YES1 Weekly — July 29, 2026 by YES! Weekly

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Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III publisher@yesweekly.com

EDITORIAL

Editor CHANEL R. DAVIS chanel@yesweekly.com

YES! Writers JOHN BATCHELOR MARK BURGER KATEI CRANFORD

LYNN FELDER

JIM LONGWORTH

IAN MCDOWELL

PRODUCTION

Senior Designer ALEX FARMER designer@yesweekly.com

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We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the most comprehensive entertainment and arts coverage in the Triad. YES! Weekly welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however YES! Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. YES! Weekly is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission

3 1703 Restaurant & Catering hosted a wine dinner in June featuring wines from the Loire Valley in France. The host/ speaker was Michael Gibson, who represents the distributor, Monsieur Touton. These wines all came from Sancerre, a Loire Valley village. In that region, all wines are made from sauvignon blanc or pinot noir.

4 The Downtown Arts District Association (DADA) will host its 1ST FRIDAY GALLERY HOP beginning at 7 p.m. August 7 along Trade Street in downtown Winston-Salem.

5 Writer/director Carla Simon’s drama “ROMERIA” is clearly a deeply felt, deeply personal story for the awardwinning, Barcelona-born filmmaker, who based her script on letters and correspondence written by her biological father, Neus Pipo Simon.

6 Earlier this month, Wake Forest University head football coach Jake Dickert and Lost World’s Brewery founder Dave Hamme held a press conference to announce that a new incarnation of DEACON ALE would soon be available at Lowe’s Foods and at Allegacy Stadium during Wake home games.

10 THE GROOVE, who play in the 2,100-seat Novant Health Fieldhouse, hosted league-leading Jacksonville July 25 and 26 and close out the home season Aug. 14 and 15 against the Savannah Steel.

12 Following a warning by N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson to towing services, Triad social media has buzzed with complaints about Greensborobased GOTCHA TOWING & RECOVERY. 13 Summer is flying by! Flush with NEW RELEASES, festivities and celebrations, it’s worth a bird’s-eye view as we head into those hot dog days.

Chow Down with John Batchelor at 1703

BY JOHN BATCHELOR

Wine dinners have become quite popular among area restaurants. These usually follow a theme and bring in guest speakers who provide information about the wines, their terroir, the wineries, and the wine makers. They tend to be multicourse evenings, with wine pairings especially well chosen to match the food.

1703 Restaurant & Catering (1703 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27104, 336-725-5767, 1703restaurant.

com) hosted a wine dinner in June featuring wines from the Loire Valley in France. The host/speaker was Michael Gibson, who represents the distributor, Monsieur Touton.

These wines all came from Sancerre, a Loire Valley village. In that region, all wines are made from sauvignon blanc or pinot noir.

We began with a Cremant reception. A Cremant wine is one that was made using the classic French méthode champenoise, but with grapes that were not grown in the Champagne region. Two wines were poured. Willm Cremant d’Alsace Prestige, a white wine made from red grapes, was paired with Peach Gazpacho, a wonderfully complex, slightly, naturally sweet chilled soup. Willm Cremant d’Alsace Brut Rosé came with a Pimiento Cheese Tartlet with a Shrimp, topped with piccalilli (a vegetable relish in a tangy mustard sauce). The cheese picked up nuances from the pinot noir, but neither the cheese nor the wine obscured the delicate ﬂavor of the grilled shrimp. This winery, pronounced phonetically just as the spelling suggests, was founded in 1896. Both wines were pleasantly crisp, well chosen for a summer night.

The ﬁrst course wine was Domaine Henri Bourgeois ES-56 Sancerre (2024). This winery was orginally founded by monks. Its sauvignon blanc vines are 50-60 years old, planted in silex soil that is 56 million years old, characterized by rocky, crushed seashells. The wine is light and crisp, with ﬂinty minerality. It made Wine Spectator’s top 100 list, at #45. The food course consisted of charred Shishito Peppers,

with a scallop, heirloom tomato and peach morsels, swirled with a jalapeno avocado crema. The peppers give o an initial burnt/charred taste that rapidly gives way to the inherent pepper ﬂavor.

Both the grilled peach and the tomato morsels served the mild scallop ﬂavor well. All came together with the crema blending in. The sauvignon blanc wine was an excellent shellﬁsh match.

