RPD kicks off Women’s History Month with new pledge
Despite the fact that our fair city’s police chief is a female, the Raleigh Police Department is currently made up of only 12% women—a sobering statistic. To counter that stat, RPD is taking action to increase the number of women behind the badge. In celebration of Women’s History Month, the department announced it has taken the 30×30 Pledge to improve the representation and experiences of women in law enforcement and advance women in policing.
The Pledge serves as the foundation of the 3×30 Initiative, a coalition of police leaders, researchers and professional organizations whose goal is to reach 30% of women in police recruit classes by 2030. These principles apply to all demographic diversity in policing, not just gender.
By taking the 30×30 Pledge, RPD will assess the current state of its gender equity, identify factors that may be driving any disparities, and develop and implement strategies and solutions to eliminate barriers—think addressing recruitment, assessment, hiring, retention, promotion and agency culture.
Not only will bringing more women onto the force increase diversity, but research suggests female officers also use less excessive force; are named in fewer complaints and lawsuits; are perceived by communities as more honest and compassionate; and see better outcomes for crime victims, especially in sexual assault cases.
“Women bring unique skills, communication styles, and a level of maternal care and compassion that is needed for public safety,” Chief Estella Patterson tells Raleigh Magazine. “It takes a diversity of individuals to provide the best service to our community. Increasing women in law enforcement will bring us closer to reflecting the community we serve. And that is why the Raleigh Police Department is committing to the 30×30 Pledge.” For that, we salute you.
EXCLUSIVE: Chef Lon Bounsanga of Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana is opening his own restaurant in Downtown Cary.
Lon Bounsanga, who’s helmed both Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana’s kitchens for the last decade, is ready to break out on his own. The longtime executive chef is leaving the Downtown Raleigh restaurants at the end of May to open his own Laotian restaurant this fall. Beyond a vibrant food & bev program, SAAP (which translates to delicious) adds location to its allure—poised to be positioned on the first floor of The Walker, a luxury apartment building on the edge of the new Downtown Cary Park.
“It’s the right time for me,” said Bounsanga in an exclusive interview with Raleigh Magazine. “All the ingredients and resources are available to make this dream a reality.”
Downtown Cary Park
The Vientiane, Laos, native cut his teeth in restaurant kitchens as a teenager before being hired in 2012 to open Bida Manda—one of only a handful of Laotian restaurants in the country at the time. In 2017, he became the executive chef at Bhavana, which was featured in the likes of Forbes and Bon Appetit.
Along with those highs, Bounsanga also faced some irreproachable lows during his tenure at the two beleaguered restaurants. In 2020, the restaurants’ co-owner and general manager Vansana “Van” Nolintha and beverage director Jordan Hester were accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace conduct, sending shockwaves through the hospitality community—and almost leading to the restaurants’ demise. Following the accusations, Nolintha stepped away from any involvement in the restaurants and Hester, who was fired, pled guilty to associated charges in court (note: Bounsanga was not one of the accused employees).
Despite the collateral damage, Bounsanga kept his head down and respectfully stayed the course, continuing to churn out great product that has since reinvigorated the duo of sup spots (Bhavana was named among Raleigh Mag’s 2022 25 Best Restaurants) and learn how to metaphorically make lemonade out of lemons.
“I’ve always cared genuinely about my team,” he said. “When things got rough, I wanted to support my staff at both restaurants. My only goal was to stay strong and reassure my people until we could reopen the restaurants.”
Bounsanga maintains the culture at SAAP will be just as much a priority as the dishes and drinks, with plans to support all aspects of a secure and respectful environment, and offer competitive wages and benefits that’ll be able to attract a top-notch team.
“What I have learned [from my time at Bida Manda/Brewery Bhavana] is you need to create a great work environment to run a successful restaurant,” he said. “Above all, we will provide strong human resources support to make sure people thrive and grow with us. It’s not
just a promise—it’s what I aspire to provide as a chef-owner.”
Meanwhile, SAAP’s menu will feature the fresh, clean Laotian cuisine for which Bounsanga is known—and folks have come to love.
“Just as you would expect to see French onion soup and croque monsieur on the menu of every French restaurant, green papaya salad and crispy pork belly soup are iconic Laotian dishes you will definitely see on the menu at SAAP,” he said. Crispy rice, satays, curries and more will also grace the offerings.
