Shortly before the new year, we heard that A.C.’s was going to close temporarily for remodeling. At first we feared the powers-that-be would pretty up the joint and turn it into some bright, cheery place for young professionals with money to burn and tapas to eat. Fortunately, our fears were unfounded. The renovation is complete and A.C.’s has barely changed a bit. It’s still the dark hole that we’ve grown to love, but now with a black-and-white-tile floor. As soon as the Best of Charleston issue is done, this writer is going to swing by to grab a California burger and a cold one.
Spending on the programs increased 28 percent from fiscal years 2006 to 2007. Total dollars given to the 91 United Way charities rose 3.3 percent.
Now the United Way's new leadership is questioning if the agency's money wouldn't be better spent on outside charities.
CommunityWorks, which serves as the United Way's community planning and public policy arm, has seven employees. It received $1.5 million in the 2007 budget year – a 23 percent increase over the previous year.
Cliff Grimes, a United Way senior vice president, said the program was designed to be “entrepreneurial” – charging fees to do broad-based research and community planning.
That didn't work out. Other groups, such as UNC Charlotte's Urban Institute, were already doing such work, Grimes said. CommunityWorks has “not been as active as we'd hoped,” he added.
Nevertheless, its budget grew steadily under former President Gloria Price King, even as its mission was becoming less clear. Its portion of United Way money increased almost fourfold from 2002-2003 to last year, according to United Way consolidated financial statements.
Meanwhile, the program has narrowed its approach, focusing on tasks such as helping member agencies measure their successes and identifying local needs. As of December, when Grimes took over the program, it was re-evaluating its purpose, he said. “We're walking through that process now.”
A former United Way official knowledgeable about the program's history said it has done good work, but expressed shock when told of its current budget and lack of direction.
“Since they don't do planning or studies – what it was designed to do – I'd be real curious to know what they are doing,” said the former official, who asked to remain anonymous.
United Way vice presidents Dani Stone and Mack McDonald said CommunityWorks tracks trends in government policy, raises awareness on critical issues and sets priorities for how United Way money should be invested.
Asked how the program measures its achievements and what results it can show for its work, McDonald said he didn't think the agency had “the metrics” to answer the question but would look into it.
“There's no one left up there at a management level,” McDonald said, referring to the departure of King and her top deputy, Angela Hubbard, who left last year. “We've just lost all our history with that organization. With Gloria gone, every single layer of management involved in that is gone.”
As for the annual budget increases, McDonald said the program hired four new employees from 2003 to 2006. He said “much” of the annual increases were due to higher management costs but didn't provide specifics.
CommunityWorks is overseen by a board of directors, but some board members didn't seem to recognize CommunityWorks' title when asked about it recently. Three current and former board members interviewed said they weren't familiar with the program's finances.
Charlotte United Way board member Michael Smith oversees the program's public policy work. He says volunteers and a staffer research issues affecting the region, and CommunityWorks organizes an annual meeting with lawmakers to raise awareness about critical needs.
“I think it's incredibly important that we have an organization that does more than just raise the money but actually understands the issues that are impacting the most fragile in our community,” he said.
The company earlier this week also reported stronger-than-expected first quarter earnings and sales. In 2014, Ingersoll-Rand’s shares rose 3 percent, compared with an 11 percent rise among other companies in the S&P 500.
Woman charged with removing Confederate flag from State House grounds appears in court | Charlotte Observer
Gedeon played baseball and served in the military. He was one of two major league baseball players who were killed during War World II. He became a hero in Raleigh.
In his book, “Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice,” Gary Beddingfield fills in Gedeon’s biography. Gedeon had grown up in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a football, basketball, baseball and track star at East High. He set the state high school record in the 120-yard high hurdles.
Gedeon was 6-foot-4 and weighed 198 pounds when he enrolled at the University of Michigan. He played football and baseball and ran track. He tied the American record in the 70-yard hurdles and he was mentioned as a potential Olympic contender in the 1940 Games.
But he chose to play baseball. Gedeon signed with the Senators in 1939 and joined the big league team late in the season. He had three hits in his first start, a 10-9 win over the Cleveland Indians. He played in five games, but didn’t have another hit.
He spent much of the 1940 season playing with the Charlotte minor league team and joined the Army in March of 1941.
On Aug. 9, 1942, Gedeon was on a training flight from the Raleigh Airport, which was south of town near where a Golden Corral restaurant now sits.
He was the navigator on a B-25 Mitchell medium-size bomber. The plane clipped pine trees about 75 feet from the end of the runway on takeoff and crashed into a nearby swamp around 9:30 a.m.
Herbert O’Keef, later the editor of the Raleigh Times, wrote that the crash was similar to one near Smithfield the year before in which former News & Observer sports editor Sam R. McDonald was among the seven fatalities.
