Category Archives: Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem City Council Needs to Be Aware of the Law of Unintended Consequences

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According to this story on WXII's site the Winston-Salem city council is considering a new set of fees for Internet cafes.  From the story:

The city of Winston-Salem could stand to generate more than a $500,000 if City Council members approve new taxes on Internet cafes.

The City Council has proposed a $2,500 license fee and a fee of $500 per machine for the nearly 50 new locations operating inside the city. Currently, the businesses pay no taxes to the city or state.

"We're getting no revenues from these very rapidly growing businesses that are in our communities," Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said. "Our budget is very difficult right now, so any revenue enhancement we can come up with that will not really impact a business, we're trying to look at. We believe these are very lucrative businesses and could easily afford this fee we are proposing." 

I haven't seen the actual proposal so I can't speak to the specifics, but what worries me about this is the definition of "Internet cafe".  If the definition is too loose then here are some of the businesses that could get sucked into this:

  • Any business that charges for wi-fi access – for instance Starbucks – could conceivably be charged for each person that pays to access the network.
  • Hotels that charge for internet access in rooms, or that provide internet access on computers in their business centers and lobbies.
  • Even coffee shops that provide free wi-fi could get hit for $3,000 – $2,500 for the fee and $500 for the computer/router.  They aren't making a dime off the wi-fi, but if the proposal isn't worded correctly they could get hit with the fee regardless.

It sounds to me like the City Council is trying to target a specific type of business (essentially legal gambling parlors), but sometimes when fees or ordinances are adopted to target specific types of businesses then other "innocent" businesses get caught in the crossfire.

I can guarantee you this: if every company that offers free wi-fi learns that it's going to be hit with a $2,500 fee then you can bet your bottom dollar that free wi-fi will disappear in Winston-Salem.  Paid wi-fi might survive, but you'd have to sell a LOT of daily access passes to justify it.  As for hotels that charge $15.95 a night for internet access in your room?  I'd like nothing better than to say "Hit 'em with your best shot!" since that's one of the most annoying business practices in the hospitality sector, but if you do they'll just pass it along as a higher daily rate.

That Winston-Salem is looking for additional sources of revenue is not surprising, and neither is the fact that the targeted industry is a "sin" business, but let's hope the City Council is smart enough not to tax itself.  After all, this is the city that just a few years proudly unveiled its own free wi-fi on Fourth Street.  The description of the free wi-fi service from the city's own website sounds to me suspiciously like what the rest of the world considers an Internet cafe:

Fourth Street Wireless Internet access is a free service provided by the City of Winston-Salem. Citizens in restaurants and businesses along Fourth Street can access the Internet through high-speed connections and enjoy browsing the Web, checking and sending e-mail, or chatting through instant messaging services.

Like I said, I just hope the City Council is very careful with this thing.  

One last thought: Can anyone think of other fees that are targeted at specific industries?  I'm sure there are some out there, but my fatigue-fogged mind isn't hitting on any right now.

ExtenZe at Hanes Mall? Really?

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I know I've been distracted lately, what with three teenagers needing feeding and watering, the day job going on all cylinders and me being preternaturally distracted and all, but how in the heck did I miss this? ExtenZe opened its one and only store in Hanes Mall over the weekend! From the article:

ExtenZe has predominantly marketed to the male demographic in the past. Not only with a NASCAR Sprint Cup sponsorship of the No. 37 ExtenZe Racing Ford, but also through spokesman such as Jimmy Johnson, championship winning football coach, and porn star Ron Jeremy. Also with late night infomercials, featuring Bridgetta Tomarchio – actress, model, talking to people about their personal sexual performance levels.

But now one of the hottest products is ExtenZe Women, an all-natural blend to create a female libido booster. In addition to these enhance products, the store plans to capitalize on traditional mall products with the ExtenZe logo on and engaging slogans such as “Yeah, We’re Cocky” and 
“Growing Our Fan Base One Member at a Time”.