Domaine Henri Bourgeious d’Anton Sancerre (2023) led o the second course. This vineyard was ﬁrst planted in 1936. It yields a deeper style sauvignon blanc, maintaining the ﬂinty character while introducing citrus notes of lime and grapefruit. The greater assertiveness was needed in order to go with robust Roasted Tomato Pie, topped with a crisp swirl of prosciutto. And the kitchen nailed the pie crust! The third course bought in two wines, a white and a red. The white, Henri Bourgeois La Côte des Monts Damnés

Sancerre (2024) is grown on an almost vertical slope. It is richer and fruitier, while still maintaining the region’s minerality. Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Rouge (2023) is elegant, with aromas of cherry, slightly astringent on the palate, a function of oak barrels. The kitchen paired these with Pheasant Milanese, pounded thin, dredged in breadcrumbs, and pan-fried to a crisp crust. This was plated with arugula leaves dressed in lemon vinaigrette and slices of black plum, sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese. Both wines went well with it. Dessert, as you might expect, was decadent, in a mercifully small portion. Peach Crisp rested under bourbon butter pecan gelato. An Italian dessert wine — Mura Mura, Ofelia, Moscato Passito Piemonte — concluded the evening with a nose of honey, apricot, and orange, in vibrant acidity. Wines like this are intense. The proverb “a little goes a long way” is applicable.

I consider 1703 one of the Triad’s best restaurants. I go whenever I can, outside professional visits, just because I so enjoy the food and ambience. An Italian wine dinner is scheduled for Sept. 28, a Portuguese holiday dinner for Dec. 7. Mark your calendar and make your reservations!

Meanwhile, go to my blog, johnbatchelordiningandtravel.blogspot.com, and subscribe. I host wine dinners myself from time to time, and they will be posted here. !

JOHN BATCHELOR has been writing about eating and drinking since 1981. Over a thousand of his articles have been published. He is also author of two travel/ cookbooks: “ Chefs of the Coast: Restaurants and Recipes from the North Carolina Coast,” and “ Chefs of the Mountains: Restaurants and Recipes from Western North Carolina.” Contact him at john.e.batchelor@ gmail.com or see his blog, johnbatchelordiningandtravel.blogspot.com.

Domaine Henri Bourgeois ES-56 Sancerre

Willm Willm Cremant d’Alsace Prestige

Mura Mura, Ofelia, Moscato Passito Piemonte

Roasted Tomato Pie

Pheasant Milanese

The Downtown Arts

District Association (DADA) will host its 1st Friday Gallery Hop beginning at 7 p.m. August 7 along Trade Street in downtown Winston-Salem.

The event is free, open to the public, and all ages are encouraged to attend to experience for themselves the considerable and diverse talents of those artists who call Winston-Salem home. This event will include the o cial unveiling of the ﬁrst pieces of the community mural for painting, which will continue during the September and October Gallery Hops (Sept. 4 and Oct. 2, respectively). Those who attend a school group, community club, or other special interest group interested in scheduling a private session to contribute to the mural, email dadawspresident@gmail. com for details.

The 600 block of Trade Street and 200 block of Sixth Street will be closed to

tra c for the Gallery Hops, which begin at 7 p.m. and run until approximately 10 p.m. each night. Galleries schedule art-show openings for the evening, and many local businesses and studios remain open for visitors.

Free parking is available on the 500 block of Trade Street and the 500 and 600 blocks of Liberty Street. The City of Winston-Salem’s pay-to-park is free after 6 p.m., although private pay-to-park lots will still charge for parking. The parking garage located at Sixth and Cherry Streets is $2 for the hop.

“The idea for the community mural developed as DADA tried to ﬁnd a way to get people back down to the arts

district,” explained Marsha McNeely Hierl, the current president of DADA. “We want everyone to realize that there’s something for everyone at the Gallery Hops. The galleries plan openings of new shows on the ﬁrst Fridays, and music and kids’ activities are either in the streets when the hop is blocked or in the galleries and shops or the AFAS [Arts for Art’s Sake] Artivity Park [at 600 N. Liberty St.] when streets are open. And it’s all free!”

currently I am focusing on watercolor and book binding — making books from beginning to end. One of my larger acrylic pieces is currently on display at the AFAS art kiosk located in front of the Artworks Gallery.”

