CD Giveaway

I'm giving away a Carolina Chocolate Drops CD. In case you don't know about the African American trio that plays the banjo, fiddle and jug, read my colleague Dan Huntley's story. The Charlotte Folk Society is bringing the trio to Charlotte to play 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Northwest School of the Arts. For more info: www.folksociety.org.

Now about that free CD. For a chance to get it, post a relevant post or question about Charlotte to this blog and e-mail me a copy along with your name and daytime phone number. My e-mail address is abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com. I'll draw a winner 10 a.m. Thursday.

Hoops watching

In my story today on Sweet Sixteen games, I listed where in town fans can watch their teams play. I also promised to post updates to my blog. So, here's one from a reader, Donald Roderick, who cheers for Kentucky.

"Several groups of fans go to Tavern on the Tracks on the corner of Bland and Tryon streets. With Tavern's many TVs, they can watch all of the games."

By the way, readers, I'm still looking for info on where UCLA fans gather. If you know or have anything else to add, post it here. Thanks.

Queen City Sequel

In my March 21 entry, I wondered which city was first known as the Queen City. Charlotte or Cincinnati?

I was visiting friends in Cincinnati at the time and promised to try to find an answer when I got home.

Here's what I got from Tom Hanchett, staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South. His e-mailed response:

"What an interesting question!
I'd assume that Charlotte has always been "the queen city" since we were
named for Queen Charlotte when we were incorporated in 1768.
Cincinnati's nickname "Queen City of the West" came about around 1820,
according to this website: http://www.queencityfeis.com/content/view/14/26/
And there's yet another Queen City of the West: Indianola, TX, a
short-lived town in the second half of the 19th century:
http://www.indianolatx.com/
And here are some other Queen Cities:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6882/
So my guess is that we were first. Though it is possible that some
Charlotte booster formally started using the "Queen City" name at some
particular point. In fact, it'd be interesting to include that question
in your article."

My friend Andrea Tortora, a journalist in Cincinnati, sent this from the Cincinnati Museum Center Web site.

"How did Cincinnati come to be known as the Queen City?
During the first forty years after its founding, Cincinnati experienced
spectacular growth. By 1820, citizens, extremely proud of their city, were
referring to it as The Queen City or The Queen of the West. On May 4, 1819,
B. Cooke wrote in the Inquisitor and Cincinnati Advertiser, 'The City is,
indeed, justly styled the fair Queen of the West: distinquished for order,
enterprise, public spirit, and liberality, she stands the wonder of an
admiring world.' In 1854, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem, Catawba
Wine, to memorialize the city's vineyards, especially those of Nicholas
Longworth. The last stanza of the poem reads:
"And this Song of the Vine,
This greeting of mine,
The winds and the birds shall deliver,
To the Queen of the West,
In her garlands dressed,
On the banks of the Beautiful River."
http://library.cincymuseum.org/cinfaq7menu.htm#queencity

So it sounds like Charlotte was first known as the Queen City -- if it indeed earned that moniker soon after incorporation. If anyone has any more thoughts, I'd like to hear them.

Did you launch a small business here?

This just in: Charlotte is one of the best U.S. cities for launching a small business.

That's according to FSB: Fortune Small Business. In the first edition of its “Best Places to Live and Launch," Charlotte ranks No. 8.

FSB said it developed its list of top 100 cities for starting small businesses by assessing economic conditions, such as local tax rates and startup activity, and taking into account quality of life issues, such as affordable housing and access to cultural activities.

Here's the Top 10:

1. Bellevue, Wash.
2. Georgetown, Texas
3. Buford, Ga.
4. Marina del Rey, Calif.
5. Bethesda, Md.
6. Portland, Ore.
7. Denver
8. Charlotte
9. Fort Worth
10. Franklin, Mass.

To read the full report and see all 100 cities, click here.

Attention basketball fans

I got an e-mail today from a newcomer who's a Washington State alum. She and her husband, also a Cougar, wanted to know where their brethren are likely to gather Thursday to watch their team play Carolina. Good question. There's no alumni club here to call to find out. If you're a Coug, please post to this blog where you'll go to watch the game.

