Quick hits: 49ers football close to happening, and Daughtry gives some love to a W-S theater

49ers football program needs one more signature

"UNC Charlotte’s first on-campus football stadium is now just a governor’s signature away from becoming a reality," according to reports.

"The N.C. General Assembly passed a bill last week that allows the school to borrow $40 million for the construction of a new 15,000-seat football stadium, field house and practice fields to house the Charlotte 49ers’ new football program, scheduled to start play in fall 2013.

"Gov. Beverly Perdue is expected to sign the bill as early as next week. The school plans to mark the event with a celebration among supporters sometime after Perdue gives final approval. ..."

New Daughtry music video highlights theater

"A refurbished former silent movie theater in North Carolina has a starring role in the newest music video from Daughtry," according to the AP.

"The video for the song 'September' was shot earlier this month at the Stevens Center of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. The center in Winston-Salem dates to 1929, when it was a silent movie theater. It's now the primary performance venue for the arts school.

"The video premiered online Friday on the music network VEVO. The song is from Daughtry's platinum-selling album, 'Leave This Town.' ..."

Quick hits: UNCC fires Lutz and Warren Wilson grad rows across Atlantic

Longtime Charlotte coach Lutz fired

"Charlotte 49ers men's basketball coach Bobby Lutz, the winningest coach in school history, was fired today after his team failed to make postseason play in the NCAA or National Invitation tournaments for the second consecutive season," said the Observer.

"Lutz met with athletics director Judy Rose and informed his assistants of her decision this morning.

"Lutz still had four years remaining on his current contract, which went through the 2013-14 season with a base salary of at least $237,000 per year. He received an extension prior to last season. ..."

Warren Wilson grad rows solo across the Atlantic

"A 22-year-old American rower who graduated from Warren Wilson College completed a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, touching a pier in the coffee-brown waters off Guyana to claim a record as the youngest person to accomplish such a crossing," says the AP.

"Katie Spotz, who spent more than two months alone at sea, hugged her father and brother as a crowd of 200 people cheered her arrival in this South American capital.

“ 'The hardest part was just the solo part,' said Spotz, who said she struggled with boredom and had trouble sleeping inside the cramped, 19-foot row boat. ..."

UNCC one step closer to 49ers football

Charlotte is one step closer to having another football team for which to pull.

On Friday, the North Carolina Board of Governors unanimously approved the proposed funding plan for college football at UNC Charlotte. This followed a unanimous approval from the UNC Board of trustees earlier this year. The plan is now pending the approval of the General Assembly this summer.

The goal is to have a team in place by 2013.

“I think it’s important to this community and for the university to get people on campus to be able to see games and connect around something like football,” Tim Ernst, a UNC Charlotte graduate, told Fox Charlotte.

The addition of football is a $40 million plan. Part of that plan would be funded by an increase in student fees, starting with $120 this fall, and reaching $320 in 2014.

Quick hits: Some football news

Edwards leaves Boone an ASU graduate
"Last weekend was a very significant couple of days for Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards," says the Citizen-Times' Keith Jarrett.

"On Saturday, the senior lefthander completed one of the greatest college football careers in the history of the sport in a 24-17 loss at Montana in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.

"And Sunday he walked through the graduation line at Boone, earning a degree in graphic arts and imaging technology in 3 1/2 years.

"The team returned from Montana around 6 a.m. Sunday, and Edwards made it to the 2 p.m. graduation ceremony.

"Just 2.8 percent of ASU's latest graduating class received degrees in less than four years. ...

"He finished with 14,753 yards of offense in 51 career games, averaging 289 yards of offense per game. That career total is second all-time in FCS history, behind only Steve McNair (16,823 yards at Alcorn State from 1991-94). ..."

Applaud UNCC for seizing opportunity

"A lot of reasonable people are telling UNCC that this is not the time to commit to football.

"So when is that time?" asks Tom Sorensen.

"There never has been a good time to start football.

