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INSIDE ▼ Golf Classic supports the business community
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PAGE 3A Friday, June 5, 2026 • Vol. 26 • No. 22
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Playhouse to present 'Hairspray' MATTHEWS – Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts will present “Hairspray” as part of its 30th anniversary season. The musical takes the stage July 10 to 26 at Matthews Community Center, 100 E. McDowell St. Tickets range from $20 to $30. Get them at MatthewsPlayhouse. com or by calling 704-846-8343. Set in 1960s Baltimore, “Hairspray” follows Tracy Turnblad, a teen with big hair and even bigger dreams, as she
fights for her place on a popular dance show. The production is directed by Sidney Horton and choreographed by Rachel Peterson. Matthews Playhouse will offer a Pay What You Can Performance at 7:30 p.m. July 9 with a suggested donation of $10 per person. This production is supported by Kate Clyde’s Catered Creations and Carolina Pets Animal Hospital. Cantina Louie is the restaurant partner.
Celebrating 30 years Secure your seats for Matthews Playhouse's 30th Anniversary Celebration on July 11 at Matthews Playhouse.com or by calling the box office at 704-846-8343. Proceeds from the evening and the silent auction will support the nonprofit’s mission to ensure cultural programming and arts education for the community.
"Charlotte Squawks" delivers satire, sketch comedy and songs inspired by local quirks and culture. Photos courtesy of Blumenthal Arts
Roasting Charlotte culture CHARLOTTE – Traffic, airport security lines, social media drama, rising gas prices and sports teams all have one thing in common. Eventually, they become material for "Charlotte Squawks." Returning for its 21st year, Blumenthal Arts presents the anticipated return of "Charlotte Squawks: Hold My Beer!" now through June 28 at Booth Playhouse, featuring a refreshed lineup of sketches, musical parodies and rapid-fire satire inspired by life in the Queen City. Blending the energy of "Saturday Night Live" and the spectacle of a live musical, the locally written production combines sketch
Senior living is getting better than ever about 35 minutes south of Charlotte at Park Pointe Village.
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comedy, parody songs and audience interaction into a show that changes every year (sometimes, every week). Mike Collins and Brian Kahn created the summer tradition. “Somewhere along the way, we hit a nerve,” said Collins, co-creator and director of "Charlotte Squawks." “Audiences have grown more loyal every year, and that’s incredibly gratifying. There’s something special about a room full of Charlotteans all laughing at the same traffic headache, neighborhood debate or bizarre cultural moment at the same time.”
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Mayor explains I-77 South vote by John Higdon Matthews Mayor
I do want to talk very briefly about a vote that CRTPO (Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization) took last week (May 20) that’s been a lot in the news, and I want to correct some misconceptions. Number one, several media outlets reported that I voted in the manner I did, which was against the (I-77 South Express Lanes) P3 (public private partnership) project, as retribution because Matthews didn’t get the Silver Line. And nothing could be farther from the truth. I did not vote in any particular way because of that. The other thing that is particularly troubling to me is a lot of news outlets are saying, “Woe is us because we’re going to be sitting in congestion forever because we didn’t vote for this.” We had a supermajority. Every elected official on CRTPO from Mecklenburg County voted against this P3 because it’s a terrible project. It would have had exceptionally high fees. Although they were trying to negotiate a lower fee, I was told by a pretty good source that it’d still be $20 to $30 each way. So I don’t think most people can afford $60 a day or $300 a week to ride in toll lanes. Secondly, these express lanes would do nothing meaningful to stop congestion, and all you have to do is go up north on I-77 North, where we built a P3 express lane. Nobody rides in them up there. The tolls are $50 to $60 during peak travel time, so $120 a day. Nobody consequently uses them. That does nothing to address congestion. So, just a terrible project. But we didn’t kill it in a vacuum. I think we need to look at other opportunities to do better things – like possibly using the shoulders during peak travel periods. I think that might be illegal right now, but maybe we can change that law. Using reversible lanes, encouraging high-occupancy vehicle lanes, enforcing rideshare, having more public transit – lots of other options rather than building a 50-year toll road or express lane that will siphon money from this area for the next five decades. I just wanted to have that clarification. The main one is that this project would not have done anything whatsoever meaningful to address congestion. That’s what people, when they come to me and talk about traffic, they are concerned about: congestion. P3 express lanes provide guaranteed travel time if you’re very wealthy. That’s about it. Anybody in the community who has any questions about that, feel free to give me a call. But it was a very bad project that I was happy we were able to put a halt to. Matthews Mayor John Higdon shared these remarks during the May 26 meeting of the Matthews Board of Commissioners.
see SQUAWKS, Page 3A
Advisory committee keeps Matthews connected to veterans by Justin Vick justin@cmgweekly.com
MATTHEWS – Alfred Rivera served in the Air Force from 1965 to 1969, including a 12-month tour in Korat, Thailand during the Vietnam War. He now chairs the Matthews Veterans Advisory Committee, a group that works to keep service members, veterans and families in town engaged. MVAC supports the Matthews Hometown Heroes Banner Program, which puts photos of
active duty service members and veterans on 17-by-36 vinyl banners that are displayed downtown around Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Rivera said they have 51 banners but only 35 can be displayed at one time. MVAC member Mike Schuberth has been in talks with town staff to see if more poles can be used to display all of the banners. The town attorney is reviewing a document from Duke Energy about the issue. Meanwhile, Town of Matthews
Communications Director Maureen Ryan has placed images from the banners on the town’s website for all to see. They are available from the Matthews Veterans Advisory Committee’s page. “This is a great program that needs to be publicized in more creative ways because people only see it if they go on Matthews' website or if at veterans organizations we kind of mention it, especially since there are approximately over 1,400
veterans living in Matthews,” Rivera told town commissioners May 26. “I think these these programs could get better attendance if the word is spread out.” MVAC is also recruiting veterans to participate in the next Queen City Honor Flight in October. Rivera said MVAC will provide $1,000 in funding for Matthews veterans to participate. Four Matthews residents were able to fly to Washington, D.C. during the 2025-26 fiscal year.
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A board member from Queen City Honor Flight recently gave a presentation to American Legion Post 235 about the experience. “A video showed how much the participating veterans of a previous flight appreciated the entire experience and the enthusiasm they received from the crowd at the airports, which was great to see,” Rivera said. “I feel that a greater promotion effort of this event could help engage see VETERANS, Page 3A