Hierl came to the DADA presidency in a unique way. “I ended up as DADA president because no one else wanted to do it,” she revealed. “I couldn’t stand the idea that an established organization representing the galleries in the district might vanish after so many years, so I said I’d be president for one year. Three years later, DADA has grown and is staging successful Gallery Hops and working to increase foot tra c in the district. DADA represents all the arts — visual and performing. DADA supporters are painters, potters, writers, singers, composers, musicians, and actors. Winston-Salem is full of artists and artist opportunities, making us the City of Arts and Innovation, and having so many colleges and universities in the city contributes to the art atmosphere.

“In 2010, I came to the arts district and opened Studio 7 on Trade Street, a working artist studio establishment with the McNeely Gallery in front to showcase the art[work] of new and upcoming artists. My goal was to give beginning artists their ﬁrst gallery shows. I am an artist but didn’t do so full-time until I retired from the WS/FC [Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County] school system after 30 years. I use all mediums in my art, but

Regarding the community mural, which is scheduled to be completed by April 2027, “DADA received a grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation, enabling us to create a community mural featuring the Downtown Arts District and the city skyline,” Hierl said. “Everyone in Winston-Salem and the surrounding areas are invited to the DADA 1st Friday Gallery Hops in August, September, and October to help paint the mural. We want everyone to have the opportunity to be a part of the mural, to have a stake in the completion of a community project, and to be able to come down to the Downtown Arts District and show others, and say ‘That’s what I painted.’”

As beﬁts its name, the 1st Friday Gallery Hops will be held the ﬁrst Friday of each month all year long, all the better to ensure that Winston-Salem — the City of Arts and Innovation — o ers opportunities for artists and their art to be appreciated and celebrated on an ongoing basis. For those who would like to sponsor a Gallery Hop or make a donation to keep the events going, interested parties can contact dadawspresident@ gmail.com. !

Mark Burger

Contributor

WTOB storefront

Sample of street scene

A ﬁlmmaker ﬁnds her family in ‘Romeria’

Writer/director Carla Simon’s drama

“Romeria” is clearly a deeply felt, deeply personal story for the awardwinning, Barcelona-born filmmaker, who based her script on letters and correspondence written by her biological father, Neus Pipo Simon. In an impressive (and award-winning) feature debut, Llucia Garcia plays Marina, a character based on Simon. Appropriately enough, Marina is a budding filmmaker planning on attending film school. Having been given up for adoption by her biological parents as an infant, she’s spending the summer in Vigo in the company of relatives she has never met before. By doing so, she hopes not only to learn more about her mother and father, but also about herself. Her newfound family are, by and large, friendly and welcoming, but Marina doesn’t quite feel a part of them. They tell her about her parents, thereby filling in some of

the blanks, but it’s also clear that they’re not telling her everything. One thing, however, is certain: Her parents weren’t terribly responsible and, given their various addictions, were clearly incapable of raising her themselves.

“Romeria” is paced very leisurely, but the scenery is gorgeous and Héléne Louvart’s cinematography stunning. The film rests entirely upon the shoulders of young Garcia, who rises to the task admirably. There are other good performances here, particularly José Angel Egido as Marina’s kind grandfather and Alberto Gracia as her uncle Iago (aptly named, perhaps?), who detests the family’s reticence to be totally honest with her (and themselves), but this is Garcia’s film from start to finish.

Midway through, the ﬁlm loses momentum as Simon shifts focus to other family members, pushing Marina to the sidelines — where she least belongs. The shift may be intended to deepen the people and circumstances surrounding her, but it comes perilously close to stalling the narrative altogether.

Nevertheless, Simon puts everything back on track during an ethereal third act, in which Marina “dreams herself” back in time to the early 1980s during the heights — and depths — of her parents’ relationship. Another screen newcomer, Mitch Martin (billed simply as “Mitch”), who plays Marina’s cousin Nuno, also portrays Marina’s father in these scenes, while Garcia herself doubles up by playing her own mother. It’s a risky notion — or gimmick, if you will — but Simon is able to pull it o , thanks once again to Garcia’s talents. The ending, not surprisingly, is a happy one. Marina has found her family — and her place in that family — and she’s able to put the past into a perspective that allows her to move forward with her life, secure in the knowledge that she has accomplished what she set out to do.

