DNScene: Walking around town Sept. 3 …

Ri Ra Rah, but not for Lyndon

Ri Ra Irish Pub on Tryon appeared to have the initials mixed up on its chalkboard, which advertised “LBK Sundays.”

Probably meant “LBJ Sunday,” right? A tribute to the oft-maligned Democratic president responsible for the Great Society, Medicare and, ahem, the Vietnam War?

Nope, it’s no chalkographical error. Ri Ra does “Live Band Karaoke” on Sundays.

For bikes, no gate escape

Road closings, changes to traffic patterns and other security measures have made traversing uptown by bicycle difficult.

On Monday, the barricades lining the major streets of uptown, especially along College Street, coupled with the large number of people walking, required the few cyclists there to dismount frequently.

For instance, there are numerous gates that are part of the city’s infestation of fences. Pedestrians easily passed through the gates, but cyclists had to stop, dismount, walk through the gate, then remount before proceeding.

As of 11:30 a.m., the Charlotte B-Cycle bicycle sharing station on Charlottetowne Avenue, near Metropolitan, had numerous bicycles available, and not many cyclists were riding around center city.

No glasses, but how about a glass of …?

Cops help people in trouble, but on Monday one cop in Charlotte needed some help of his own.

In the morning, as Fasal Dualeh worked in his uptown convenience store, Quarterside Market and Deli, in walked a customer in uniform.

The cop, from an undetermined department, wanted to know if Quarterside sold sunglasses. Apparently, he had lost his while on convention duty.

Unfortunately, Dualeh doesn’t sell sunglasses. But if the cop had wanted a post-shift drink, he would have been in luck: Dualeh said he has stocked up on vino, anticipating big demand for it during the DNC.

What is that line about politics and bedfellows?

On one side of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, FOX News, the president’s nemesis, is dominant, occupying the courtyard at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

On the other side, both literally and philosophically, are modest-sized booths selling Barack Obama T-shirts, buttons and other Obama regalia. The operators have permission of the property owner.

The booths were set up, the operators said, before they knew FOX News would be their neighbor.

Would a guy with a lollipop really shoot?

It was a reminder that it’s not the same Charlotte it was last week.

On Monday, the parking lot of Central Piedmont Community College looked like a junior military base, no doubt because of increased police protection while the Democrats are visiting.

Black metal barriers surround the lot, which faces Seventh Street near its intersection with Charlottetowne Avenue. Inside the barriers, police officers, bedecked in black, stood in a group. It was about 10 a.m. Perhaps they were going over the day’s game plans.

The only way vehicles could enter the lot was if the guy wearing camouflage fatigues allowed it.

In between waving in authorized vehicles, he treated himself to a lollipop, his M-16 slung around his shoulder.

Overhead, a helicopter circled uptown Charlotte.

Contributors: Payton Guion, Deon Roberts and Jim Stasiowski

DNC HQ: Housing the Party
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