English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Cary, NC

Mariah Carey may not be able to legally claim to be the sole "Queen of Christmas" — but she can say that she (kinda) has a town named after her.

Cary is a populous town in North Carolina with a history long before the R&B star, have been founded in 1750. The town's name is pronounced the same as Carey, so Mayor Harold Weinbrecht decided to lean into it and honor the singer's legacy.

Weinbrecht took to the airwaves on local station Mix 101.5 to declare that on Nov. 1, the town will be renamed "Carey" for "One Sweet Day," a play on Carey's hit song. After all, the town just needs one extra letter. In an Instagram video, a woman is seen adding a lit "E" in the town's name. Other photos in the collection show the proud mayor posing with the official proclamation.

"This is amazing!!! I’m so honored!!" Carey, 55, replied in the town's Instagram comments. "Can’t wait to be in North Carolina next month!! ❤️"

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The temporary annual change is said to honor "the holiday magic that she brings each year," and it's a role Carey takes very seriously.

On Nov. 1, the same day Cary announced the name change and a day after Halloween, the "Emotions" singer dropped an Addams Family-inspired video to announce that the holiday season has begun. The countdown in the video turns the dark and gloomy set into a Christmas wonderland, and Carey is of course dressed in the fur-lined red dress similar to the one on her Merry Christmas album cover.

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And the superstar went step further in honor of the 30th anniversary of her best-selling Christmas album by launching an Amazon storefront. On Nov. 4, two days before she embarks on her Christmas Time Tour, Carey released a collection of holiday decorations, gift picks and merchandise.

There's even a massive lawn inflatable with Carey herself navigating reindeer on a sleigh.

If you don't have a lawn, you can also bask in Carey's holiday spirit by visiting her newly unveiled wax figure at Madame Tussauds in New York. On Nov. 3, the singer visited the figure and was taken aback by the resemblance. The museum opted to forgo her classic fur-lined dress in favor of a sparkly red gown with a deep plunge similar to the look she wears in her 2020 Apple TV+ holiday special, Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas.

According to a press release from the museum, Carey loved the display, saying, "Oh my gosh, it’s surreal. Very good!"

For “One Sweet Day,” the town of Cary will be spelled “Carey” to honor the “Queen of Christmas.”

Grammy award-winning singer Mariah Carey called into Triangle radio station Mix 101.5FM Friday morning to help kick off the holiday season with Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, who proclaimed the town would have a special spelling for the day.

“I need to move there, maybe,” Carey said after Weinbrecht read part of the proclamation. “That’s was amazing. ... My father would have been so proud.”

The document said Carey’s 1994 song, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” inspires people around the world with “holiday cheer.”

“This day commemorates our community’s dedication to spreading the spirit of love, joy, and togetherness to all just like the message in Ms. Carey’s unforgettable hit,” the proclamation read.

The town also announced a karaoke event, Mariah Careyoke, on Nov. 22 in Downtown Cary Park with all the singer’s famous hits. Singers will be judged by the Mix 101.5 radio hosts Kyle Smelser, Bryan Lord and Sarah King.

The top performer will win tickets to see Carey perform her Christmas concert in Raleigh on Dec. 9 at the Lenovo Center.

Among Carey’s titles, she is known as the “Songbird Supreme” for her songwriting talents and five-octave vocal range and whistle register, the highest register of the human voice.

She released her first self-titled album in 1990 and her first five singles reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart including “Vision of Love,” “Love Takes Time,” and “Someday.”

She is also known for R&B hits “Emotions,” “Make it Happen,” and “One Sweet Day,” sung with R&B group Boys II Men.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” topped the Billboard chart during three of the last four holiday seasons, ceding the top spot last year to Brenda Lee’s 1954 hit “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Billboard reported.

On Friday, Carey signaled the end to her song’s annual hibernation with a new opening to its video. In it she portrays Morticia Addams before opening a dresser bureau to reveal a red dress and announcing, “It’s time.”

Tickets to Carey’s Christmas show in Raleigh are on sale now at lenovocenter.com.

This story was originally published November 1, 2024, 12:20 PM.

Cary voters consider two bonds that could shape town's futureCary's population is fast approaching 200,000 with the town putting two bonds on the ballot that could shape...

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The town of Cary looked a lot different when James Powers moved here 38 years ago.

"Right down the street here is High House Road and Cary Parkway. That was gravel when I moved here. There was no road to the left, no road to the right," said Powers, standing outside the Cary Senior Center Thursday afternoon.

Today, the town's population is fast approaching 200,000 residents, with the town putting two bonds on the ballot that could shape how the town looks over the coming decades.

The first measure is a $30 million housing bond, which would help expand housing options, property acquisition, preserve affordable housing supply, provide rehabilitation gap financing for property owners who rent multi-family units, amongst other efforts to ease access to home ownership.

