Roofing Contractor inGreensboro, NC.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Three days after North Carolina lawmakers filed a bill which would make drag shows illegal in public places, the Guilford Green Foundation hosted the state’s longest-running drag event.

There were more than 400 people inside Piedmont Hall in Greensboro Friday night for drag bingo.

People of all ages filled tables set up inside and watched as drag performers showed off their dancing and singing skills.

“It is especially important for us to give a little love, a little extra love to our drag entertainers right now,” said the host, Brenda the Drag Queen.

Brenda started off the night addressing House Bill 673, which is moving to a committee in the State General Assembly.

Representative Jeff Zenger of Forsyth County filed the bill, which would classify drag performances as adult entertainment. They would not be allowed on public property or in front of an audience with people younger than 18.

“I said…’here’s an easy fix. I’m just going to classify this as adult entertainment,'” Zenger said. “The drag folks still get to do what they want to do. Parents get to have their children protected. Everybody wins.”

Brenda said Zenger told her this is an issue of minor protection.

“That’s where the anger has come from. It’s not been what they’re doing. It’s who they’re doing it for: kids,” Zenger said.

Brenda disagrees, saying drag performances can help young people be exposed to others like them.

“For them to see if this person can sit and read me a story in a floor-length cut sequin gown, I might just be able to go to school on Monday and make it another day in the face of people that call them weird, call them broken,” she said. “That’s why I say it’s literally life-saving for a lot of people.”

Green Queen Bingo has been happening since 2004.

Since that time, the Guilford Green Foundation has raised more than $700,000 to go toward LGBTQ+ organizations.

Online Access GSO Reservation Form

Access Reservation Line: 336-333-6589 Download our Access GSO brochure

Access GSO is the Greensboro Transit Agency's shared-ride transportation service for eligible riders who have a disability that prevents them from riding the fixed route bus.

There are three types of certification granted to eligible Access clients: full, conditional, and temporary certification. Full certification is granted to those who are unable to use the fixed route bus system. Conditional certification is granted to those who are able to use the fixed route bus system, but their disability prohibits 100 percent travel on the bus due to possible barriers for safe travel to or from the bus stop. Temporary certification is granted when a person has a disability that prevents the use of the fixed route bus during the length of their short-term disability.

A client may be eligible for door-to-door or curb-to-curb service once the application and site assessment review are completed. For more in-depth information on using Access, please download an Access Service Brochure in English or en Español or contact us to receive a print copy. You can also download information on the assessment process here.

Door-to-Door Determination With door-to-door service, the driver comes to the door to inform the client that he or she is there to pick the client up. The driver can only wait five minutes for the client to come to the door. If the client does not come to the door, the driver is required to leave and the client is considered a "no-show." The driver will leave a door hanger notice to mark the visit.

Curb-to-Curb Determination With curb-to-curb services, the van comes to the curb of the pick-up location. The driver can only wait five minutes for the client to come out. If the client does not come out to board the van, the driver is required to leave and the client would be considered a "no-show." The driver will leave a door hanger notice to mark the visit.

Access GSO Application Requests To request an application for the Access service, please click below to download pdfs or call 336-373-2166. PART A and PART B must be received for consideration.

If I am approved, what will I receive? Each certified client will receive the following information:

Other Important Information About the Access GSO Program: Service Area and Hours of Operation The service area for Access is the city limits of Greensboro. The hours of operation are:

Saturday and Sunday, 6 am to 10 pm

*Access does not operate on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day or New Year's Day. Service times on other holidays subject to change.

Reservations Process Reservations must be made by 5 pm one day in advance or a client may schedule a trip from one to seven days prior to the desired travel date. For a reservation, call 336-333-6589.

In addition, reservations may also be made online using our user-friendly site.

Pick-Up Time Since Access GSO is a “shared-ride” service, you will be given a ready time of 30 minutes within your requested pick-up time. During this 30-minute pick-up window, the operator may be picking up or dropping off other passengers along the way. If you have an appointment or a specific time to reach or leave your destination, please let the reservationist know this when you make your reservation so the van can get you there on time. Also, when the van arrives to pick you up during the 30-minute window, please be ready. The operator will wait up to five minutes before leaving.

Service Animal Policy Service animals are welcome on Access GSO and GTA transit services. For the comfort and safety of our passengers and operators, please review the policy.

