Some 300 volunteers are still needed for the upcoming Special Olympics State Basketball Tournament in Helena scheduled for Nov. 12-14.
An estimated 1,150 athletes, from age 8 to 75, as well as coaches and volunteers are expected to travel to Helena for the event, said Jonathan Embler, vice president of sports and competition for Special Olympics Montana.
The statewide tournament moves to a different city every three years, and this will its second year in Helena.
“I worked one of the venues last year,” said Heidi O’Brien, executive director of the Helena Tourism Alliance.
“It was such a rewarding experience,” she said, that she came back the next day to volunteer again and also brought her husband. This year she’s helping get out the word.
“We’re about 40 percent there,” said Embler on Tuesday. Altogether, 500 Helena volunteers are needed for the three-day event.
“We’d like more volunteers for the opening ceremony Nov. 12,” he said, which is at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds.
Volunteers are also needed for a variety of basketball games and skill competitions Friday, Nov. 13, and Saturday, Nov. 14, as well as the awards ceremonies, first aid/CPR, general activities, lunch assembly and distribution, photography and the carnival/dance. Games are scheduled at eight venues on Friday and Saturday.
Volunteers can choose whether they want to work a four-hour shift or full day.
For George Parisot, “the opening ceremony was the highlight” last year, which was his first year volunteering for Special Olympics.
He enjoyed it so much he’s back volunteering this year and coordinating volunteer recruitment in Helena.
“It’s an opportunity for Helena to volunteer for a great event,” he said of why people might want to step up.
Embler got involved with Special Olympics 25 years ago in North Carolina, where his father was a school principal, he said. “I’ve been coaching and volunteering since 1990.”
One reason to volunteer, Embler said, “is to see the joy on the athletes’ faces. It will give them a sense of enjoyment. You hear so much about what’s wrong about athletes. They’ll see athletes give every bit of themselves. They’ll see sportsmanship like they’ve never seen.”
The annual basketball tournament is just one of three statewide Special Olympics events in Montana. It also hosts summer and winter games.
And starting next year, Embler said, there will also be a bowling competition.
Port City Daily has sent an identical questionnaire to each candidate running for Wilmington City Council.
There are eight candidates vying for three open seats. Each voter can choose up to three candidates, and the top three overall vote getters will win seats on city council.
Candidates are listed in alphabetical order, and their responses are unedited. Two candidates, incumbent Neil Anderson and MLK, Jr. Celebration Committee member Hollis Briggs, Jr., did not respond to our questionnaire.
The election takes place Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The city council meets in Wilmington City Hall, 102 N. Third St. Photo by Jonathan Spiers.
Margaret Haynes
Incumbent and current Mayor Pro-tem; first appointed to City Council in 2009, elected to a four-year term in 2011
The City of Wilmington expects 60,000 additional residents over the next 25 years. How do you see the city accommodating this growth? Please be specific and include your thoughts on how the city will meet transportation needs that arise from more residents.
We are already actively engaged in a long-range planning process. The Create Wilmington Comprehensive Plan, with extensive citizen input, is looking at the issues of economic development, environment and recreation, land use, diversity and community, arts and culture, housing, and transportation. It’s an open and transparent process that’s looking 25 years into the future.
Specifically on transportation: I support re-locating the rail corridor to the other side of the river and re-purposing the tracks for some kind of muni transit system. Also, we need to address our heavy traffic intersections such as S. College and Oleander and resolve the Independence extension to MLK Parkway. Finally, we need to find an affordable solution to an additional Cape Fear River crossing.
Do you think the city is making an effective effort to reduce crime? What is the council’s role in making sure the city is a safer place?
We need to continue to expand and improve our community policing programs that build partnerships with various community groups. Community policing is not a new concept. For years, the city has been promoting organizational strategies and problem-solving techniques to address the conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder and fear. Working with the County Sheriff’s Department and the Wilmington Housing Authority, we need to build on programs like Saturday and Sunday Night Hoops Program, the Gun Violence Reduction Program for Kids, and U-Turn, a re-entry program to promote positive choices. The Mayor and Council consider public safety the top priority of city government.
Economic development has been a hot topic as the city competes with other regions for businesses to relocate. What is the city’s role in attracting business to Wilmington and how would you go about executing this plan if elected?
The City of Wilmington is now the center of a three county region including Brunswick and Pender counties in addition to New Hanover County. We need to be the driving force behind this regional economic development partnership and make it more efficient and effective. We need better cooperation in infrastructure development and more consistent regulations in zoning and land use ordinances. Working together, we can grow our existing businesses, support our entrepreneurial sector and attract new clean industries that the diversified job opportunities of the future. But we need to develop a regional plan with Wilmington at the center.
If you were to receive a city council seat, what is your top priority for your time on the council? What is your strategy for getting results for that priority?
My top priority is managing our growth as we build a safer and more livable city. Growth always provides both opportunities and challenges, and with the city now pressing against its geographic boundaries, it will involve compromise. We need to preserve our historic heritage and our fragile coastal environment, but we also need smart growth to provide opportunity for the future. There’s no easy answer. It requires an open and transparent planning process and the full engagement of the City Council.
Deb Hays
Realtor; currently serves on the steering committee for the City of Wilmington Comprehensive Plan, Chair of the Wilmington Planning Commission and as a current commissioner and past chair of the Wilmington Housing Authority
The City of Wilmington expects 60,000 additional residents over the next 25 years. How do you see the city accommodating this growth? Please be specific and include your thoughts on how the city will meet transportation needs that arise from more residents.
As Chair of the Wilmington Planning Commission, I have been diligently working with elected officials to build and maintain better roads, while looking for alternative transportation options to reduce traffic.
Traffic and transportation issues will always be at the forefront of our city’s agenda. With water on both sides of Wilmington, we have unique challenges in traversing our area. Since road building is a city and state responsibility, I plan to work closely with our local delegation in Raleigh to be sure Wilmington is a top priority in the state legislature.I believe we can improve how traffic is directed through our city with assistance from our traffic engineers and properly programing advanced signaling software.We must also be creative in looking for future opportunities to reduce vehicle usage; making our city walkable, multi-facet transportation options, and maximizing connectivity correctly throughout our city.In the short term, we have the ability to establish park and ride areas to offload traffic during peak hours; using our existing trolley system and enhancing our bus routes with smaller buses running more direct routes at peak times. Long term plans must be incorporated into all future developments via implementing the new City Comprehensive Plan.