I never thought I'd live to see the day that Hanes Mall was mentioned in the same article with Ron Jeremy. Seriously, is this a hoax or can someone confirm that there is indeed an ExtenZe store at Hanes Mall?  I go to the mall once a year (Christmas Eve, 3:00 p.m. in a panic) so I have no way of knowing for sure.

Governor’s Volunteer Service Award

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Remember a couple of months back how I wrote, incessantly some would say, about the Labor of Love project the Triad Apartment Association (my day job) was doing at The Children's Home?  Well, the folks at The Children's Home were kind enough to nominate us for a Governor's Volunteer Service Award and a bunch of us will be attending a breakfast for the Forsyth County nominees on April 29.  The project was highly rewarding in its own right, but the award process is very exciting too.  We're very grateful to the folks at The Children's Home for nominating us and hopefully we'll do them proud!

Pretty Soon the Journal Could Be a Home-Based Business

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More bad news for the Camel City's last major tree killer:

A corporate consolidation initiative by Media General Inc. will result in the elimination of two newsroom operations at the Winston-Salem Journal by Oct. 31, company officials said Wednesday.
 
The copy-editing and page-design departments will be shifted to larger Media General publications –the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia and The Tampa Tribune in Florida. The consolidated operation is expected to start up in the third quarter, said Media General, which is based in Richmond.

The consolidation will involve job cuts.

 "It is undetermined how many jobs and where," said Ray Kozakewicz, a spokesman for Media General. The Journal has 18½ positions in those two departments, representing 20 percent of its newsroom staff.

A design coordinator will be based at the Journal, Kozakewicz said.

From what I can tell it sounds like they'll be losing about 16 people from the 92-ish that are currently there.  Sure, some might be able to get jobs in Richmond or Tampa if they want them but that's still a job loss as far as Winston-Salem is concerned. 

At this rate I might be able to rent the Journal space in my house as the kids move out over the next five years.  I can easily accommodate the five of them and their computers.  I might even be able to fit in the high speed copier (with collator/stapler!).  


Gaudio Stepping Down (Found via Twitter?!)

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Just saw a Tweet from WXII that Wake Forest head basketball coach Dino Gaudio is stepping down.  Supposedly there's a 4:30 press conference today so I guess we'll know more at 4:35.

Update 2: The Journal's Wake Forest beat reporter Dan Collins blogged it.

Update: Now WXII site is saying Gaudio was fired. 

A Little Tarnish for BB&T

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Winston-Salem based BB&T has enjoyed a very strong, positive public image especially during the last few years as other "local" banks like Wachovia painted themselves as evil-banker-villain people.  Well, it looks like the sterling image is in danger of being tarnished.  To wit, two stories in the last week (h/t to Ed Cone for lead to first story):

Visions of Profits Gone, Lot Buyers Sue (News & Observer)

Attorney Wes Hodges, whose firm filed the suits against Saunders, said that buyers were subjected to high-pressure sales tactics. He said they were told it was certain that they would reap big profits by the time the two-year loans came due and that the subdivisions would be finished by then.

He said prices of the lots were artificially increased via fraudulent appraisals and that the lender – BB&T in most cases – signed off on the loans knowing the prices had beenhyped. The frontline bankers approving the loans were paid bonuses of up to 100 percent of their annual salary for hitting targets for the number of loans written, he said.

BB&T is a defendant.A spokeswoman for the bank said it doesn't comment on ongoing litigation but that it will vigorously contest the allegations.

Whistle-Blower Ordered Re-Hired in a Ponzi Scheme (Associated Press)

The BB&T Corporation must rehire a former company investigator who said she was fired after exposing a $100 million North Carolina development scam, an administrative law judge said in a ruling released Friday. The decision, made by Judge Jeffrey Tureck, said the investigator, Amy Stroupe, should be reinstated to her position with back pay because of protection afforded by whistle-blower laws…

Investigators say the development, known as the Village of Penland, was a Ponzi scheme, and Judge Tureck said in his ruling that the bank was assisting the fraud by making loans to investors in the community.

