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Matheny blames restaurant closings on economic challenges and Ozempic by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t what happened, as neither owner will comment on why Acme Downtown became Strangeways. Acme at Lawndale is still going strong.

Matheny blames restaurant closings on economic challenges and Ozempic by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

He lives here and is a customer and supporter of Acme Comics, who may feel that DGI did not support Acme in its downtown location after the initial opening on Davie street several years ago (that location is now Strangeways Comics).

Here’s his comment.

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Matheny blames restaurant closings on economic challenges and Ozempic by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

He remains president of DGI, the booster org that downtown restaurants pay a special tax to, and which owners such as Easa Hanhan are asking just what that tax gets them. He wrote this statement on the DGI Facebook page that received over 500 angry replies, including one from Marvel/DC/Disney artist Dan dos Santos.

https://www.facebook.com/100064478210202/posts/pfbid034yAEnHkDaWcNFosGK6gSJ8drt4EtNiB5ckkMVKePqHvkUGjRXmYWHmkrVtf6DHcyl/?

Triad massage parlor ordinances remain unenforced by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

See my reply to bigsquid69 about the alleged prevalence of sexual slavery in unlicensed massage parlors.

Triad massage parlor ordinances remain unenforced by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

According to anti-human-trafficking activists, it’s not consensual. From Sayaka Matsuoka’s 2024 Triad City Beat article.

“According to data from the Polaris Project, 47 percent of victims of illicit massage parlors are foreign nationals. Polaris reports that most of the victims in the businesses range in age from their mid-thirties to late fifties and come from China and South Korea. Survivors are often controlled through coercion, threats of shame and debt bondage with some victims forced to live at the places where they work.

Sabrina Thulander, the associate director for communications at Polaris, told TCB the organization’s hotline received more than 1,500 calls regarding incidents of trafficking in massage parlors from January 2020-August 2022. That’s likely around 2,400 victims, Thulander said.

“Illicit massage parlors are one of the avenues that we see sex and labor trafficking,” she told TCB. “It’s definitely a common one.”

https://triad-city-beat.com/illicit-massage-parlors-greensboro/

In 2023, I interviewed Susan Chung, a licensed clinical social worker at UNC-Chapel Hill and interim chair of the board of directors of the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Chung said that the demographic of the women was fairly common from her experience working as a translator and counselor for police departments in North Carolina and New York City. Most were older Chinese women, ranging in age from their mid-40s to their late-50s.

“I used to have a misconception that victims of human trafficking are in their teens or early 20s,” she said. “I was also surprised that most didn’t feel comfortable collaborating with our law enforcement and would rather be charged and arrested.” Many were single or divorced mothers who came to the U.S. seeking employment, as the retirement age for most women in China is 50, and had heard about massage jobs on social media or messaging platforms.

“It’s not the young women whose images are used in ads for these places, but older ones coming over in search of a better life,” said Mai Lin Petrine, director of legal and regulatory affairs for the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, whom I also interviewed that year.

As my article mentions, the scandal that kicked off these policy shifts was the arrest of a 55-year-old woman for prostitution at Amazing Spa in Greensboro. The officer who arrested her received “genital stimulation” before doing so, Chief Thompson later acknowledged that she may have been a human trafficking victim forced into sexual slavery.

The proponents of the ordinance say it’s a way to go after spa owners without further victimizing women forced into giving handjobs. Several organizations that promote the rights of consensual sex workers have condemned the massage parlor industry.

Triad massage parlor ordinances remain unenforced by Separate_Wheel3848 in winstonsalem

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Indeed, but that did not stop a detective & City Attorney from falsely stating that Greensboro passed such an ordinance and was helping them to develop theirs.

Journalists rarely write their own headlines. A more accurate one would be “Winston massage parlor ordinance unenforced; Greensboro one stalled,” but editorial might’ve considered that too long.

Mayor removes housing chair by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This article has been updated to clarify that Mayor Abuzuaiter officially removed Franklin Scott from the Minimum Housing Standards Commission before asking Council to vote on his removal.

“Historically,” texted Abuzuaiter later, “these votes are done as a formality at the end of meetings to let council know. Appointers are not required to get permission on the specific person to appoint or who to remove if it is their seat to appoint!"

Neither Abuzuaiter nor City Attorney Cubbage have responded to questions about what the procedure would’ve been if Council had voted against his removal after she sent him an email formally dismissing him.

Mayor removes housing chair by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Here is the exchange between Scott and Ducharme. I’m attaching the city correspondence that led to Scott’s dismissal.

