Eye on the Triangle

Abigail Ali 0:00
Hello guys, welcome back to Eye on the Triangle. My name is Abigail Ali and today I'm here with.

Heidi Reid 0:06
Hey guys, I'm Heidi. I'm one of the assistant news editors at technician.

Emily Vespa 0:10
And I'm Emily. I'm the other assistant news editor at technician.

eSports 0:13
And this is eSports. The sports editor at Technician. Oh, my name is Ethan.

Abigail Ali 0:17
We have some news tidbits for you this week and we're going to go ahead and get into it. Okay, guys, a few weeks ago, we discussed Bojangles version of twisted tea. This week I bring you a cheer wine ale. Noda Brewing Company has partnered with Cheerwine to create this magnificent concoction and according to the Charlotte Observer, Cheerwine and Noda are both from Salisbury. And like started there, so it just makes sense for them to collab. As for the drink itself, it will be a beer infused with cheer wine. I want to know how they did that because apparently beers kind of finicky so I want to see the chemistry, prove it. It'll be sold at select retailers and at restaurants and bars in Charlotte and in the triangle area. That's all I got.

Heidi Reid 1:06
I don't know how I feel about that. I'm not going to lie, because Cheerwine's good, but beer and Cheerwine?

Emily Vespa 1:11
Yeah, like, is it like, Cheerwine is like a wine, then your mixing wine and beer.

Heidi Reid 1:17
Do you think it has like 30% alcohol content?

Emily Vespa 1:20
Like, isn't that bad?

Heidi Reid 1:22
And plus the bubbles on top of it? It just seems like a bad recipe.

Emily Vespa 1:25
Like imagine like a beer, wine. That sounds gross.

Heidi Reid 1:31
So, I just like, unless the beer's like some cute little fruity IPA. I cannot see how it's good. Like, are they mixing it into the lager or is it like, like, I don't even know what kind of beer.

Abigail Ali 1:39
Ale, so I'm assuming it's gonna be lighter. So I feel like it could work

Heidi Reid 1:42
I guess it could work.

Abigail Ali 1:44
because it's like cherry flavored soda.

Heidi Reid 1:46
We'll have to try it and see for ourselves.

Abigail Ali 1:48
Yeah, I really want to try it.

Heidi Reid 1:51
Okay, so Brandy Carlisle is coming to the DPAC on February 22 at 8pm and Brandy just won a Grammy, a Grammy for Best Rock song and for Best Rock Performance. So it's literally like critically acclaimed that she is a good performer like recording, they said so. So Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster or on the DPAC website. And I'm not, actually I've been to DPAC once and I know you went for Father John Misty and liked the venue. So sounds like it could be a good time.

Abigail Ali 2:21
For the right person. It's a very good vibe. I feel like Brandy Carlisle will be cool there.

Heidi Reid 2:26
Yeah, yeah.

Abigail Ali 2:27
Yeah, that's really exciting. Oh my God, because she did just win a Grammy and I feel like I don't know. She's such a classic.

Heidi Reid 2:33
Yeah, yeah. No, she's cool.

eSports 2:41
Hello, hello, this is eSports coming back with another edition of 60 seconds with eSports. Let's just get right into it. First off, if you didn't watch the Super Bowl this week. What rock have you been living under? The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in a thrilling matchup in Phoenix, Arizona. 38-35. The highlight of the game, was it Patrick mahomes? No. Jalen Hurts? No, it was Rihanna. Who, if you didn't get the message, is indeed pregnant. As for triangle sports, there was a horrendous call in the final seconds of the Duke versus Virginia game that made the Duke, that made the Duke Blue Devils lose and also sent Emily into a fit of cardiac arrest. Do not worry she is working hard at her recovery and is in good spirits, send her positive messages on social media. In other news UNC also lost to number 13 Miami yesterday and both the heels and NC State Wolfpack are gearing up for its highly anticipated matchup this Sunday at PNC Arena in Raleigh. The NC State Women's Basketball team is now floundering and has dropped three of its last four games. With the ACC tournament quickly approaching, it's do or die, it's do or die time for the Wolfpack. Finally, NC State baseball season opener is this Friday against Wagner and eSports is very excited about it. Alright, bye.

Emily Vespa 3:48
Alright guys, so I've done a bit on Adam Sandler coming to Raleigh, so I thought I'd continue with comedians. And this time it is Trevor Noah, or as Heidi likes to say Noah Trevor. So, Raleigh, March 24th through 27th at 8pm. And apparently he had a really successful world tour. And that's why he's coming back. Oh, actually, this is Durham, sorry. But um, on the 24th through the 26th. There's already low tickets. So this is going to be a really hot event and you definitely want to get them now. And also there is a dress code so it's basically a costume party. So show up in your best costume. Preferably a farm animal costume. So yeah.

