Mailbag: Top 40 feedback letters on the blue line, Amazon, rocking chairs, N.C. voting and multilevel marketing

In response to: How much money do multilevel marketers in Charlotte actually make selling you things on Facebook?

“I had a friend who was very successful but she lived it 24/7. Not for me.” – C

“There’s a podcast called ‘The Dream‘ that people should listen to before they decide to get involved in an MLM. Very revealing of their predatory nature.” – D

“I was skeptical at first and I guess I’m still kinda judgy, but the products are solid – especially Beauty Counter.” – J

“Why are you glamorizing MLM schemes? Every MLM company has the handful of people who make all the money at the expense of the people they swindle into thinking they will be that rich too… For every ‘top performer,’ there are hundreds (if not thousands) of people who either make nearly money or even lose money. The problem is that these companies make grandiose sales pitches with the promise of ‘being your own boss’ and ‘setting your own hours,’ but they’re really preying on people who will pony up hundreds of dollars to ‘start their own business.'” – K

“Congrats to those who made it – all I know is I had to unfriend almost a dozen people on FB once I realized they only wanted to sell me Roden + Fields.” – A

[Agenda related guide: How much do Charlotte influencers actually make?]

In response to: 10,600-square-foot brewery with Nordic flair coming to Wesley Heights

“Double yasss. Right across from Lucky Dog.” – D

“So pumped for this Wesley Heights brewery! Wesley Heights/West Charlotte is the next big real estate boom in Charlotte for sure!” – A

In response to: The 10 people you meet while hiking Crowders Mountain

“So true, but you forgot the ‘first date’ with the outdoorsy guy repping REI and the young woman who is dressed like she thinks she’s on a runway.” – L

In response to: Charlotte could finally land medical school under new Wake Forest, Atrium deal 

“Finally. This is awesome news for our city.” – J

“This needs to be a UNC School of Medicine, it’s been a training site for UNC School of Medicine students for almost 75 years!” – K

In response to: 5 retro cool, mid-century modern homes that just hit the market in Charlotte

“Do any of these come with all the furniture?” – L

“Mid-century modern is a style, not just a timeframe. Four of these houses have been “updated” to the point that they no longer have a mid-century modern aesthetic. They’ve modernized the soul out of these once-great homes.” – J

In response to: With 58 million riders and $3.5 billion in development, the Blue Line is one of Charlotte’s biggest success stories

“People, please pay to ride so the city can have more money so we can build more lines like to the airport and down to south park mall area.” – J

“30 Million didn’t pay fairs.” – T

“Mass transit is a value proposition. The light rail added a lot more to the city than it loses in lost fairs. Attempting to recoup them may in fact cost more than the actual loss.” – J

“Remember when the argument for light rail was to build it on South Blvd. so all the working class could have transport into the city from affordable housing? Then developers built along the rail line and everything became unaffordable for those same individuals? So yea, maybe not such a great success.” – J

In response to: Outdoor brewery with 5,000-square-foot beer garden and concert pavilion coming to Uptown

“Hell yes. D9 is awesome! #SourStrong.” – S

“A brewery inside new apartments… Charlotte has officially reached Chad status.” – J

“All the people who are complaining should move to Raleigh.” – R

[Agenda related guide: Complete list and map of Charlotte’s 30 local breweries, plus the most popular beer at each]

In response to: Is Charlotte ready to land the next big fish like Amazon?

“Incentives are bull****. They’re only offered to large businesses and give them an unfair competitive advantage in the marketplace. It’s really just a slightly less insidious form of crony capitalism that perpetuates oligarchical corporate control of politicians. We need lower taxes and real free markets!” – S

“Traffic…LOL..every major city in the US has traffic issues and everyone in those cities complains about it (especially those who chose to live in the suburbs). Amazon and like companies don’t care about auto traffic. If they did they’d avoid all the places they already choose. They care about livability and how a city’s culture, vibe, and amenities will help produce, attract and retain large numbers of high value workers. This is where Charlotte stumbles. Charlotte does an excellent job attracting and retaining that portion of the workforce that values a ‘family friendly’ environment. We do a poor job at attracting younger workers, especially those in tech and creative disciplines. We don’t have the educational infrastructure to home-grow this talent in the way that regional rivals such as Raleigh and Atlanta can, so we need to attract it by proving that Charlotte isn’t a dead end. Yet we don’t focus enough on the types of things that help in that effort: parks, mass transit, arts/culture (abysmal) and affordable housing options.” – B

In response to: Cash Confessional: a week of spending on a 28-year-old bank assistant vice president’s $115,000 salary

“Assistant Vice President in the banking industry working from home 2 out of 5 days of a work week? This is ridiculous!! Also seems like she is doing a lot of personal stuff on company time when she is supposedly working’ $115k? Really?” – G

In response to: City of Charlotte sprinkling 100 rocking chairs across the city — here’s why