Higher density development and infill can be incorporated into existing neighborhoods while maintaining current character.There are many neighborhoods where increased density makes sense and can add to that neighborhood’s character and property values. There are many neighborhoods where it does not make sense and we must preserve those and the essence that is Wilmington. Density does not mean just an apartment complex.It can be transitional, from a large acre development to a medium acreage development to smaller acreage – all single family homes, or combination of detached and attached homes (the new cottage style development is a prime example). Another example of incorporating density and facilitating traffic is the neighborhood node. This idea incorporates all the amenities needed and wanted by residents within a neighborhood; having walking/biking access to grocery stores, banks, drug stores, churches, schools, etc… within or along the perimeter of a residential neighborhood so the residents do not have to access major roadways for their daily needs/amenities. This provides green space, outdoor activity, and lessens traffic on roadways. If we act reasonably and responsibly looking for development trends and ideas that add beauty and character to Wilmington, we will have done our jobs. We must think creatively!
Do you think the city is making an effective effort to reduce crime? What is the council’s role in making sure the city is a safer place?
We must plan for ways to keep our communities and neighborhoods safe.We have very effective law enforcement but it will be challenged by the growth that is coming. As past Chair and current Commissioner of the Wilmington Housing Authority, we instituted a joint task force with Wilmington Police Department (WPD) and the New Hanover County Sherriff (NHCS) to provide Community Policing on all our sites.This task force has been overwhelmingly successful due to the community policing aspect.The same officers are assigned to the same neighborhoods; they become familiar with the residents, they know who lives where and who is not supposed to be in the developments.This has proven hugely successful with a year to date reduction in crime of nearly 60%.In addition, the Officers have engaged the youth in the community, regularly playing with them in the afternoons, and taking them on field trips to sporting events, etc…
In speaking with Chief Evangelous, he feels that we can implement city-wide community policing over a period of time, without impact to the city budget.Having seen first-hand the great success of this program, I would definitely be in favor of a city-wide community policing program.
In addition, the community needs to engage; establishing neighborhood watch programs, neighborhood associations, etc… to augment and assist the police in preventing crimes and to accurately and expediently report it when crimes do take place.Our Law Enforcement Officers will work with any and all city neighborhoods to establish and train the citizens for effective neighborhood programs.
Economic development has been a hot topic as the city competes with other regions for businesses to relocate. What is the city’s role in attracting business to Wilmington and how would you go about executing this plan if elected?
We need to bring good paying, long-term jobs to Wilmington.We will do this by encouraging existing businesses and recruiting new ones; establishing partnerships with contractual obligations to hire locally.We need to have both short term and long term plans to adequately address economic development.
To facilitate a business friendly environment in the short term, I will look for ways to streamline the various permitting processes without sacrificing public safety and concerns; fast tracking through the permitting process if the developer meets with certain criteria – to build in specific locations and to hire locally, for example.This saves the developer money while addressing our concerns.These are not just construction jobs but developing commercial areas that bring solid long term investment businesses to our area, again hiring locally.
In addition, we must work regionally and in conjunction with the State to competitively attract major businesses to our area.I will work diligently with our local, regional, and state officials to keep Wilmington at the forefront of economic development.
For the long term, we must implement the new Comprehensive Plan for the City and redesign the Land Development Code (LDC).Our LDC is woefully outdated and constrains the City’s Planning Staff, the Planning Commission and the City Council’s efforts to adequately and properly plan for future growth. This is a critical component to our City’s future success in attracting, recruiting, and retaining major businesses that will invest in our City by hiring locally and improving an existing commercial property or building a new facility.
If you were to receive a city council seat, what is your top priority for your time on the council? What is your strategy for getting results for that priority?
City Staff and Community Volunteers have spent the past two years working on a Comprehensive Plan for the City.Through tireless effort and hundreds of hours of citizen input and involvement, this plan is now in final draft form.This extensive document set would be the basis for a complete revision of our Land Development Code and a fluid roadmap for future Leaders to follow.The plan, presented to Council for review, will need to be approved and thoroughly implemented.I have served on this committee and believe that this is our plan for the future and necessary for proper growth, for addressing transportation, for bringing jobs…for Wilmington!
Paul Lawler
Former accountant, auditor and chief financial officer; active with his neighborhood association and represented them on the Downtown Parking Advisory Committee
The City of Wilmington expects 60,000 additional residents over the next 25 years. How do you see the city accommodating this growth? Please be specific and include your thoughts on how the city will meet transportation needs that arise from more residents.
Growth is THE challenge facing Wilmington.Not only will Wilmington need to deal with growth in the City but it will also have to deal with the growth in the rest of the County and in neighboring counties.Those folks come to Wilmington to work, shop and be entertained.Wilmington must think carefully about its growth patterns so that the additional traffic is near the larger streets that can handle the traffic and so that people can find their destinations closer to home.We must improve Wave Transit so that it handles as much of the transit load as is possible.We must improve signalization.We must be sure that our sidewalks are suitable to serve our walking needs. And we must be clear about our needs with the NC DOT.
Do you think the city is making an effective effort to reduce crime? What is the council’s role in making sure the city is a safer place?
First we must support our law enforcement. Wilmington can do more to prevent crime including helping our troubled youth find a more positive path.Simple steps such as community policing, street lights, more neighborhood watch groups, and weekend alternatives for young people can all help.We also need to engage our churches and nonprofits to reach out where the government representatives cannot reach. Wilmington needs to help people realize that they can aim higher.
Economic development has been a hot topic as the city competes with other regions for businesses to relocate. What is the city’s role in attracting business to Wilmington and how would you go about executing this plan if elected?
Closely connected to public safety and to quality of life is economic opportunity.Too many people cannot find good paying jobs. We can do better.Wilmington has an opportunity to bring in more history tourists and others who have more money to spend during their tourist visit.More success for related businesses leads to more money for staff.Wilmington also has an opportunity in the ‘knowledge’ sector.We should encourage more businesses such as PPD, Next Glass, Live Oak Bank and other clean businesses.Those companies can locate anywhere. Places like Wilmington with a high quality of life have a natural advantage. We should take advantage of that. The Wilmington area may also have a real business opportunity meeting the needs for organic and boutique foods which have become popular as people care more about what we eat.
If you were to receive a city council seat, what is your top priority for your time on the council? What is your strategy for getting results for that priority?
Wilmington needs to aim higher.We have a great place here but we can’t afford to settle for ‘good enough.’Let’s aim for the best delivery of government services, the safest streets, the strongest economy and the best ability to handle the growth coming to SE NC.
Frank Madonna
Worked as a senior manager in both the public and private sector and 10 years in New York City government; Navy veteran who serves on CFCC Foundation and Landfall COA boards
The City of Wilmington expects 60,000 additional residents over the next 25 years. How do you see the city accommodating this growth? Please be specific and include your thoughts on how the city will meet transportation needs that arise from more residents.
Build a higher rise downtown to concentrate tax value there. Comprehensively zone underdeveloped areas of the City while protecting neighborhoods.