Cancelation Policy You may cancel a trip by calling 336-333-6589 between 8 am and 5 pm, at least one hour in advance. After 5 pm, you may leave a message on the voice mail system to cancel a trip for the next day.

Late Cancelation / No-Show Policy If the van arrives within your pickup window and you do not make your scheduled trip, or you cancel a trip late (less than one hour before your scheduled pick up time), you will be considered a “no-show.” If, however, circumstances are beyond your control, such as you are sick and unable to travel, or you experience an unreasonable delay on the phone trying to cancel your trip, you will not be assessed a “no-show.”

Clients who show a pattern of repeated missed trips will be issued a warning letter in 30-day increments. After which time, the rider may ultimately risk being removed from standing order status. For a complete copy of the Late Cancelation / No-Show policy, please call 336-373-2166 or refer to the Access GSO Ride Guide..

Children / Personal Care Attendant Guidelines Children five years old and younger ride for free on all GTA services, including Access. Children functioning in the capacity of a Personal Care Attendant also ride for free. A family member is regarded as a companion -- not a personal care attendant -- unless the family member is acting in the capacity of a personal care attendant. Companions are asked to pay the required fare. When making a reservation, let the reservationist know you will be traveling with either a personal care attendant or a companion to make sure space is available.

Customer Service Access customer service representative is available Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm to address concerns regarding the Access GSO service. You may call 336-373-7914.

Access GSO Fares Cash Fare ~ $2 ($2.50 beginning January 1, 2023) 10 Ride Punch Card ~ $16 (Individual Purchase 1 Card) ($18 beginning January 1, 2023) 40 Ride Punch Card ~ $52 (Bulk Purchase 4 Cards) ($56 beginning January 1, 2023)

For more information about the City of Greensboro's ADA policies, visit this webpage.

*All fares for Access GSO must be paid in the form of cash, check or UMO card. Credit and debit cards are not accepted.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — For years, Greensboro leaders have worked to revamp the south side of Elm Street.

It seems their efforts are working. But one side is more popular than the other. Most people are coming to the south side of the train tracks. It’s an area where, years ago, there wasn’t much there. Now, people said it’s the place to be in Downtown Greensboro.

“We happen to have a great view of it…every day, we see throngs of people strolling up and down Elm Street,” said Eric Henriksen, the owner of Hidden Gate Brewing Company.

His brewery is the newest business to open on the south side of the Elm Street train tracks.

“We hadn’t planned it to be part of this, but it has just taken off on this side of town,” Henriksen said.

Less than a week after opening, Henriksen is pleased with how many customers he’s seen.

“Right now…on every block, there is something new and happening and exciting and bringing people downtown,” he said.

People of all ages came to explore the area Friday night.

“This end of Elm has really developed well,” said Phyllis Deans, who was on a date night downtown.

The younger crowd likes to bar-hop in the area.

“It’s nice because you can just…hang out at Bearded Goat and get a couple of drinks and then move to another place,” said Skylar Robinson, who lives in Greensboro.

Many people said there’s something for everyone.

“The restaurants are awesome, bringing in some good business,” Deans said. “The vintage shops….jewelry shop. There’s so much to see and do.”

The other side of the train tracks isn’t as busy, but there are some places drawing in crowds.

A spokesperson with Downtown Greensboro Incorporated said there are a few restaurants expected to open in the coming months.

Current owners said any new business benefits all the shops and restaurants on both sides of the Elm Street train tracks.

“The atmosphere is that downtown is the party, not any given place,” Henriksen said.

With all that’s happening on the south side of Elm Street, there’s more on the way. Jake’s Diner is expected to open on Monday.

Downtown Greensboro Incorporated is excited for what’s to come and thrilled with the progress the area has made.

Meet two milestone students of UNC Greensboro’s School of Nursing (SON) Ph.D. program.

Dr. Carrie Doss was the 100th student to successfully defend her dissertation. Serving on her dissertation committee was graduate number one, Dr. Daria Kring.

How it started

In 2008, Dr. Daria Kring made UNCG history by becoming the first graduate of the School of Nursing’s Ph.D. program. A three-time alumna of the School of Nursing, Kring was part of an inaugural 10-student cohort pioneering UNCG’s effort to advance the nursing discipline through scholarly inquiry and research.

A formative experience

Thanks to widespread commitment to the program’s success, Kring and her classmates received a groundswell of support from administrators and faculty. “People were excited to see how we were progressing, so we got a lot of attention and definitely felt special,” she quips.

