scott and Hawkins, MHSC made these requests after becoming aware of problems at apartments owned by developer Srinivas Potluri. From late 2023 until late 2024, Potluri’s tenants complained of no heat and overflowing sewage. When asked about this last year, former City Attorney Chuck Watts replied, “There is little the city can do to punish landlords.”
Hawkins said issues with Potluri properties are now “somewhat resolved,” but the controversy led commissioners to review the ordinance defining MHSC duties.
“These included the ability to inspect apartments in the presence of an inspector, and I made a formal request so we could assist tenants asking for the city’s help with a predatory landlord.”
Council is considering an ordinance removing the MHSC’s “authority to inspect living quarters.” According to District 1’s Sharon Hightower and District 5’s Tammi Thurm, this is to protect residents’ privacy. Scott and Hawkins said MHSC only wants to visit apartments where tenants complained of landlord neglect, and only do so with the tenant’s permission.
Council is also considering removing language about the MHSC’s “duty to study rental rates.” Scott and Hawkins allege that sta only suggested this after MHSC sent a letter asking Council to support the N.C. Attorney General’s investigation into the Texas-based software company RealPage.
At the time, Josh Stein was investigating RealPage for selling AI software that enables landlords to share confidential information in order to increase rental rates across the state. On Aug. 23, 2024, North Carolina joined a DOJ antitrust lawsuit against RealPage for its “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords.”
The MHSC letter, dated July 17, 2024, stated commissioners “voted unanimously to support the e orts made by Attorney General Josh Stein into the RealPage investigation.”
“I sent data to sta and council that did not look good for Greensboro,” said Scott. “We wanted to give council the opportunity to support what the attorney general is doing against RealPage and predatory landlords.”
Hawkins criticized the council’s lack of response.
“It’s almost like they’re saying people su ering from inflated rents should step aside, so council can serve high-earners brought here by new industries, ignoring families whose apartments are full of black mold.”
Hawkins called Greensboro’s rising rents “an extortion racket.”
“Rents rose as much as 300%, with people living in bad conditions with no repairs. Code inspects single-family homes while ignoring immigrant and refugee communities trapped in slumlord
flop houses, with leaking roofs, burst pipes, bad wiring, and broken toilets.”
Scott said that commissioners received a warning from Watts, “who told us that if we did not start voting the way council wanted, they would replace us.”
Watts declined comment on this statement.
Now, said Hawkins, “they want to take away some of our duties because we were trying to perform them. If we hadn’t done that, they’d continue to ignore us.”
Public records show Hightower did not ignore the RealPage letter. On July 23, 2024, she forwarded it to Watts and asked if it was “appropriate,” as MHSC member Tracy Furman was running for the N.C. House 57 seat vacated by Ashton Clemmons.
Furman, whose MHSC appointment expired in August, said she signed the letter before learning Clemmons had stepped down.
“My view is that it’s not really appropriate,” replied Watts. “This letter is not part of their role as a minimum housing commission, as I understand it. If they want to sign such a letter as private citizens, then fine. But issuing it as members of the commission would be basis for removal.”
Hightower replied that she had been reconsidering “the purpose of this commission.”
Almost four years earlier, on Aug. 13, 2020, Furman emailed Vaughan a complaint alleging Hightower interfered with MHSC deliberations.
“We can ask our council members to speak, but they are not allowed to ask to do so. She spoke at a moment when we were deliberating what I think is a pretty critical vote. Regardless of how the vote turned out, it was highly inappropriate for her to voice her opinion at that time and attempt to sway votes in her favor.”
Asked for comment, Hightower responded, “If I did, I am sure I can speak as a resident, and checked with Legal to confirm.”
Informed of this, Furman stated, “She was not speaking as a resident. She used her position to try to influence the commission.”
Council members can remove commissioners if they have enough votes to do so.
Former MHSC vice-chair Quentin Brown alleged he was removed for opposing the city’s controversial receivership program.
“Chuck and Goldie wanted me gone, because I called it a way to take people’s houses from them without buying them.”
Wells has not responded to a request for comment on this allegation.
Brown said city sta repeatedly resisted e orts to turn MHSC’s attention towards apartment complexes. “There’s more slumlords than homeowners, but the City didn’t seem interested in that.”
Asked about interference with the MHSC, former commissioner Andrew Young replied: “I was appointed by Nancy Vaughan following the Summit-Cone fire. I was removed when it seemed, to whomever it was that directed the City Attorney’s o ce to sit at our meetings, that I was somehow obstructing procedure.”
Young stated that he recalled Baker “being unnecessarily adversarial.” Baker declined to comment on this statement.