Transportation needs will be accommodated by an upgrade in roads, a stronger bus service and, perhaps, at a later date, light rail.
Planning is the key. Understanding neighborhood needs and wants is essential. Governing by district model is one way to preserve neighborhoods and their character.
Planning the growth of each district with local input also provides balance. Are we creating green space around our development projects? Are we designing housing for the elderly?
We need to build “up” with a concern for retirees who want too stay here and downsize to condos.
Do you think the city is making an effective effort to reduce crime? What is the council’s role in making sure the city is a safer place?
The Council should take a KEY role in preventing crime. Here’s my suggestions.
Install the best technology available for the police to stay safe and deter crime. Increase the staffing at the expense of other programs to make sure there’s enough feet on the street
Develop after school programs to get our younger children off the streets and away from bad influences and establish community watch groups and a communication system to alert and support the prevention of crime.
Economic development has been a hot topic as the city competes with other regions for businesses to relocate. What is the city’s role in attracting business to Wilmington and how would you go about executing this plan if elected?
The City should join with the counties on this initiative. It doesn’t do anyone any good to go at this alone. You all wind up competing for the same companies.
I think a great deal more can be done in this area. I suggest developing a small professional group of talented people experienced in this line of work. Pay them a competitive wage for a specific amount of time. Perhaps a one year contract. Evaluate and monitor performance on a weekly basis to determine progress. If progress is being made, continue the contract.
This subject really needs a business like approach to be successful.
If you were to receive a city council seat, what is your top priority for your time on the council? What is your strategy for getting results for that priority?
This is a very interesting question. I believe new voices and fresh ideas are now needed on the council. Several of the Council members have been in office a long time.
There is a tendency to get stale and stuck in your ways. It’s human nature and with this election there’s an obvious play by the incumbents to “circle the wagons”.
The Mayor’s comments about new voices is worrisome. He thinks one person can change the dynamic and points to Brian Berger ( a controversial person with obvious personal problems) as an example of that change.
The obvious implication is that a new voice might cause the same problems. This is exactly the reason we need new voices. Change is not necessarily disruptive.
My strategy would be to get the Council out of the herd mentality on real estate development projects and pay more attention to ALL the people in ALL parts of the City.
My attention would be on crime, economic development, transportation and neighborhood preservation.
Building strip malls, grocery stores, fast food outlets, and box like rentals is not on my agenda. This does not represent progress it represents a limited view of what we can accomplish.
John Presswood
Realtor; currently serves on the City of Wilmington’s Board of Adjustment
The City of Wilmington expects 60,000 additional residents over the next 25 years. How do you see the city accommodating this growth? Please be specific and include your thoughts on how the city will meet transportation needs that arise from more residents.
The City of Wilmington should push for the completion of the Wilmington Bypass and Independence Boulevard Extension to add another North-South roadway, revise the zoning code to allow for higher density land use with row houses and mixed use development to reduce urban sprawl and revitalize the downtown area. This would keep more commuters off the roadways. I would work with the Pender, Brunswick, and Onslow County leaders to reconnect the rail lines between Wilmington and Raleigh so we can reconnect passenger and freight rail transportation to the state capitol. This would also allow tourists from the entire east coast to reach Wilmington and enhance our tourist industry. Passenger rail service could be provided by Amtrak that leases CSX and Norfolk Southern rail lines across the country. Wilmington City Council needs to put more focus on the 1-25 year time frame by utilizing our existing rail line as an alternative method of transportation. This could be done by recruiting a historic/antique style commuter rail provider that leases the existing CSX rail lines. This system could be really helpful when we have large events such as the Azalea Festival and Riverfest downtown. The idea of moving the rail lines out of Wilmington is a possible long term goal that may happen 30-40 years from now and then a trolley system could be added. However, city council needs to put more focus on the next 1-25 years. The plan of recruiting passenger and commuter rail providers to Wilmington, would be a more cost effective use of local tax payer money. There is existing rail line infrastructure in place that is being underutilized. We also need work with NCDOT and CSX to make sure all of our rail road crossings have crossing gates. If crossing gates were located on all the railroad crossings within the city limits, then trains could go at a higher speed. This would also reduce the amount of time that sleeping residents hear the whistle warnings when the train passes through each rail crossing.
Do you think the city is making an effective effort to reduce crime? What is the council’s role in making sure the city is a safer place?
The key to reducing the crime rate is to give people opportunities to improve themselves by having access to good paying jobs. The citizens of Wilmington need good paying jobs to provide their own housing, food and financial security. The city could do a better job to reduce crime in Wilmington. The council needs to put more effort into recruiting light (clean) manufacturing employers so that young men and women have a place to find a job that will sustain them. The Wilmington City Council needs to work with the New Hanover County Government to implement vocational training for technology, manufacturing, automotive, and construction work skills to be taught in the school system. This needs to happen before young people turn 18, so that they graduate high school with work skills. The council also needs to promote more police bike-walk patrols, better city street lighting, and improve code enforcement for abandoned houses. The city council needs to partner with the New Hanover County officials to utilize (county owned) activity buses for transporting at-risk youth to nonprofit youth centers and city recreational facilities.
Economic development has been a hot topic as the city competes with other regions for businesses to relocate. What is the city’s role in attracting business to Wilmington and how would you go about executing this plan if elected?
Wilmington needs an innovation “hub” building in the downtown area in order to recruit high tech and research-development jobs. This could lead to other high tech branch-off businesses locating around the central building. These would be clean industry and higher paying jobs that would serve to support surrounding businesses in the Wilmington area. Council would need to find a corporate partner to deliver gigabyte internet speed to the innovation building and the surrounding downtown area. This would serve to facilitate an economic catalyst for bringing new higher paying jobs to Wilmington. The focus of a council member should be to leverage state and federal money for projects that revitalize our economy. This is a big project and would require a public-private partnership in order to accomplish it. This same innovation project has been accomplished in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which served to create a big increase in high tech and other corporations relocating to that city.
If you were to receive a city council seat, what is your top priority for your time on the council? What is your strategy for getting results for that priority?