Oh So Terribly Happy at a/perture

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A couple of days ago I had a chance to take a sneak peak at a flick titled Terribly Happy that's currently playing at a/perture.  The best way I can describe it is it's kind of like a Danish version of Fargo, without the wood chipper.  It might not be as gruesome as Fargo, but the bog outside the tiny town where the film is set sees its share of bodies.

The premise isn't too revolutionary: big city cop goes a little cuckoo, gets shrinked and then gets sent to a small town to get his head straight while on the job.  Small towns being what they are, the locals are more than a little weird and the cop gets himself tangled up in their weirdness in short order.  I guess you could compare it to Deliverance, but the locals all have their teeth and there's not a banjo to be found anywhere.

If you like movies that are a little off-beat, have some tension and don't mind a little violence I think you'll like Terribly Happy.  Personally I love films with strange characters and a little edge to them so I really liked this one.

As with North Face (which I reviewed here) this is more proof that a/perture is bringing in foreign films (yes, with subtitles) that just about any local moviegoer will find entertaining.  Sure there's a place in this world for art films, but I like the fact that a/perture is bringing in films that have a mainstream-ish plot and just happen to have dialogue in a non-English tongue. 

a/perture
311 W. Fourth St. (Across from
Mellow Mushroom)
Winston-Salem, NC
Phone: 336-722-8148
Website:
www.aperturecinema.com
Terribly Happy runs at a/perture through April 8


You Gotta See North Face at a/perture This Weekend

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Last night I got a sneak preview of North Face and I can tell you without reservation that if you're in town this weekend you really should head over to a/perture and see it.  Since I'm not a professional reviewer I won't even try to sway you with descriptions of the cinematography (okay, it was awesome) or go into great detail about the acting (okay, it was superb).  What I will tell you is that:

  • It will have you on the edge of your seat
  • You'll feel a might bit cold watching it
  • You'll totally forget that it's a German movie with subtitles

The film is set in 1936 and is based on a true story.  Here's the setup:

  • No one has ever climbed the north face of the Eiger
  • The Olympics are coming to Germany and a bunch of German Alpinists want to be the first to climb the north face so that they'll be able to bask in their glory at the Olympics
  • The Germans haven't annexed Austria yet, but they're planning it and that plays into the plot
  • Two young German climbers (our heroes) decide to give it a go
  • They're competing with two Austrians to make it to the top

Add a love interest to this mix and you've got a nice plot. Add the aforementioned cinematography and acting and you've got a really good movie.  Since I have two thumbs I'm going to point them both up for this one.

Here's the skinny on showtimes at a/perture.  Really, you should go (they serve beer and wine!)

a/perture
311 W. Fourth St. (Across from Mellow Mushroom)
Winston-Salem, NC
Phone: 336-722-8148
Website: www.aperturecinema.com
Showtimes:
Fri-Sat: 2:40, 7:20
Sun: 12:00, 5:20
Mon-Wed: 5:40


Kim Says Goodbye to His Dogness

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On a couple of occassions I've had the chance to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Winston-Salem Journal reporter Kim Underwood.  He's a great guy and it's always a fun conversation.  I also happen to think he's one of Winston-Salem's crown jewels and his piece on "His Dogness" goes a long way to explaining why.  Great stuff Kim.

Reynolds Gets Front Page Treatment on the Other WSJ

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The Wall Street Journal gives front page treatment to Reynolds' moves in the smokeless tobacco market. Here's a lead paragraph that'll grab you:

During board meetings, Reynolds American Inc. Chief Executive Susan Ivey likes to suck on dissolvable smokeless-tobacco strips to get her nicotine fix.

That visual just doesn't conjure up the same, well, sophisticated image as the execs on Mad Men sucking on Camels, which I'm thinking is going to be a marketing challenge for Ivey and her cohorts. I mean if we're going to be honest with ourselves we have to admit that smoking looks a lot cooler than sucking on something, even if it does make you smell like a wet goat.