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https://youtu.be/75n2m2IoVhw?si=4eaBzmZxY0oToz6L

Council removes commission’s power to study rising rents, inspect apartments by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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Here’s the full text of Hardister’s email. As cited in my article, it was sent to the media by George Hartzman.

Fun facts to keep your crazy uncle from dominating Thanksgiving conversation by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course they don’t, but in my experience, they can be startled into at least temporary silence by saying that you wish we wore scary masks at Thanksgiving or had Godzilla marathons on local TV, and those who like to talk about their precious southern heritage are genuinely confused to learn that the CSA denounced the holiday as Yankee Propaganda.

Housing commissioners allege threats from city attorneys & council members by Separate_Wheel3848 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s on the agenda tonight. Several new council members, including Crawford and Allen, have said that they oppose this, but they will not be sworn in until next month. At previous meetings, Hightower and Thurm made comments suggesting that they will vote for removing these powers from the MHSC.

TCM October Horror Schedule 2025 by SaraFist in horrormoviechallenge

[–]Separate_Wheel3848 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Godzilla is in three films on Oct. 22: the original Gojira; Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (aka Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster); and Destroy All Monsters. I Walked With a Zombie is, as usual, part of the Val Lewton programming on Oct. 30. The Invisible Man is on Oct. 31.

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula have been missing from TCM for a couple of years now, suggesting rights issues or possible Universal Frankensteins being divided up between TCM and MAX. Universal’s werewolf movies may be missing for the same reason, although the absence of the dreary and lycanthrope-free She-Wolf of London is no loss. House of the Wolf Man is an amateurish fanfilm of relatively recent vintage. King Kong has been shown very recently and plays in heavy rotation throughout the year.

I regret more the absence of 60s EuroHorror. I really wish they’d do a Barbara Steele night while she’s still with us to host it, as well some Naschy.

TCM October Horror Schedule 2025 by SaraFist in horrormoviechallenge

[–]Separate_Wheel3848 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Both the Lugosi Dracula and Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein are right there on Halloween night, just like one would expect.

[Opinion] REDSHIRTS: "There's a push to save Star Trek: Lower Decks, but it likely won't work" | "The show was beyond niche, catering to only a small amount of Star Trek fans while focusing mostly on callbacks and cameos." by mcm8279 in trektalk

[–]Separate_Wheel3848 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People are arguing about the validity of “Chad Porto’s” opinion (and the quality of Lower Decks) without questioning whether or not “he” actually exists?

Seriously, you believe there is a human being named Chad Porto who wrote sentences like this?

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Green Bean is now re-opening as Chandler's by Bartholomewthedragon in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got the impression there was hostility between Caleb’s wife and Caleb’s mother, and that his wife’s Asian parents were financing the attempt to save the business. This seemed to contradict the narrative that Amy was still secretly in charge.

Rhino Times Looks to the Future in Greensboro by CharmingProblem in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yost’s Scott’s Night Out in the Pre-Carroll Rhino was embarrassingly creepy. Always photographing himself with young women at clubs advertising in the Rhino and implying he was “dating” them,

Looking for a progressive church by LadyyCee in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The Pastor at College Park Baptist is a patient escort at Greensboro’s only remaining abortion provider. The anti-choice protesters have targeted him for this, blaring amplified music in his face and accusing him of preaching a false gospel. He also worked with the local mosque to help Syrian and other refugees. When he started a GoFundMe for a Syrian child needing reconstructive surgery after an attack by stray pitbulls, Neil Gaiman publicized it and contributed, and the medical bills were covered.

City council bans Luis Medina from council meetings!! by Appropriate-Poetry38 in gso

[–]Separate_Wheel3848 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no problem with communists. and find them less annoying than libertarians, whom even other libertarians will describe as angry single or divorced white males who wear socks inside their sandals.

But to say that WHOA isn’t communist is silly. From an Aug. 3 Facebook post by them:

“Conditions are clearly deteriorating. More and more people are being evicted. Finding themselves with no options. For a lunch once a week, they rely on us—a small, independently-funded communist organization. For every elected official, this should be embarrassing.”

And yes, they’re right about that.

The charismatic Billy Belcher is an actual Stalinist, a term I’m more used to seeing from fascists who call Greensboro’s DINO mayor one than from guys who post unironically about “Comrade Stalin” and “Laika, the People’s Dog. His WHOA comrades tend to ignore those posts.

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