My top priority as a Wilmington City Council Member would be to bring better paying jobs to Wilmington. Financial security is key to resolving the crime, adequate housing and prosperous future for city residents. This is beautiful place to live and work. This area has so many things to offer with our historic district, parks, beaches, waterways and ocean areas that need to be preserved. Corporations will see this when deciding whether to relocate here. However, the transportation network is designed for a smaller town rather than the growing city Wilmington has become. This will make this city a less appealing location choice. The best strategy to correct this infrastructure problem is to support the completion of the (state funded) Independence Boulevard Extension that would provide a second North-South road artery. The next 1-25 years should be the focus of a city council member. The existing rail network needs to be utilized as an alternative mode of transportation. A commuter rail provider that leases the existing CSX rail bridge and line across the Cape Fear River should be recruited to provide a park and ride system. This would alleviate the frequent traffic jams that occur on a Leland-Wilmington commute. The rail line between Wilmington and Raleigh needs to be reconnected. I would work with surrounding county leaders to lobby for state and federal funding for this project. We also need to have passenger rail service from Wilmington to Raleigh and Charlotte. It is time to spark our local economy in Wilmington. I am the youngest candidate at 44 years old and it is time for us to have new and younger members on Wilmington City Council. I want to protect our natural, historic and cultural environment, while allowing the citizens of Wilmington to prosper. If you want Wilmington to have better jobs, traffic and crime solutions then please vote and bring a friend to vote. It is time for us to get good paying jobs moving here and our cars moving better through Wilmington. Local government directly impacts your life. Vote Presswood to “Move Wilmington Forward”.
Alvin Rogers
Local small business owner; lifelong Wilmington resident
The City of Wilmington expects 60,000 additional residents over the next 25 years. How do you see the city accommodating this growth? Please be specific and include your thoughts on how the city will meet transportation needs that arise from more residents.
I became acquainted with city politics over 30 years ago, while fighting to keep commercial encroachment out of my neighborhood. Seeing that other residents were having similar concerns in their neighborhoods led me to seek a seat on the city’s planning commission and subdivision review board. I believe many homeowners buy in their particular neighborhoods with certain expectations. For most people, their home is their greatest investment. I have concerns about changing the densities in neighborhoods. That being said, there are people that are not interested in maintaining yards or homes. I believe if we expand on “Mayfaire Main Street” type concepts throughout existing commercial areas in the city this would absorb a great number of people. Imagine Independence Mall and other businesses all over the city having apartments above stores. This is a more efficient use of existing land and in some areas it will not generate as much extra traffic.
With regard to extra traffic, Glenn Harbeck’s proposal to move CSX rail traffic across the river and then access directly to the state ports is an excellent idea. This would free up the railroad tracks to be used for a light rail trolley system circling the city. A bridge from I-140 to Independence Blvd. would give us easier access to Brunswick County and could redirect truck traffic from the state ports directly out of town.
Do you think the city is making an effective effort to reduce crime? What is the council’s role in making sure the city is a safer place?
If there was an easy solution to crime someone would have eradicated it before now. I believe staff should look at specific types of crime i.e. drugs, break-ins, assaults, etc. and see if any other areas, anywhere, have lower crime rates, how they control it, and how it would best work for us here in Wilmington.
I also believe the police chief and the sheriff working together is having a positive effect on crime in some areas. Their cooperative efforts along with more community policing should be expanded.
Economic development has been a hot topic as the city competes with other regions for businesses to relocate. What is the city’s role in attracting business to Wilmington and how would you go about executing this plan if elected?
Tourism is a “clean” industry and should be encouraged. I believe a city trolley system would encourage this. I feel the city should do more to encourage small businesses.
If you were to receive a city council seat, what is your top priority for your time on the council? What is your strategy for getting results for that priority?
Road and traffic improvements are the main reason I’m running for city council. For over 20 years the DOT has “tinkered” with what to do with the Oleander and South College Rd. intersection. They appear to be focused on having an overpass down South College Rd. that would cross over Wrightsville Ave. and Oleander Dr. This would ruin all the businesses along South College Rd. in the Winter Park area and would do nothing to address Kerr Avenue’s impact as well. The DOT wants to widen Kerr Ave. to at least 5 lanes all the way down to Oleander Dr. with a right turn in and right turn out. This would only add to the congestion in this area.
My proposal for a less that 10 block area along South College Rd. and Kerr Ave. is to make them a one way pair from Lake Ave. up to the Wilshire /Fountain Dr. area. This would solve both roads problems with one money, be cheaper than an overpass, and would allow the remaining businesses to thrive. With fewer directions at signalized intersections the time allowed per direction would be lengthened and the entire one way lanes will move more traffic more efficiently. I have drawings of this plan at my business for anyone to review at Rogers Appliance which is located at 4715 Oleander Dr.
It is in the national interest to look for oil and gas off the coast of South Carolina and nearby states, but federal officials who will decide whether to approve drilling aren’t close to a final decision, the director of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Tuesday in Columbia.
Speaking at a meeting organized by backers of drilling, the bureau’s Abigail Hopper said the public will have another opportunity to comment on offshore drilling early next year. She said it would be late 2016 before the ultimate decision is made.
The Obama administration has proposed opening the South Atlantic to drilling for the first time in three decades, while also allowing for the possible use of seismic testing to find offshore energy supplies.
But the drilling plan is not final and the federal government can drop the South Atlantic if sufficient evidence is received, as it has in other areas, federal officials acknowledged. This year, the Obama administration dropped one small area — off the Alaska coast — that had been under consideration for oil and gas development, Hopper said.
“It is way too premature to say that we are asking to gamble with your resources,’’ Hopper said, addressing environmental concerns about drilling. “I think what we are doing is saying we are going to take a look. We have a responsibility to take a look. I think it is in our national interests to take a look. A decision has not been made.’’
The search for oil and gas off of South Carolina has pitted more than 20 coastal city governments opposed to drilling for environmental and tourism reasons against pro-business Gov. Nikki Haley and oil and gas boosters in the state’s congressional delegation, including Republican Reps. Jeff Duncan and Tom Rice. Cities opposed to drilling include Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head Island, North Myrtle Beach and Beaufort.
Hopper said her agency will weigh all comments.
Although Tuesday’s forum was sponsored by the Consumer Energy Alliance, a national pro-drilling group, many of the approximately 60 people attending oppose offshore drilling. They included representatives of Oceana, the Conservation Voters of South Carolina, the S.C. Wildlife Federation and the S.C. Coastal Conservation League. Many opponents worry about oil spills and the possible impact on beaches, but boosters say drilling could bring thousands of jobs to South Carolina.
The bureau’s next step is to release a draft plan in early 2016 on proposed oil and gas leases off the South Atlantic coast. At the same time, the bureau will release a draft environmental impact statement that could help guide the agency. In both cases, the public would have a chance to comment, Hopper said. A final decision on offshore drilling leases would be made by 2017, according to plans.
The search for oil and gas involves seismic testing, which relies on booming cannons that can disturb dolphins, whales and other forms of marine life. Seven businesses have applied for permits to conduct seismic testing. The ocean energy agency has yet to approve a permit.
