05/31/11

Fighting Boredom, One Article at a Time

Because I know you're dying to read it, here's my editor's note column from the June issue:

If you're bored this summer, don't blame us.

This issue is packed with ideas of what to do from June to September. I started to count all the suggestions, but eventually realized the futility of my endeavor. Suffice to say that we actually may have gone overboard in suggesting ways to pass the time this summer.

The most obvious example of our largesse is in the feature titled “Summer Fun!” (Told you it was obvious.) Our writers offer ninety-eight ideas of what to do, one for every day between Memorial Day and... Read more »

Posted at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

05/26/11

Davidson Names First Female President

I just got word that Davidson College, the little school just up the road that is most famous for being my alma mater (kidding), just named its 18th president. Carol Quillen, who will also be the first college's president in more than 50 years who did not graduate from Davidson, comes from Rice University, where she is the vice president for international and interdisciplinary initiatives. She starts August 1. Clearly, one of the main reasons she applied for the new gig is that she wanted a simpler title. What a cocktail-party burden that beast must be in Houston.

Anyway, Davidson has posted on its website several video clips of interviews with Quillen. Included is one titled "On... Read more »

Posted at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

05/20/11

Looking for some top-notch freelance help

We're looking for two (or more) energetic, creative, curious, talented freelancers to help with our web content and our culture coverage. Details here: charlottemagazine.com/careers

Posted at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

05/12/11

I Bet Harry Jones Read This Article With Interest

According to an article in The New York Times today, some municipalities are trying to figure out ways to "tax" nonprofits who occupy valuable, expensive land. They're not using the word "tax," of course, but some form of the term "voluntary payments":

"There is no question that nonprofit universities and hospitals — eds and meds, as they are known to planners — have played a central role in helping cities weather the Great Recession and its aftermath. They provide high-paying jobs, draw visitors and keep downtowns vibrant. But for cities that rely heavily on property taxes, those benefits have a cost. As... Read more »

Posted at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

05/10/11

MAGS was good to us

This past Thursday, the Magazine Association of the Southeast held its annual conference in Atlanta. I'm proud to report that we picked up eight Gamma awards at the conference's luncheon. Charlotte magazine won six awards, and our sister publications Charlotte Wedding and Charlotte Home + Garden each won one. Here are the details:

• Huge congrats to writer Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman, who won a Gold for Best Profile for her story on David Merryman, the Catawba Riverkeeper. Link to story.

• Also in the profile category, Jonathan Singer's... Read more »

Posted at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1

05/09/11

Imams on a plane and Freedom Riders

I couldn't help but notice an interesting juxtaposition on the front page of today's Charlotte Observer. Below the fold, there was a story about two Muslim imams who were kicked off a US Airways flight. Right next to it was a story about an event honoring the Freedom Riders from the Civil Rights era. So we have a story about two men kicked off an airplane, apparently because of their appearance and religious preference. And then we have a story about a group of African Americans who, fifty years ago, rode buses in an attempt to test desegregation laws at bus and train stations. I'm thinking that a smart editor placed those stories next to each other... Read more »

Posted at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0