The variety of delicious dishes, Bounsanga adds, will be designed in a way that guests can sample and share, while the bar will serve wine, beer, and handcrafted mocktails and cocktails that pair perfectly with his fare. Menu items for easy enjoyment in the park are an added bonus.
“I think Laotian food—which is influenced by Indian, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines—is a perfect fit for a community as diverse as Cary,” said Bounsanga. “So when Bill Zahn, who is very involved in Downtown Cary projects, approached me about opening a restaurant next to what is going to be a world-class park, it immediately made sense. Who could pass up that opportunity?”
For his part, Zahn says: “We have been holding onto two restaurant spaces at The Walker for the right chefs and great concepts. I was thoroughly impressed with chef Lon Bounsanga. Not only is his food phenomenal, but his kitchen is one of the happiest workplaces I’ve ever seen. I’m excited to be able to partner with chef Lon and bring his amazing food to one of our spaces in Downtown Cary.”
Getting a ticket has never been harder—here’s how to arm yourself for the battle.
“Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the problem, it’s me.’” This is just one of the many Taylor Swift song references U.S. senators made during the three-hour congressional hearing held late last year following the nightmarish experience fans (aka Swifties) endured trying to score tickets to her Eras Tour. … If you were one of the many people who waited in sometimes seven-hour-plus queues to score tix—only to have Ticketmaster cancel sales to the general public after extremely high demand—you know the incident all too well.
The T. Swift ticketing fiasco not only “broke live music,” but shined a spotlight on Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation Entertainment’s monopoly over concert ticketing.
“When you’re Live Nation and you have Ticketmaster as one of your companies, you own the relationship with the artist; you very often own the venue the artist is going to; and you own the ticketing,” says a local industry expert (who, along with their industry peers, asked to remain anonymous because the issue is so volatile). “Artists feel they cannot back out of this because if they don’t work with Live Nation, they’re not going to get the tours they want. And the building that’s owned by Live Nation has zero incentive to have anyone other than Ticketmaster do their ticketing because of the fees, so they’re allowed to play around with the prices. It’s the definition of a monopoly—and it’s the definition of unfair.”
Now, Queen Bey—aka now the most decorated artist in Grammy history (!)—is going on tour, and fans are yet again poised to flood ticketing sites in search of tickets to what might be the most highly anticipated concert of the year (Swifties, don’t @ us)—and will put Ticketmaster’s new verified fan system (fans will receive a code to join a lottery to get tickets) to the test. And though T. Swift fans brought Ticketmaster to court, “if you do the BeyHive dirty, all hell will break loose,” joked Entertainment Tonight co-host Kevin Frazier.
With Ticketmaster under fire and concert tickets about as hard to come by as cheap eggs (the next thing Swifties should tackle, according to Trevor Noah)—not to mention as expensive as your monthly rent payment—we took a deep dive into alternate ticketing websites and rounded up some helpful tips and tricks from local industry experts.
How to get tickets before they sell out?
Get on the email list of your local venues and fave artists. Many artists—as well as some major credit card companies—often offer presale access.
How to avoid buying resale tickets when first-sells are still available?
Either go through the venue’s website or the artist’s website—those will lead you to those primary ticket sources. Pay attention to the filters on your seat search and sort. Oftentimes, ‘best available’ is the automatic selection, but the best available might be resale tickets. And if a ticket price seems too high, that could be a sign of something fishy.
How to avoid getting scammed?
Beware of websites or individuals selling Verified Fan registrations, presale codes or lottery access; and persons who will not do a secure transaction. Know what kind of ticket applies to the venue, and make sure that’s what you’re getting. Additionally, always pay with a credit card (as opposed to debit card).
How to know if it’s a legit ticket site?
If you’re using Google, the first three or four links are often sponsored ads from third-party sellers. Also look out for ‘speculative ticketing,’ when third-party websites show tickets for sale before any presale or on-sale has occurred.
Why are there so many fees?!
In most contracts with artists, the maximum amount of money a venue can make is about 15% of the gross of the concert—so 85% goes to the artist—and if the show underperforms, the venue takes the hit. Many venues tack on fees as the extra couple dollars they make on those tickets are vital to their operation. The artist gets a percentage of the ticket revenue, but they don’t get a percentage of the fee revenue.