Most of those on Tuesday’s roundtable panel to discuss drilling spoke in favor of offshore energy exploration or development in South Carolina waters. They included S.C. Manufacturers Alliance director Lewis Gossett and state Rep. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Georgetown, as well as Murrells Inlet resident Bill Crowther, president of the pro-drilling Atlantic Energy Alliance. Hamilton Davis, energy issues director with the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, was the lone panelist to speak against drilling
LONDON, England – Tuesday saw a busy second day at World Travel Market London with buyer numbers up a huge 29% and visitor numbers up 3% by lunchtime compared with the same day last year.
A key event was the UNWTO WTM Ministers’ Summit, where more than 50 tourism ministers and deputy ministers met to debate the challenges of branding destinations in the “brave new world” of social media.
As well as hosting one of the largest gatherings of ministers in the world, the summit also heard from Facebook, Expedia, Eurostar and the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“The rules of the game have changed and the consumer is in command,” said Dr Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General.
“Destinations can reach out directly to consumers on social media, and consumers can be whistle blowers or ambassadors. It’s not enough to say you are good, you have to be good.”
However, the debate’s moderator, CNN International anchor Richard Quest, warned that the rapid rise of social media meant countries’ brands were at “the mercy of so many external forces” over which they have no control.
Two key award ceremonies also took place. The WTM World Travel Leaders Awards saw 12 WTM London media partners honour key individuals or organisations in their region.
Meanwhile, Japan, the Canary Islands, Egypt, Etihad Airways and eRevMax were named winners at the WTM London 2015 Best Stand Design Awards.
Japan National Tourism Organization (AS370) won the overall Best Stand accolade; Canary Islands (EU1600/EU1650) was voted Best Stand for Doing Business and Etihad Airways (ME350) was awarded the accolade for Best Stand Personnel.
The Egyptian Tourist Authority’s impressive wooden boat with oars was voted the Best Stand Feature (AF500/AF550), while eRevMax (TT550) received the gong for Most Innovative Stand within the Travel Tech Show@WTM.
WTM London Head of Sales Deborah Dewe said: “Every year exhibitors pull out all the stops to ensure their stands achieve maximum exposure. This year, feedback shows stand design has moved up a gear with the judges reporting a greater selection of design stands than ever before.”
Another gearshift came with the appearance of Olympic cycling hero Sir Bradley Wiggins. ‘Wiggo’ dropped in on the Balearic Islands’ stand for a photo shoot to promote sporting initiatives in the Spanish destination.
The industry also learnt about creating a foodie culture in travel. World Food Travel Association executive director Erik Wolf told a WTM London audience: “Food and drink can be drivers of economic development – they’re great ways to excite people about a destination.”
He noted a well-marketed food culture driving the rise of ‘underdog’ destinations such as Asheville in North Carolina. “Food and drink travellers are gravitating towards smaller areas. If you’re a foodie, you’ve done New York, you’ve done London, you’ve done San Francisco; you’re looking for something different.”
Similarly, a sports tourism debate heard that the numbers attracted by an event may be relatively small, but the media exposure can be enormous.
Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London Partners, said three NFL games together may only attract a total of about 9,000 overseas visitors – “a drop in the ocean” compared to the 19 million international visitors coming to London each year.
“However, politically, and from a media perspective, sport punches above its weight and certainly helps with destination marketing,” he said.
“Sport has lots of eyeballs on it, so you can achieve more than bums on seats.”
Also hoping for more bums on seats is Sicily, which will receive a new daily flight from London. British Airways’ first ever direct flight to Palermo launches in May, with tourism officials expecting its “Sicily, so much…” campaign to help raise the island’s UK profile.
Mexico City, meanwhile, will work with the country’s popular beach destinations to encourage more twin-centre holidays. In the past six months, seven carriers have announced plans for new routes or expanded services to the Mexican capital from key North American and European cities.
FIU legend Rocco Angelo sure can bring down the house. The Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management recently threw the professor a surprise party that drew industry luminaries and scores of alumni from as far away as New York, California and Amsterdam.
With Frank Sinatra and Julie Andrews—his favorites—blaring in the background, and wine, appetizers and even a ballroom at the luxe Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables donated for the occasion, the evening turned into something of a love fest. In casual conversation and prepared remarks, a crescendo of praise rose in honor of the dynamic 84-year-old who landed at FIU in 1973 and has never left.
“He’s an amazing human being,” said Jay Litt, a consultant to the hospitality industry and the first alumnus of FIU’s then School of Hotel, Food and Travel Services. Litt earned his degree shortly before Angelo arrived on campus, the two just missing each other in the classroom. But as he has now done with students and graduates for the better part of four decades, Angelo quickly got to know the young man and offered guidance. “I’ve loved him ever since,” Litt said. “We’ve been friends for the last 42 years.”
Rocco Angelo, right, receives congratulations from ’92 Chaplin School alumnus Steve Mangano, regional director for IPC Healthcare in Raleigh, N.C. “I would consider him a mentor and what brought me to FIU to begin with,” said Mangano, whose father was a childhood friend of Angelo’s in New York.
A former classmate of Angelo’s at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, the venture capitalist Leland Pillsbury happily roasted his friend from the podium while in private offered the sincerest compliment. “I’m here because of the impact he’s had on young people,” Pillsbury said. “A great many of them owe a significant portion of their success to Rocco, so I’m here to thank him for that.”
On that point, 1986 alumnus Brian Nordahl, senior vice president for a Dallas-based hotel investment firm, wholeheartedly agreed. “I can only say he has been always there for me, always gracious, really the embodiment of hospitality, just such a great example. And the fact that he’s still doing this after all these years is just absolutely remarkable.”
Those who work with Angelo were no less effusive in their praise.
“I love Rocco. He inspires me. He’s such a good soul. He’s kind, he’s gentle, he’s professional, he’s brilliant,” said Judith Williams, an instructor at the Chaplin School. She emphasized the sheer joy the man brings with him wherever he goes. “We often do a little jig together in the corner,” she said of the avowed dancer. “It’s a hug and a kiss and a little jig.”
Added Mike Hampton, dean of the school, “He’s touched every student’s life that’s come through here, practically. He’ such an inspiration to so many people.”
The native New Yorker came to FIU after having taught classes for ten years at Cornell and following a successful career in industry. His experience and connections allowed him to help countless students by providing invaluable introductions and spot-on professional advice.
At FIU he taught classes on customer service, inventory control and other subjects, served as a counselor and associate dean and, after formally retiring in in 1997, has stayed on as an ambassador for the school and a leader of its growing legion of alumni.
From a reluctant start to a lasting legacy
In front of more than 200 well wishers, Angelo confided that he turned down the opportunity to join FIU in time for its opening in 1972 despite an invitation from the hospitality school’s dean at the time, who was an old friend. Having started a consulting firm, Angelo worked out of New York but traveled frequently on business to the Caribbean with stops in Miami. Persuaded to teach for one semester as he continued to run his company, he met a hospitality student whose story would have him rethink his own trajectory.