Heidi Reid 4:31
I heard you actually get in for free if you make the like corresponding farm animal noise at the door.

Emily Vespa 4:36
Yeah, forgot to mention that. Yeah.

Heidi Reid 4:37
That's just a rumor. I'm not really sure if that's for sure. But you can try it I think you should try it.

Emily Vespa 4:41
Yeah, it's also going to be at DPAC, so if you don't feel like going to the show, you just want to see everyone in their farm animal outfits. You can just kind of hang out outside maybe, that's probably what I'll end up doing.

Heidi Reid 4:49
That's where Emily and I will be too so like, freak me. Kinda funnier.

Emily Vespa 4:54
Yeah, we'll be outside we'll be the opening act.

Heidi Reid 4:56
But love Noah Trevor.

eSports 5:00
It's an Eye on the Triangle meet and greet at the Noah Trevor.

Heidi Reid 5:05
We'll only talk to you if you're wearing a farm animal costume, yeah.

Abigail Ali 5:07
Okay, so for my tidbit, I'm going to be talking about how the News and Observer just did a rundown of the sanitation scores at restaurants from across the triangle, and they name dropped a few specific restaurants with B ratings. Apparently doing reports on sanitation scores is something they do weekly. But I thought it was really interesting, because unless you live under a bridge, you should know that anything below an A rating is really, really gross. And it's nice that they're bringing awareness to it. So with that being said, Here's what they found out for the sanitation report from restaurants being tested between February 7 to the 14th. According to the report, out of 42 restaurants reviewed in Durham County, two restaurants, backyard barbecue pit, and bull kogi at Boxyard RTP received B ratings, and violations included old food, food not prepared, properly dated, dirty dishes, roaches, and food being kept too long. in Wake County, out of 100 restaurants being inspected, one restaurant Thai Cafe, received a B rating. violations include an employee not wearing gloves, or washing hands when handling meat, foods being kept at improper temperatures and dead bugs in the men's bathroom. I just thought this was really interesting, because I thought it was cool that they like, shouted out people very specifically. And I don't know, you don't always check the rating when you actually go into restaurants. So it's cool that they're bringing awareness before you actually go. And yeah, sweet.

Heidi Reid 6:44
I agree. I like that, call them out. Also, I also like how they like give us specific things like who had roaches? Disgusting.

Abigail Ali 6:51
No, there's even more details on the actual article itself. Like it breaks down, like if they've had violations before, like if they've had low ratings before. And like, if they fixed some of the issues while they were there, whatever, whatever. Like, it was actually really interesting.

Heidi Reid 7:06
That is interesting, how low, how low, do they have to be before they close? Do we know?

Abigail Ali 7:12
I know it didn't, none of them had like C or lower, but it seems like C is one of the lowest ratings they could have. And then after that, I think they fail. And then they would have to close. But I could be wrong, because I don't really know that much about this.

Heidi Reid 7:27
They have to have at least 70%. But if I saw somewhere with a 70% I feel like I'd just walk straight back out.

Abigail Ali 7:31
Yeah, you probably should.

Emily Vespa 7:33
Yeah. But yeah, and like having worked in restaurants before. I know that, like, it's really not that hard to get an A, like, there were things that I thought definitely should get points off, and they don't, or they don't get that many points off. So for them to be like a B, honestly, is really scary. And that's what I've heard. Yeah, that's just, the roaches is really gross. And I feel like they have them as public. But like, I don't ever go and look that up like, I won't, and so you might know the number if you see it on the wall, but you're not going to look up why but I feel like after looking it up, I would be so freaked out if it was like roaches.

Heidi Reid 8:05
right? And I know, like the restaurant I worked at in my hometown, they like would know when the inspectors coming, so it'd be gross around. Except for when they'd hear from other people. Like it'd be a little chatter on the streets, that the inspector is on their way, and they get their act together. Even though they deserve probably a lot lower score than they actually got. So, I don't know what the moral of the story is. Maybe just be careful eating at restaurants.

Abigail Ali 8:25
No, literally. And they also, the article links, the actual like documents that they're getting this information from. So I highly recommend going up there because you can get even more details that way too.

