North Carolina
North Carolina middle school takes bathroom mirrors away from 'TikTok-addicted' students
Are TikTok trends going too far? If they’re causing a disturbance in schools, then maybe.
We all love a little scroll every now and then, and some of us might even go as far as to upload a clip on the whim.
But it’s not like we’re doing it at school, or work… is it? Well, dear reader, apparently we are.
After middle schoolers in North Carolina couldn’t stop filming TikTok videos in the bathrooms, they’ve now had their mirror privileges revoked.
According to the Alamance-Burlington School System, Southern Alamance Middle School removed the restroom mirrors to deter students from leaving class to shoot clips.
They even detailed how some pupils cut class and visited the bathroom up to nine times a day.
Les Atkins, the public relations officer for the school system, told WFMY: “Students were going to the bathroom for long periods of time and making TikTok videos.”
Atkins went on to explain that the mirrors had been featured a number of times in the videos on the app and that even though it’s an odd punishment, it’s already working.
Atkins said: “Not as many visits to the bathroom, not staying as long and students are held accountable and then when there’s accountability you see a great difference.”
The school district also created a new system for digital passes which allows students to check in and out of class so that the school can track how long they are spending away from the classroom during the day.
According to the school, these ‘adjustments’ that have been made are just one step toward reaching the district’s goal of educating children about what it calls ‘digital citizenship.’
Atkins explained: “We’re trying to educate students: we all have cell phones now. We have to learn to use them. We have to learn when to put them down.”
This news comes just months after experts in the US tech space warned that Gen Z were growing addicted to TikTok and that this reliance was growing.
They argued that the continual scrolling and mindless watching associated with the app would force them into dependence.
The app has since been banned in Montana, which is now the first to do so as they claim to be saving their constituents from ‘Chinese Communist Party surveillance.’
And this is far from the first instance of TikTok being in hot water.
ClaimsHero, a company that says they don’t offer legal services but rather help people ‘communicate with lawyers and support [them] in managing their claim during the arbitration process’, is representing parents who are warning that the popular social media platform is dangerous.
The lawsuit has at least 5,000 parents involved as they want to bring more people on board to raise awareness about the dangers of the app.
The ClaimsHero website reads: “An Algorithm poisoning America’s Youth: TikTok is a weapon targeted at America’s youth. Its search algorithm turns the platform into a drug – featuring relentless violent, sexual, and even suicidal content that targets children as young as 12 years old.”
North Carolina
The North Carolina Arboretum’s “Spring Into the Arb” returns for year two
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The North Carolina Arboretum has announced a new season of “Spring Into the Arb!”
The “Spring Into the Arb!” is in its second year, with its series of plant shows and sales, science and nature activities, music, and art, allowing people to reemerge and reconnect with nature.
The season begins with Nature Play Day on Saturday, March 14, continuing through April, May, and June with new activities every weekend.
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According to a news release, throughout the season, guests can enjoy the following:
- Asheville Orchid Festival, annual Ikebana and Rose shows
- Purchase plants at the Spring Plant Sale and Market
- Get back to their native roots with Native Azalea Day, Mountain Science Expo, and Nature Play Day
The series culminates with Bonsai in the Blue Ridge in June, according to the release.
The release says guests and members are invited to drop in on the newly-opened Arbor Eatery in the Arboretum’s Education Center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Hours extend to 5 p.m. beginning April 1.
Spring Into the Arb events and programs are included with the regular Arboretum parking fee of $25 per vehicle. Arboretum Society Members get in free.
NC ARBORETUM MARKS BIRD DAY WITH WALKS, DEMOS AHEAD OF GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT
According to the release, additional admission is required for the Asheville Orchid Festival and Bonsai in the Blue Ridge.
A full list of the Spring Into the Arb 2026 events includes:
- Nature Play Day: March 14
- Asheville Orchid Festival: March 28 to 29
- Music in the Mountains Day: April 4
- Arbor Day Celebration: April 11
- Native Azalea Day: April 18
- Mountain Science Expo: April 25
- World Bonsai Day: May 9
- Change of Seasons: Spring into Ikebana: May 16 to 17
- The Asheville-Blue Ridge Rose Society Exhibition: May 22 to 24
- The Arb in Focus: 40 Views for 40 Years: Opening May 23
- Spring Plant Sale and Market: May 29 to 30
- Bonsai in the Blue Ridge: June 4 to 7
For more information, visit here.
North Carolina
Michael Jordan North Carolina “Sports Illustrated” cover sells for record $229k
A copy of Michael Jordan’s 1983 “Sports Illustrated” cover debut sold for $229,360 on Saturday night at Goldin, obliterating the previous record for a graded magazine.
Before Saturday, the previous record was the $126,000 paid for Jordan’s 1984 SI debut in a Bulls uniform entitled “A Star Is Born.”
“Sports Illustrated” magazines are very common and people kept them, but collectors narrowed the category by making rarer newsstand copies most collectible, and graded condition of those copies to narrow the most desirable down further.
Then, in July, came PSA to challenge CGC in the grading space.
The record UNC Jordan, with teammate Sam Perkins on the cover, was the only PSA 9.6. The question is, with PSA’s grading just beginning, are there others our there?
It’s possible, but that Jordan issue presents a challenge because it has a gatefold that makes it more challenging to press out defects.
The big price will likely create a group of opportunists who will now take raw subscription copies of this issue and get them graded for potential arbitrage.
But it won’t be that easy. A CGC 8.0 newsstand edition sold for $4,636 in October.
Whether the big price also creates more grading and selling of rare magazines remains to be seen, but PSA’s entrance into the space has definitely turned heads.
PSA has graded more than 50 of this particular issue, the second most commonly graded after the “Star is Born” issue.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country’s leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.
North Carolina
End of 2025-26 NC ski season: Resorts announce closing dates
Warmer temperatures are bringing North Carolina’s ski season to a close, with several mountain resorts announcing closing dates. Beech Mountain will close after its annual Pond Skim on March 14, while Appalachian Ski Mountain plans to stay open through March 15 for its Meltdown Games.
Web Editor : Mark Bergin
Reporter : Eric Miller
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