“At what COST? Why only until the end of 2019? Who was the idiot that came up with this idea? We need GREEN SPACE for activity. Charlotte does NOT need more reasons to become lethargic and unfit!” – P

“These will all be stolen in a few days.” – R

Those blue rocking chairs are a ridiculous and ugly waste of tax $. Nice job, City of Charlotte. *Insert eye roll here*

“Waste of taxpayers money and an eyesore!” – S

“Sprinkling pretty blue chairs to come together and think… In a Unicorn and Rainbow World, it may work. – A Its innovative. I like it.” – J

In response to: South End’s Atherton development targeting mid-August completion — view list of restaurants and shops that’ll open

“I am so, so tired of every restaurant being described the exact same way. Every place is “unique” or has a cool ‘vibe.’ Lets call it like it is. For instance, the Eagle that is coming to Atherton Mill. If this place is hyped up I will lose it. I can see it now, ‘The Eagle, a game-changing fried chicken restaurant with roots in the mid-west is sure to draw a crowd with its prime location in the newly renovated Atherton Mill.’ Translation: ‘The Eagle is a mediocre restaurant that sells this thing they call fried chicken. In reality, the friend chicken is so inferior to any real southern restaurant it is a true shame to even use the words ‘fried chicken’ to describe the dead bird they put on your plate. The inferior food is most likely due to the restaurant’s Midwestern roots. Midwestern ‘fried chicken’ cannot compete with real southern fried chicken, and this place will only be popular with Midwestern folk that miss their homeland and Yankees that do not know any better.” – C

In response to: 10 best patios in Charlotte

“I’m not in love with RuRu’s food (especially compared to Paco’s and Superica), but the margaritas on that patio make me so, so happy.” – A

“Selwyn Pub is so fratty and I don’t hate it. I’ll be sipping a transfusion in khaki shorts, Rainbow sandals and a blue button down shirt with a country club visor next weekend as I watch Tiger Woods win The Masters.” – J

In response to: Winner of our 2019 Small Businessperson of the Year award plus 10 more finalists

“Damn, guy does $10 million in revenue with only 24 employees? Well done. Even though I assume it’s lower margin given Elements has to manufacture the stuff, that’s still very impressive. I like what he’s building.” – J

“I got the chance to see Garrett build Hygge. He’s smart. And the business model is incredible (see WeWork) once you get enough space under management.” – W

[Related Agenda guide: Complete list, pricing and map of Charlotte’s 13 coworking spaces]

In response to: 10 best rooftop bars in Charlotte

“I hope the Grand Bohemian’s new rooftop bar is like Merchant and Trade, but less clubby. There’s no high end rooftop bar, everything is party-like and feels like it’s built for out of towners.” – W

In response to: Fixer Upper: Young couple does tasteful remodel in Cherry neighborhood

“I need that bathroom, asap.” – O

In response to: 50 best outdoor activities within 2 hours of Charlotte

“I’m not sure the city understands how lucky we are to have the Whitewater Center. It started off rough, but I feel like it’s finally gaining momentum in Charlotte.” – T

In response to: Charlotte’s #1 fave selfie spot may be in danger, so I want to investigate

“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of apartment buildings to paint giant wings on for selfies. Be patient.” – J

“Oh no! Not the #1 selfie spot. Anything but that.” – M

In response to: BBQ meatballs now on the menu at Midwood Smokehouse

“Oh my god.” – C

In response to: View Renderings: Details on Link & Pin, a new concept from Rob Duckworth coming to South End

“Located in South End….that’s a shocker.” – J

In response to: I just moved here from LA and it’s exciting to live somewhere my vote counts

“North Carolina voted 53% Democrat yet its congressional delegation is 70% Republican so basically the state is gerrymandered so that your vote doesn’t matter — districts are cracked (split into numerous districts) or packed (minority voters put into one district rather than several). There is a lot to be proud of in North Carolina but in 2019 how we handle representative democracy is not one of them. Pat McCrory’s handlers did all they could to keep a purple state from trending blue and to keep it redder than the will of the electorate. What we are finding is that several of their tactics were not legal.” – S

“I’m a native of Charlotte and have never thought about candidates being near the voting areas or their team passing out flyers. It’s always been part of the voting process. It’s easy to assume everywhere is the same. What a great article and fresh perspective. Welcome to the QC!” – T

“Author should’ve stayed in the miserable state of California.  She made her bed over there – now she should sleep in it.  She shouldn’t have brought her awful, left-coast ideas to N.C.  No one wants N.C. to end up like California.  PLEASE MOVE BACK.” – J

“You mean it’s exciting to be in a city that votes just as bad as Los Angeles. It’s pretty much all Democrat here.” – N

“As some who came from a very red district in a very blue NJ, you probably had more of a say in California than you realize. N.C. is gerrymandered to hell.” – J