(In Spanish, Catalan, French, and Galician with English subtitles) !

Mark Burger

Contributor

What’s wrong with Deacon Ale?

EBY JIM LONGWORTH

arlier this month, Wake Forest University head football coach Jake Dickert and Lost World’s Brewery founder Dave Hamme held a press conference to announce that a new incarnation of Deacon Ale would soon be available at Lowe’s Foods and at Allegacy Stadium during Wake home games. The Deacon mascot was also on hand because it’s his image that appears on each can of ale, along with an illustration of Wait Chapel, both reminders of the university’s Southern Baptist heritage. Given that heritage, it would be easy to take a cheap shot at the irony and hypocrisy of a drinking Deacon, but the more signiﬁcant issue has to do with making the beer seem attractive to young people who support and follow Wake football. Said Dickert, “Our fans need to get on board with this.” His was an innocent enough statement, but one

that is inherently fraught with caution. Here in North Carolina, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase, possess, or consume alcoholic beverages. So, what then is the problem with the manufacture of Deacon Ale? First, thanks to studies by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) dating back over two decades, we know that the majority of Americans think it is wrong for colleges to take money from beer companies. More importantly, survey respondents also believe that beer companies deliberately use sports to reach, inﬂuence, and advertise to persons under the legal drinking age. It’s much like when, in 1923, 26-yearold Paul Perritt was asked why he robs banks. Perritt replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” At the very least, marketing beer via college sports is a legal way of nurturing future customers, but despite state laws, young people under 21 have ready access to beer now

and are already consuming it

According to a 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by NIH, nearly 33% of young people (12.7 million) ages 12 to 20 report that they have consumed an alcoholic beverage. 27% (10.4 million) say they drank in the past year, 13% (3 million) within the past month, and 8% reported recent binge drinking. And according to the CDC, 29% of young people aged 15 to 20 who are killed in motor vehicle crashes have been drinking.

The problem of underage drinking and alcohol use among young adults is not just reﬂected in national statistics. The problem hits closer to home as I learned from a recent conversation with Michael Duncan, director of Forsyth County Behavioral Services.

JL: Why do you say alcohol abuse is a public health issue?

ous as drug overdoses?

MD: They are often more dangerous and for a lot of reasons.

One is they often build up a tolerance to alcohol; then they drink more to get the same e ect, and that can lead to alcohol poisoning, which is deadly.

JL: Are certain age groups more susceptible to alcohol abuse?

MD: One in two Americans drink alcohol. Unlike opioid abuse, it is socially accepted, and it’s readily available.

JL: How much of a problem is alcohol abuse in Forsyth County?

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MD: In 2024, we had 1,741 overdose cases. Of those, 1,583 were alcohol related.

JL: Are alcohol overdoses as danger-

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MD: As we said, alcohol is readily available, and now we’re seeing a rise in binge drinking among young people, college-age, and even high schoolers. They taste alcohol and they drink too much because they don’t know their limit. Duncan’s assessment is backed up by NIH and CSPI research. Currently, 7.2 million college students are binge drinkers, and 44% of students attending a four-year college drink at binge levels. Moreover, each year over 1,800 college students die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, and 150,000 develop an alcohol-related health problem. Aside from individual health risks, there’s also collateral damage resulting from underage drinking. Nearly 100,000 college students are victims of alcohol-related assault or date rape. 25% of all college students have academic problems due to alcohol use, including missing class and receiving poor grades. And, according to Penn State professor Je Hayes, students who are binge drinkers su er with depression and anxiety and are more suicidal.

All of this suggests that it’s probably not a good idea for colleges and universities to promote and encourage drinking, much less proﬁt from selling their own brand of beer.

Some say that drinking alcohol is a rite of passage, but perhaps the time has come for us to take a prohibitive stand on college drinking as a way of preventing alcohol-related problems. The rite of passage is one thing. The right to pass out is another. !

JIM LONGWORTH is the host of Triad Today, airing on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. on ABC45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 11 a.m.