The young man explained that he had never expected to pursue a university degree but that someone had seen potential in him and encouraged him to attend community college and then give FIU a try.
“‘Well, it worked,’” he told Angelo at the end of the course. “’I can’t believe I’m the first one in my family to graduate from college.’ And he wanted to thank me,” Angelo recounted. “I thought, wow, to have that affect on another human being. I was hooked forever.”
At the recent event, the Chaplin School launched the Rocco M. Angelo Legacy in Leadership Endowment, a fund to support students in several increasingly key areas of study, including real estate, predictive analytics and financial management. Angelo, always a champion of young people, encouraged his high-powered friends in the room to throw their support to an institution he continues to cherish and where he plans to stay for years to come.
“It has been a glorious ride,” he said. “There was a dynamic and an energy at FIU which has never abated. It’s a great place to be.”
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For the first time since Prohibition, liquor bottles are being sold outside of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control system.
A new law, in place for a month, is allowing craft distilleries to sell visitors a single bottle of their product. It’s a small but significant shift in how liquor is distributed in North Carolina, which has long maintained a tightly controlled system of state-run ABC stores.
The distillery sales are among several newly relaxed restrictions on alcohol sales in North Carolina. Beer and wine retailers can now sell alcoholic cider and wine in glass jugs called “growlers” that have become popular in recent years to take draft beer home.
Retailers and distillers both say the changes should result in stronger revenues for their businesses. Critics worry about what’s next.
For Andrew Porter, co-owner of the new Doc Porter’s Distillery in Charlotte, being able to sell a bottle to people touring his facility was key to his new business. The distillery opens for tours Friday, just as Porter’s first vodka arrives in ABC stores. He thinks getting people familiar with his product on a tour will translate into sales at state-run stores.
“People need to know it’s there,” he says. “When people go into a liquor store, they know exactly what they’re going to get. They don’t browse the aisle. It’s not like in a wine store. People go in for vodka and go straight to where the vodkas are.”
In order to sell a bottle once a year to visitors, Porter has to have spreadsheets that show the date of purchase and the buyer’s driver’s license. The idea is to allow a distillery to build a fan base, but to still send interested buyers to the nearest ABC store.
While the tight controls mean that only a tiny percentage of liquor sales will occur outside the ABC system, the law change wasn’t without controversy.
The Christian Action League was among several conservative groups that lobbied against the bill, which was signed by Gov. Pat McCrory in June. It went into effect Oct. 1.
The league’s director, the Rev. Mark Creech, worries that distillery sales could be the first step toward a privatized liquor sales system in North Carolina.
“I have described the bill as a crack in the windshield of our ABC control system,” Creech said. “Once you start allowing the sale of liquor outside our ABC stores by anybody, you will be hard-pressed to deny that right to others.”
Other goals
Jeremy Norris of Broadslab Distillery near Benson says the state’s growing number of craft distilleries likely wouldn’t back a privatization plan. That’s because the state’s centralized ABC system helps small businesses get their products in stores across North Carolina.
In states with private liquor stores, Norris said, “it’s a lot more work as far as getting widespread business, and the business gets a little more cutthroat.”
The N.C. Distillers’ Association has other legislative priorities it will be lobbying for, according to Scott Maitland of Top of the Hill Distillery in Chapel Hill.
“This is a good first start, there’s plenty of things that need to happen,” he said. Distilleries face far more complicated permits than wineries and breweries when offering tastings at festivals and events. They also want the ability to make cocktails in their tasting rooms and sell more than one bottle per customer per year.
Maitland says North Carolina lags behind other states in creating a friendly environment for craft distillers. More than 40 other states have been allowing distillery bottle sales for years.
“North Carolina has a strange relationship to liquor,” he said.
Despite the restrictive laws, new distilleries have been opening at a rapid pace. The state’s first opened in 2008 in Rockingham County, and when Maitland sold his first bottles at Top of the Hill in 2012, his distillery was the state’s fifth. Now there are 27. The Charlotte area has five, including Doc Porter’s, Southern Artisan Spirits in Kings Mountain, Muddy River in Belmont and Southern Grace in Concord. Great Wagon Road Distilling, which originally opened in Pineville, is finishing a large new facility with a tasting room near South End.
“We’re seeing the same kind of beneficial impact in our urban and rural communities (from distilleries) as we’ve seen with breweries,” Maitland said. “We’re actually off to a much faster start on the distillery side, and we seem to be more geographically diverse.”
Maitland expects the new law will encourage more distilleries, and he said Top of the Hill is already adding more tours to keep up with demand.
“Suddenly the department of tourism and a host of other state agencies are now working with the Distillers’ Association,” he said. “We’re coming up with trails and doing all the agritourism that’s common for wineries and breweries.”
While distilleries ramp up bottle sales, wine and beer stores are now selling wine and hard cider in growler containers – an option for home consumption that had been confined to beer until Oct. 1.
Wine 101, which has locations in Wake Forest and Northwest Raleigh, has added wines on tap and fills one-liter growlers, which are larger than the standard bottle size.
Owner Joe O’Keefe says that quality wines are now being distributed in kegs, and refilling a glass growler can be less expensive for customers.
“The cost per ounce is significantly less,” he said. “They’re getting more wine for less money. It’s cheaper because there’s no glass, there’s no labels.”
Customers buy the growler for $6.99, then each fill-up runs between $20 and $29, depending on the wine. Without any advertising, O’Keefe says his customers have quickly taken to the new option.
“It tastes really good off the tap, it’s really fresh,” he said. “I bought 100 growlers a week and a half ago, and we have four left.”
The growler law change was pushed by the growing number of craft cider businesses in North Carolina. While cider is often served on tap next to beers, state law puts the “fermented fruit” in the same category as wine.
Bottle shops like The Glass Jug in South Durham can now fill growlers with cider as well as beer.
Glass Jug owner Chris Creech said customers have wanted cider on draft, but until October he only sold it in bottles. And since some small local cider producers like Bull City Ciderworks don’t offer bottles, it means more of their offerings will be available for home consumption.
Coming directly from a keg, “it’s going to maintain the carbonation and the freshness,” Creech said.
Like distilleries, the number of cider producers in North Carolina has grown rapidly.
“It’s riding the coattails of craft beer,” Creech said. “We’ve seen a big jump in the varieties of ciders available and the amount being produced, and also the demand for it.”
Muddy River Distillery, 1500 River Drive, Belmont, www.muddyriverdistillery.com. Tours on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Southern Artisan Spirits, Kings Mountain, www.southernartisanspirits.com. Makers of Cardinal Gin. Not currently open for tours, but they’re building a tasting room that should be open by the end of the year.
