Peculiar Rabbit, Bank of America Stadium, Belk and Bankruptcy, Bank Profits, Uptown Tower, Reid's, Cocktails | Hello Sunday. It's Katie.
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Hello Sunday. It's Katie.
This weekend marked the first of several planned mass vaccination events put on by a group of local businesses including Atrium Health, Honeywell, Tepper Sports & Entertainment, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
At the speedway, the goal is to administer over 16,000 vaccinations by the end of the weekend to people 65 and older.
Next weekend, there'll be a similar event at Bank of America Stadium, where the goal will be to vaccinate 20,000-30,000 people, the group's executives told reporters Friday.
By the time the partnership even sent out a press release announcing the event Friday morning, all the appointment slots were already full, underscoring the huge demand. Appointments will open up soon for next weekend's stadium event.
The goal of the group is to help speed up the vaccination process, and ultimately to administer 1 million vaccinations by July 4.
"This is a case study of what can happen when you put the best minds together to accomplish something for the community," said Greg Walter, GM of Charlotte Motor Speedway.
WHO'S HIRINGMecklenburg County's unemployment rate was 6.5% in November, the most recent month for which data are available. That's way up from the same month in 2019, when the county's jobless rate stood at 3.3%. But there are several employers around Charlotte hiring, like the ones below straight from the Agenda Job Board.
ONE BIG THING: HORNETS' OFF-THE-COURT INFLUENCENow through February 2, the Hornets are accepting applications for their inaugural Innovation Summit, a Shark Tank-like business competition specifically geared toward minority entrepreneurs in the Charlotte region.
Details: The competition will award $15,000 investment from the Charlotte Hornets Foundation.
It's open to businesses within 150 miles of the Spectrum Center that are at least 51% minority-owned.
The five finalists will have their one-minute pitch videos posted on hornets.com and social media for fan voting. They’ll present to a panel of experts in March.
Why it matters: This is part of a new social justice platform the team launched last week to address economic mobility.
Social justice has been a focus of the Hornets — and the NBA as a whole — for years. The launch of the Hornets’ social justice platform gives it an official home within the organization.
The 2014 Harvard study that ranked Charlotte dead last among major U.S. cities in social mobility was "a real eye opener for all of us in the community, not just the Hornets," team president Fred Whitfield said.
Zoom out: Last fall, the Hornets hosted early voting at the Spectrum Center. Moving forward, expect more voter initiatives focused on education and removing barriers to voting, the team says.
Flashback: When he bought the Hornets, Michael Jordan made clear that he wanted the team to play a role in the community off the court.
In 2016, Whitfield was part of a group of local business leaders who lobbied state lawmakers to repeal House Bill 2, which limited legal protections for LGBTQ people and caused major business backlash, including the loss of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
In 2019, Jordan and Novant Health opened two clinics in Charlotte to serve residents who are uninsured or underinsured.
THIS WEEK'S BUSINESS TALKING POINTSHere's what else is going on in Charlotte:
(1) Plaza Midwood opposition: Neighbors are opposing the rezoning of the former Peculiar Rabbit site in Plaza Midwood, where new owner Sinacori Builders wants to build "upscale residential flats," CBJ reports.
(2) BB&T Center sold: Arden Group has sold the 22-story BB&T Center in Uptown to a New York entity called BB&T Properties LLC for $115 million, the Observer reports. Among the building's tenants are Truist, AIG and RingCentral.
(3) Honeywell and vaccines: The Wall Street Journal did a thorough unpacking of the local business coalition administering coronavirus vaccines. The effort will lean heavily on Honeywell's logistics, including bar codes and scanners to eliminate manual data entry, call centers to field questions, and an automated car-counting system to monitor cars moving through vaccine lines at the speedway.
(4) Charlotte bank earnings: Bank of America reported fourth-quarter earnings last week of $5.5 billion, down 28% from the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, Truist reported earnings of $1.2 billion for the fourth quarter and revenue of $5.7 billion, the Observer reports.
(5) Belk and bankruptcy: Belk's top lenders are trying to keep the Charlotte department store chain out of bankruptcy, according to a WSJ scoop. Through a spokesperson, Sycamore Partners, the private equity firm that bought Belk in 2015, declined to comment.
YOUR MONEYIn the mood to spend money? Here are some ideas on where to spend in Charlotte:
A 1918 cottage in NoDawith three bedrooms and a small Airbnb out back is on the market for $750,000. The exact address is 1211 E. 35th. St.
Iyengar Yoga Charlotte has monthly virtual class packages for $50.
Haberdish has to-go cocktails starting at $12. Choose from drinks like a barrel-aged black Manhattan or a strawberry hibiscus margarita.
Girl Tribe has grey cotton CLT crewneck sweatshirts with pink lettering for $32 as part of their Charlotte Collection.
Reid's offers family-style prepared meals that feed 2-4 people for $24.99. Choose from options like spinach and cheese lasagna or chicken pot pie.
IN CLOSINGIt's supposed to be a gorgeous Sunday — 54 and sunny. Hope you can get outside and enjoy it (safely, with a mask, of course).
- Katie
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