Jeremy Markovich

1 week ago | ncrabbithole.com | Jeremy Markovich

Hey! Guess what! This week, I have several stories in the hopper that I would classify as “Almost Finished,” but none that I would call “Actually Finished.” This perfect storm of unfortunate events which—let’s be honest—is driven by procrastination, happens once every calendar year or so. I’ve referred to this in the past as a Holecane. So! I’m asking you, loyal Rabbit Hole reader, to help me out by putting me on the spot. In the comments, go ahead and ask me a question. About anything.

2 weeks ago | ncrabbithole.com | Jeremy Markovich

Jay Bilas played basketball at Duke and went on to become a well-known college basketball analyst with ESPN. But! He’s also an commercial litigation attorney, and continues to have a listing at Moore & Van Allen, the Charlotte-based firm that he joined in 1992. His bio barely mentions his legal bona fides. It’s just a lot of basketball stuff. I’ve always wondered: What would it be like to square off against Jay Bilas in court?

3 weeks ago | ncrabbithole.com | Jeremy Markovich

When Hannah Dixon and her friend J.C. Carawan were wrapping up this year’s spring semester at UNC Asheville, they made some plans for a summer meetup. Carawan grew up in Winston-Salem and wanted to show her around his hometown. They went to Old Salem. They got beers and pizza at Cugino Forno. Hannah met J.C.’s family and his wiener dog, Albert. That wasn’t all. “One of the most important things we wanted to do was see the Winston Wiener’s lights go off around midnight,” Hannah says.

4 weeks ago | ncrabbithole.com | Jeremy Markovich

Last week, the Trump administration denied what could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Western North Carolina, which is still cleaning up after Hurricane Helene. Basically, FEMA wants to match 90% of the expenses that state and local governments are paying for recovery, which includes debris cleanup. FEMA says it usually only matches 75%, but made an exception for Hurricane Helene. North Carolina wants 100%, which FEMA denied, first in April and again last week after an appeal.

1 month ago | open.substack.com | Jeremy Markovich

Fifty years ago, when the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was a mere 200 years old, a NASCAR PR guy hired some dude, dressed him up like a cast member from Hamilton, put him on a horse, and sent him off on a 600-mile ride from Charlotte to Philadelphia. About halfway through, a local sheriff arrested the rider, Jerry Linker, for “overriding” his horse. Who tipped off the sheriff? Why, it was Humpy Wheeler, the same NASCAR PR guy who’d hired Linker in the first place.