Ending Alzheimer's and County pols are mad they didn't read their agenda | Hour 1

What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to three on WBT radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to the peak calendar show.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support. And you've heard me talk about the walk to end Alzheimer's. We do this every year. I do it every year. I can't speak for everybody, but I do these every year. The Alzheimer's Association puts these on every year. And I thought it'd be a good time to chat with the executive director of the Alzheimer's Association, North Carolina chapters over all the chapters. In the state. It's the executive director of the Alzheimer's Association, Christine John Fuller. How are you, Christine? I am well, Pete. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely, absolutely. So first off, let's talk a little bit about what the Alzheimer's Association does in general and then, you know, specifically what the state chapters do. Yeah, absolutely. So obviously we cover all of the states across the U.S. and making sure that we are touching base in every community and every city and in every living room as far as our support and services that we do. What that means here in North Carolina, we have two chapters here. one that's on the eastern and the western side, and we literally serve everyone with any kind of need they have related to Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. So that may mean anything from navigating the disease understanding to obviously pointing them in the right direction of local resources and That's also making sure that we are giving people the right information for the psychosocial aspects of the disease. And then also in the midst of that, looking at other things from a research perspective, what can we do from a treatment and a cure standpoint? What can we do to mitigate risk for developing the disease? Putting the best money behind the best science that's out there. And there has been some positive developments, some encouraging developments as of late in I think last year it was lacanamab. I always mispronounce this. Lacanamab? Yeah, lacanamab. And then there was another story that I saw just about a month or so ago about a woman who had taken one of these experimental drugs, and I think now the FDA has approved it, and it reduced or eliminated the plaque buildup in her brain. So exciting developments. It is very exciting. So even when you and I started working together just a few short years ago, we were just on the cusp of having our first FDA-approved treatments that are disease-modifying treatments, meaning they are literally slowing the progression of the disease by that plaque removal that you mentioned. They're anti-amyloid treatments. And I will tell you, it has been amazing because now we have two treatments that in the earliest stages of the disease, literally meaning if you have mild cognitive impairment or the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease can slow the progression. And we are seeing people with really, really incredible, incredible support that they are seeing and improvement that they are seeing from that disease. So those things are just the cusp of the things that we're seeing in breaking research. There's an estimated 7 million Americans over the age of 65 that have Alzheimer's dementia, including almost a quarter million North Carolina residents. And as one who grew up, my grandfather had Alzheimer's. It's especially difficult for the caregivers, for the family members of the patient that they lose a little bit of their loved one every single day. You guys also do a lot of support for caregivers, which is fantastic. Very badly needed, I would submit. Yeah, it is. And so we tell people all the time, we do just as much resources, support, and care for the individual that is navigating their own diagnosis as we do for the caregivers who are helping. Support them from that standpoint. Point, it is a, you know, as you know, it takes a village, whether that is friends, family, sometimes coworkers or colleagues and different people within their bubble that are there to be able to help and support them. So we want to help anyone, no matter what their connection is, be able to navigate that with the right information. Again, maybe that is. Disease education on the symptoms of the disease, or maybe that's understanding the disease progression in each stage of the disease or Or perhaps that is simply making sure caregivers understand the implications on their own health and how they can ask for help or how they navigate the legal and financial aspects of the disease. Yeah, there's also a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week helpline that the Alzheimer's Association staffs 365 days a year. That number, by the way, 800-272-3900. So we've talked about treatments after a diagnosis, but a lot of research shows that there are things people can do to help ward off. Alzheimer's as well as other dementias. And this is now seems like this has become a greater focus that the Alzheimer's Association is taking. You're exactly