Ashvegas Hot Sheet: New La Carreta restaurant location; Weaverville cancer center update; more

Jason Sandford

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

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First Hot Sheet of the new year. It’s all over the board, as usual:

-La Carreta: The Mexican restaurant, which has a location in Weaverville, is planning to open a restaurant in the Merrimon Avenue location formerly home to Casa Maya.

–Weaverville cancer center update: 21st Century Oncology, a physician-owned company with offices around the nation and in Western North Carolina, plans to open a new center in Weaverville later this year. Its radiation services in WNC are known as Radiation Therapy Associates of Western N.C., with offices throughout the region. A spokeswoman reports that the new Weaverville office will operate similar to the way its Asheville office works: the infusion clinic will operate through Park Ridge Health and the 21st Century physicians from Asheville Hematology & Oncology and Radiation Therapy Associates will operate the clinic. More as I get it.

-Music, beer and records blog: John Silver, who works at Oskar Blues in Brevard, recently alerted me to a new blog he’s been working on with a buddy. It’s called Good Friends Beer & Records. Silver: “We’re talking about music, selling records and discussing the evolving beer culture in WNC. Good Friends, Beer and Records.” It’s a good read. Check it.

-Moyers on Moral Mondays: Bill Moyers has a new show out called State of Conflict: North Carolina. Asheville gets a mention. The blurb: “North Carolina, long considered the South’s most moderate state, has taken a hard right turn, but Moral Mondays protesters are fighting back. Is this where American politics is heading? Also on the show, the paint industry is ordered to clean up its mess.”

-SAT update: Relevant bits from the press release:

The Screen Artists Co-op is an organization of film industry professionals in Western North Carolina whose mission is to train and mentor actors, while sharpening their tools to make them more competitive. Actors of all ages and backgrounds have come to SAC to participate in the Learning Lab, many of whom have had little to no prior professional television or film acting experience. Although the Learning Lab was highly successful in producing well-trained and set savvy actors, SAC discovered that doors remained closed to actors as not only casting directors, but talent agencies as well were reluctant to see the value of talent in this area. SAC decided it was time to break those doors down.

Thus began a nine month odyssey to launch Screen Artists Talent (SAT), obtain a N.C. state license, receive the industry breakdowns for submissions of talent, cultivate casting director contacts, and foster an awareness of our talent. At present, SAT is the only fully licensed agency in Western North Carolina and boasts 50 adult actors who are being submitted daily for highly coveted roles in film and television. With a formidable roster of trained and savvy actors, SAT is poised to change the perception of acting talent in Western North Carolina. Although the first wave of SAT actors are ready just in time for pilot season, which will reach full steam starting in mid-January, numerous opportunities remain for actors from 8 to 80. For more information, please visit: screenartiststalent.com.

-Appalachian Trail movie Kickstarter: Talented videographer Christopher Galloway of Asheville has launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking $33,500 to produce a feature-length film about the Appalachian Trail. Galloway: “This will be an Asheville-produced movie about one of our national outdoor treasures, and I wonder if you would help me get the word out to the local community about this project. The success of a campaign like this depends on reaching a broad audience of like-minded people, and I think many folks in the Ashvegas audience would like to know about this movie and the opportunity to support it.”

-New car dealership: Sunshine Chevrolet is celebrating the grand opening of its new dealership off I-26 at the Long Shoals exit. The event is 5:30-7 on Thursday. There will be a DJ, prizes and you could enter to win a new car.

-Benefit: Carol L. King & Associates is holding a fundraiser at Highland Brewing from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 to support a campaign by Rotary International to eradicate polio worldwide. Every dollar raised will be matched with $2 from the Bill and Melina Gates Foundation, so $2 from each $5 beer sold that night will result in a $6 donation. There will also be door prizes, refreshments and a few brief words from several polio survivors who live in our community. Admission is free and open to everyone.

-Whatever happened: to the two former Asheville Tourist players who were arrested and charged with rape last August? Here’s the background. I’m checking on it.