Friday, December 14, 2012

Friday Wrap Up - Grinch Edition

Stacey Simms "It is not you, Its me." - My morning commute is longer than most people I know. I live in South Charlotte and work in Charleston which makes my morning drive about 3 hours long. I'm normally rocking down 77 heading south before most commuters roll out of bed and I'm long gone from Charlotte, by the time they start their inbound trek from South Carolina.



Two or three times a week around 5:00 a.m. with coffee in hand, I hit the road and as soon as I roll down the ramp and merge into the sparse 485 traffic, I hit the 1110 AM button. There, in the pre dawn darkness, for as long as I can remember is Stacy Simms.

WBT in the hours before sunrise reaches across the South Carolina upstate loud and clear, as they say 10x10,  most mornings. And so I have grown accustom to Stacey's voice. If I time it just right I can listen to WBT and Stacey all the way to Orangeburg before the signal fades into the morning sun.

Stacey has been the voice of Charlotte mornings for the last ten years, and today is her last day. Ten years? If she said 20 I'd say it was true. I honestly can't remember who was the morning host on WBT before Stacey.

Those of us who grew up in Charlotte know the list of WBT talent is long and distinguished. Grady Cole, Ty Boyd, "Hello" Henry Boggan, Mike Collins, Bob Lacey, H.A. Thompson and "Rocking" Ray Gooding.

Over the years WBT has held a treasure trove of talent but as you have noticed women have never gained such status, until now. Stacey's name has joined that list.

Ten years is a long time, and I don't blame Stacey, she has had a tough time off air this past year. As break ups go I am sure she'd say "Its not you, Its me". 

Next Monday morning I'll be hurtling down I-77 without Stacey.

And so it goes....

CMPD Rodney Monroe vs Jerry Orr Power Play Again- Word from some of Cedar Posts reliable sources is the CMPD officers who have taken control of the airport policing, are being forced to work out of the Police Training Academy because Jerry Orr is not willing to give the department office space in the terminal. 
The now retired airport police patch.
It is general knowledge that Curt Walton had to settle the turf war between Jerry Orr and Rodney Monroe. The CMPD Chief came out on top with Jerry losing his police department. So a little poke in the eye might have been in order but, seriously this is pretty childish.

Cat Fight - The claws came out early Thursday morning and the result was a number of arrests, including the wife of a Charlotte Bobcats player, after things got "catty" outside an uptown bar after a party hosted by NBA star Chris Paul.

The fight took place around 2:30 a.m. at the NC Music Factory outside of the Label night club where a party hosted by the Los Angeles Clippers star guard had just wrapped up.

Jamie Patrice Thomas, 26, wife of Charlotte Bobcats forward Tyrus Thomas, was arrested along with Sascha Smith, 22; Shassity Stevenson, 28;  and Morgan Williams, 22. Thomas was charged with DWI, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting a public officer.
Williams was not happy being filmed by WSOC's videographer, and tried to kick him.
Police say Thomas was intoxicated when she hit a security guard twice with her car, trying to leave the Music Factory after a fight involving the other women.

Thomas is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and DWI. Sascha Smith, another of those arrested, is engaged to Bobcats guard Ben Gordon. Morgan Williams, 22, of Chicago is facing a felony robbery charge. Police said Williams stole Alissa Jordan’s purse.

Police also charged Shassity Stevenson for resisting arrest. Smith was also charged with resisting arrest.

Eyewitness News went to Jordan’s home Thursday. She did not say much, but she did acknowledge the fight. “My things were stolen. It was a fight and that’s it,” she said.

A spokesman for the Bobcats said, "We are aware of the incident, but it would be inappropriate for us to comment on this pending legal matter."

The WSOC video is pretty interesting and is here.

Call Me A Grinch - But I really dislike the way some people view Christmas. Beyond the shopping mall madness and chia pets there are those among us who are helping morph Christmas into an extension of Halloween.

Charlotte's Annual Santa Bar Crawl is as the name implies a chance to get knee crawling drunk dressed up as Santa or whatever...




I have to admit that there were some seriously hot little elves and Ms Claus wandering around uptown last Saturday night. But is this really what we want Christmas to be about? BTW I don't think elves wear fishnet stockings, just saying.

Then there are the fun folks at Guilty Pleasures in North Charleston, SC.

They thought is would be a good idea to be a part of the Mt. Pleasant Christmas Parade.


Well some of the parents who brought their toddlers out to see the parade were less than thrilled with the X rated theme, although admittedly the kids saw Santa and a bus and the adult message was over their heads. When the parade started the owners of "Cool Bus" a Charleston party bus unfurled the Guilty Pleasures banners that covered both sides of the bus.

The town of Mt. Pleasant responded by saying they "neither sanctioned nor approved the advertising. The party responsible for the float failed to disclose its inclusion on the required entry form and displayed the sign without notice to Town officials. We do not support the adult-themed advertising presented on the float. The language was contrary to the family-friendly nature of the parade and brought controversy to an otherwise exceptional parade."

Owner of the Cool Bus Tom Gibbs said he doesn't understand what is offensive about the advertisement.
"All we heard was positive feedback, to include the other people in the parade, the people along the parade, the mayor was next to this sign last night," Gibbs explained. "If somehow that was offensive, I think it would have been addressed before we got in the parade."

Cedar's Take: Forget the "putting Christ back in Christmas, that idea is long gone. Or the push of the "Church vs State" crowd, these are battles that have been lost to the ages. I'm ok with "Happy Holidays" vs Merry Christmas and even those people who text me Merry XMas.

But when I attend a bank Christmas Party were the president hires a cross dressing female impersonator. (Though he/she does a really good Joan Rivers) I'm just a little shocked.





9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sure would be nice if you would dig a little deeper every now and then instead of always listening to your police insiders. The truth is not always obvious.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure how much more you need to dig.

Four of what could pass for 20 dollar street whores get all bad ass and get arrested. Sounds about right.

These NBA players must be on the low end of the pay scale. Otherwise they would have white wives and not have to deal with this crap.

Anonymous said...

The players with white wives dont deal with this. That is why they marry white women. Just ask any black man. I have had several tell me this personally.

Anonymous said...

I think 5:14 was speaking to the Jerry Orr story. My guess there is no room for the officers now with the construction project going on.

Could be but even that is lame.

Anonymous said...

Stacey Simms she was AllRight!

Anonymous said...

Hope Stacey returns to do the news on WBT this is a big loss for Charlotte.

Anonymous said...

Jerry Orr is a loose cannon. How many weeks has it been since he cancelled all the CMPD access cards at the airport while throwing one of his tantrums? No, this is gonna get ugly and then he is going to retire... that is how this is going to go.

Anonymous said...

Misogynist.

Anonymous said...

Stacey Simms was one of the best. But radio is a dying business, most of the glamor is gone and nearly all the money.

The crazy days of huge giveaways and wild contests are over, as are the crowds of adoring fans for DJ's

When talk radio became a mainstay it was the start of the end. Talk radio was the sign, from there is was down hill and we are still sliding.

XM and Pandora are low overhead operations with now the majority of listeners.

But good luck Staey you will do well in whatever you do.