"It's kind of a no-brainer. I actually wish it was slightly larger than this because I really need to think about and work on making Cary more affordable for people who work here. Firefighters, teachers, just regular people like us need to have an affordable place to stay," said resident Mona Singh.

"It only serves to improve the community, which I think in the long run makes it more diverse and more valuable," added Jeff Jefferson.

However, some voters feel there were more effective ways to address population growth.

"I would hope that there is another solution to help people with the housing and everything without raising taxes so much and so quickly," said Sandy Joiner.

"If you constantly are raising the taxes and everything else, the property values to go up and then guess what? It's out of reach for most people," added Powers.

According to Zillow, the median sales price as of August 31st in Cary was $612,000, with home values increasing by 60% over the past five years.

It only serves to improve the communityJeff Jefferson, Lives in Cary

The second bond has garnered far more reaction: a $560 million measure that covers six parks and recreation projects. The projects include $10 million for an Asian Garden Master Plan, $60 million to expand the Cary Tennis Park and add new pickleball courts, $150 million for the Mills Park Community Center in western Cary, $10 million for the Nature Park Master Plan, $300 million for a Sports and Recreation Community Center in the South Hills District, and $30 million towards the Walnut Creek Greenway.

"The Cary Parks and Rec was able to provide (my children) with extracurricular activities, you know, sports, whether it was soccer or softball or baseball. And we need to continue to do that because it gives the kids something to do and they learn a lot of things by participating in sports," said Steve Assaid.

"My son played in the Cary Rec leagues and thought that did a lot for his personal development," added Jefferson.

However, the size and amount of the bond has led some taxpayers to balk.

"Raising taxes too quickly for six different projects. If it was one project, one at a time, maybe raise it a little bit. You know, I can understand that. But when they roll it all into one, I'm not ready for my taxes to go up again so quickly," said Joiner.

"I was concerned about spending. Obviously, we have to pay back these bonds and they get paid back out of property taxes. So I'm looking at the future and also concerned about the fact that our downtown park, which was budgeted in the 2019 bond for $50 million, ended up costing $69 million," added Mary Collins.

Collins created a website, laying out her reasoning why she opposed the measure. Like Joiner, she acknowledged the value of parks and recreation, specifically praising the Mills Park Community Center plan. However, the number of projects in one bond ultimately was a deterrent for Collins.

We have to pay back these bonds and they get paid back out of property taxes.Mary Collins, Lives in Cary

"I like young people and I want a vibrant community. Problem I have is that we're being basically told (to) build these things in anticipation of the future, but we don't have a prudent budget. We don't have a sound way to pay for them without causing all of the taxpayers, the community of taxpayers here now to have to foot this bill," said Collins.

Assistant Town Manager Danna Widmar says the town has historically put forward individual bond measures which include several projects.

"We do believe that the projects are widespread enough that they appeal to a good majority of our citizens," said Widdmar.

SEE ALSO | ABC11 2024 Your Voice Your Vote Voter Guide

If both bonds are approved, Cary's property tax rate would increase by nine cents per $100 of assessed property value; of that amount 8.5 cents is from the parks and recreation bond, and half a cent is from the housing bond. The current increase would be three cents in the 2026 calendar year, three more cents in the 2028 calendar year, and three additional cents in the 2030 calendar year. The parks and recreation bond does not cover operating costs, which the town says would likely be paid for through additional property tax increases.

"There's a long history of the projects that are on the parks and rec bond. When you look at the specifics, there's decades-old proposals associated with them, some master plans that go back quite a range of years that have identified these projects. And so really that's the reasoning. It really is kind of moving into this next generation of projects which includes new facilities. As it relates to the housing, we've done a lot of work over the last several years. We approved our Imagine Cary Community Plan in 2017 and then our housing plan in 2021, and that housing plan got much more specific for where we are going, and what we are doing and the development of housing. And so this is just the next logical point of improvement associated with our housing," Widdmar explained.

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CARY, N.C. (theACC.com) – NC State will host the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday, November 1, at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The Men’s 8k Championship will begin at 9:40 a.m. ET, following by the Women’s 6k Championship at 10:30 a.m. ET. ACC Network will have live coverage of both races, beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET.

The women’s championship will be the first ACC Championship to feature all 18 of the ACC’s member institutions. California, Stanford and SMU officially joined the ACC this summer, bringing the league’s member institution total from 15 to 18.

All information regarding the ACC Cross Country Championships can be found on the ACC’s Championship page, including broadcast link, live results, course maps and more.