Southern Grace Distilleries, 20 Cabarrus Ave. East, Concord, www.southerngracedistilleries.com. Tours by appointment; call 704-622-6413 or email through the website. No sales during tours; that’s expected in about a year.
Great Wagon Road Distillery, 227 Southside Drive, Charlotte, Great Wagon Road Distilling Company on Facebook. Currently finishing a new facility, including a full bar, with tours starting Nov. 7.
North Carolina’s Fayetteville Area Convention Visitors Bureau (FACVB) recently added two staff members.
Jessica Bennett, the new tourism sales manager, secures and services group tour, family reunion and wedding business for Cumberland County. A Fayetteville native, Jessica has worked as a government, corporate and leisure travel consultant, as well as product coordinator for a full- service, receptive tour operator. She has also served as tourism coordinator at the Lexington Tourism Authority in Lexington, North Carolina.
As communications assistant, Jenny Bell manages the bureau’s calendar of events submissions. She also assists with data collection for the bureau’s visitor profile and special projects. Jenny has held several editor positions in the U.S. and abroad. She recently led a family readiness group while stationed in Caserma Del Din, Italy.
ASHEVILLE — The Colburn Earth Science Museum, soon to be renamed The Asheville Museum of Science, has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. The funding will enable the museum to move forward with its Moving Science into the Spotlight campaign to move to an expanded space in downtown Asheville’s Wells Fargo building.
“We’re extremely excited to receive the full funding we requested from the TDA,” said Jon Neumann, museum board president. “Not only will it allow us to fast-track our expansion plans, it also shines a spotlight on AMOS as we look for additional financial partners for our campaign.”
Currently located downstairs in Pack Place, the museum’s new home will not only offer a larger space with street-level visibility, but also the opportunity to fully expand its mission to become a general science museum.
“Changing our name, from The Colburn Earth Science Museum to The Asheville Museum of Science, reflects our vision of becoming a full science museum,” said Anna Saylor, the museum’s interim executive director. “We’re thrilled that the TDA has supported that vision by awarding us this grant. We look forward to helping educate even more kids and to becoming a downtown destination for Western North Carolina children and families as well as tourists.”
The Colburn Museum has undergone many changes since its founding in 1960 as the Burnham S. Colburn Memorial Museum. From a gem and mineral museum to an earth science museum, it continues to broaden its mission to house interactive science-related exhibits, special events and educational programs for both adults and children. This will be the third move for the museum since its original location on Coxe Avenue.
The Asheville Museum of Science will create its new vision of a full science museum by utilizing the 8,000-square-foot Wells Fargo space. Passersby will be exposed to science exhibits and the gift shop via the street-level museum window on Patton Avenue.
This includes Magic Planets, a large-scale, digital video globe powered by the Elumenati. Magic Planets displays a huge library of exhibits, animations, videos and images created by NOAA, NASA and other leading museums and science centers.
Schools, kids and families throughout Western North Carolina will enjoy the broader cutting-edge programming covering a wide range scientific inquiry and STEM-based curriculum. The new location will also have a larger exhibit area and classroom space. The Colburn will host a Spotlight Campaign Kick-off event, Friday, Nov. 20 at the Pack Place location starting at 6 p.m. and offering tours to the new location.
For more information, contact Anna Priest info@colburnmuseum.org 828-254-7162.
KITA-YATSUGATAKE, Japan—In a line of hikers high in the Japan Alps, Maya Amano dropped into a crouch, whipped out a magnifying glass and gazed intently at the forest floor.
“Cute!” she concluded, running her hands over a clump of moss.
ENLARGE
It was hylocomium splendens, a common variety but a welcome find for Ms. Amano, a 30-year-old teacher on her first moss-viewing tour, with two dozen other enthusiasts. Atop a 7,000-foot mountain pass for a weekend studying the flowerless plants, they donned rubber boots to wade through swamps, gazed at moss under microscopes and listened to moss lectures.
Watching moss grow is exciting to people like Masanobu Higuchi, a Tokyo University professor who leads the tours and gives the moss talks. Appreciation of moss is part of the Japanese psyche, he says.
“When we see an old stone covered in moss,” he says, “we think it’s beautiful.”
Often trampled, ripped up or ignored elsewhere in the world, moss is getting new attention as a tourist draw in Japan.
Hoshino Resort Co., an operator of spas and traditional inns, about three years ago began offering a “Moss Girl Stay” package at a northern-Japan resort. Its website features hunky hiking guides, moss-themed drinks and hikes through mossy forests.
The package was initially available only in summer, spokeswoman Nanako Wada says, but this year it was expanded to anytime the hotel is open, because of strong demand. Most customers, she says, are women in their 20s through 40s.
Moss tours are cropping up across the archipelago. The Bryological Society of Japan, dedicated to the study of moss and other bryophytes—small rootless and flowerless plants—says membership is growing.
The enthusiasm is rooted in a history of Japanese esteem for moss. Forests offer more than 1,800 species of it, and Buddhist temple gardens are graced with moss carpets.
Japan’s national anthem mentions moss as a metaphor for the permanence of the emperors’ rule: “May your reign continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations, until the pebbles grow into boulders lush with moss.”
Moss’s intricacy and complexity satisfy a Japanese love of fine detail, Prof. Higuchi says, while its toughness—some varieties predate dinosaurs—provides a metaphor of permanence that complements the fleetingness of Japan’s most-celebrated natural symbol, the cherry blossom.
Some Japanese, not content with moss in situ, want to bring the stuff home, creating business for budding entrepreneurs.
In a Tokyo studio, Tokuyuki Wada makes moss-related products such as mini-gardens in traditional wooden sake-drinking containers, which are sold at home-furnishing retailers like Muji.
Mr. Wada, a former record-label executive who once managed a Japanese pop star, drew on his show-business experience to organize a moss-themed Valentine’s Day event. Couples attended a moss-ball-making workshop as a pop-rock group sang love songs.
He also makes moss finger rings, with small containers holding the plant where a gem normally goes, to symbolize the slow growth of a relationship—or, perhaps, the absence of one.
“You wear it and then get attached to it,” says Shinobu Hattori, manager of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum gift shop, which sells the rings. “And if you water it, you get the feeling it responds to you, which appeals to young women very much.”
Mr. Wada says his moss business brings in about $120,000 a year, up fivefold since it started about six years ago.
Moss mania has a way to go before anyone can liken it to Japanese crazes like bonsai or manga in its global reach. But moss balls called kokedama, which can be hung indoors, have appeared at gardening shops in trendy foreign outposts such as Brooklyn.
David Spain, whose Raleigh, N.C., landscaping business creates moss gardens, says more American moss fans are putting Japan on their travel “bucket lists” to see the growth in its spiritual home: “That’s the Holy Grail—to go to Japan.”
