Last summer, that hot season of solitude, our annual bucket list was all about ways to enjoy the city while maintaining a distance. This year, we're back with more energy than ever for all that Charlotte has to offer.

The state of play: The season offers two strong sports bookends — the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, and the Duke's Mayo Classic on Labor Day weekend.

Axios' Symphony Webber compiled a list of things for you to accomplish in the time between the two, including:

🪕 River Jam at the Whitewater Center, of course

⛱ The updated lakefront park in Rock Hill, or the Quarry at Carrigan Farms

🎨 Immersive Van Gogh art show

🚲 24 Hours of Booty

🏳️‍🌈 Charlotte Pride, which starts in August and lasts several months this year

🍦🍑 🎇 And of course: Ice cream! Farmers' markets! Fireworks!

Full story: Summer bucket list 2021: 30 things to do this summer

Most of us aren't used to our employers having access to our medical information. But the pandemic has changed that, at least as it pertains to vaccines, Axios' Paige Hopkins reports.

What's happening: HIPAA protections don't apply to COVID vaccines, so employers can ask whether you've been vaccinated before returning to work.

• And although they can require that you get vaccinated before coming back into the office (or whatever your workplace might look like), most are simply strongly suggesting it.
• However, many companies are offering incentives for vaccinated employees. Often, they make getting a vaccine during the workday easier.

What they're saying: "The main thing that most organizations are trying to figure out right now is how to really strike the balance between what's legally permissible and what's best for the health of employees and customers," Cliff Scott, a professor of organizational science and communication studies at UNC Charlotte, tells Paige.

What to expect: Scott shared some other ways employers are handling employee vaccinations as they return to the office.

• Employers may ask workers to upload their vaccination cards into a company system.
• In some workplaces, vaccinated employees can opt out of daily COVID screening questionnaires after they've shown proof of vaccination.
• Mask policies vary by company, but some are allowing vaccinated employees to go without them.

Of note: Employers shouldn't ask unvaccinated employees why they haven't gotten a vaccine.

Full story: What employers can and can't ask you when returning to in-person work

👏 New job, who dis?

1. Surgical technician at OrthoCarolina.
2. Assistant venue operations manager at Blumenthal Performing Arts.
3. Learning delivery specialist, customer experience at Robinhood.
4. Office coordinator at Panoramic Farm.
5. Sous chef & cooks at 800° WOODFIRED KITCHEN - Phillips Place.
6. Mortgage associate – loan officer fast track at Rosegate Mortgage.
7. Social media coordinator at Tiny Horse.
8. Customer service at Charlotte Progressive Dentistry.
9. Corporate partnership sales manager at The Charlotte Checkers.
10. Healthcare recruiter at FlexCare Medical Staffing.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job. 

In a straw vote yesterday, county officials voted in favor of withholding $56 million from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools until the system presents a plan to solve racial achievement gaps by 2024, WBTV reports.

Why it matters: The system says the loss of funds will trickle down to students and potentially exacerbate inequities the county says it wants to solve.

The other side: The county commission, which is made up of former school board members, says it's time CMS is held accountable for the disparities.

What's next: Commissioners will vote on the final budget this Tuesday.

Former Panthers tight end Greg Olsen says he's been overwhelmed by support this week after he announced that his eight-year-old son T.J.'s heart "is reaching its end."

• "We are currently working through the process to determine our next steps, which ultimately could lead to a heart transplant," Olsen said in a Twitter thread Monday.

The big picture: T.J. was born in 2012 with a rare heart condition. He's survived three open-heart surgeries and has lived on a modified heart since then, Olsen said.

• Olsen and his wife Kara founded the HEARTest Yard, which helps families going through similar circumstances.
• They've become fixtures in Charlotte — Greg's a pretty tough youth sports coach, and they're regularly seen at restaurants around town.
• When sharing the news of his son's turn, Greg started a hashtag #playforTJ

Greg's former team has jumped to his side this week.

• "This is one of those times that's not really explainable," Christian McCaffrey said. "T.J.'s one of the best little kids in the world. ... We are all here for the Olsen family. And I know the entire North Carolina-South Carolina community is as well."

Hungry Harvest is a produce delivery service on a mission to fight food waste, but they know the fight doesn't stop at your doorstep. 

Here are three ways you can reduce waste (and stretch your $) in the kitchen: 

• Blitz broccoli and cauliflower stalks in a food processor to make a rice substitute 
• Roast peeled carrot skins to make crispy veggie chips 
• Cook kale stalks and add them to salads for an extra crunch 

Check out more root-to-stem ideas and snag your first box of Hungry Harvest produce (yup, they deliver to Charlotte 🙌).

Pro tip: get 50% off your first harvest with the code AXIOSCLT. 

It's race weekend at the speedway, but if that's not your thing, we have a few other options for you.

🎷 A little jazz with Tracy Hamlin at Middle C Jazz Club. Friday, 7pm. Details.

🏃‍♂️ A Saturday morning trail race at the Whitewater Center. Details.

🧘‍♀️ Yoga on a yacht at Lake Norman. Saturday, 11am. Details.

🍋 Hard lemonade festival at Brewers at 4001 Yancey. Sunday, 11am-8pm. Details.

🇺🇸 And head to Waxhaw for the Rotary Club's Flags for Heroes display.

Full story: 17 things to do this Memorial Day weekend

📸 Longtime Charlotte Observer photographer David Foster III — "a cigar-chomping, Tar Heel-loving bear of a man" — died this week.

Tributes came in from all over: former colleagues, the Panthers, Hornets, Knights, Salvation Army of Charlotte, and many others.

• Théoden Janes has a really nice tribute to him here.

📋 1,619 UNC alums and students listed their names in a two-page advertisement to show support for Nikole Hannah-Jones, the author of the 1619 Project who was turned down for tenure last week. (Observer)

🌀 News you can use from our super cool, very important Axios Charlotte partners.

• Explore South End in a new way during South End Blooms, powered by Center City Partners and CLT is Creative. Now through June 15, new art experiences from local creatives will pop up in public spaces and businesses every weekend.
• 🚃 Catch trains, not feelings this summer. Check out the current ticket deals and scope out possible routes.

Magic Johnson is headed to Gastonia tonight to throw the honorary first pitch on opening night for the Honey Hunters, the town's new pro baseball team. 

Context: The basketball legend and businessman owns SodexoMAGIC, a food and beverage service company that partnered with Velocity Cos. to provide the team's concessions this year.

• Velocity Cos. is owned by Brandon Bellamy, who also owns the Honey Hunters and is the only Black majority owner of a pro baseball team in the U.S.

What to watch: The Honey Hunters promise to be a lot of fun this year with plenty of promotions.

• And they'll even teach a few history lessons. They're named after Ransom Hunter, Gaston County's first freed slave and Black landowner, Axios' Katie Soloff reports.

Details: The Honey Hunters play the Lancaster Barnstormers at 6:50pm. Tickets are available here.

Emma tells me Dole Whip will be the treat of the summer. Or at least one treat of the summer.

• It's a pineapple-and-vanilla soft serve with a cult following, and it'll be on the menu at The Royal Tot when it opens in a few months.

Want it now? Look for the Hula Whip truck, or head up to L&L Hawaiian Grill in Concord.