Ashvegas Hot Sheet: Awaiting winner of West Asheville HGTV Urban Oasis house

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Ashvegas: The City You Love. The News You Want.Some of what’s going around:

-HGTV Urban Oasis sweeps: The announcement of the winner of this year’s HGTV Urban Oasis sweepstakes, which includes an amazing West Asheville bungalow that was renovated this summer, should be coming any day now.

-New tennis shop: There’s a new tennis shop in town called the Tennis Professor. Here’s more from a press release:

Western North Carolina’s vibrant tennis community now has a new option for professional tennis equipment. Situated in North Asheville at 854 Merrimon Avenue beneath Stein Mart, The Tennis Professor “serves” up a diverse array of professional level tennis racquets, shoes, clothing, and accessories.

The store is a labor of love for owner Walli Ann Wisniewski. Wisniewski, a former college tennis player with a doctorate in Latin American literature, recently left a university faculty position to pursue her passion for all things tennis. She was motivated by the large and active tennis community in Western North Carolina having few options for good tennis equipment, especially shoes. “Everyone I was playing tennis with would comment that they had to chance an online order or drive 2 hours to find a wide selection of shoes and racquets,” says Walli Ann, “I wanted to bring that sort of selection right here to Asheville.”

Beyond just a tennis store however, Wisniewski wants The Tennis Professor to make a difference in the community. She is committed to supporting local business by carrying unique locally-made tennis clothing, building personal relationships with customers, and giving people a chance to try out products on the in-store hitting wall. Wisniewski also wants to get racquets into the hands of those who might not otherwise consider playing tennis. “I don’t want people to think tennis is just for the privileged” she says. “Tennis has done wonders for me, and I want to help people enjoy the sport, regardless of their financial position or personal challenges.”

-Ping pong tourney at The Mothlight: From The Mothlight’s newsletter, the most entertaining newsletter in town:

The event of Thanksgiving Weekend will be our very first ping pong tourney, Saturday the 28th. Think you got what it takes to beat the competition? Email [email protected] for details or come in and chat about it.

-Winter forecast: Here’s the official winter forecast from Ray’s Weather here in Western North Carolina. It’s gonn

-Courage Overcomes Cancer in Our Community: Taryn Hoffman, executive director of Green Side Up, sends along a note regarding the Green Side Up speaker series Courage Overcomes Cancer in Our Community. She notes that Damien and Derek Hoffman started the foundation in 2013 for her father, who passed away from cancer. Event details:

Green Side Up speaker series: Courage Overcomes Cancer in Our Community, 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15
Please join us for an uplifting evening with hematology and oncology nurse unit supervisor Melanie Clark, who will share real life stories about the young cancer patines and their families at Mission Children’s Hospital. The location is Avenue M restaurant, 791 Merrimon Avenue.

-Free hot yoga: From Hot Yoga Asheville:

Hot Yoga Asheville is offering FREE yoga to all veterans, current military and employees of the VA Hospital all week from November 9th to November 15th. HYA offers a wide variety of classes, both heated and non heated.
Yoga is an excellent way to alleviate stress, center the mind and calm the nerves, while simultaneously offering a cardiovascular workout and strong, balanced body. All levels are welcome! No experience necessary.

While Bikram Yoga can’t cure PTSD, it does offer tools to deal with some of its symptoms (anxiety, stress, trouble sleeping, etc.). Canada’s PTSD Association recommends yoga as a coping strategy for PTSD. According to the association’s website, mindful breathing – a key component of yoga – is useful in “calming the mind and emotions, reducing stress and anxiety.”

Applying all that we know about yoga gives us great joy to have another Glowga Fundraiser to raise some cash for another rad organization. This Glowga will support Helios Warriors, a non-profit right here in Asheville, that is dedicated to offering the highest quality of holistic therapies to veterans, and their spouse or primary caregiver, in a safe and supportive environment. This is a progressive approach to treating and supporting the brave individuals who have fought for our country! Come and help celebrate us celebrate them.

-U.S. Forest Service public hearings: From the folks at the environmental nonprofit MountainTrue:

As part of the Forest Planning process for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, the Forest Service has evaluated lands, rivers and streams that could be eligible for protection as Wilderness areas or as Wild and Scenic Rivers. If approved, this could:

Keep logging, road-building and mining out of 364,000 acres of backcountry and our most treasured wild places.

Designate 53 pristine waterways as Wild and Scenic Rivers. This would be the strongest form of protection for these rivers. Eligibility would set up a 1/4-mile buffer to maintain the outstanding quality of rivers. If these designations are won, then no dams could be built along these rivers.

Let the US Forest Service know that you support these designations at public hearings:

November 9, 6-8 p.m.: Franklin, Tartan Hall, 26 Church St.

November 16, 6-8 p.m.: Asheville, UNC Asheville Kimmel Arena, 1 University Heights

-North Carolina DOT pubic hearing on I-26 Connector: Also from MountainTrue:

NCDOT is holding a public hearing on the I-26 Connector Project and the Environmental Impact Study on November 16 at the Renaissance Hotel. Please attend! This is your chance to have your say on NCDOT’s expansion plans.

November 16, Pre-Hearing Open House from 4:00-6:00 p.m., Public Hearing at 7:00 p.m, Renaissance Hotel Grand Ballroom, 31 Woodfin Street, Asheville

Thank you for your support, hard work and dedication to keeping WNC beautiful!

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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2 Comments

  1. Laura November 12, 2015

    Sorry, but keeping mining and logging out of the area far outweighs the needs for more mountain biking.

    Reply
  2. Jason November 12, 2015

    Regarding the forest service hearing notice, it is also important to know that giving wilderness designations to some of these areas will effectively ban mountain bikes from these areas as well. As WNC is gaining national recognition for its trails, reducing the number of bike legal trails is not necessarily a good thing at this point.

    Reply

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