And if you are a Carolina, Tennessee or Louisville alum/fan please also let me and readers know where you'll be watching. Thanks!

Bad drivers?

My newcomer profile of Ken Pietrowski on Saturday sparked a fair amount of response. Pietrowski, who moved to Huntersville from Rochester, N.Y. in September, said the people here are friendly but when behind the wheel they are terrible drivers. They tailgate. They don't signal.

My e-mail and voicemail boxes are full of readers saying that Pietrowski is wrong. Some said the bad drivers are actually newcomers. Others said that drivers are much worse where they came from. And still others said Pietrowski is right on.

What do you think?

Hanging out in another Queen City

I'm away for the Easter weekend, visiting a friend in Cincinnati. While driving around today, I noticed the Queen City signs around town -- with a crown, like those in Charlotte. I'd temporarily forgotten that Cincinnati also calls itself the Queen City.

What or who put the Queen in each city?

Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are each named for Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, German wife of King George III.

Cincinnati was dubbed the Queen of the West -- or simply the Queen City -- after rapid growth in the 1800s made it one of the first big inland cities in the U.S.

Which city earned the moniker first? I don't know. My friend and I are guessing Cincinnati. If you know the answer, post it here. I'll look into it when I return. Until then, happy holiday weekend.

Attention young professionals

Attention young professionals: Looking to network and socialize with people like you?

Matt Corsi has a group for you, aptly called Charlotte Young Professionals. He started it in February to fill what he sees as a void in career development.

"There are some similar social groups in the area, but I found they didn't really cater to people in their young 20s and 30s when they are just starting out their careers," said Corsi, 23, an assistant vice president at Bank of America.

The group will have its first social 6 p.m. Thursday at HOM (pronounced "home"), 116 W. Fifth St.

To find out more about Charlotte Young Professionals or to join, go to MeetUp.com, which currently lists 144 members.

Corsi moved here three months ago from Ohio.

"It is milder weather," he said. "And I like that Charlotte is on the uprise compared to other areas."

Got a group you want me and/or others to know about? Post it here or e-mail me.

Want a $20 gift card?

Contest time. As I said in today's column, I am looking for cheap ways to explore or get to know Charlotte. Give me your five best ideas, each less than $10 per person. I'll print some of the top contender and select a winner, who will get a $20 gift card.

Send your suggestions to abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com. Also include your name and daytime phone number. And remember I want just five.

First Impressions

Hey, readers, I'm interested in your first impressions of the Charlotte area. If you have lived here three months or less, please e-mail your first impressions to abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com. Be sure to leave your name and daytime phone number in case I want to chat with you for a story. Thanks!

More on Moms Groups

In my story yesterday about moms clubs, I asked area women to e-mail me about the groups they belong to. I promised to put them on my blog.

Deborah Fillman Boone told me about http://www.backporchchatter.com/, which she runs from home on a "shoestring budget."

She wrote: "We plan monthly offline gatherings called OMNOs (Outspoken Mothers' Night Out) and OMNIs (Ouspoken Mothers' Night IN). In the former case, we meet at a local restaurant -- varying location to be as inclusive as possible -- and in the latter we meet at a member's home and share pot-luck. Sometimes we have a topic for discussion, sometimes we just meet and socialize, but it is ALWAYS a great time!"

Tina Hastings and Stephanie Williams recommeded http://www.amomsspace.com/. It welcomes moms in and around Charlotte and features moms nights out and play dates. No fees.

Want to add your group? Post it here.

Daffodils, Part Two

The other day I was saying I don't miss Ohio because of its winter weather. As if I needed further convincing, there's a blizzard blowing through my home state. Here's what the paper I grew up reading has to say -- just click here.

Newcomers in the news

A colleague in the library here recently printed out something cool she found while looking for something else in our microfilm of old issues. (Thanks, Maria.) Here's a headline from the front page on Sunday, Feb. 2, 1964: "How Newcomers Like Carolinas."

