Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Some of what’s going around, but with few details. Surely you, loyal readers, can fill in the blanks:
-Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce ties to U.S. Chamber: Last week, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual retreat and I’ve heard that one item on the agenda was the local chamber’s ties to the U.S. Chamber a Commerce. There was to be a presentation about what the local chamber gets out of the connection, but I don’t know if a discussion ensued, or will ensue. Anyone have any more info?
-Movie time in Asheville? There’s hot word on the street that a movie is going to be made in Asheville, but there are no details connected to said rumor.
-Idoiotarod madness: It looks like this Sunday, March 27, is shaping up to be a fun day. The Asheville Idiotarod goes down that day. But to make things interesting, word on the street is that there will apparently be a couple of professional film crews on hand to capture the madness. And that has other people organizing a flash mob for the end of the race.
-Biltmore Avenue upheaval: Work has officially started on a new downtown parking deck and hotel, called the Aloft Hotel, on Biltmore Avenue. That project has been much talked about. But up the hill from that, there appears to be more major construction happening. Plywood is blocking the sidewalk in front of a vacant building and a vacant lot, and there’s some action there. This action is near Doc Cheys. Anyone know what’s going on?
-The Asheville music round-up: The Steep Canyon Rangers played on the Colbert Show last night; Elvis Costello is going to play the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium this summer for the first time; and the Psychedlic Furs are coming back to town at The Orange Peel.
What else?
Thanks for your comment, Shelly.
Peace, thanks for the update. WLOS also reported last night that the space will be used for more parking during construction of the ALOFT.
Kit, thank you for your update. I'll post that separately.
Yes, the Asheville Chamber discussed our membership in the US Chamber at our Board retreat last week. I have heard from some of our members about their discomfort with some of the US Chamber’s stands so felt it was important for the Board to weigh in. Like our membership, we have members of the Board who are comfortable with the membership and others who are not. There was general agreement that we want to be a values-driven organization and that we should take a fresh look at our values, vision and mission and let that help drive our decision making. After learning that our dues will not expire until October 31 of 2011 they tabled the issue with the intention of revisiting it after we’ve completed the work. Until that time, our position is that being a member of the US Chamber is like being a member of a political party: just because you’re a member doesn’t mean you agree with every stand they take. We utilize the membership for tracking legislation and obtaining information about issues that other chambers may also have addressed. They do not guide our local decision making—we do that locally. And unlike the US Chamber, the Asheville Chamber doesn’t endorse political candidates. So we plan to do our due diligence and then have the Board make a decision.
The building up the street from 51 was to be demolished because it was unsafe. Work is being done by D H Griffin Wrecking Co Inc., a large demolition company based in NC. The building is owned by PIP. Hopefully, they can save the historic front of the building, an important piece of the streetscape still left in downtown with beautiful brick and a leaded storefront.
Dr. Dunn is doing an excellent job in making changes that should have been made long ago. Where can you work a 35 hour week and get paid for 40 hours and get overtime for everything you work over 35 hours? I'm definitely looking for that job!! I can't imagine how any school system is going to manage cuts in education.
Media Watcher, the coverage I was referring to was the March 6 story that Julie Ball wrote.
My column in today's newspaper, which I'll get around to posting later this afternoon, was a follow-up to the discussion triggered by my blog post.
Thanks for your close attention to it all.
Nice piece on ABTech's Dr. Dunn in the Citizen-Times today. Is that the coverage you were referring to as in the works in a previous post?