In The Groove: Team closes out inaugural season

BY OGI OVERMAN

It should be no secret to anyone paying attention that women’s basketball is on a meteoric rise in popularity. Propelled in large part by Kaitlyn Clark, A’Ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and a handful of fellow WNBA superstars, what was once strictly a men’s game has blossomed into a fully flowered American beauty. Basketball has taken its place as a major sport in terms of skill level, attendance, and television exposure at both the college and pro level. And the same might be said for women’s sports in general. With more and more young women taking up the roundball sport at an early age, combined with at least some NIL money becoming available in the college ranks, it stands to reason that the desire to continue in their chosen sport would intensify. Problem was, opportunities were limited unless they were willing to try out for one of the many leagues abroad, a daunting task for a young woman fresh out of college.

As the women were looking for an opportunity stateside, so was Zawyer Sports and Entertainment CEO Andy Kaufmann, who decided to provide them one. The result was the Upshot League, a four-team developmental league. The fledgling loop began play in May and includes the Greensboro Groove, Charlotte Crown, Savannah Steel and Jacksonville Wave. They are in the midst of a 34-game schedule, with the top two teams slated to play a one-game championship Aug. 29 in Jacksonville, where Zawyer is headquartered. The conglomerate owns the entire league, as well as several ECHL hockey teams, including the Greensboro Gargoyles.

Coincidentally, Jacksonville is leading the league with a 16-4 record (as of July 25). If the title game were played today, they would face off against Charlotte, at 11-10. Greensboro is nine games behind at 8-15, with Savannah bringing up the rear. Thus, barring a near-miracle stretch run, the Groove will “wait ’til next year.”

That is not to say, however, that the local ladies do not have something to play for. The Upshot League is built around one word — “opportunity” — and these young athletes are making the most of it. While they may be a notch below WNBA level, they are nonetheless intent on leaving it all out on the floor, night in and night out. Virtually all had stellar college careers, and the Upshot League is giving them the chance to live out their dreams at a higher level, as this is the only developmental league in the U.S. It will, in all likelihood, become the rough equiva-

lent of the NBA’s G League, of which the Greensboro Swarm are members.

Some of the team’s bright stars include point guard Diamond Johnson, the club’s leading scorer at a 16-pointper-game clip; Jessica Timmons (13.6 ppg), who played collegiately at N.C. State and Alabama; another N.C. State product, 6-1 Kayla Jones (13.8 ppg and team-leading 6.3 rebounds); Sahara Jones (11.9) from Texas A&M; and Christyn Williams (9.8), who brings a winning attitude, having played for powerhouse UConn.

The Groove are coached by Janice Washington, who also serves as general manager. Her outstanding college coaching career was highlighted by being named CIAA Division II National Coach of the Year in 2022. Over four seasons at the helm of Lincoln University, she compiled a 64-50 record. She played collegiately at Campbell University, where she was the captain her junior and senior years. Her assistant is Trinese Fox.

The fledgling league has ambitious expansion plans. Next year it will add franchises in Nashville and Baltimore, and possibly two more. In 2028, it plans to be a 10- or 12-team loop, and eventually expand to a 30-city league. Next year it will hold its draft immediately after the WNBA selections.

The Groove, who play in the 2,100seat Novant Health Fieldhouse, hosted league-leading Jacksonville July 25 and 26 and close out the home season Aug. 14 and 15 against the Savannah Steel. Gametimes are 7 p.m. for the Friday contest and 4 p.m. for the finale. !

Social media to attorney general: Go after Gotcha

BY IAN MCDOWELL

Following a warning by N.C. Attorney General Je Jackson to towing services, Triad social media has buzzed with complaints about Greensboro-based Gotcha Towing & Recovery.

Located at 4100 Burlington Road, the company provides emergency roadside service but is more famous — or notorious — for what it advertises as “free private property patrol,” meaning it does not charge property owners for towing and impounding unauthorized vehicles.

That’s because its business model is based on aggressively seeking out those vehicles, charging high fees, and only accepting cash.

Greensboro o cials have received complaints about Gotcha for years, particularly when cars are towed from downtown and owners rush to the lot near Sedalia and pay over $400 to retrieve their vehicles, with the threat of additional charges if they don’t arrive by 3 a.m.