What’s the deal with third-party sites?
Some of these third-party sites came from the idea of ticket buyer freedom, fan freedom. It’s profitable. But a lot of them don’t even go out and buy the ticket ahead of time; they wait for some unsuspecting person to buy a ticket on their site, and they run over to the venue website and buy the ticket and then resell it. The third-party seller helps nobody but the third-party seller. It skews demand, perception and the value of what the ticket should be.
Lizzo, Live Nation
While Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are the leading ladies in the ticketing game, they’re (unfortunately) not coming to Raleigh. So, we chose the next hottest show, Lizzo, and selected a seat in the same section at PNC Arena using different ticketing links to compare and break down the prices.
Ticketmaster From $64.50 Service fees: $23.72 Tax: $1.03 Total: $89.25
SeatGeek From $94 Fees: $36.02 Tax: $9.43 Total: $130.45
Vivid Seats From $97 Service fees: $31.05 Tax + delivery $11.96 Total: $140.01
Ticket City From $97 Service charge: $29.10 Tax + delivery: $17.19 Total: $143.29
Cancer is the No. 1 leading cause of death in dogs—and, in most cases, late diagnosis is to blame. Enter Oncotect, a Raleigh-based biotech business pioneering early screening of canine cancer risks.
Founded by CEO Chan Namgong, the screening test is the recipient of the 2022 NC IDEA MICRO and SEED Grants—one of only three companies awarded both grants in the same year. Inspired by his mom’s early breast cancer diagnosis, Namgong started working on the test 2 1/2 years ago.
Now, Oncotect (formerly known as Animal Cancer Dx) is available at 30 animal hospitals throughout the Triangle and counting. And Namgong, who also serves on the board of the SPCA of Wake County, is hoping to launch a direct-to-consumer option later this year so pet parents can order a testing kit, collect a urine sample at home and send it to Oncotect’s lab to test.
The test reports whether your pooch has low, moderate or high risk of developing cancer. If high, Namgong recommends scheduling a diagnostic test with your vet. For healthy dogs, he encourages annual noninvasive screening starting at age 7—with those higher-risk (typically larger breeds like boxers and goldens) starting at 5 or 6.
Namgong has spoken to many animal specialists and pet owners. “Veterinarians need a tool to easily screen for cancer in pets… and pet owners want to protect their dogs,” he says. “Many owners have lost their dog to cancer, and they all say they wish they’d known sooner so they could provide a better quality of life.”
While treating cancer is an expensive endeavor, Oncotect’s screening test costs only $99–$199 (competitors’ tests run ~$1,000), and the accuracy is 82% true positive and 96% true negative to boot.
“Our mission is to make our test accurate, but also make it simple and accessible to as many pet owners as possible,” says Namgong. “Many dogs get diagnosed too late and they die because of it. Our test allows owners to screen and catch cancer in their pets early.”animalcancerdx.com
This month, Law has partnered with local fave food truck and restaurant Arepa Culture. In order to bring new guests into the biz—and keep them coming back—any person who brings in a receipt from Arepa Culture for $25 or more to BWS can receive $10 off at the spa.
“Our hope is that folks who may have a small order may add a bit more to get them to $25 in order to enjoy the savings,” explains Law. “Guests can use one receipt per service. So, if someone comes in once a week, they can save up receipts and use them for multiple visits at Blue Water Spa.”
A minority-owned and -operated business by a Venezuelan-American family, Arepa Culture opened in 2014 as the Triangle’s first arepa food truck, before expanding its footprint and popularity into a full-blown brick-and-mortar. And Law attests to this success—saying the arepas are “truly amazing!” (The popular eatery is also known for its bowls and cachapas, aka Venezuelan corn pancakes.)
“As a small family-owned business, we are deeply appreciative of the support we are receiving through Blue Water Spa’s Small Helping Small program,” says Arepa Culture CEO Marcel Jera. “Their partnership is not only bringing new customers to Arepa Culture, but it is also reinforcing the importance of supporting local businesses and fostering a sense of community.” Plus, it’s a win-win for customers. … And that is something we all can get behind. bluewaterspa.com,arepaculturenc.com
