voyager12

I think it's great that East Blvd Bar and Grill's new location @ LP is so focused on the sidewalk. The windows rollup on nice days, there is an outpocket of tables outside and the bar is also front and center from the street. Along with 131 Main's outdoor dining space they have added a nice boost of urban life to the block.

Maybe these stories stem from overzealous individual employees, who knows but it's odd that they are coming from two separate clubs. Especially since Halos prior incarnation as G&G went out of it's way to market itself as gay friendly. I noticed the rehab going on at the old Liasons spot too. Would be great if the house was correctly restored, has good bones and could look great again. That balcony sure is rickety. There have been some packed late nights out there where floor did not feel all that stable

I was hoping the rumors about Halo were unfounded. So hateful if it's true. We have packs of straight girls that go to our bars to relax without being hit on along with cool straight guys. We don't break up their good time. I don't have much to add about dance clubs since I can't dance and never went to Velocity when it was open. I have had fun at Scorpio during the drag shows on Sunday, loved seeing all the diversity.

^ hmmm, interesting thanks for the info...we shall see. Would be nice to keep the old pink house in the family time to share my rumor.....I heard that employees at Halo are breaking up guys that are dancing together since it's gone "straight". Anyone seen this there or in any other club in Charlotte?

The latest edition of Q-Notes questions the lack of gay inclusive ordinances in Charlotte when compared to other metro areas of NC. No need to rehash it, just the same litany of examples we have talked about on here for years. What did grab my attention was Jennifer Roberts statement that DP's on the county level will most likely be brought up for discussion in the next month. The public hearings might be contentious but I think we have a pretty supportive majority to get it passed.

Sounds good, I will have to stop by. I like "Dilend" will have to borrow that....much easier than Dilworth/Southend. They really do blend together in that area.

From the pics I saw on CLT Blog, Outparade looked great. I ended up having to miss it. Last night there was a candidates forum at the Community Center. My meeting ran too late for me to go Good turnout and a friend just told me that John Lassiter was there along with Anthony Foxx and other council candidates. I am pretty surprised that the former showed up. McCrory was never willing to meet us and engage in any type of dialogue.

I never made it to Frankies. All along I thought it was a locally owned joint. Another high profile spot goes dark along with Rock n Lobster on East. Hope they both get new life soon.

I think it's quite sad if Charlotte's biggest selling point is " Come here it's cheap because we have no building or green standards, we don't care how we grow just give us the money". There is something to quality of life in regards to planning and our lack of attention to this aspect continues to hurt us now and will in the longterm.

Anybody going to this? $20 fee. Charlotte ViewPoint in partnership with Civic-By-Design Forum invites you to:

That's true. The Uptown march went through a lot of rolling tumbleweed territory last time. Also, I can't seem to find the starting time for this thing. Maybe someone at the Keith Boykin speech tonight at UNC Charlotte will know.

^ I am Trying to cajole others to go with me but all I ever seem to get in return is " I don't like politics" or I am not an activist" I went solo to the last march in Uptown so I can do it again.

I completely agree that gay targeted tourism efforts are way down on the totem pole when it comes to priorities. I just wish the CL article had mentioned that one of the primary obstacles to such outreach is the blatant homophobia of our Mayor and the silly fear of the "gay" issue among some CVB leaders. Tomorrow at UNCC's Mcknight Hall OUTSpoken Presents: Keith Boykin Starts at 7pm Keith Boykin, renowned author, TV comentator for MSNBC, BET, and CNN, and LGBTQ rights advocate comes to UNC Charlotte to discuss One More River to Cross: Black & Gay in America

^I think we can declare RL dead. They have been dark for several days. The loss of jobs is regrettable but the place never made sense to me. East is a tough market but good concepts do well.

Our city neighborhoods are considered diverse because we tend to vote more Democratic than the overall metro. Aside from politics we are not diverse. I have found quite a contrast in some of the subdivisions along Sardis and out near UNCC. I check on a few dogs near Sardis&Fairview and quite often see fully garbed Orthodox Jews walking to temple as well as Indian families in saris, and more. Suburbia is so often thought of as conservative,white, and Christian. It's good to get a different perspective.

^ The layout has grown on me. I now appreciate the extra space. Across the country Starbucks is getting tougher on folks who buy one drink in the AM but spend all day taking up space with their laptops. So the removal of some of the sofas and chairs makes sense. East Bvld Grill's new spot at LP is moving along and looks nice to me. Can anyone confirm that Rock n Lobster is gone? It was dark yesterday and looks the same today.

