A Trifling Place

A Trifling Place, Episode 9: And The Charlotte Accent Is ...

Tasnim Shamma — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:20:46 +0000

Welcome to “A Trifling Place,” a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

So about a month ago, reporter Lisa Miller handed me a book called How To Speak Southern. It has some funny tips on how to exaggerate a Southern drawl – but it wasn't too surprising – I mean, it's pretty easy to identify a Southern accent. But it got me thinking – I have no idea what a Charlottean sounds like. In New York, I can easily tell what part of the city you're from by your accent. In Charlotte, I still can't tell the tourists apart from the people who live here. So that's one reason we launched The Charlotte Accent Project … on a quest to find the one true Charlotte accent.

What's The Charlotte Accent?

Tasnim Shamma — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:14:00 +0000

When you "talk," do you say "tawk" or "tock?" What does it mean to have a Charlotte accent? If you were born in the Charlotte region (or even if you’re a newcomer like me), we want to know what you sound like.

So we've started a new project to collect your voices called The Charlotte Accent Project. We'll publish your recordings and photos on the radio as well as our web site, Tumblr blog, Facebook and Twitter.

A Trifling Place, Episode 8: The Story Behind Those Big Statues On Independence Square

Tasnim Shamma — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:53:32 +0000

OK, lots of cities have a Square. There’s Red Square, Times Square, St. Peter’s Square to name a few.

And then … there’s Independence Square. Where’s that, you ask? Charlotte – at the intersection of Trade and Tryon.

In case you didn’t know, this intersection is where a Native American trading path - Trade Street – crossed what used to be called the Great Wagon Road, which we now know as Tryon.

Today, the intersection is named Independence Square to recognize the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. County leaders signed the document on May 20, 1775, declaring freedom from tyranny … I mean England … more than a year before the Continental Congress did it in Philly.

Four statues at each corner of the intersection further distinguish the square. These statues are the subject of this edition of A Trifling Place.

A Trifling Place, Episode 7: Turn Green Already!

Tasnim Shamma — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:27:12 +0000

Welcome to “A Trifling Place,” a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

Every city has its share of traffic issues. In Charlotte, for example, there are a lot of complaints about rush hour near Ballantyne on I-485. (Relief is coming. That section of the road is scheduled to be expanded to three lanes by December 2014.)

But today we're not talking about the quality of the Charlotte region’s roads. We’ll focus on an issue the Charlotte Department of Transportation has a little more control over: traffic lights.

Charlotte 2024? A Checklist For The Olympics

Tasnim Shamma — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:11:06 +0000

A Trifling Place, Episode 6: When Cankerworms Attack

Tasnim Shamma — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:41:33 +0000

Welcome to "A Trifling Place," a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

In our last episode (Charlotte's Tree Obsession), we ended with this sound bite: "Die, cankerworm, die!"

That's city arborist Donald McSween back in 2008 when WFAE's Lisa Miller followed him on his war against the cankerworms.

He also had some help: citizen soldiers like Sophia Hollingsworth.

"We picked them off and didn’t feel bad at all about mooshing them because we felt it was one less cankerworm," Hollingsworth says. "And I don’t feel bad about any of them dying. It’s the canopy that Charlotte is known for and the trees are more important than the caterpillars. Hate the green monster."

Five years later, the fight against the inch-long creatures continues.

Charlotte: "A Very Trifling Place" (But Not The Only One)

Tasnim Shamma — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:48:00 +0000

WFAE listeners have e-mailed me about how we should probably change the title of this podcast. They find it offensive. One listener says it reminds him of "small, off-the-beaten path, lonely, dismal, dark places" and surely, surely, it's not Charlotte that President George Washington was talking about.

By The Numbers: Charlotte's Trees

Tasnim Shamma — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:06:10 +0000

49: Percent of tree canopy lost between 1995 and 2008
One: Public tree for every seven residents
$11.83: Amount spent per person on its street trees
215: Tree species in the city's inventory. Predominant tree species are willow oak and crapemyrtle
$166: Total benefits of an average street tree
28: Million cubic feet of stormwater intercepted annually
$2.1: Million dollars in stormwater management savings

Episode 5: Charlotte's Tree Obsession

Tasnim Shamma — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:45:51 +0000

Welcome to "A Trifling Place," a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

Of the seven cities I've lived and worked in, Charlotte has got to be most green. When you're getting ready for an airplane landing, it's like you're descending into a forest. Once you're on the ground, you quickly learn trees are a big part of the city's identity.

Episode 4: The Legend Of Concord Mills Mall

Tasnim Shamma — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:47:45 +0000

Welcome to "A Trifling Place," a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

So when I first arrived in Charlotte, I was handed the latest edition of a book called the Insider's Guide to Charlotte. It had the usual highlights you would expect, but then I saw something really strange. It says Concord Mills Mall is the state's top tourist destination.

What?