Nine reporters asked 10 families new to the Carolinas -- from Columbia, S.C. to Albemarle, N.C. -- "how they felt about living here."

The answers -- well, talk about deja vu.

Shopping was a problem. Not enough of it. Cultural activities were also lacking. The cost of living was higher than those newcomers had expected.

But neighbors were friendly. And it was a good place to raise a family or start a business. The weather and proximity between ocean and mountains was also ideal.

So what do you think? What's changed since 1964? What hasn't?

Daffodils!

Here's a sign that I've lived in Charlotte for more than a couple years: My daffodils bloomed in February and I didn't think that was freakishly early, because it isn't here.

Over the weekend, I was telling my sister Cristy in Ohio how good they looked and she said hers won't come up until end of March. This is also a reminder of why I'm glad to not be in Ohio. It's still pretty darn cold there.

Move here without a job?

Yesterday I blogged about a woman looking for work here so she can leave Las Vegas.

Today I'm looking for recent newcomers -- say in the last year or two -- who moved to Charlotte without a job. How did that work out for you? How long did it take for you to find work or are you still looking?

Please email me at abaldwin@charlotteobserver.com and leave your name and daytime phone number. Thanks.

Leaving Las Vegas

I got an email from a prospective newcomer seeking advice on finding work here. Maybe you can help. Here's what Gina, 50, had to say.

"My husband Bill and I hope to relocate to the Charlotte area in the very near future. I am planning a visit in April (20th thru 27th) and will be looking at the area in hopes of finding exactly what we are looking for. Currently we live in Las Vegas. We have lived here over 30 years and are really ready for a change. Luckily my sister lives in Matthews and loves it and thinks we will too.

I need some advice on how and where to look for jobs. Our problem is that we have worked in the gaming industry for many years, in particular the race and sports books. Not exactly a job available anywhere else but here, although I have an office job and my husband works with the public. Searching through CareerBuilder.com, HotJobs, etc. doesn't quite have jobs we qualify for. What we need is a local source, Web site, or some other way of finding employment. Do you have any suggestions that I can explore while I'm there? The sooner we can find employment, the sooner we can leave Las Vegas."

Here's my advice, Gina:

Check out Central Piedmont Community College. It offers classes on changing careers and individual career counseling services. There's a two-day, six-hour small-group course called "Next Career Exploration" as well as a "Job Seeking Skills Class."

For more info or to learn about other offerings, go to www.cpcc.edu. Go to the left-hand pull-down menu and select Community & News and then go to Career Services or Continuing Education.

And, of course, talk to your sister. Maybe she has some job-hunting tips or connections.

Anyone else have advice for Gina? Post it here. Thanks.

Big weekend

What have you been up to this weekend? Try any new restaurants or go anyplace you'd never been before?

I did. This is notable, because I can be quite the creature of habit.

On Friday night, my husband and I celebrated his birthday at Nikko on South Boulevard. I hadn't been to the sushi restaurant in several years. Late last year, Nikko moved just a smidge up the street, inside The Arlington condo tower (a.k.a. The Pink Building).

We enjoyed the yummy sushi and the yummy scene -- sleek modern interior design, young professionals and families eating pretty food and sipping pretty martinis and techno-ish sounding music that made me think of a bar in Barcelona.

Last night, I caught the opening of the fourth annual Charlotte Jewish Film Festival at the Ballantyne Village Theatre with my pal Kerry. We saw "What a Wonderful Place," an Israeli film that reminded us of "Traffic" -- only with the cargo being humans, not drugs. The film made me think and also appreciate that such a fest exists in Charlotte.

It was nice to go out and see a small film, especially when art house theaters are becoming more mainstream. I thought of this earlier today when driving past The Regal Manor Twin (used to just be the Manor -- so see what I mean?) and noticed that "Juno" is still playing. Everybody's favorite Oscar nominee was a sweet enough film -- but come on already. It's been what, three months? Is there anyone left in Charlotte who wants to see it who hasn't?

So, that's what I've been up to. What about you?