right. So, you know, we've known anecdotally what's good for the body is good for the brain. And so we've been doing a lot of education around that for years. Now we have science-based evidence around that that really truly talks about not just What's good, but specific things that can really help. The main point that we want people to understand is no matter what age you are, there are still things that you can do to begin to live a healthier life that can help mitigate the risk of a diagnosis, that can help reduce anxiety. Maybe the progression from that standpoint of simply being able to continue to challenge our mind and do things like that. So we're in a place of talking about not only risk mitigation, but we also are on the cusp of using the word prevention as well. All right. So this kind of goes with the launch of the website RethinkYourBrain.org. This was launched in May, just a couple of months ago. And so, yeah. So what is this website all about? So it's actually a whole new sub-brand of our association. We want America to be a brain-healthy America, and this allows us the ability to be able to really help people point them in the right direction of the habits that they can be taking that are small things that lead to big changes down the road. And it's really things, again, like we know eating right and moving, but it's really about how How much moving do we need to be doing to be able to do that? And what can we do to start to implement some of that into our life? We know that diet is an important piece, but we also know that the MIND diet, which is kind of a modified Mediterranean diet, is really an important diet to look at for risk mitigation. So these are huge things, things like understanding sleep habits and what that does to our brain health from that standpoint. It's a place for people to rethink again, no matter what age they are, what they could be putting into place. I will tell you what, uh, before, well, I should say as I lost 90 pounds, I noticed that I was thinking differently. Like my brain was functioning better. Um, and it wasn't even anything that I realized cause I got heavier over years and years, but when I lost the weight, I could definitely tell the difference. So I know that this, I know there's a connection between what you're eating and, you know, the inflammation in your body that comes from poor habits, it definitely affects the way your brain works. Also, I can tell you that given the text messages and emails I get, America definitely needs some brain improvement. I will say. That's true. Yes, true. All right. And so now we have the walks. We've got one coming up here in Gastonia. I'll be emceeing that one. That's on this Saturday, 10 a.m. or sorry, 10 a.m. at the Rotary Centennial Pavilion. in Gastonia. And then we've also got others. I mean, these are happening all over the state, right? That is correct. So we do 17 every fall across North Carolina where a couple of weekends end. And so you mentioned Gaston, that's going to be this weekend. And we're doing our no rain dance. It looks like we're going to have a nice morning and then the rain may come later in the day, but we are a rain or shine event. And then we have Charlotte on October 24th. And again, closer to this area, in Unifor, the Hickory area on October 24th as well. We'll be doing a walk. But if anybody has people that they know in any other part of the state or outside of the state, they can literally just go to ALV.org slash walk and put in their zip code and find the closest walk. There's still plenty of them going on through the middle of November across the country. Yeah. All right. Anything else you want to add here that we did not cover that you think people should know that's important or interesting? Well, as always, we appreciate your partnership. We appreciate the station's partnership. And we will say we are here every single day, not just on one day where we gather as a group to raise funds and awareness, but we are here to support and point families in the right direction. And, again, that 800 number that you mentioned, that 800-272-3900, or go to ALZ.org to get to the walk.org. to get to our local chapter, to get to the brain health information or any of the things that we've talked about today. We are literally only one call or one click away from making sure that we are supporting you here locally within the greater Charlotte area. Well, we appreciate all the work that you have done. on this mission as well and what your organization does. I've been a supporter for decades, and so we appreciate you and all of your colleagues over there at the Alzheimer's Association. Christine John Fuller, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Chapters, thanks so much for your time. Thanks so much, Pete. All right, take care. 