"There never will be a good time. ...

"Football is not official yet. Charlotte still has to meet next month with the UNC system's Board of Governors, who will approve or decline the football initiative in February. Charlotte also has to get approval from the Legislature.

"But the 49ers are closer than they have ever been, and instead of approaching prospective ticket buyers with a concept, they can go with confidence.

"I understand that student fees will jump. I understand that ticket sales - the school has sold 3,207 - have been disappointing. I understand that football isn't as essential as business or English, and that only in the SEC can students major in Gridiron.

"But college is more than academics. Football offers students a reason to stay on campus and alumni a reason to return. The 49ers are Charlotte's school, and some of us will be moved to drive there for the first time and perhaps realize why. ..."

Quick hits: Law to protect wild horses and 49ers football moves along

Law gives horses some space
"Visitors to North Carolina's Outer Banks now are required to stay away from the famous wild horses in the Corolla area," says the AP.

"The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reports that the Currituck County Board of Commissioners adopted a new ordinance last week that orders visitors to stay 50 feet away from the wild horses.

"A law adopted in 1989 made it illegal to be within 50 feet of a horse if trying to feed it. The new law bans any intentional contact.

"County Attorney Donald McRee says there have been complaints this year about people putting children on the horses and posing with them for photos. Officials also said a woman walked with a herd and ignored repeated warning to move away. ..."

49ers football campaign kicks into high gear

According to the Charlotte Observer, if "college football is to become a reality for the Charlotte 49ers, it has to happen in the next two months.

"That was the call to arms Monday night when school and local officials gathered at the Quail Hollow Club to kick off an aggressive program designed to sell the 5,000 football seat licenses necessary for the planned program to proceed.

"As of Monday, deposits had been taken on 1,850 seat licenses, far short of the goal of 5,000 set by Chancellor Phil Dubois. Organizers hope to reach the goal before a scheduled Sept.17 meeting of the school's board of trustees, when a decision on whether to continue with the football plan is expected. ..."

Quick hits: Hurricane names, 49er gridiron, EC in photos and longleaf pine art?

Hurricane names released
My "grandparents" could cause havoc this year. After all, two of the latest round of hurricane names include a "Bill" and an "Ida."

Those wacky weather people. They've also included a "Joaquin" and a "Peter" to be followed by "Rose."

Click here for the full list.


UNCC remains on track for football
"A tough economy and some disappointment in the number of prospective buyers who have followed through with a commitment to buy football seat licenses is not slowing the Charlotte 49ers' efforts to start a football program in time for the 2013 season," says the Charlotte Observer.

"Although circumstances have changed since September, when the school's board of trustees first approved moving ahead on football, athletics director Judy Rose said Tuesday that the 49ers remain on track for a program that would begin in a temporary on-campus stadium and eventually move to a new, on-campus facility.

"Any of Charlotte's football goals are contingent on the selling of at least 5,000 FSLs. As of Tuesday, just over 1,700 had been purchased. ..."

Old photo collection preserves Elizabeth City's history
"For 84 years, Cecil Richardson Jr. has lived in the area and amassed a local photo and newspaper clipping collection that fills more than 75 three-ring binders.

"Some of the photos he’s taken himself, including his shots of the night the wooden blimp hangar burned in Weeksville in the 1990s," says the Daily Advance. "Others he has collected from various residents and labeled with the address or names of those pictured. He knows most of the people in the photographs and can give background stories to places that recent Elizabeth City residents don’t even know existed.

"Cindy Williams, an owner of MMT Printers, wants to help Richardson preserve this knowledge and is collaborating with Richardson to make a photo book that would be available for sale. ..."



Craftswoman makes art from longleaf pine needles
"What can you do with pine straw? Well, there's mulch. And then there's ... mulch.

"Melanie Walter has another use: She makes baskets out of pine needles," says the Star-News.