Some don’t cotton to moss. Mr. Wada says he wrote Lady Gaga suggesting she wear a moss bra during her performances but never heard back. The pop star’s publicist didn’t respond to inquiries.
Prof. Higuchi says when he traveled to Cambodia, cultural officials asked him for help removing moss from temples. “I told them it’s good to have the moss,” he says. “I realized then that there are different national characteristics.”
His Kita-Yatsugatake tours started about five years ago. Mountain-hut owners in the region invited him to speak after the bryological society designated the area a “precious moss forest.”
They created a cartoon moss mascot—a smiling round face with antenna-like stalks holding spore capsules—to adorn guides’ jackets.
Prof. Higuchi teaches participants to identify species of moss and to distinguish them from another rootless but unrelated growth, the lichen. Confusing matters, moss and lichens are both called koke.
“They are kind of rivals,” he says, “as we always see them in areas where mosses are growing.”
About 485 kinds of moss have been recorded in the Kita-Yatsugatake area, and Prof. Higuchi introduces visitors to more than a dozen on tours. Guides explain the subtle differences between seitaka-sugi-goke, or tall cedar moss, and koseitaka-sugi-goke, short cedar moss. Some visitors bring cameras with macro lenses to document finds.
On the first tour, only the hut owners showed up. Last year, 250 attended six tours.
Moss-viewing “has a geeky aspect,” Prof. Higuchi says, so some fans “hesitate to talk about their interest openly out of fear that others may look at them as weird.”
“But people here are all moss lovers,” he says, “so they can let their passion out freely.”
After the recent hike, participants gathered for dinner and talked moss over fish and rice. Then came a three-hour lecture by Prof. Higuchi.
Moss events have also surfaced in places like Yakushima island, whose mossy forests were the setting for the popular anime film “Princess Mononoke.”
Prof. Higuchi is bemused by the moss “boom,” as some call it, saying it is antithetical to the plant’s nature. “We want to have quiet growth, through word-of-mouth.”
Charlotte Hornets’ Jeremy Lamb, right, drives against Chicago Bulls’ Bobby Portis during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. The Hornets won 130-105. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)The Associated Press
Charlotte Hornets’ Jeremy Lamb, right, drives against Chicago Bulls’ Bobby Portis during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. The Hornets won 130-105. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose (1) shoots over Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)The Associated Press
Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose (1) shoots over Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker (15) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan argues a call with an official during the first half of his team’s NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)The Associated Press
Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan argues a call with an official during the first half of his team’s NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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Charlotte Hornets’ Jeremy Lin (7) drives past Chicago Bulls’ Taj Gibson (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)The Associated Press
Charlotte Hornets’ Jeremy Lin (7) drives past Chicago Bulls’ Taj Gibson (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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Charlotte Hornets’ Cody Zeller, center, dunks over Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah, left, and Taj Gibson during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)The Associated Press
Charlotte Hornets’ Cody Zeller, center, dunks over Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah, left, and Taj Gibson during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler, right, looks to pass as Charlotte Hornets’ Spencer Hawes, left, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)The Associated Press
Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler, right, looks to pass as Charlotte Hornets’ Spencer Hawes, left, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jeremy Lamb began paying dividends for the Charlotte Hornets one day after signing a three-year, $21 million contract extension.
Lamb scored 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field in a 130-105 rout of the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
The always-witty coach Steve Clifford was quick to claim credit for the move.
“I said, ‘Listen, this guy is going to go 9 for 10 most nights — if we don’t pay him now it’s a mistake,'” Clifford said, drawing laughs from reporters.
Lamb said he’s thankful for the new start after struggling to find consistent playing time in Oklahoma City and getting lost in the rotation at times.
“It’s a great feeling that they trusted me to give me a contract,” Lamb said. “I have great teammates, a great GM and owner. It’s just a fresh start.”
Nicolas Batum added 18 as the Hornets cruised to their first victory of the season.
Jeremy Lin had 15 points, Al Jefferson had 14 and Spencer Hawes chipped in with 13 on three 3-pointers as the hot-shooting Hornets shot 14 of 22 from beyond the arc and made 22 of 23 free throws.
The Hornets (1-3) led by as many as 27 in the second quarter after starting the game by hitting 13 of 18 shots from the field and all 11 foul shots in the first quarter. The Bulls never mounted a serious challenge.
The Hornets were coming off back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Hawks, games in which Kemba Walker twice failed to make the tying shot at the end of regulation.
They didn’t need a last-second shot on Tuesday night.
“The whole team, just coming off a three-game losing streak, we knew we needed to get a win,” Lamb said. “Everybody was locked in and ready to play. We came out and hit them in the mouth and never looked back.”
With team owner Michael Jordan sitting on the end of the team bench, the Hornets tailed 100 points in the first three quarters, the most points allowed during that span by the Bulls since 1990.
Charlotte did it with good ball movement and quality shooting from everyone, including 7-footers Hawes and Frank Kaminsky, who were a combined 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. The Hornets played near flawless ball on offense and the Bulls were slow to get a hand up on open shooters. Charlotte made them pay, knocking down shot after shot from long distance.
The Hornets had 26 assists, many coming on drive and kicks.
“To me (when we do that) those are going to be our best nights,” Clifford said.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls (3-2) with a season-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while Doug McDermott added 17 points.
“We came out very flat and it just carried on the whole game,” said Joakim Noah, now a reserve for the Bulls. “Nobody brought an edge to the game except the rook (Bobby Portis), which is disappointing.”
TIP-INS
Bulls: The Bulls committed 13 turnovers that led to Charlotte 20 points. … Pau Gasol had 13 points and eight rebounds. … Derrick Rose had at least five assists for the third straight night but was a relative non-factor.
Hornets: Walker moved into a tie for fourth place on 3-point field goals made in Hornets history. … It was the most points the Hornets have ever scored against the Bulls.
THE MASCOT, TOO
Everything seemed to be falling for the Hornets.
Even the team mascot, wearing a thick Hornets costume, made a no-look, one-handed, over-the-shoulder shot from midcourt during a break in the action in the fourth quarter — much to the delight of the home crowd.
SO MUCH FOR SHOOTAROUND
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said he was shocked at how bad his team played after a good shootaround in the morning.
He called it “complete domination” by the Hornets.
“It was an individual effort tonight and it seemed as if no one had anybody’s back,” Hoiberg said. “We didn’t make them make the extra pass. They outrebounded us by 19 and you can go all the way down the line and it just wasn’t there and we have been pretty solid on that end of the floor. They just beat us in all areas tonight.”
SHOT TO THE HEAD
Hornets forward Cody Zeller needed eight stitches on his forehead after catching an elbow from Noah on a rebound, but did return to the game.