“If we were there to rubber-stamp inspectors’ findings or mechanically impose fines and deadlines on homeowners,” wrote Young, “then what would be the point of even having a commission?” !
IAN MCDOWELL is an award-winning author and journalist whose book I Ain’t Resisting: the City of Greensboro and the Killing of Marcus Smith was published in September of 2023 by Scuppernong Editions.
Ian McDowell
Contributor
Photo from Greensboro Housing Code website
Stephany knows this well. He grew up in a food-insecure household and used food stamps — the precursor to SNAP — to feed himself as a college student. Now he spends his days working for an organization that supports more than 500,000 food insecure participants across a 34-county region of the state.
Food banks and pantries like The Shalom Project are working to scale up — but there’s a limit to what they can do. The reality is that despite best e orts, there will still be a “gaping hole” in resources, according to Monique Farrell, executive director of The Shalom Project.
That’s because for every one meal a food bank provides, SNAP provides nine, according to data from Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, pantries and feeding programs.
Farrell said food pantries are intended to be the safety net underneath SNAP, not to replace it. As it already stands, Farrell said many families supplement their food needs at a food pantry, as SNAP funds do not last the entire month, especially amid rising grocery prices.
“Trying to scale to 10 times is obviously unreasonable for any operation,” added Goodwin, executive director of Robeson County’s largest food pantry.
Goodwin used federal food assistance as a child growing up in Robeson County, calling it the “tie that kept us afloat” as her parents hustled between jobs to make ends meet, enduring layo s from a loss of manufacturing jobs in the county.
“Where would I be if we hadn’t had that thread to hold that entire story together?” she wondered.
The increased demand at food banks comes as they are already reeling from federal cuts to the USDA Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which allowed food banks to buy directly from local farms, ranchers and producers.
“Over the last nine months, we have lost millions of dollars in federal funding to purchase food,” Stephany said. “The resources that we use to meet the rising need have been cut at a time when that need is increasing significantly.”
FAMILIES FEEL THE IMPACT
Some families are already hurting. Daysi Hurtado, a young woman in Raleigh who recently learned she was pregnant, said she can’t even process the idea of losing benefits. In the past, when she faced food insecurity, she’d get by
worked there for 10 years and said last week he saw some of the highest need.
skipping some meals. But not right now.
“I have a growing baby to think of,” Hurtado said. “I need to make sure that I’m eating all the time — and the food can’t be fast food, it needs to be good, healthy food.”
On Saturday — the first day of interrupted SNAP benefits — 20-year-old Lynn, who asked that N.C. Health News only use her first name, visited the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market, which gave out $80 to every SNAP customer to help them while the federal food benefits are on hold. That help came just in time. She said she only had some noodles and a loaf of bread in the fridge that she wasn’t sure was still edible.
Lynn, a Greensboro resident, said she has just started training for a new job, which only paid enough to cover her rent. She used the $80 to fill up her cart with fresh vegetables, milk and a few pastry treats.
Others, like Bollinger, the McDowell County mom, are contemplating ways to get extra income for a while, such as starting to deliver for DoorDash. But that’s easier said than done for many.
Bollinger already works 40 hours a week, and adding to that would mean more time away from her children and put more wear and tear on her car. She doesn’t have anyone nearby who could watch her kids, meaning she would have to take them with her on delivery routes.
For now, Bollinger won’t go that route. She hopes the SNAP funds will resume sooner rather than later as she works meticulously to stretch every dollar — in a budget that is already stripped down to essentials.
and marketing coordinator at McDowell Local Food Advisory Council.
“The reality looks like empty cupboards, increased stress and health impacts that ripple through families, especially children, working parents, seniors. The loss of SNAP could really push many over the edge into a real crisis,” Moore said. “People lose the proper ability to focus at work or school if they’re not fully nourished. Chronic health conditions can worsen. New conditions can arise. We’re concerned about delayed benefits impacting both immediate health and long-term health conditions.”
Even when those funds start to flow again, some SNAP recipients will face new barriers. Starting this month, more people will be required to show they’re working to continue qualifying for benefits.
Lynn, too, said she was frustrated by the delay, saying the government has a “priority problem.”
“When they needed to pay the military people, they found a way to do it,” she said. “But when it came to helping with the [food] benefits, they were like, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
‘IMPOSSIBLE
CHOICES’
Rachel Keever, president and CEO of the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation, helps manage NCCARE360, a resource that can connect people to help, including food assistance. She said that her organization has launched a streamlined website that directs people to resources nearby.
“People are already short of dollars,” Keever said.