“The curriculum was new and innovative, and professors were eager to educate in a new field of study. The class and seminar discussions were great as were the references and readings. It was truly one of the most rewarding and formative experiences of my career.”

In pursuit of research

Most of Kring’s peers enrolled in the program with aspirations of academia, but Kring focused on the clinical, finding her place in a hospital setting where she could use her research expertise to impact acute care. After completing an internship with Novant Health, she was hired as its first nurse scientist, a role the hospital created for her.

Since that time, Kring built a team of 30 clinical nurse educators and clinical practice specialists, and now as Vice President of the Center for Professional Practice and Development, she leads her team’s efforts to use evidence-based practice to design nursing care.

Unique twist of fate

Since its 2005 inception, the School of Nursing Ph.D. program has graduated 99 students. In a serendipitous twist of fate, first program graduate Kring served as a dissertation committee member for Doss, the 100^th UNCG student to defend her Ph.D. dissertation.

“We were both so excited that she was the first to graduate, and I was the 100th to defend,” says Doss. “It was a big milestone–one that was just icing on the cake for the day. Maybe I can sit on the committee for the 200th graduate!”

Doss entered the doctoral program in 2018. She admits that at first, she didn’t fully grasp her direction but was drawn to the program’s well-established reputation and flexible design, which allows students to continue working. The program also attracted Doss because it had health systems researchers, and she was interested in research.

Individualized Attention

At UNCG, Doss discovered excellent resources for graduate students. Her cohort of just five students received individualized attention, one-on-one dissertation help, and reliable support from faculty and advisors.

With a graduate certificate in economics of health analytics, Doss focused much of her program analyzing healthcare issues from an economic perspective. She has frequently presented her research and successfully defended her dissertation, titled “Economic Analysis of a Nurse Residency Program on New Graduate Nurse Turnover in a Multi-Site Healthcare System.”

Alumni impacting the industry

Upon graduation, Doss will join an esteemed group of alumni who have positive and measurable impacts on healthcare systems—nurse scientists, deans, health system and policy experts, and faculty members.

This group includes Dr. Kring, a distinguished healthcare leader whose commitment to nursing research in clinical settings has affected quality outcomes, increased nursing satisfaction, and improved patient care.

Upon graduation, Doss will join the Department of Professional Nursing Education at UNCG, and if her current achievements are any indication, it won’t be long before she too makes her mark on the industry and this university.

Curious about a Nursing Career?

Learn More

Story by Leah Thompson, AMBCopyPhotography provided by UNCG School of Nursing

The new mailboxes have a slit, not a pull-down door. The design is a security measure.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — What is going on at Greensboro Post Offices? New mailboxes are going in and changing the direction, flow, and access.

WFMY News 2 viewer Janice wrote in and said:

I tried to mail a letter at the Post Office on Murrow Boulevard. They changed the direction of the mailboxes. I had to get out of the car. Will people have trouble, especially handicapped adults?

#1 DIRECTION

The line of new blue mailboxes at the Murrow Boulevard location are all facing the direction, but it's not the direction they used to face. You now have to get out and step up on a median to go to the box. The drive-thru lane is still there, but it's essentially useless because the boxes don't face the right way.

A USPS spokesperson said in an email:

We continually balance security with customer convenience when determining the location of blue collection boxes. There are also collection boxes inside the lobby of the post office, which is open 24 hours and accessible by wheelchair.

#2 THE NEW BOXES ONLY HAVE A SMALL SLIT

The new blue drop-off mailboxes have a slit. And it's small. There's no pull-down door and there's no opening big enough for a package.

Credit: WFMY & Adobe.Stock.com

The USPS says this new design is for security. but you know what else won't fit in here--something thieves use to steal mail.

2 Wants To Know did a story on a woman whose check was stolen out of a blue mailbox. Security experts at Norton Lifelock explain how thieves use old mailboxes to their advantage.

"They take a water bottle put some sticky stuff on it and kinda go fishing in the mailbox, they swirl it around, the sticky stuff picks up the mail, they pull it out and then they have all this mail," said Paige Hanson of Norton Lifelock.

The new mailboxes make it much harder for thieves to use that water bottle trick versus the older versions. A good rule of thumb to stick with is never to put mail in boxes after pick-up time--to sit overnight gives thieves an opportunity.