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What You Need to Know about North Carolina for July 14, 2014

Explaining North Carolina-food and beverage

North Carolina is quite known for its food. From hosting a number of food capitals, James Beard Award winners, unique dishes and native foods, it’s no surprise that our state legislature has honored a few edible items as our official state foods and beverage. So without further ado, let’s eat them up.

First of all, the General Assembly has named two berries, the strawberry as our official red berry and the blueberry as what else but the blue berry. They were both named in a single session in 2001. Both berries’ economic impact and their health benefits were citied in the resolution. We’re going to skip the strawberry and blueberry pictures, because we know what they look like.

Now, when it comes to our actual state fruit, there’s a solid reason why it was named. The Scuppermong grape was one of the first fruits the Roanoke Colony settlers found. There’s a vine that has been in existence for 400 years. (And a side note to our local bookstore of which the Scuppermong grape is the namesake). It was named as the state fruit at the same time as the state berries in 2001. Take a look at it below. (The Scuppermongs are green).


Muscadines.Scuppernongs” by Dcoetzee at en.wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by User:Majrjejm.. Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Believe it or not, our state beverage is not sweet tea. It’s milk. Why? Well, it appears to follow the pushing of the state’s Milk Commission and 17 other states and was named in 1987. You guys know what milk looks like too, so we’re going to skip that picture.

We are however going to include a pic of our state vegetable, the sweet potato. Named in 1995 as a result of a Wilson County elementary school class project,  it was approved partly due to the student efforts and the health benefits of the vegetable. Because some of us aren’t sure what sweet potatoes look like, we are including a picture of them below.


Ipomoea batatas 006” by LlezOwn work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

For more info on all of these state symbols and why they are what they are, head here.

And now your news.

News Across North Carolina July 14 2014

The News and Record will be profiling Greensboro neighborhoods over the next few weeks.

Reports have surfaced that the Guilford County DSS was told to hide the food stamp backlog from earlier this year.

A profile of a Winston-Salem architect dedicated to historic preservation.

The latest news from the Asheville Twitterverse.

Asheville neighborhoods are fighting back against the effects of foreclosures.

Get to know the new leader of Charlotte Douglas Airport.

How Triangle area entrepreneurs are making the pop-up concept work for them.

A guy is refurbishing old barns as wood floors for celebrities and other high-end clients.

Triangle Transit is beginning seven-day service.

The latest on the potential Fayetteville youth curfew.

HUD has ordered the Robeson County Housing Authority to pay back $1 million dollars.

What’s going on with the formerly Cumberland County-owned Crown Center.

Rockingham County may vote to raise property taxes.

Greensboro hopes to have a new police chief by the end of the year.

There were two classic cars found inside the Cascade Saloon, the old building being restored in downtown Greensboro thanks to Preservation Greensboro.

Just how much water leaks in Asheville daily?

Chatter has began over who will be the next NC Speaker of the House.

The effect of the dwindling Highway Trust Fund on Charlotte-area road projects.

The effect of the food movement on the Charlotte area.

Meanwhile, a Triangle area farmers market is short on farmers.

A historic school building in Topsail Beach will become county offices.

Wilmington is getting a company that promises to bring 1,000 jobs to the area.

Wake County is reassessing its nationally-renowned magnet school system.

The treasures to be found throughout Western North Carolina.

And finally, which one of these songs should represent our state.

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