Queen City Nerve

In the Roundup: A third arrest on Monday related to the horrific death of Dominique McKnight, a 6-year-old girl who was found dead as a result of child abuse in her east Charlotte home last week. The home burned in an intentionally set fire on Wednesday.

A woman who was fired from UNC Charlotte in May after being filmed making comments involving DEI has filed a federal lawsuit against the university and two staff members, claiming discrimination and the violation of her First Amendment rights.

In this week's Roundup: Lumbee Tribe Achieves Federal Recognition; Trump’s NC Speech Called ‘Unhinged’; Greg Biffle Remembered for Philanthropic Work; Teacher Pay in NC Declining, Ranked Worst in South; and Michele Morrow Enters US Senate Race

Live music, NBA ball, karaoke, red carpets. We’ve put together a list of different ways you can let your hair down on New Year’s Eve 2025 without having to spend hundreds of dollars just to get in the door. How much you spend once you’re in is on you.

Catharine "Cat" Williams, beloved artist, designer and disability rights activist in Charlotte, passed away on Nov. 22 due to complications from a double-lung transplant she received in 2020. We look back on a life that touched many others.

Kicking off its final weekend at the newly renovated Warehouse Performing Arts in Cornelius tomorrow, 'Scrooge in Rouge' is a comedic retelling of 'A Christmas Carol' that sees three actors taking on 20 roles, making for plenty of lighthearted suspense.

A new Urban Institute report analyzing the city’s first Alternatives to Violence program on the Beatties Ford Road shows promise in its analysis of crime rates and perceptions among residents in the corridor since its launch in 2021. We take a deeper look:

Charlotte City Council held a zoning meeting Monday night, voting on a petition that involves the displacement of dozens of families in northeast Charlotte and viewing a mixed-use petition in Shuffletown that is drawing strong opposition from neighbors.

At tonight's zoning meeting, council is scheduled to vote on a rezoning petition that would displace 60 households from the Forest Park mobile home community near Highland Creek. Our coverage from when the petition first came in front of council in June:

The infamous Jeppson's Malört is taking root in Charlotte via Chicago, but is the rising popularity of this wormwood-based liqueur a mark of maturing palates or just a viral prank trend?

In the Roundup: Details continue to emerge about Thursday’s arrest of Sycamore Brewing co-owner Justin Bigham for child rape. That and four more stories from around Charlotte this week.

In Nightlife, Aerin visits Craft Growler Shop and Tasting Room for the first time since she wrote about it a decade ago, shortly after its opening. As it turns out, the spot has grown as she has, these days representing a mature side of South End.

Editor and AI skeptic Ryan Pitkin lays out his issues with the use of AI for creating art in this Q&A with Mark Peres, professor and author of ‘The Accord,’ for which he employed ChatGPT as a way to engage the subject of the book: artificial general intelligence.

The owner of Coffey & Thompson, Charlotte's oldest art gallery, was evicted for failure to pay rent. She has since gone no contact with staff and artists who had work in the building. Nearly three months later, many are still unable to retrieve their work.

Having seen a surge in support following the fall of Roe, the team at A Preferred Women’s Health Center in east Charlotte feels forgotten three years later as they continue to navigate ever-changing legislation, funding deficits and protester aggression.

Vol. 8, Issue 4: Who!? As the Hornets' digital designer, Mike Jones has been quietly working to connect Charlotte's creative scenes. That work just earned him an Emmy nod. Plus, the NC post-Roe abortion landscape, a new novel engages (and employs) AI, Malört takes root, a cheap guide to NYE & more.

The first Charlotte City Council meeting for the three newest reps on Monday night was a quick one, but members did get a chance to address concerns about public safety reamplified by a second stabbing on the light rail and discuss a city/county partnership along Catherine Simmons Avenue.

Rep. Carla Cunningham, the Democrat who faced a jeering hometown crowd this summer after delivering a controversial speech on the state House floor criticizing immigrants, is seeking an eighth term, with multiple primary opponents aiming to stifle her.

Happy Birthday to us! 🎂 On Dec. 5, 2018, our first issue hit the streets and we haven’t slowed down since. Thanks to all our readers who have taken us this far.

Seeking therapy at the end of the world. Josiah Blevins' new web series 'Small Vices' is set in the ever-warming world of 2035 where mental health is breaking down as quickly as the climate. It premieres at the VisArt Video Lounge tomorrow night.

EXCLUSIVE: The door signage went up today as renowned Charlotte mixologist (he prefers bartender) Larry Suggs prepares to open All Purpose Bar in the space formerly occupied by Protagonist at the corner of East 35th and North Davidson streets in NoDa. Stay tuned for more details.

Columnist, author, TV host, Nobel Peace Prize nominee... it's in the stand-up world where Steve Hofstetter truly shines. Josh Robbins caught up with the comic, who moved to Charlotte in January, to discuss settling into a new scene before his showcase Sunday.

In this essay, Gwen Frisbie-Fulton of Working Class Storytelling pays tribute to the retail workers who make the holiday shopping season possible, often for low wages and little thanks.

Following Jay Davis’ Big Turkey Pull Up on Tuckaseegee Road, we caught up with the LuLu’s Express owner to talk about what community means to him in a fast-changing neighborhood, plus his exciting new menu expansion.