Heidi Reid 8:38
Okay, guys, so another concert opportunity for you. Greta Van Fleet is coming to Raleigh for their dreams and gold tour on March 13 at PNC arena, and my computer just shut off. Sorry. Um, so it's gonna be super fun and a great performance because they're really good performers. And you can still get tickets as low as $45 on Ticketmaster. And the reason I actually mentioned this is like, I don't know, I feel like we've noticed this happening for a little while now since it got rescheduled originally, but I was on Facebook the other day, and I saw people selling tickets that were really good seats for like 20 bucks. So there's some really cheap tickets out there right now, and Houndmouth is opening, so that would also be a really fun thing to see. Like imagine hearing Sedona or gasoline live and they're also a really great performer. So get your tickets now.

Emily Vespa 9:23
Ooh. What's the dress code? I actually knew the answer to this question. I was just quizzing you. You know, those like penguins in Madagascar? It's like that. You have to dress like that.

Heidi Reid 9:40
Rico. And he's like, yeah.

Emily Vespa 9:43
Yeah. You just have to dress like the Penguins of Madagascar.

Heidi Reid 9:45
Well, I feel like they're like little, they're like little guys. Like you've seen pictures of the band, they're little guys. Usually they're on stage. They wear a little gold outfits, all barefoot and they dance around with their beads and they have their big hair.

Emily Vespa 9:56
That's Madagascar penguin vibe. Alright, so my next tidbit is about a current bill in the General Assembly. Since the 1980s, limited time drink specials, which are basically like Happy Hour have been illegal in North Carolina. But a group of state lawmakers filed a bill to change that, which would allow individuals cities and counties to legalize happy hour. Um, and I think this is a good idea. But I was honestly surprised that we've had such strict alcohol rules for so long. And one of the people like the bill sponsors said that, like, he made a good point where he was saying that a lot of people are coming like North Carolina is growing so much. And a lot of people are coming from states where happy hour's, like, allowed. And so a lot of people just want happy hour. It's part of the culture. So I like this idea. And let's hope they do it. But with the conservative like majority, I don't know if they will.

Heidi Reid 10:42
We're gonna be getting crunk soon.

Emily Vespa 10:45
Yeah, maybe we can get like Cheerwine Ale happy hour.

Abigail Ali 10:49
So true.

Emily Vespa 10:50
Something like that.

Abigail Ali 10:51
Yeah, no, that's really interesting. And also it reminds me of my hometown, because they've been really, really strict with like, alcohol in general. So I don't know, it's, it'll be interesting to see if they actually do pass it because I feel like you're right. Like, yeah, with the conservative majority, it's probably a little tight. But I don't know, it's cool that it's actually being brought up in conversation.

Emily Vespa 11:13
I know they had a bill like this last session, and it didn't pass. But the thing I think that's different is that now since they're allowing individual cities to decide for themselves, it's kind of pushing that on the city. So like, if there are conservative rural areas that want to keep stricter alcohol rules they can. So that's kind of the big pull. Because I feel like in especially cities like Charlotte and Durham and Raleigh, like, it's really good for like the business there. And like the bars and stuff can make a lot of money from that. So yeah, I just feel like North Carolina alcohol laws are so strict compared to other states. And I honestly think it's weird, but

Heidi Reid 11:44
No, I agree. And like I don't know, that's like the downfall about living in the Bible Belt, but like in a city because like we're still blue.

Abigail Ali 11:50
Yeah,

Heidi Reid 11:50
like they still have control over that.

Abigail Ali 11:51
Exactly.

Heidi Reid 11:52
I should be able to buy liquor in a drugstore if I want to.

Abigail Ali 11:56
So true. All right. So another N&O reference here. But in North Carolina, apparently more single women are homeowners than single men. And despite making 83 cents for every dollar a man makes, women own 3.8% more homes than men do. Or single men I should say. And apparently this is a trend that can be seen across 48 out of 50 states. And that's kind of why I brought it up because I knew it was a thing. But it's really interesting that it's also in North Carolina, just because I don't know North Carolina can be very weird sometimes being a part of the South. So it's cool that we are sticking with the trend, yay. But also I thought it was like it is interesting, with like the wage gap that single women are still like, taking the initiative to like go and get their own house.

Heidi Reid 12:46
Because we're smarter.

Emily Vespa 12:47
Well, and also I've seen like recent stats talking about how like, now there's more women enrolling in like college and stuff than men, which is very interesting. Um, and I've also just seen a lot about how like, now people are getting married later. So if you're single, you're probably going to buy a house, whereas like if people are getting married,

Abigail Ali 13:05
Yeah,

Emily Vespa 13:05
They would just buy a house together. So that is also interesting.