NC State looks to claim their league-record ninth straight ACC Women’s Cross Country championship on its home course. North Carolina looks to defend its ACC Men’s Cross Country Championship from 2023 and push its league-record team titles to 17. The Tar Heels’ Parker Wolfe will look to repeat as the individual champion in 2024, while Notre Dame’s Carter Solomon looks to reclaim the crown after winning in 2022. On the women’s side, NC State has also won each of the last five individual championships.

The ACC leads all conferences with 13 teams ranked in the USTFCCCA Polls. Women’s cross country leads the way with eight ranked teams, including No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 10 NC State in the top 10. Also appearing in the rankings are No. 13 Florida State, No. 15 Stanford, No. 19 North Carolina, No. 21 Virginia, No. 23 Syracuse and No. 30 Boston College. Six ACC men’s cross country teams are ranked including No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 10 Notre Dame in the top 10. Also ranked are No. 12 Syracuse, No. 13 North Carolina and No. 16 Virginia.

Noting ACC Cross Country

Women’s Performer of the Week Sept. 3 - Sophia Kennedy, Stanford Sept. 10 – Silvia Jelelgo, Clemson Sept. 17 – Brynn Brown, North Carolina Sept. 24 – Judy Kosgei, Clemson Oct. 1 – Zofia Dudek, Stanford Oct. 8 – Jane Eiselstein, Florida State Oct. 15 – Grace Wassell, Wake Forest Oct. 22 – Grace Hartman, NC State

Men’s Performer of the Week Sept. 3 – Justin Wachtel, Virginia Sept. 10 – Nicholas Kipchirchir, Virginia Tech Sept. 17 – Sam Lawler, Syracuse Sept. 24 – Carter Solomon, Notre Dame Oct. 1 – Parker Wolfe, North Carolina Oct. 8 – Kaden Levings, Florida State Oct. 15 – Lucas Bouquot, Florida State Oct. 22 – Cole Sprout, Stanford

Women’s Freshman of the Week Sept. 3 – Lily Guinn, Florida State Sept. 10 – Silvia Jelelgo, Clemson Sept. 17 – Nancy Chepleting, Louisville Sept. 24 – Sharon Chepchirchir, Virginia Tech Oct. 1 – Jayden Harberts, Syracuse Oct. 8 – Silvia Jelelgo, Clemson Oct. 15 – Nicole Dinan, Florida State Oct. 22 – Tatum David, Virginia

Men’s Freshman of the Week Sept. 3 – N/A Sept. 10 – Nicholas Kipchirchir, Virginia Tech Sept. 17 – Jacob Laner, North Carolina and Geoffrey Kirwa, Louisville Sept. 24 – Nicholas Kipchirchir, Virginia Tech Oct. 1 – Paul Bereron, Stanford Oct. 8 – Drew Griffith, Notre Dame Oct. 15 – N/A Oct. 22 – Paul Bergeron, Stanford

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action this Friday as they host the 2024 ACC Cross Country Championships in Cary, N.C.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP MEET INFO:

Date: Friday, November 1, 2024

Location: WakeMed Soccer Park (Directions)

Schedule: CLICK HERE

Live Stream: ACCN

Live Results: CLICK HERE

KEEPING THE STREAK

The women's team is aiming for its ninth consecutive ACC championship this year. Juniors Grace Hartman and Hannah Gapes, both members of the 2024 championship team, return to help NC State defend the title. Hartman finished 19th last year with a time of 20:21.4, while Gapes placed 26th with a time of 20:35.2.

The men's team finished eighth last year. Brett Gardner and Toby Gualter contributed to the team's performance, with Gardner finishing 44th (24:12.2) and Gualter placing 40th (24:09.6).

LAST TIME OUT

The Wolfpack last competed at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, where the women finished seventh and the men 26th. Junior Grace Hartman led the women for the third consecutive meet, finishing sixth in the 6K with a time of 19:15.2. Hannah Gapes followed closely, placing eighth at 19:31.0. Senior Brett Gardner led the men's team with a 31st-place finish, recording a time of 23:18.2, while Toby Gualter finished 125th (24:06.3). Freshmen Ellie Shea and Noah Valyo also made contributions to the team's performance at Pre-Nationals. Shea was the fifth member of the Pack to cross the line, finishing 111th with a time of 20:41.5, and Valyo came in fourth for NC State, finishing 167th (24:24.6).

PACK IN THE POLLS

The Wolfpack women are currently ranked No. 1 in the Southeast Region and 10th nationally according to the USTFCCCA National Polls. The men currently sit at eighth in the Southeast Region.

ACC WEEKLY HONORS

Grace Hartman earned her first ACC weekly honor when she was named the ACC Women's Performer of the Week on Oct. 22, 2024, the league announced. She achieved the fastest finish by an NC State runner at the Zimmer Championship Course with a time of 19:15.2, finishing sixth at the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, and is now the sixth-fastest to ever complete the course.