Below, we have the biggest watermelon I’ve ever heard of, and a promising therapy for veterans, but here’s today’s big news: 

Recently, we learned about ICE’s plan to open a 1,400-bed detention center in Hertford County, NC. 

It would be one of the largest mass detention centers on the East Coast. ICE would put it in an already-existing private prison in Winton that was closed following years of complaints about violence, sexual assault, and understaffing. 

It’s a big deal. And regardless of how you feel about President Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, it represents a major expansion of those plans in NC. 

In a new Billy Ball Explains NC, we dug into ICE’s expansion in NC, the troubled history of this eastern NC prison, and what our state leaders think about it. 

Watch the video here. And don’t forget to hit “like” and “subscribe” so you never miss an update from Cardinal & Pine.  

There’s a troubled private prison contractor behind ICE’s secret plans for a detention center in North Carolina. We dig into it in a new Billy Ball Explains NC. (Graphic by Kelly Lennon)

Thanks for being part of the Cardinal & Pine community. It’s pretty cool to work for you, NC. 

Here’s what is in today’s C&P newsletter:

Thanks to Jamie Etheridge for taking a photo of this heron at Salem Lake in Winston-Salem. Love the reflection.

Have a view from your neck of the woods? Send it to us!

Dr. Jonathan Leake administering a ketamine-infusion treatment for a patient. (Derive Health)

Ketamine is not new. After all, the drug was approved by the FDA in 1970. Shortly after, it was used to treat soldiers in Vietnam. 

But over the years, it faded from view and got a bad reputation for its street use.

Today, some physicians are hopeful that it could be a treatment for some mental health disorders, especially for veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder or treatment-resistant depression. 

It could also be a promising treatment for alcohol abuse.

C&P contributor Karishma Desai has taken a deep look at one local clinic treating NC’s veteran population, which is one of the largest in America. 

The new facility is 1,700 square feet and has four private treatment rooms that are tailored to create a calm atmosphere for patients, writes Desai. 

Read the story here. 

More at Cardinal & Pine:

1. Severe weather causes death in Wake County, downed trees, and power outages across NC. Spectrum News

“Scattered severe storms impacted some communities around North Carolina Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday night. The strongest storms caused mostly straight-line wind damage that downed trees and caused spotty power outages.”

2. Invasive species discovered for 1st time in North Carolina at Charlotte-area home. WBTV

“One state agriculture official, Dr. Bill Foote, described the invasive hornets as an ‘aggressive pest,’ particularly toward honeybees and other pollinators.”

3. NC Senate approves controversial elections bill along party lines. NC Newsline

“The NC Senate moved swiftly to pass two elections bills Tuesday that would alter many aspects of voting from registration to ballot counting.”

Screenshot via Google News, July 25, 1970

As C&P contributor Ryan Pitkin noted, this year’s NC Watermelon Festival in Murfreesboro is billed as the 41st edition. 

But we are sticklers for the truth here at C&P. And we don’t want to shortchange Tarboro’s Ed Weeks, who in 1970 apparently entered a 118-pound melon at something called the “North Carolina Watermelon Festival” and won top prize, according to this blurb from the AP. 

We’d be remiss not to mention John “Speedy” Adams too, who could apparently spit a watermelon seed 29 feet. Are we sure it was “Speedy” and not “Spitty”? 

For more info on this year’s Watermelon Festival—be it 41 years old or more—check out 3 things happening in NC. 

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Billy Ball. I’m an NC native and journalist. I tend to lean left on opinion, but I lean no way on facts. Today’s edition includes stories from Karishma Desai and Ryan Pitkin. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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