[Good News Friday is Cardinal & Pine’s weekly roundup of positive news stories in North Carolina. For past editions, tap here.]
We’ll get to the big news from North Carolina basketball legend Kemba Walker below, but first:
This week brought the end of “Top Chef: Carolinas,” the 23rd season of Bravo’s cooking competition show and the first to highlight the growing culinary scene in Charlotte and elsewhere in the Carolinas, including Greenville, South Carolina, and a great episode in Asheville.
Read More: As the midterms approach, one of the youngest lawmakers in North Carolina reflects on his first term
I had never seen Top Chef as I’m not a big reality show guy, but I watched this season because I’m familiar with some of the folks who were featured in the show, and I’m not lying when I tell you I bought all the way in.
By the time they crowned a winner on Monday night, I was so invested that tears were rolling down my cheeks.
Then on Wednesday I had my own Top Chef experience when I was invited to renowned restaurant L’Ostrica to have a go at the new tasting menu from co-owner and Chef Eric Ferguson, who was featured as a judge on Monday’s season finale.
I was no judge on Wednesday, just a happy customer, as you can see in some of my photos from the evening.
It’s hard to have a bad week when you’re offered a chance to check out the latest concoctions from one of your city’s top chefs. So now let’s check out what else was going on around the state for Good News Friday.
Carowinds debuts world-record flume ride
The team at North Carolina’s biggest amusement park is going bigger, this week unveiling its latest world-record-breaking ride, Rip Roarin’ Falls, one of the tallest water rides ever constructed and home to the world’s first super flume mega drop at more than 100 feet.
In fact, the new Carowinds ride will set three world records when it debuts in 2027: the world’s tallest flume drop (100+ feet), reverse drop (42 feet), and reverse camelback (32 feet).
Set in an abandoned (and likely haunted) lumber mill, guests will board an eight-passenger boat to embark on a 6-minute, 30-second adventure that will send them in both directions through 2,240 feet of surging waters and down two record-setting drops, concluding with a 100-foot plunge that will reach speeds of 50 mph and what’s sure to be a memorable splashdown.
The hype will be crazy with this one, so I think I better get in line now. And if you’re not 35 inches (that’s 2-foot-11), you’ve got a year to get there.
Kemba Walker Sports Academy announces grand opening
Charlotte Hornets all-time leading scorer Kemba Walker clearly has an affinity for the city he once played in.
It wasn’t even 24 hours after his retirement from professional basketball in 2024 that he announced he would be returning to Charlotte to work with the team as a player enhancement coach.
Walker was also quick to begin building connections with youth in the area, launching the Kemba Walker Academy summer league that year.
Later this month, he’ll take the academy to the next level with the opening of Kemba Walker Sports Academy in Concord, featuring four high school basketball courts, eight middle school courts, eight volleyball courts, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning center, and a dedicated team room for film study and performance analysis.
Following a grand opening celebration for the new facility on Friday, June 25, the new venue will host the inaugural Kemba Walker Invitational, welcoming elite teams, coaches, and scouts from around the country.
Walker hopes to position the gym as a premiere hub for tournaments, training, and athletic development in Cabarrus County, a suburb of Charlotte known more for its racing than its hoops.
“This moment means everything to me,” Walker said in a release announcing the grand opening. “This city and this region have given me so much throughout my career. The academy is about creating opportunities—giving young athletes a place to train, compete, and grow into the best version of themselves both on and off the court.”
Rural NC EMS agencies to receive $10 million in state funding
The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) on Monday announced its plan to provide $10 million to 39 local EMS agencies through the NC Rural Health Transformation Program, launched at the close of 2025 to improve health care for rural North Carolinians and their communities.
The funding will go toward tools, training, and resources to support residents with substance use disorders, providing medication for opioid use disorder, supporting rapid follow-up care after overdose events, and connecting individuals to treatment and recovery services, according to a release on Monday.
“Improving access to care starts with investing in our health care providers, including our frontline EMS workforce,” said NC DHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai. “By strengthening EMS-led Mobile Integrated Health programs, we can provide timely treatment, support life-saving recovery, and ultimately reduce preventable overdoses.”
Read the release for a full list of the counties and agencies that will benefit from the funding.
