Novant Health announces job cuts + The Bryce Young question: What should Panthers do?

Hey, everyone! Drew here. It’s Friday Jr.!

Calling all food truck fanatics!

It’s the final countdown. CharlotteFive’s narrowed down their list to the top two food trucks in the city, so go vote for your favorite!

On to the news.

1. Novant Health to eliminate 160 jobs in systemwide layoffs, healthcare company says

More layoffs are coming to another company with a large presence in Charlotte.

Citing a “challenging healthcare environment,” Novant Health is planning to cut 160 jobs across its network, officials confirmed today. The hospital system said it will do “everything we can” to support the people losing their jobs.

Chase Jordan has more on the Novant layoffs.

2. Bryce Young questions loom: Should Panthers have picked C.J. Stroud? Should Andy Dalton start?

The Carolina Panthers are 0-4 and many fans are already hitting the panic button.

Did the team make the right choice in drafting Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson? Should Young be benched in favor of veteran backup Andy Dalton?

Scott Fowler does his best to provide answers for both questions and more. Looking for more Panthers coverage? Check out the latest episode of The Observer’s Carolina Panthers podcast, “Processing Blue.”

3. She found letters more than 100 years old. We found descendants of those who wrote them.

Fran Redic found a bunch of old stuff in her personal library in her Myers Park home that wound up starting a genealogical mystery.

She found letters postmarked more than 105 years ago addressed to people she didn’t know. Since then, Redic has been noodling what, if anything, she could to find out about the people mentioned in the letters.

Théoden Janes shares more.

4. 8 AM in Charlotte: Is Drake’s new song about the Queen City?

Rapper and singer Drake released a new song this morning and... it’s about Charlotte?

“8AM in Charlotte” is the newest single from the recording artist and many local fans are curious if the Queen City was the inspiration for it.

Evan Moore attempts to get to the bottom of things.

5. Some more stories to read

• An 87-year-old doughnut chain is expanding into NC with plans for 3 Charlotte-area stores

• After rock-star turn on ‘Daisy Jones & The Six,’ Suki Waterhouse is doing her own songs live

• The Wienermobile will be in Charlotte this weekend. Here’s where you can see it

• Change in NC law will give more teachers up to 8 weeks of paid parental leave

• Charlotte couple makes community connections through Spanish, faith and smooth jazz

---

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading! If you don’t already, subscribe to the Charlotte Observer here. If you’re already a subscriber (thanks!), download our iOS or Android app to stay connected.

Find more updates at charlotteobserver.com, and follow along on Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok to see more from us. Enjoy your day!

Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up here.

This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 3:08 PM.