"She has baskets on the display at the Asheville Art Museum. Her baskets won a third-place ribbon at the Orange Street ArtsFest on May 23. And she has received an invitation to show her work at the prestigious Ann Arbor Street Art Fair in Michigan.

"Most of her sales come through Port City Pottery & Fine Crafts, a crafts cooperative with a store in the Cotton Exchange. Her baskets are also available at the Sunset River Marketplace in Calabash and at the Cameron Art Museum. ..."

UNCC WILL get football

UNC Charlotte will field a football team. The school's board of trustees voted 8-0, with one abstention, today to adopt a Chancellor Phil Dubois plan that could add a football program at the school, according to the Charlotte Observer.

In September, Dubois recommended the school suit up a team by 2013, if boosters and football fans demonstrated support by raising $5 million in six months to help build a $45.3 million stadium complex.

"The cold stark financial reality we face is that those who say they want football are going to have to help pay for football," Dubois told trustees in Spetember. "We need to see support demonstrated now."

He suggested selling 5,000 personal seat licenses - or "Forty-Niner Seat Licenses" - for $1,000 each, just for the right to buy tickets, within six months of the BOT's vote.

That vote, of the 13-member BOT, came Thursday. There were nine members voting, and eight voted in favor with one abstention. There were no votes against. The other four members didn't vote. Three had previously expressed support for the initiative.

At the close of business on Wednesday, the Charlotte 49ers had received reservations for 4,167 of those FSLs. At a price of $1,000 each, that could translate into more than $4.1 million for the creation of a football program.

No money has yet been accepted by the ticket office, which was awaiting today's vote. ...

Interested fans and corporations can add their names to the reservation list by calling the 49ers ticket office at (704) 687-4949 or the 49ers Athletic Foundation at (704) 687-4950.

The biggest obstacle to football is a place to play. Dubois recommended building an expandable 12,000-seat stadium on campus, or playing at a renovated Memorial Stadium in uptown Charlotte.

School officials are talking to Mecklenburg County officials about Memorial Stadium. If the school invests significant money in renovating that facility, it would play there for several seasons, Dubois said.

UNC Charlotte to (possibly) add football

Just what North Carolina needs: another Division I football program.

UNC Charlotte will add football to its athletics department IF boosters ante up, says the school's chancellor.

UNCC Chancellor Phil Dubois "recommended Thursday the school field a football team by 2013, but with one lofty condition to measure support: Fans need to raise $5million in six months to help build a $45.3 million stadium complex. The clock would start running if trustees approve Dubois' proposal at their November meeting," writes the Observer.

"Dubois announced his decision to the school's 13 trustees, suggesting the $5 million be raised by selling 5,000 personal seat licenses – much like the ones the Carolina Panthers sold to build Bank of America Stadium.

"The licenses – Dubois called them 'Forty-Niner Seat Licenses' – would sell for $1,000 each, just for the right to buy season tickets.

" 'The cold stark financial reality we face is that those who say they want football are going to have to help pay for football,' Dubois told trustees. 'We need to see support demonstrated now.' ..."

$1 million pledged to Tryon Palace

Philanthropist Mariam Cannon Hayes (of Cannon Mills fame) recently bequeathed $1 million to New Bern's historic Tryon Palace, site of the first permanent capitol of colonial North Carolina and home to the royal governor.

Hayes died in August at age 91.

"The Tryon Palace money will help build a $60 million historical education center at the facility, palace Director Kay Williams said," according to the Charlotte Observer.

"The gateway in the new building will be named for Hayes' parents, textile magnate Charles A. Cannon and his wife, Ruth, and will feature information about the family's philanthropy. In the 1930s and 1940s, Ruth Cannon helped start the reconstruction of the palace, which had burned in 1798.

"Williams had discussed a donation with Hayes for several years. Construction on the education center will begin in June, and it should open in April 2010 in time for New Bern's tricentennial.

" 'She agreed the project was valuable and wanted to do something to honor her parents' involvement,' Williams said. 'In a way ... (the bequest) is a fitting memorial to her as well. It's a gift to history in North Carolina, her parents and a gift for education.' ..."