O’Keef reported Gedeon’s plane “ripped through the large trees of the swamp for about 100 yards, clearing a space that long and about 75 feet wide. Trees larger in girth than a grown man were broken off.”
The plane caught fire and a growing column of black smoke guided nearby golfers from the Raleigh Golf Association to the wreckage. Bill Horton, Bob Fitzhugh, Clinton Teague and H.G. Walker found one man with a broken leg. Another had his foot almost severed. All the airmen were burned.
Gedeon had broken ribs, but returned to the flames of the burning plane to rescue Cpl. John Rarrat, who had broken his legs and his back. The 50-caliber machine gun ammunition began going off.
Ambulances couldn’t get close to the crash site because of the terrain. The golfers, and others, had no stretchers, but carried the burned survivors to ambulances.
Gedeon had burns to his back, face, hands and legs. He needed skin grafts. He spent 12 weeks in the hospital.
“The ribs gave me the most trouble,” Gedeon told the Ann Arbor News. “I had to rest on my stomach because of the burns, so the ribs couldn’t be taped.”
“I had my accident. It’s going to be good flying from now on,” he told his cousin. Gedeon said he had used up all of his bad luck. He planned to return to baseball.
“It’s a matter of time,” he told the Associated Press in February 1943. “If the war ends before I'm passed my playing age, I'll return to the game. If' I'm too old, I'll do something else."
He piloted a Marauder on a mission to bomb a German V-1 site in France in April 1944. The plane had dropped its bombs when it was hit beneath the cockpit by antiaircraft fire.
Co-pilot James Taffe told Beddingfield that Gedeon slumped at the controls and the cockpit filled with flames. Taffe parachuted and before he was captured he saw the plane crash. Gedeon, 27, and five other crewmen perished.
His parents didn’t know until after the war that their son’s remains were buried in St. Pol, France. He was listed officially as missing in action. His body was later returned to the United States and rests at Arlington National Cemetery.
On May 30, 1946, the Charlotte Hornets held a memorial service before a game to remember Gedeon and Forrest “Lefty” Brewer, both killed in World War II.
More than 500 men who had played in the Major Leagues served in the United States military during World War II. Gedeon and Philadelphia Athletic Harry Mink O’Neill, who was killed at Iwo Jima, were the only ones who died while in service.
Gordon’s move to the booth adds to a long list of his accomplishments off the track that have increased NASCAR’s exposure. He’s the only driver to ever host “Saturday Night Live” and has been a co-host on “Live! With Kelly Ripa” more than 10 times.
Johnson caught off guard: After Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team received a warning but no penalties from NASCAR on Tuesday for altering the side skirts on their car during Saturday’s All-Star Race, Johnson said on Thursday that he was surprised to hear NASCAR looked into the matter.
“We were shocked to hear that there was an issue and actually we had crash damage on the right-side of the car,” Johnson said. “Then it certainly turned out that way.”
NASCAR made a rule change before the 2015 season that prohibits teams from tampering with the sheet of metal in front of the rear tires during pit stops.
“I think leaving the race track NASCAR was upset and thought there was a lot more intent and something going wrong with the side skirt being pulled out,” Johnson said. “Then as video became available and they looked through it and watched and saw what was done, it calmed down.”
Dirt Showdown: The stars of the World of Outlaws Sprint car series will be in competition Friday at the Dirt Track at Charlotte, with a 30-lap feature to cap the night’s activities.
Before the show, fans can meet the series’ drivers during an autograph session on the main concourse, which begins at 4:30 p.m. The first 500 fans through the gates at 4 p.m. will receive a free limited-edition commemorative poster.
Opening ceremonies for Outlaw Showdown are scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Following the 30-lap A-Main for the World of Outlaws, the SECA Late Model Series will compete in an race. Jim Utter
Race with fans: ENEOS Motor Oil will give race fans a chance to compete against drivers Kyle Larson, Steve Arpin and Shane Stewart in the ENEOS 250 on Friday at GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville. Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., the first 240 fans can sign up to race for free.
The top-16 overall one-lap times from the day will advance to the final race. Those 16 drivers will compete against Larson, Arpin and Stewart for the ENEOS 250 crown. Following the race, Larson, Arpin and Stewart will participate in an autograph session. JU
Various prizes will be handed out throughout the weekend, with Hamlin expected to make a surprise appearance. “Denny’s Denny’s” will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. JU
For the troops: This weekend, each driver’s windshield sports the name of a member of the United States Armed Forces who died while in service.
The names, plus patriotic race car designs on display this weekend, are a part of NASCAR’s efforts to honor military service members and their families on Memorial Day Weekend. P.J.