The best part of my Saturday mornings is meandering the local farmers market. I get to explore new vendors, sample fresh produce and engage with other people in my community. Not only am I investing in my community, but I’m getting fresh food at a great price.
Here are four tips to save some green during your next farmers market visit.
Continue ReadingMoms-to-be and new moms get a lot of baby advice. Although people usually mean well, not all of it is based on fact. Myths about breastfeeding are common. The fact is that breastfeeding is a healthy way to feed your baby. The decision to breastfeed is a personal one, and it should also be an informed one.
In honor of National Breastfeeding Month, we’re busting NINE common breastfeeding myths*.
Continue ReadingOne of the best parts of summer is the opportunity to be active outdoors – whether it’s running, cycling or hiking. It’s also the season for marathons, and when sports teams start practicing for fall. And unfortunately, every year it seems we hear tragic news of a football player losing their life on the field due to heat stroke, or a runner collapsing at a race.
But it’s not just athletes who need to be on the lookout for heat-related illness. Physical exertion in the heat can be dangerous, for all ages. Anyone who spends time being active in the summer needs to be aware. This includes outside laborers such as roofers and landscapers; families visiting a theme park; and children playing outdoors.
Continue ReadingDo you ever wonder what’s important to your government? There is an easy answer – just look at the budget.
While the federal and State governments get a lot of attention for the laws, regulations and policy decisions they make, it’s local governments that administer the programs and services that usually have the most direct, day-to-day impact on people’s lives. Mecklenburg County government is responsible for parks, health programs, operating the jails and much more.
Here are the seven steps the County goes through to determine the annual budget every year.
According to Jacob Allman, his family is what inspires him to come to work every day. In fact, he got his start in his career because of his dad’s influence as a brick mason. All of that exposure to the construction industry from hanging out with his dad on jobs led him to a degree in construction management. Fast forward a few years and a few jobs to his current role with the County as a Code Enforcement Official with the Land Use and Environmental Services Agency (LUESA) – he’s right where he belongs!
Continue ReadingThat’s how Jeanne Williams summed up her 12-year (and counting) career with the County’s Public Health Department. “It’s a commitment – to myself, my colleagues and my community – to improve people’s lives every day.”
Continue ReadingEveryone, from your neighbor to the minivan-driving parent beside you in the school pick-up line, has an opinion about the flu shot. And more importantly, they’re not afraid to share it with you. The best protection against the flu virus is to get vaccinated in the fall. There is still a lot of misinformation about the flu and the flu shot out there.
by Hannah Stutts, Grant Coordinator, Mecklenburg County Public Health
I don’t know about you, but when I’m driving around Charlotte (or stuck in traffic) I soak up everything about our beautiful city. New construction is everywhere, colorful lights paint the skies of uptown, trees and flowers decorate the sidewalks and buses with vibrant ads fill the streets – that’s right, I think the buses are beautiful, too. Especially the 30 buses that are rolling around with this PrEP ad on them.
It’s FINALLY spring, we’re FINALLY getting some warmer temperatures, and the rain is FINALLY washing the pollen away so that when I come home from work I can enjoy the “sit on your back porch with your shoes off and a cold beverage in your hand while your dinner cooks on the grill and you watch your kids play on the swing set and your dog roll in the grass with the flowers blooming all around you” weather. FINALLY!
You know what can ruin those perfect, dreamy springtime evenings on the back porch faster than anything else, though? Mosquitoes. Yep, just like the showers bring the flowers, all that rain combined with the warmer weather also brings mosquitoes.
You can’t turn on the news or look at social media lately without seeing something about the opioid epidemic – deaths are on the rise nationwide, and Mecklenburg County isn’t immune. Over the last ten years, opioid-related deaths in the County have increased by 134 percent – from 26 in 2005 to 61 in 2015.
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