I went to the local CD release party at the Neighborhood last night. The panel discussion was interesting. There is a lot of great Charlotte music being made but the issue continues to be getting people out to see them. As was also mentioned you could interchange the topic from music to urban planning and it's the same general malaise that perpetually afflicts our burg. Maybe it's the transient corporate nature of our area or just a taste issue. The local groups making original sound are forever annoyed with getting cover song requests as opposed to being able to put out their tunes. There was general loathing expressed toward the generic Alive after 5 in Uptown and the new venues because they mostly focus on mass market or cover bands. The lack of marquee events that have energized other similar sized cities was cited as a major deficiency. Finally, everyone agreed that moaning at each other is counterproductive by fans and bands. If the local scene is to grow everyone has to pitch in. I had to get back to my dog route so I could not stay for the concert. I did pick up a Homebrew CD on the way out, really got into a bunch of songs on it. On a sidenote, I was excited to see how busy NoDa was and it wasn't just around the theatre or a weekend! Great flow of people. I know a bunch of folks who consider Thursday the start of the wkd and I actually prefer going out then, just seems more mellow. But regardless, increased streetlife on a weeknight is great to see!

This week's Creative Loafing had a weak article on why gay tourism is ignored in Charlotte. It was written by Cheris Hodges. They layed off Karen Shugart awhile back and that is a shame because her articles on our community were much more informative. No mention of the real reasons : The head of the CVB said Charlotte is not "ready" for GLBT travel marketing. McCrory has gone out of his way to be unwelcoming to gay groups. These incidents and more do get around the tourism industry which broadly has become much more cognizant and welcoming of the lucrative GLBT travel market. The spokesman for our local tourist org did say that they are "watching" the segment and may do something at sometime. That is progress for us. Currently, they offer links to gay friendly sections of Travelocity. Meanwhile, the Triangle long ago recognized our value and continues to burnish a positive and welcoming campaign to the GLBT traveler.

I try to support local music as much as I can. Like everything else alt in this town there is a lot of great talent out there but it's hard to get mainstream recognition. Tonight at the Neighborhood Theatre is the release party for Homebrew 3, a compilation of local music. A panel discussion starts at 8 and then a concert afterwards. The great perk being that everyone in attendance gets a free Homebrew CD with 18 local bands featured. Can't beat free music ! P.S. If you like alt rock Animal Kingdom's single "Tin Man" is free on iTunes.

Funny, you should mention outdoor seating ^ I was in Charleston last wkd and was just about to post that Liz Ave has great potential for cafe style sidewalk dining. Upper King St especially, has several outdoor seating areas and they really add a great lively vibe. Very European with round tables and comfy chairs where you can hangout with friends for hours and chat while watching city life go by. That's what says "urban" to me.

I don't mean "gay friendly" as in being treated special, it's about parity. To me, the survey results are representative of the lack of any gay inclusive employment, housing, or DP programs in the city. And the lack of visibility by many in the gay community here which is caused by fear and apathy. These are non issues among the progressive and forward looking cities Charlotte likes to think of being classed with.

In a recent Knight Foundation survey Charlotte scored far below all of it's peers ( mpls-stpl, Portland, Denver, Austin etc) in regards to welcoming GLBT residents. Not surprising, and it will be mostly ignored because the gay community in this town is mostly ignored and invisible, which won't change until more of us care about making a change.

NOFO is no more. Very sad. Especially since the road was just reopened. And the city staged a "celebration" of the new design yesterday. I really liked the food and the quirky atmosphere. Now we will have a big vacany on a strip that is already too small. How depressing.

After failing twice and making my credit card cry, I rescued my car from inspection purgatory yesterday. I might frame my passing certificate. What a pain! I usually go to the DMV on Indy but everyone I spoke to this time reccomended the Brookshire location. I got out there before the 8:00 opening yesterday and was in and out in ten minutes. Glad I left early because on the first driveby I completely missed the building and went all the way to Mtn Island Lake in Gaston. I had never been out there before,and it's very pretty . Got directions from a gas station. I felt stupid but the DMV sign is so faded you can't even read it, I just thought it was just another office building.

Starbucks @ East&Scott has reopened after renovation. I was kind of confused by the new style. There is more room to move around but way too much empty dead space to me. Maybe they are not done setting up the furniture.