When you visit North Carolina, make sure you have enough memory on your smartphone or camera. From fall leaves to mansions such as the Biltmore to the Atlantic’s rollicking waves cresting over miles of sandy beaches, the scenery is photoworthy, no matter when you’re visiting.
If you drive up I-85 into North Carolina from Atlanta, it’s easy to just see highway billboards without experiencing the state’s arts, culture, outdoor adventures, family activities and the dining, winery and brewery scenes. But let yourself wander, and you may end up making a visit to North Carolina an annual tradition. Consider starting with these arts and culture attractions and events.
Biltmore Estate
The pictures often pop up on Facebook: Visitors dwarfed by the French Renaissance-style mansion completed in 1895 on 8,000 acres in Asheville, N.C. Getting the entire front exterior in the photos makes selfies nearly impossible. The sheer size of the Biltmore — called “America’s largest home” — commands respect, and it is one of North Carolina’s most well-known landmarks. About 1 million people visit the privately owned Biltmore annually (daytime tickets are $50-$75; children 9 and under are free).
The house, built over six years and finished in 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt III, has 250 rooms, which includes 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and three kitchens. The cultural attraction offers a peek into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, as well as architecture and design. Its formal and informal gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, known as the father of American landscape architecture.
In December, the 209-room Village Hotel is expected to open, joining the 201-room Inn on Biltmore Estate. You also can stay at hotels, bed and breakfast inns, and vacation rentals in Asheville and explore the city’s bohemian culture and colorful leaf season (get weekly foliage reports at fallinthemountains.com).
Throughout the year, museum exhibits relate to Biltmore history. From Feb. 12 to July 4, the estate will host “Fashionable Romance: Wedding Gowns in Film,” which will feature costumes from films such as “Sense and Sensibility” and “Pride and Prejudice.”
In addition, the Antler Hill Village has the Biltmore Winery, with tours and tastings, and a historic barn and farmyard. Activities on the site include horseback riding, biking and fly fishing.
Many people remember some part of visiting the Biltmore. My first trip was in the 1990s, on a summer vacation. I traveled with my best friend in high school and her family in a minivan some 680 miles from suburban Chicago. When we pulled up to the mansion, we were more than a little envious of all the space.
Raleigh, the state capital, offers more than 40 free attractions, including the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. It’s the largest natural history museum in the Southeast and the state’s most-visited cultural attraction, drawing 973,738 visitors in 2014, according to data from Carolina Publishing Associates.
The museum showcases the rare Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur, nicknamed the “Terror of the South,” and offers hands-on experiences with scientists and educators. A new wing adjacent to the museum opened in 2012, adding the Nature Research Center — for visitors as well as researchers and students — and the three-story SECU Daily Planet, a giant globe that holds a theater. Special exhibitions include “Extreme Mammals,” running through March 2016.
The North Carolina Museum of Art has expanded over the years and its collections include 30 works by Auguste Rodin, making it the leading repository of the artist’s work in the Southeast. A special show on M.C. Escher, running through Jan. 17, is the most comprehensive exhibition of the Dutch artist’s works ever presented in the U.S.
The 164-acre Museum Park includes gardens, bike and walking paths, and outdoor art. New accommodations in downtown Raleigh include the 135-room Aloft Raleigh.
North Carolina Museum of Art, 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, N.C. 919-839-6262, ncartmuseum.org, @ncartmuseum.
Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, 421 Fayetteville St., Suite 1505, Raleigh, N.C. 1-800-849-8499, visitRaleigh.com, @visitRaleigh.
Pottery tradition
North Carolina has been home to potters since the 18th century, when families from England settled in the region known as the Sandhills. Here, you can see potters at work in studios or attend events such as the 11th annual WNC Pottery Festival (wncpotteryfestival.com) Nov. 7 in Dillsboro, about 50 minutes southwest of Asheville. There are also displays in museums, such as Charlotte’s Mint Museum Randolph, which has one of the world’s largest permanent collections of North Carolina pottery.
One of my favorite side trips in North Carolina is stopping in pottery studios in Seagrove, which boasts the nation’s largest community of potters. Seagrove is on the north end of what’s called the Pottery Road Scenic Byway (visitnc.com/trip-idea/pottery-road-scenic-byway), which starts in Pinehurst, a golf resort village, and includes about 80 potteries. Some artisans are descendents of the area’s original potters, operating shops and studios such as Ben Owen Pottery and Jugtown Pottery.