That’s what Blake Odum, founder and CEO of the Motivational Foundation, a Greensboro nonproﬁt promoting social mobility and advocating for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, says he encountered on April 15, when he drove his N.C. A&T honor student god-daughter to retrieve her car from Gotcha just before the 3 a.m. deadline.

In an email to Greensboro City Council and City Manager Trey Davis, Odum described the experience.

“After she paid the fee and walked to retrieve her vehicle, I observed male sta members making inappropriate and degrading remarks about her. Not subtle comments, but inappropriate jokes and clearly disrespectful statements. It is unacceptable to subject her to that kind of treatment after placing her in a position where she had to go out to this establishment at that time of morning and pay hundreds of dollars under pressure.”

Odom also described observing a nearcollision involving another car arriving at the lot.

“It was evident that not everyone on the road was in the best condition to be driving, yet the pressure to retrieve vehicles before additional charges were applied was clearly inﬂuencing behavior.”

The person who answered YES!

Weekly’s call to Gotcha’s Greensboro o ce stated that any request for comment should be emailed to gotchatowing. triad@yahoo.com. As of press time, there has been no reply. The Better Business Bureau lists Calvin L. McNeil as company contact for Gotcha, Darrell Lassiter as COO, and Brenda Carmichael as president. Public records indicate that city council At-Large Representative Hugh Holston forwarded Odum’s email to Assistant City Manager Andrea Harrell, with a note stating, “We’ve had complaints regarding Gotcha in the past.” After expressing concern over the alleged treatment of Odum’s goddaughter, Holston asked Harrell if GPD had authority to request the security video and if Gotcha has any contracts with the city.

“We do not have a contract with them,” replied Harrell. “We can certainly relay the complaint to them, but we do not have any authority to review their videos.”

This is not the most recent complaint involving Gotcha towing a car from a downtown lot. On June 8, Joan Dimartino sent Davis an email describing how, on June 6, she drove to Greensboro from Virginia with her disabled sister and 95-year-old mother. While the three women lunched at Natty Greene’s, the car was towed by Gotcha from a lot at 121 McGee St., which public records show as owned by 405 S Greene, LLC.

Dimartino acknowledged she may have parked illegally, but said she never saw any sign warning her not to park in that lot. She described the $405 cost of recovering her car, which “had to be cash-only,” as “outrageous price-gouging.”

Davis forwarded the email to Harrell, Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter and Police Chief Kamran Afzal, stating:

“I replied to her indicating both that we don’t contract with Gotcha Towing, and that we don’t govern private lots. I did provide her with a link to the N.C. Department of Justice where she could communicate her concerns.”

Harrell replied that “there are ongoing and frequent complaints regarding this towing company” and “we can catch up at our next meeting.”

Asked by YES! Weekly what transpired at that meeting, Davis responded:

“We are aware of recent communications from the attorney general’s o ce concerning predatory towing practices. As you know, we have been responsive in the past and remain committed to supporting individuals who encounter these issues in Greensboro. I would note that Andrea and our former chief proactively lobbied our state delegates on this issue.”

On July 15, N.C. Attorney General Je Jackson posted a video to social media with the title “If you own a towing company, listen up.” In it, Jackson stated: “If you don’t follow the rules, you’ll be punished. Take it from A1 Towing in Charlotte, who just found out we had evidence they were towing vehicles they weren’t authorized to tow. They were charging up to $4,000 to release vehicles, they were double-booting vehicles to double their fees, and they were racially targeting the people they towed.”

Nobody has described Gotcha as doing anything illegal, but on local social media, shares of Jackson’s video have received hundreds of comments urging him to, as several have put it, “go after Gotcha next.”

After requesting anonymity, Greensboro police o cers assigned to downtown have also described the company as predatory.

“Customers towed after parking in lot near Dave’s Hot Chicken, hit with cashonly fee,” a May 26, 2025 WFMY News 2 report by Joseph Leonard, quoted drivers towed from an adjacent parking lot while purchasing take-out from Dave’s. They also described Gotcha’s business model as predatory.

Some social media comments about Gotcha have incorrectly stated it’s illegal for fees to be cash-only, a claim also made by Google AI. This misconception may have been created by stalled House Bill 951, End Predatory Towing Fees and Practices, ﬁled in April 2025, and promoted by Je Jackson. After it stalled in committee, Jackson’s focus shifted to House Bill 199, Nonconsensual Booting and Towing Reform, originally introduced in 2024.