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Go to createavideo.com or visit them in Mint Hill just off I-485. Your photos and videos are your life told through the eyes of everyone around you and all who came before you. And they will tell others to come who you are. Visit createavideo.com. So I mentioned that I'll be at the Gaston Cleveland Lincoln walk to end Alzheimer's. That's going to be Saturday, October 10th. So this upcoming Saturday. And then I will be participating because I got to MC the Gastonia one. Okay. So I can't, I can't do the walk because, you know, I got to be there to tell everybody to get the heck out of my sight and start walking. And then I have to be there to welcome them all back with open arms. So I stay on site. Okay. As the MC. So, uh, I also am doing a, uh, a team. So I'm going to walk and I would love to have you join the team. And we, that's going to be in Charlotte and that's October 24th at Romare Bearden park in uptown Charlotte, 10 AM, 10 AM. So totally safe. And, um, we're going to gather there. We're going to do, uh, if you've never been to one of these walks, it's a really it's a moving tribute to the people that we have lost to Alzheimer's and other dementias. We do the flower garden, a memorial garden. And so there are all these different color flowers, like the orange flower is if you are a supporter of the Alzheimer's Association and the mission to end the disease. Then there are yellow flowers if you are someone who cares for somebody who's living with Alzheimer's. There's a purple flower if you have lost someone to the disease. And then there are blue flowers if you are living with the disease. So we then we bring people on stage. We tell stories and then, you know, people walk in with the flowers and stuff and it creates this massive flower garden. It's a really it's quite a sight to see when. You get, you know, hundreds and hundreds of these pinwheel flowers that are blowing in the breeze. And I walk for my grandfather. I've been doing that for several years. He died with Alzheimer's this year. I'm also walking for Holly and James Anderson, a buddy of mine named Mac. He was the primary caregiver for his father who died with Alzheimer's. And then shortly after that, his wife was diagnosed with it, and she just passed away in July. Um, and at the age of 50, she had early onset, uh, Alzheimer's and which affects about, uh, like 200,000 plus people a year in America. So that's who I walk with. And also, um, we got a text message here from John. Uh, you've heard me reference John from New Jersey. John has been listening to, uh, my show since I was first at WBT, um, 2008, I want to say is when I started the evening shift nine to midnight. And, um, you know, we were on the AM dial at that point. And so our signal would bounce up and down the East coast and John is up in Jersey. And so he would catch us on the bounce on the skip. And so he would listen and he would email in, uh, all those years. And then I went to Asheville and he would listen to me now on the interweb. And he would listen there. And now that I'm back, he listens still and he's listening now. And his his wife has now been diagnosed with it as well. So I'll be walking for Joanne as well. And it's it's the cruelty of this disease that, you know, we can talk about prevention and treatments. We're not there yet on the on treatments or cures. Obviously, we have we've seen some promising results from some of the drugs that And we can do things to try to prevent it because studies show that there is a connection there, healthy living and the like, but it's not a, it's not a hundred percent guarantee. And John says that Joanne's always taken care of herself, diet, exercise, no family history of any problems. Cause there's, you know, there's a belief that there is a genetic component to this as well. And he says Monday they are meeting with the neurologist to start fighting. And so if you could say a prayer for John and Joanne, we'll be walking for you too. And if you want to support the team, my team, Pete's Pack, go to ALZ.org, type in Pete's Pack and in the search bar there, and it'll pop up my team. You can make a donation or you can join the team even better. And then you can come on out, hang out with us as we will be. I'll have a sign, you know, so like Pete's Pack here and everybody can gather. And then we just hang out and then we walk the route. It's not long. It takes like. I think the walk takes about 10 to 15 minutes. So it's not like a grueling 5K or anything like that. And there are shorter versions of the walk. If you can't do the full walk, you can do like a... I think it's like a half mile or something like that. So there's that. So again, ALZ.org if you want to make a donation. We're about... I think we're. Like $ 600 short of our $ 5, 000 goal. So I'd really love to be able to hit the $ 5, 000 goal. So if you can make a donation... I thank you very much. Thank you for your prayers and all your support for this organization and for all those battling this disease. All right, real quick. Every government number gets revised, right? Every projection gets walked back. Gold does not file corrections like GovCo. Revelation Gold Group helps families hold physical gold and silver, including in a tax-advantaged gold IRA. It's real. It's in your name. And 10 minutes. Tells you if your retirement account qualifies. If you want to learn more, go to calendarmetals.com. That's calendarmetals.com. There is a link in