Heidi Reid 13:09
I didn't think about that. Because if you're buying a house together, usually it would go into the man's name.

Emily Vespa 13:12
Yeah, so that's also like, it's just interesting how it's kind of changing.

Abigail Ali 13:17
Yeah, so cool.

Heidi Reid 13:20
Okay, last one. Speaking of restaurants, we talked about restaurants in code earlier. Whoo. Midwood Smokehouse is now open. And they do have a really good sanitation rating. I don't know what it is, but I know it's an A and we don't have bugs. Yay. I wrote yum yum. It's a really good barbecue restaurant in Smoky Hollow and they originally had locations in both Charlotte and Columbia. But now the first one is open in Raleigh. They smoke barbecue, brisket. I guess barbecue is pork and chicken. And they've been very successful in their other locations. So definitely go check out, it is delicious. And also not too super expensive for really good food. So

Abigail Ali 13:59
Yeah, so excited about this. I love Smoky Hollow and seeing everything like slowly fill up in there is just so cool, because it's so pretty. I love it.

Emily Vespa 14:10
Yeah, I like Midwood. It's in Charlotte and it's my dad's like, favorite restaurant and we go there for Father's Day and like his birthday and all that and we, I just went recently um so it's really like a good if you want to take your dad there or something or just like any middle aged man will probably love it. Like a great barbecue place. So it does highly recommend

Heidi Reid 14:28
It's just like a lot of meat. And yeah, which is actually nice because like, if you're gluten free meat doesn't have gluten. So there's a lot of options for that. Don't come if you're vegetarian, there's not tons of options for that.

Emily Vespa 14:40
I like their mac and cheese and I like their pulled pork sandwiches but that has bread. So if you're gluten free that wouldn't work. Okay guys last segment. Since we know our listeners love updates for NC State Auditor Beth Wood, I thought I'd give you a little update about her. So officials believe that she made personal use of her state car, which apparently is a bad thing to do, especially when you're like, for other officials, I'd be like, a little more like, oh, maybe they didn't know. But like, if you're the state auditor, your whole job is to like keep the state accountable. And really, so you should definitely know like how to expend resources and what you're allowed to use and what you're not allowed to use for personal use. Um, yeah, so they apparently wasn't when they temporarily suspended her individual vehicle assignment after her hit and run. Um, they found out that it's possible she used personal use of a state car, a different state car, I believe, which would be a violation of state law and agency regulations. Um, this is really interesting, because I don't know, I feel like why would you? If you have, you probably have like, your personal Excuse me? Oh, my gosh, your personal car. So why would you not just use that?

Heidi Reid 15:49
So that's why it's so dumb for that. Like, she could have avoided all of this. If she just left a note or something.

Abigail Ali 15:55
No, that's what I'm saying.

eSports 15:57
Wait, who is this?

Emily Vespa 15:58
She's the State Auditor. So she like, Yeah, she's the State Auditor. She's an elected official. And she basically, recently or like, in December, she was driving her state issued car to a holiday party, which is a personal use. And she hit another car, and she left and it was a hit and run. And then they got her in trouble. She appeared in Wake County Court recently for it. But yeah, and now if there's more Beth Wood drama. So

Heidi Reid 16:27
Also imagine having the name Beth Wood that is so boring. Sorry Beth, if you're listening to this, I'm sorry girl.

Emily Vespa 16:34
I don't my design, Beth.

Abigail Ali 16:36
I think going back to like what Emily was saying, it's just like, it's kind of crazy that she's doing so many things that it literally is her job to like, know what's wrong. And like, I don't know, even with the hit and run, it was just like, you're in a state vehicle. Why would you even try to leave? Because like, I don't know, none of it really makes a lot of sense.

Emily Vespa 16:55
Yeah, exactly. I don't know. That's my biggest issue with it is like, this is your job. So you should probably know. It's just so it's

Heidi Reid 17:01
like it's tiny, stupid little mistakes. Like it's just being lazy at that point. And she's an auditor.

Abigail Ali 17:07
Her job is to like, do the extra little detailed stuff that nobody else wants to do.

Emily Vespa 17:12
Especially also being an elected official. Like I know if I was an artificial, I would be so careful about making sure I was like following all the rules and stuff because you don't want like, yeah, you're gonna have to be reelected. If you want to run for reelection. Like you don't want to like, break the rules, because that's gonna look really bad and like you're not doing your job. So yeah, that's a no.

Abigail Ali 17:31
Okay, guys, that is all we have for you this week. We'll see you next time. Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai