Of course you know the colors, but I’m sure you don’t know the pattern. You will soon, plus news from across the state.

Color Me Tartan

If your state doesn’t have colors, then honestly, that’s sad. Even if they are, just like us, the red and blue that are present in both our state flag and our American flag.

No, the official state color is not the blue of the sky. Nor is it a shade of red favored in Raleigh. Unfortunately, even our shade of red and blue here at North Carolina Placebook headquarters is not inshrined in the history books. The official shades were codified by the General Assembly in 1945 and no one has been able to place any specific meaning on them other than being the colors of the American flag.

Yet, something that is colorful and has meaning looks something like this:

 

This is the North Carolina State Tartan, adopted in 1991 to honor our Scottish heritage. South Carolina has also adopted this tartan too. Why a tartan? Why those colors? First of all, we all know a tartan, at least on this side of the pond, as a plaid. However in Scotland, a plaid is a particular type of object made of tartan. Tartans in Scotland generally represented regions of Scotland, not necessarily clans, but sometimes the two did overlap. Once banned in the UK, tartans moved from being everyday wear, to a universal symbol for Scottish heritage. More and more organizations, especially in the United States, are creating tartans specifically for individuals, groups, and other non-traditional reasons.

In North Carolina, our tartan, blended with  red, azure, black, yellow, green and white is associated with King Charles II, who named the Carolinas and King George II who declared the Carolinas as royal colonies. Today it also honors all the Scottish heritage activities, such as the Highland Games, that occur regularly within the state.

Learn more about tartans as a whole here.

Learn more about our state tartan here.

And finally, learn more about our state colors here.

And now the news:

The Charlotte Hornets’ first draft pick as the rebooted Hornets.

In addition, this is what their home court will look like.

More faulty coal-ash pipes have been found.

Triad Park has broken ground on an amphitheater near the Carolina Field of Honor.

Judge Ron Spivey of the Forsyth Superior Court will retire in November.

The Forsyth County elections board is down to 6 candidates for their next director.

CenterPoint, the health and human services entity of Forsyth County, has approved their budget, but are still engulfed in questions.

The N.C. Senate still has questions on Medicare spending.

United Furniture Industries, a company interested in reviving the historic Weeks textile plant in Winston-Salem, has not confirmed that it will take over the plant, but it will be eligible for incentives from the city if it does.

The removal of extra buried debris is adding millions to the cost of a new Asheville elementary school and may delay its opening.

How the Affordable Care Act is affecting health care in Western North Carolina.

The elevator at the Chimney Rock State Park is open again.

Representative Patrick McHenry has been named chief deputy majority whip of the U.S. House.

The fireworks in Charlotte are moving to the new BB&T Ballpark.

The price tag for the Charlotte area commuter rail system has jumped by $215 million, potentially making it too expensive to build.

Charlotte’s mayor has called for the city to adopt a municipal ID, similar to one just adopted by New York City.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools hopes to stem literacy issues in higher grades by forcing all non-reading EOG passing third graders to attend summer reading camps to pass into the fourth grade.

A new hotel tower at the EpiCenter starts construction soon.

Mecklenburg Commissioners vote to start work on their economic development plan.

Publix, the grocery store chain, is searching for Wilmington sites to expand.

Companies that lost the construction bid to perform the Eagles Island bridge renovation work will still receive a payout from the state.

Pender County parents crowded into a school board hearing on Thursday to express displeasure at breaking up a K-8 school, as proposed in a potential schools bond referendum on the November ballot.

Raleigh’s Men at Work, an organization that hires men that have issues with getting jobs, opens a barbershop.

Raleigh civil rights leader Cy King has died at the age of 92.

The NC House voted to block releasing the names of charter school employees along with their pay.

And finally, a Colorado real estate firm purchases Durham’s downtown Jack Tar Motel.