the podcast description. Or if you want to talk to somebody, you can call 888-465-3049. All right. So the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. No, no way. Hang on. Don't tune out. This is not about Charlotte Mecklenburg schools. I know it's a day that ends in Y. But surprisingly, there hasn't been any new corruption scandal to report on today. I think that's like the first time in about three weeks. So, no, no, this is a different kind of financial stupidity involving the Mecklenburg County commissioners. They're very, very upset that they did not read their agenda. They're mad. They are mad. Ooh, they're so mad. Mad, mad, mad that they apparently approved a loan that cannot be repaid and is now likely to go into default. And so they're very, very mad. How did this happen? Well, they approved it. Well, we didn't know we were approving it. Well, it was on your agenda. Well, we didn't know it was in the agenda. Well, we had, you know, the contract, the whole agreement was part of your agenda. You got all of that paperwork as part of your agenda. Well, we didn't read it. Okay, well, that seems to be a you problem now, right? Like this now has, like they're mad at the now retired county manager, Dina DiIorio. They're very upset, which is weird because they loved Dina DiIorio. They loved her when she was the county manager. She could do no wrong. They followed her, whatever she said, you know, advised and recommended. They were down with what? Dina wanted, but now, Oh no. Now we're hearing words like unethical. We also heard the word illegal, but then they were like, no, no, no, not illegal. Okay. That might be, that might be too much, but guys, the agreement was put into your agenda and you passed it. It's not the County manager's fault that you did not read the the stuff that was sent to you as part of your agenda. You get the agenda days before the meeting. Do you know why? You should have learned this at orientation? You get the agenda days ahead of time. So you can read through the agenda and the supporting documents. So you can then, you know, ask questions beforehand and then maybe get answers and, And then you'll be informed when you vote yay or nay during the meeting. See, that's how that's supposed to work. Maybe you haven't been told this, so now you know. So this is about Discovery Place. Well, their nature center. Okay, not the. Well, I believe it's just that nature center. At Freedom Park, their nature museum. So here's the story from the Charlotte Observer, Mary Ramsey reporting, Mecklenburg County Commissioners blasted Discovery Place over its handling of county money for its nature museum. This happened Tuesday. And the county is now threatening to take control of the museum's operations and hold Discovery Place in default for. Millions of dollars. The issue stems from from about $ 14. 6 million that the county agreed to loan Discovery Place in early 2024. So over two years ago, two and a half years. Ago, okay? And they made the loan to help cover the cost of the building, the construction of a revamped nature museum in Freedom Park. The county owns the property. The county owns the facility. This is on Sterling road near the Dilworth and Myers park neighborhoods. So this is of utmost importance to many of the upper crusty Democrats in town. Okay. This is their neighborhood. They take their, well, at this point, probably their grandkids. They take their grandkids to this nature facility. Okay. They go to these parks. This is their turf. Discovery place has operated the museum. since it opened in 1947. County commissioners voted in 2017 to put about $ 16 million into the project. And then they agreed to chip in an additional $ 10 million to help cover ballooning construction costs in December 2023, although they had some concerns at the time. So December 2023, they give them another $ 10 million. So original price tag, $ 16 million. Fast forward, that was in 2017. Six years later, they have to throw in another $ 10 million. So it took six years to do this project? Six years. That seems like a long time. Doesn't it? That seems like a long time? But then, shortly after the December 2023 vote, county staff told commissioners That then-county manager, Dina DiIorio, directed staff to put together an agreement to give Discovery Place another $ 14. 6 million. What are we up to now? What do we have? $ 16 plus $ 10 plus $ 14. That's a zero. All right, carry the $ 17. And now you're at $ 40 million. This facility better be awesome. Like, I want to see otters. As far as the eye can see. I want so many otters you just die from cuteness overload. You know? Because those things are adorable, man. And we have a couple. But I think we need more. For $ 40 million, I want there to be. I'm saying... a thousand otters. I want to be able to get into a pool with the otters and just have them all swim around me and kiss me and just snuggle up. You ever see those videos of the little kids getting swarmed by all the puppies? I want that, but with otters. For free. For $ 40 million, for free. No admission cover charge. I think this is a reasonable ask. So the county manager... Tell staff to put together this agreement to give Discovery Place another $ 14. 