Will uptown Charlotte ever be the same? How did COVID-19 impact education for North Carolina’s schoolchildren? Did the pandemic permanently change the way the food and hospitality industry operates? WFAE’s Rebuilding Charlotte series spent 2021 exploring these questions and other big topics as the region tries to recover from the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The impact of COVID-19 on Charlotte’s Black and Latino communities and a local elementary school. A legacy of asbestos contamination in Davidson. Stories of resilience in the face of the pandemic. A deep dive into the cost of the U.S. health care system and a look at the climate cost of North Carolina’s growing wood pellet industry. These were the topics of WFAE’s special series this year.
Earlier this year we talked with Clifton Freshwater, who is part owner and chef at Freshwaters Restaurant and Bar in uptown Charlotte, to find out how his business was doing during the coronavirus pandemic. We check back in with him at the close of 2021.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library had to adapt to the pandemic by pivoting to virtual and curbside services, and now the library system is rebuilding its Main Library uptown. CEO and Chief Librarian Marcellus Turner talks about plans for construction of the new branch and weathering the pandemic.
Soon, parents will be able to get their children between the ages of 5 and 11 vaccinated against COVID-19. A Novant Health pediatrician talks about how the vaccine rollout will work and lauds the safety and effectiveness of the shot.