In the Roundup: CMPD released footage of a January interaction with Decarlos Brown that occurred months before he was arrested for the murder of Iryna Zarutska. The footage provides insight at the mind state of Brown, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia but repeatedly refused medication.

After 16 years, beloved pop-punk band Dollar Signs is calling it quits. We catch up with Erik Button and Dylan Wachman to discuss the dissolution in the lead-up to a slate of farewell shows at The Milestone in December.

Our Holiday Gift Guide includes 32 spots to shop local in Charlotte this season, from storefronts to pop-ups like the market at Light the Knights, which opens tonight at Truist Field. We've included Small Business Saturday deals where we could find them.

The Nov. 12 deal to reopen the government included new regulations that could snuff out the nascent hemp industry in North Carolina. Here's how advocates are reacting and mobilizing with a year until those regulations are enacted.

Vol. 8, Issue 3: Our Holiday Gift Guide includes 32 spots to shop local in Charlotte this season. Plus, is hemp dead in NC? Dollar Signs bids farewell. LuLu’s expands its menu. Aerin gets crafty and more.

In this op-ed, Lula Dualeh looks at recent federal immigration enforcement action in Charlotte through the lens of racial justice, contemplating where this sad chapter fits into the history of the "New South" city.

In this op-ed, Andrew Davis looks at the Republican Party, a party he identified with until 2016, and wonders if it will ever escape - or have any will to escape - what it has become under MAGA rule.

In recent weeks, residents have been speaking out against maps released by NC DOT for the planned addition of toll lanes along an 11-mile stretch of I-77 from the SC state line to Uptown. We bring you up to speed on the proposed designs and resident responses:

NEW: CBP officially wrapped up its 'Charlotte's Web' operation this morning. Though ICE will continue to operate locally as it always has, community leaders will shift focus to supporting affected businesses and communities. Here's how to do so:

After a brief pause to pursue her official USDA organic certification, Monique Hibma has relaunched Neek Tea Co., introducing a slate of new blends. We talked to Monique about her journey from drinking peppermint tea with her grandma to solopreneurship.

Last night’s Charlotte City Council meeting included a unique rezoning plan for Brookhill Village that planners hope can break the development deadlock there, but compromises will be needed.

As CBP agents continue to round up and detain folks throughout the city today, ABC News is reporting that the agency plans to move agents out of Charlotte on Friday, re-deploying them to New Orleans.

Jay Ward and Jah Smalls, poets and producers of Black Charlotte: A Poetic Celebration of Place & Folk, call the album a love letter that highlights our city's beauty and scars. Contributing poets will perform with the backing of the Charlotte Symphony at Carolina Theatre this week.

What we know now about CBP in CLT:

In a dual review of dueling comedies (not really, just overlapping runs), theatre critics Perry Tannenbaum tackles Three Bone Theatre's 'Eureka Day' and Davidson Community Players' 'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' in one fell swoop.

Today, 704 Shop launches its (En)Vision online auction, featuring a one-off run of gear created by the folks at Lions Services, which employs and serves the blind and visually impaired. The auction, which mostly features gear for local sports teams, ends on Dec. 14.

Sitting at 5-5, the Carolina Panthers have been winning games they aren’t expected to and dropping the ones they should take. What to make of this team? Darrell Horwitz with the midseason review:

For the nearly 25% of CMS students whose families rely on SNAP, November has been an especially fraught month up until now, but the ongoing hunger crisis in North Carolina doesn't end when the shutdown does.

US Customs and Border Protection is reportedly planning to deploy agents to the Queen City for a mass deportation operation the agency is calling “Charlotte’s Web.” Here's what local leaders are saying and what to expect if that happens:

The St. Lloyd Presbyterian Church Cemetery Foundation formed in 2023 to honor the legacy of its namesake historic Black church by preserving cemetery sites in its original SouthPark and Grier Heights locations. Today they mark a milestone.

Vol. 8, Issue 2: As Digital Noir turns 10, we talk to DJ Spider about the Charlotte Dark Scene. Plus, preserving a historic Black church cemetery in Grier Heights, SNAP in schools, Black Charlotte at Carolina Theatre, Neek Tea Co.’s relaunch, food pantries in CLT & more.

We are what we eat, and we’re a damn good city. Our 2025 Best in the Nest Food & Drink Critics' Picks highlight the top culinary spots in Charlotte from fine dining to pop-ups and take-out spots.

We can’t buy time but what else is for sale? Our Best in the Nest Consumer Culture Critics' Picks highlight some of the best the city has to offer in retail, health & wellness, fashion, pop-ups and products.

After issuing partial November benefits to North Carolina SNAP recipients on Friday, the NC DHHS was on track to issue the remainder over the weekend. However, a decision by the White House to appeal a court ruling forced the state to pause its payout.

Reporting from WSOC this week found that a man who died while incarcerated at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center in August overdosed on meds that jail staff mistakenly provided him. That and four more stories you might have missed in the Roundup:

Every year needs a good soundtrack. The artists honored in this year's Music Critics' Picks helped make that happen in Charlotte over the last year.