5 million on the condition that Discovery Place pays it back within 180 days, so six months, of substantial completion of. The new building. So we're going to loan you $ 14. 5 million to finish this place, but then you've got to pay back a $ 14. 6 million loan within six months. You'll never guess what happened, right? They don't have the money to pay it back in six months because of course they don't. Why would they have, like if they had 14.6 million that they could generate in six months, they wouldn't need you to float them alone for 14.6 million. The deal was approved. This was January 2024. So a month, a month after county commissioners gave Discovery Place $ 10 million, a month later, they signed off on a loan for $ 14. 6 million. So total $ 26 million in, what, 30 days they got? But they did not read the agenda, so they didn't know it. And they're mad. All right, I am putting.... I'm announcing a ban on otter jokes. You people, I'll tell you. I should have seen it coming though. I really, I really should have seen it coming. So I will read these, but then this is it. Okay. No more otter jokes because they're all kind of the same. All right. So Mike says, when it comes to fiscal matters and government spending, you otter no better. Another Mike says, that's otterly ridiculous. Alan says, that's otter nonsense. Okay, so that's it. We have reached our quota for otter jokes. That's it. One texter says, I did. The mechanical piping, basically piped in all the water lines for all the tanks and the heating and air for the building in question. I finished that project up a year ago. I can't believe it's not open yet. I know there was a bunch of electricity issues because that place was crazy electric as far as power goes, enough to probably power up a whole city in one building. 980 number says, we need penguins there too. I love penguins. There you go. Jeff says, for $ 40 million, I want otters that can run a school district. That does not count as an otter joke, just for the record. Kevin says the Discovery Place exhibit only cost $ 10 million. The other $ 30 million was consulting fees for Racky McGregor. John says apparently the county commissioners treat the agenda like college freshmen do class syllabi, syllabus. Do you ever walk into a class and the professor says we're having a test? Wait, what do you mean we're having a test? Well, it was in the syllabus I gave you the first day of class. Tony says, I almost feel sad for the residents of Mecklenburg County, but then I realized they keep electing these boobs and will continue to elect other boobs just like them. So now I don't feel sad anymore. See, Tim, you know, I'm not going to read that text. See, you almost got me, but I'm not going to read it. It was an otter joke, even though you stuck it at the very end of the text. These eagle eyes saw it. So the county commissioners are very upset that this loan was approved by them after it was placed on the agenda. back in January of 2024. Vice Chair Lee Altman said, nobody sitting at the dais had any visibility and there was no discussion about a $ 14 million loan on top of the $ 10 million we did agree to. Now, Joe Bruno at WSOC-TV, he runs through the timeline. He actually went through the minutes and watched the meeting to see what happened. In 2019, county commissioners approved the $ 16 million for the nature museum. December 23, the museum asked for an additional $ 20 million, okay? So they asked for another $ 20 million to cover inflated construction costs. At that meeting, commissioners approved $ 10. A month later, commissioners approved a letter of agreement with Discovery Place that authorized the $ 10 million for that project and included the reimbursement language. The item was placed on the consent agenda and the letter of agreement was attached, although it appears nobody noticed it until now. The current county manager says there was no violation. This is a matter of whether it was explained in such a way that the board was clear on what it was voting on there. was no wrongdoing. Commissioner Laura Meyer says she doesn't believe anything illegal was done. She says, honestly, commissioners did not want to look into what was on the agenda and we didn't know what was on the agenda. Unethical, but not illegal. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This isn't unethical. This wasn't unethical. This is your responsibility as a county commissioner. You don't get to pass the buck on this. The consent agenda is where you put a whole bunch of stuff on the agenda and then commissioners approve it all at once. You guys did not do your due diligence. You didn't do your homework. You didn't read the stuff you should have. You did not. Now you want to blame everybody else and you want to take it out on Discovery Place. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So if you'd like, please support them, too, and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to the Pete Kaliner show dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening and don't break anything while I'm gone.