Hayes also pledged $3.5 million to UNC-Charlotte, $1million each to Davidson College and Queens University, $500,000 to the Blowing Rock Community Center and $600,000 for the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital at Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast in Concord. She also bequeathed, according to the Observer, $200,000 for a scholarship fund at Cannon School, an independent school in Concord. She forgave the debt on the 2005 sale of a Beechcraft Baron airplane to her nephew, William Cannon Jr.

"And she left her Blowing Rock property, worth an estimated $2.2 million, to the Appalachian State University Foundation.

"She gave her Concord home to the Cannon Foundation. The house, valued at $413,170 according to her estate inventory, was built in 1907 and will serve as the foundation's new home, Executive Director Frank Davis said."

Former UNC leaders not down with 49ers football

UNC Charlotte -- the fourth largest university in the state at around 17,000 students or so (and growing) -- wants to offer football as a sport by 2012. Former UNC system presidents C.D. Spangler and Bill Friday don't think that's such a good idea.

"This has been something disturbing to both of us," Spangler told the Charlotte Observer.

The decision is ultimately up to the university, but would probably require support from the "UNC Board of Governors because student fees are capped at 6.5 percent and in increase would be required to fund a football program."

Spangler said he and Friday have been reluctant to address university matters specifically, but that the football issue is important enough for them to speak up.

Spangler said he wanted to wait until the faculty meeting to talk about why he opposes football at the 61-year-old university, which has studied starting a team for the past year.

But Friday said college sports are becoming more about entertainment than education.

He said Thursday that he wants to present information from Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics reports on how high-level sports affect colleges and universities. He said he won't choose a side, but wants to make sure the faculty is informed of the potential cost of a football program on academics and other programs.

"The problems with college sports today are rather enormous," Friday said Thursday. "The commission is trying to make sure that the facts about this be known. That has not been the case in all too many instances up until now. There are campuses having to disband other sports to pay for the football and basketball programs."

'Sir Robin (Clay Aiken) bravely ran away'

Clay Aiken has admitted recently that he thought Monty Python was a person, not the legendary British comedic troup.

Aiken has been forgiven, apparently. After all, he has scored the role of "brave" Sir Robin in Broadway's "Monty Python's Spamalot," the play based on the great movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

"One of the reasons that it intrigued me was that it was so different," Aiken told the Associated Press. "Nobody I think would have expected me to show up in 'Spamalot.'"

Aiken, 29, has taken over the role of Sir Robin, the cowardly knight that [Eric] Idle once played on film and David Hyde Pierce originated when the Tony Award-winning musical debuted in 2005.

"I think I'm probably just like the character -- kind of chicken, afraid of everything and likes to sing. This particular character becomes a knight because he really just wants to sing and dance. He's so surprised when he finds out there's fighting involved. That kind of silly stupidity? -- yeah, that's me."...

Associate director Peter Lawrence says Aiken has been no idle diva; the singer asked to be treated like any other company member and has been surprisingly fearless.

"Clay really surprised me. When you meet him, he's this sweet kid from North Carolina with an accent. And you think there's no way he can do Cambridge material. And then he does," says Lawrence. ...

Aiken, who got a degree in special education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was teaching grade school kids with autism before he tried out for "Idol" in Atlanta. He was a former member of the Raleigh Boys Choir, and occasionally sang at weddings and at church.

"There's not really a market in North Carolina to sing for a living. There's not that career path for people. So I never really assumed or had any dreams or aspirations to sing," he says.

That changed in the seventh grade when his mother took him and a friend to a local production of the musical "Big River," starring Martin Moran as Huckleberry Finn.

"It was the first time ever that I looked on stage and saw people -- you know, adults -- singing. And I thought, 'Wow, wait a second. You can actually sing for a living?' " he recalls. "From that point on, I kind of allowed music to be a part of my what-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up scenario." ...