Briefing for Thursday August 6: Underrated green space to Airport Overlook

The opening of Pure Pizza Plaza Midwood secures this stretch of Central Avenue as the Pizza Capital of Charlotte. In less than a 1-mile stretch of road, we have crammed in Intermezzo, Fuel, Pizza Peel and now Pure Pizza. How much pizza is too much pizza? I’m offended by the question, but I’ll let you know after I assemble a Pizza Midwood Crawl. It’s inevitable.

Last night I grabbed dinner at the newest addition to Pizza Mile. I had a Greek salad made with local greens delivered just six hours earlier and a good old-fashioned cheese pizza. So good. Take a look inside Pure Pizza Plaza Midwood and let me know if you think we’ve hit our pizza saturation point. (Not possible.)

VITALS

Today’s Weather: 94. Showers and thunderstorms. 50% chance of rain. 
Today’s Stat: 12. Number of dogs the Humane Society of Charlotte rescued from a shelter in Alabama shut down by the ASPCA for neglect [Sullivan/Observer].
Today’s Job: Graphic Designer at Quaero. Apply.
Today’s Charlottean: Fred Story, an Emmy-winning composer, for creating the custom soundtrack played in more than 80% of Wells Fargo’s 6,200 domestic branches [Roberts/Observer].

ORIGINALS

Underrated green space in Charlotte: 3 parks worth a visit
I love Freedom Park and Romare Bearden, but we have lots of other great parks throughout the city that deserve some attention. In honor of green space, I pulled together a list of three parks that aren’t as flashy but are definitely worth a visit.

Taking a baby to the Charlotte Airport Overlook
Ted and Lindsey and their baby Watt made the 17-minute journey to Airport Overlook to watch in wonder as “heavy metal cylinders” flew through the air. Ted learned the hard way that beer isn’t allowed and that sunscreen is advised. I love this place.

4 half baked ideas to take Charlotte to the next level (part 4)
@TheTrolleyWalk is back with more ideas for making Charlotte awesome. This time around he’s proposing a ban on mass produced beer in South End, an incentive to encourage 100% local beer can recycling, a #FoxxTrot leaderboard to track race times against the trolley and an urban farm in Marshall Park. Yes.

Scenes from last night’s ImpactU Demo Day event
Six businesses completed Queen City Forward’s summer residency program for college-aged entrepreneurs, culminating in last night’s live presentation of their ideas. Mayor Clodfelter was there as well as a llama. Check out UChef, Vueper, Terraoak, Wiphala, The Learning Tree and Pantrea.

The story behind Jillian Whurr’s tattoo
Jillian worked with local artist Jeremy Sloo Hamilton to create a whimsical visual ode to Disney, Harry Potter and fairy tales on her shoulder. The design took 10 hours and two sessions to complete and looks especially cool when photographed in front of the real Disney castle.

The Weekender: August 7 – 9
There’s so much going on this weekend. Fan Fest at Unknown Brewing, River Slam at the Whitewater Center, Punk Rock Picnic at Tremont Music Hall and more. Check out 16 things to keep you busy.

TALKING POINTS

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates to speak at Davidson in November [Kelly/Observer]. The college announced yesterday that Coates, referred to as “one of America’s leading voices on race,” will speak as the annual Reynolds lecturer. I’m currently reading his book Between the World and Me and am floored he’ll be in the area.

Charlotte’s RevTech Labs and QCFinTech recognized by SBA [Burns/CBJ]. The startup incubators headquartered in Packard Place are winners of the U.S. Small Business Association’s Growth Accelerator Fund competition. Both will receive $50,000 cash prizes. Great national recognition for Charlotte’s startup scene.

DOT estimates US 74 express lane tolls will peak at $0.26 per mile [Harrison/Observer]. Toll lanes would be added on 74 from Uptown to Wallace Lane and would cost drivers approximately $1.50 one way based on price fluctuations according to traffic demand.

Salud Beer Shop is celebrating National IPA Day today with beer/food pairing [McKenzie/Charlotte Magazine]. Salud and Fud at Salud will team up to pair a sushi roll, pork spring roll, spicy orange chicken skewer and pork belly slider with four different Terrapin beers. Tickets are $25 for food and drinks and must be purchased in advance.

I can’t decide if I’m more excited it’s Thursday (and thus basically Friday) or that there’s a cool new retail shop that’s not a pizza restaurant coming to Central Avenue.

– Katie