Last month, HB 199 was subjected to substitution during a ﬁnance committee meeting, meaning its restrictions on towing were replaced with language changing the bill from addressing predatory towing to establishing de-annexation rules for cities and towns. On June 30, HB 199 received a second “committee substitute” and was sent to the House Rules Committee chaired by Rep. Julia Howard (RDavie). General Assembly records state a committee substitute was adopted, but do not identify which legislator was its author.

Since 2014, when the N.C. Supreme Court ruled that Chapel Hill did not have the authority to set limits on towing fees, municipalities have been prohibited from regulating the industry.

In response to a query from YES! Weekly, Bailey Aldridge, press secretary for Jackson’s o ce, responded:

“Our o ce has received 61 complaints about Gotcha Towing since 2021. We’ve been monitoring consumer complaints against this business and, in the meantime, are attempting to informally mediate the pending complaints in the normal course.”

Complaints about predatory towing can be sent to the N.C. Department of Justice via the portal at https://ncdoj.gov/ﬁle-acomplaint/. !

IAN MCDOWELL is an award-winning author and journalist whose book “I Ain’t Resisting: the City of Greensboro and the Killing of Marcus Smith” was published in September of 2023 by Scuppernong Editions.

Je Jackson

Summertime fun and good music

SBY KATEI CRANFORD

ummer is ﬂying by! Flush with new releases, festivities and celebrations, it’s worth a bird’seye view as we head into those hot dog days.

To the west, the second annual Fly Around Fest will host a “celebration of the natural beauty and musical heritage of this special corner of Western N.C., carrying forward the spirit of Appalachia,” in Lansing, N.C., July 31 through Aug. 1. With a lineup including artists like Jake Xerxes Fussell, Weirs, and Stokedale’s own Murphy Campbell, the festival continues its mission to assist recovery e orts from the damage of hurricane Helene. Bar sales and proceeds from Fly Around Fest will go to restoring the historic campus for Lansing’s Lost Province Center for Cultural Arts. Good music, great cause, hot damn.

Flying a little closer to home, the International Black Theatre Festival is in full swing around Winston-Salem — and the famed organization is partnering with the City of Winston-Salem to present a 2026 round of The Old School Block Party, July 31-Aug. 1 in downtown Winston’s Corpening Plaza.

Free and open to the public, the party will culminate with a Saturday evening performance from the purveyors of Memphis funk and soul, the Bar-Kays (aka Otis-freaking-Redding’s backing band!). Led by James Alexander, the last surviving original member of the group — one of two who narrowly escaped the

fate of that tragic 1967 plane crash and carried on the soulful legacy — the BarKays are integral to the Stax legacy and the world of R&B in the decades that have followed.

Cue Redding’s “Do the Dog,” y’all. Meanwhile, over in Greensboro, the SPCA of the Triad will host the inaugural Ri s for Rescues: a Battle of the Bands fundraiser at the Flat Iron on Aug. 1.

The early-afternoon show will showcase a battle royale of N.C. musicians competing for tail-wagging bragging rights and raising funds for the fourlegged friends out there.

“Every ticket helps animals at SPCA of the Triad get the care, love, and second chances they deserve,” organizers said, dropping a sneak peek of the lineup that includes Ellie K (a Boone-Based poppunk grrrl); the banjo pickin’ outﬁt, O Captain! My Captain!; power trio Televolt; and Planet Pluto, an “edgy cover band from Greensboro” that boasts “sharp acerbic wit” and a veterinarian in their fold!

The competition will be judged by area music professionals and an audience that includes adorable, adoptable dogs as special guests!

Come Aug. 8, the dog days take a backseat as the stoner sludgers in Irata celebrate their new album “Human,” released via Small Stone Records Co. earlier in July. Rounding nearly two decades with a handful of albums and lineup mutations, Irata’s “Human” is a timely exploration through ﬁnal chapters and new beginnings — transformations, atmospheric and grandiose, grounded by

the pulse of heavy bass, hypnotic drums, accented with vocal harmonies and an inherently organic, human experience.

Recorded with fellow humans (and friends) Hunter Allen and Adam Joyce of The Bronzed Chorus at Ampliﬁed Acres in Liberty, N.C., the album was mixed by the masterful J. Robbins at The Magpie Cage in Baltimore, Md.