The timing of when SNAP benefits are paid out to recipients is staggered over the course of the month. Some people receive their EBT recharge earlier in the month, while others get the boost later.
For some low-income families, there’s still some time. But not much.
“There are women who literally have already been out of food stamps for 10, 15, 20 days, depending on how much they have,” said Amy Smith, executive director of the Women’s Center of Wake County. Because so many of these families live on the edge, even a short delay — as the Trump administration makes its moves — could hurt them.
“Families who were already struggling will face impossible choices between paying for food, rent, medication or gas to get to work,” said Audrey Moore, media
“Experiencing inconsistent access to food is one of the worst feelings ever because food is such a basic need,” said Ashley Tee, executive director of community health at the YMCA of Western North Carolina, which serves Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood, McDowell and Madison counties. “There is so much that stems around being able to access food and what it does for your humanity and your dignity.”
N.C. Health News reporters Jaymie Baxley, Jennifer Fernandez, Ashley Fredde and Taylor Knopf contributed reporting. !
• Feeding America: Find your local food bank. www.feedingamerica.org/find-yourlocal-foodbank
• Resources shared by readers (please send along what you know)
• Advice from the O ce of Gov. Josh Stein:
• Continue to apply and renew: All residents should continue to apply for SNAP benefits and submit renewal paperwork on time. County DSS o ces are open and processing all applications to prevent a backlog when funding is restored.
• Check your balance: Any benefits currently on your EBT card are available to use. Check your balance on the ebtEDGE app, at ebtEDGE. com or by calling the number on the back of your card (1-888-622-7328).
• If you or your family is in immediate need for food resources, call NC 2-1-1 to be connected with local resources. You can also visit the NCDHHS website dedicated to food access to find a food pantry closest to you.
Photo by Rachel Crumpler / N.C. Health News
Je rey Foster is program director managing food distribution at The Shalom Project, a food pantry in Winston-Salem. He’s
[1. SCIENCE: What is the study of clouds called?
[2. GEOGRAPHY: Which country’s highest mountain is called Ben Nevis?
[3. ACRONYMS: What phrase does the acronym GPS stand for?
[4. TELEVISION: What beer brand appears in The Simpsons animated TV show?
[5. HISTORY: When was Earth Day first celebrated?
Gordon Ramsay.
6. Goosebumps.
[6. ANATOMY: What is a common name for the condition known as piloerection?
[7. MOVIES: Which city was the setting for the movie The Sting?
[8. MATH: How many yards are in a mile?
[9. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a baby ferret called?
[10. FOOD & DRINK: Which celebrity chef stars on the cooking show Hell’s Kitchen?
[SALOME’S STARS]
Week of November 17, 2025
[ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You might feel like you have all the answers right now. But it might be wise to listen to other ideas before you decide to close the lid on other possibilities.
[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Bovines give and expect loyalty, so it might not be easy to reconcile with someone you feel let you down. Why not ask a neutral party to set up a clear-the-air meeting?
[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Anticipating the holidays with family and friends fuels your must-do GEMINI energies. But try to pace yourself so that you’ll be up for whatever comes along later.
[CANCER (June 21 to July 22) More background information might come through regarding a decision you expect to make. Be sure to check the source carefully before you move.
[LEO (July 23 to August 22) The strong, nurturing nature of the Lion comes through this week as you reach out to
family and friends in need of your warm and loving support.
[VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A relationship that has almost totally unraveled could be close to being restored with more e ort on your part to be more patient and less judgmental.
[LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Your sense of fair play is strong this week, which can cause a problem with a longtime relationship. But in the end, you’ll know what decision to make.
[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) You might not know all the facts behind an unwelcome development, so keep your SCORPIOn temper in check and resist lashing out at anyone.
[SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) This is a good time to reinforce relationships with family, friends and colleagues that might have been overlooked in recent years.
a wide variety of activities for our members. We’re designed to incorporate the total fitness concept for maximum benefits and total
cordially invite all of you to be a part of our athletic facility, while enjoying the membership savings we offer our established corporate accounts.
[cAPrIcorN (December 22 to January 19) Family situations continue to thrive. Business associations also improve. Some holiday plans might have to be shifted a bit. Be flexible.
[AQuArIus (January 20 to February 18) Avoid any influence of negative energy in this week’s aspect by not allowing small problems to grow into large ones. Work them out immediately.
[PIsces (February 19 to March 20) A friend might need advice on how to deal with a challenge to their moral values. And who better than you to give the honest answer? Good luck!
[BorN THIs week: You have a sense of honor and determination that is palpable and inspires others to follow your lead.