For the release, they’ll be joined by Raleigh ambient rockers, Gray Young, and Alamance County’s doom punkers, Nathan Arizona and the New Mexicans.

Moving from humans to the hivemind, the dummies in DÖLTZ have henceforth declared August 13 the dawn of a new “DÖLTZ DAY” as they celebrate the release of their ”sophmoronic” second EP, “Total Recharge” with a show at the Flat Iron featuring fellow friends and freaks: SNIDE and Designer.

“Do not be fooled by false sevens and former days,” DÖLTZ proclaimed, rallying their fanbase of “blade wielders” and eschewing the “7/7” moniker attached to their “So Called Free Thinkers” 2025 debut. “A new DÖLTZ DAY is upon us,” they added. Put on your thinking caps and prepare to get dumb.

Ironically, across downtown, Marianne LeGreco and Niesha Douglas will celebrate the ﬁfth anniversary of their scholarly book release “Everybody Eats tells the story of food justice in Greensboro, North Carolina,” with a mini-tour around the Triad that kicks o at the Back Table on Aug. 13.

“We’re celebrating and amplifying voices that connect food, culture, and

community,” said LeGreco, a UNCG Communication Studies professor whose work “centers how communities come together to navigate food access, build healthier food environments, and create more equitable food systems.”

She’s also a ﬁxture in the Triad music community and fabulous photographer who initially launched the book as part of an In the Beat of the Night event featuring a performance from Katie.Blvd. “We liked the idea of supporting Katie again,” LeGreco noted, with the anniversary party serving as a precursor to Blvd’s “Plug and Play” series.

Aiming to extend support as well as celebrate, “we’re digging into the connections between our food and music communities — asking how we can balance our booming creativity with a changing city landscape,” LeGreco explained. “For this stop, all book sales and fundraising opportunities will support mutual aid networks and local music venues.”

“And we’ve got treats!” she added, listing o Black Magnolia snacks along with giveaways for concert tickets, books, and other fun ra e surprises. “It’s all about ongoing conversations around food, music, and community and highlighting the voices, leaders, and storytellers who remind us that we ALL have to eat.”

Don’t go around hungry, y’all. Go enjoy some summertime fun and good music around the state before it ﬂies on by! !

KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who enjoys spotlighting artists and events.

[SALOME’S STARS]

Week of Aug. 3, 2026

[ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A strong social whirl brings a new round of good times to fun-loving Rams and Ewes! Cupid’s also busy aiming arrows at single Lambs who are hoping for a heart-to-heart encounter.

[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) A romantic incident could take a more serious turn if the Divine Bovine considers meeting Cupid’s challenge. Meanwhile, a professional opportunity is also about to turn up!

[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A bit of hardheaded realism could be just what the Twins need at this emotionally challenged time. Face the facts as they are, not as you want them to be. Good luck!

[CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Many opportunities open up, but you need to be aware of their actual pros and cons. Check them all out and make your choice from those that o er more of what you seek.

[LEO (July 23 to August 22) A more stable situation begins, allowing you to feel more secure about making important decisions. Meanwhile, be sure to meet your project deadlines so that you can move on to other things.

[VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Congratulations! A new personal relationship thrives as you learn how to make room in your busy life for this wonderfully warm and exciting emotional experience.

[LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A new contact opens some doors. This is the

good news. But there’s a caution involved: Be sure to protect your rights to your work before showing it to anyone.

[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A former colleague might seek to resume a working partnership. Ask yourself if you need it. If “yes,” get more information. If “no,” respectfully decline the request.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Good times dominate your aspect. So, why not have a party to celebrate a loved one’s success? And do invite a special person you want to get to know better!

[CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) The shy side of the Sea Goat soon gives way to your more assertive self. This should help you when it comes time to speak up for yourself and your achievements.

[AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A new period of stability will help you deal with some recently reworked plans. Once you get your current tasks done, you can devote more time to personal matters.

[PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Things are ﬁnally much more stable these days, so you can restart the process of meeting your well-planned goals with fewer chances of interruption or delay.

[BORN THIS WEEK: You love being the brightest light wherever you are, and people love basking in your warmth and charm!