In Seagrove, we met and chatted with potters at work. A set of glazed pottery, including an apple baker, is on display in my kitchen today, a reminder of that trip and a rural region filled with artisans.
Jackson County, N.C. (Dillsboro, Cashiers, Cherokee and Sylva), mountainloversnc.com.
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WLOS News 13 provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of events and items of interest in the community, sports and entertainment programming for Asheville, NC and nearby towns and communities in Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina, including the counties of Buncombe, Henderson, Rutherford, Haywood, Polk, Transylvania, McDowell, Mitchell, Madison, Yancey, Jackson, Swain, Macon, Graham, Spartanburg, Greenville, Anderson, Union, Pickens, Oconee, Laurens, Greenwood, Abbeville and also Biltmore Forest, Woodfin, Leicester, Black Mountain, Montreat, Arden, Weaverville, Hendersonville, Etowah, Flat Rock, Mills River, Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton, Clyde, Franklin, Cullowhee, Sylva, Cherokee, Marion, Old Fort, Forest City, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, Spindale, Spruce Pine, Bakersville, Burnsville, Tryon, Columbus, Marshall, Mars Hill, Brevard, Bryson City, Cashiers, Greer, Landrum, Clemson, Gaffney, and Easley.
A trip to the mountains in western North Carolina could bring a double dose of delight this week: leaves changing to fall colors along with livelier waterfalls, thanks to so much rain over the past two weeks.
The cloudy, drizzly days that are now behind us slowed the progression of the leaf color show at the state’s highest peaks, according to Howie Neufeld, plant physiologist for Appalachian State University. The bonus is that rivers, streams and waterfalls are gushing.
“October is usually dryer,” Neufeld said. “This year the waterfalls are doing really good.”
If you are planning to take a drive to the mountains to see the changing of the seasons, this weekend would be a good time to add a stop to see one of the region’s rivers cascade down the rocks.
▪ A visit to Linville Gorge and Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway puts you in reach of scenic drives, trails and the state’s most popular waterfall. Take one of two forest trails from the Linville Visitor Center, at milepost 316.4, to see the 90-foot falls. The Linville Gorge Wilderness area includes a 39-mile trail system with steep descents to the Linville Gorge Trail. Erwins View Trail also leads to an overlook for Linville Gorge. Shortoff Mountain and Table Rock are scenic areas for climbers.
▪ Meander on U.S. Highway 64 for 19 miles from Franklin to Highlands to see the 250-foot drop at Cullasaja Falls, along the Mountain Water Scenic Byway. Expect to see plenty of leaf color on the approach to Highlands. This is mostly a car ride, as there aren’t many places to stop to see the falls unless you’re up for a steep hike. End the trip by taking a stretch at Whiteside Mountain near downtown Highlands for more scenic views reaching to 4,930 feet. Continue along U.S. 64, if you’ve got the time, to see other waterfalls tucked into the forests.
▪ Cove Creek Falls and Daniel Ridge Falls are in the 500-acre Pisgah National Forest near Asheville. A Visitor Information Center at 1001 Pisgah Highway is a good place to stop to get oriented to the area. Take Forest Service Road 475 to Cove Creek and Daniel Ridge falls. Other waterfalls also will be nearby.
BRISTOL — Acclaimed artists from around the country will visit downtown Bristol on Oct. 8 to install their winning sculptures in the Art in Public Places’ 2015-16 Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition.
The five new sculptures selected to appear in the organization’s tenth annual exhibition are:
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Not everyone on Sanibel’s Bowman’s Beach is here to play.
“What was the distance, Tyler?” asked a worker with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Land surveyors start in the water.
“Then they’re moving up the beach so we can build a profile of the way the beach looks right along that line,” said surveyor Kevin Smith.
They use survey-grade GPS technology to take cross sections of the beach. Through storms and the natural shifting of sand, beaches look different from one visit to the next.
“This is our first time in 20 years,” added Kathy Branch from North Carolina.
Lee County has nearly 50 miles of beaches.
The survey on Sanibel is part of a larger effort.
All state beaches are surveyed every four years. The state Department of Environmental Protection is now focused on Southwest Florida. Surveys started in Pinellas County in July and in late October will finish in Collier County, on the southern end of Marco Island.
The DEP makes findings available to local governments, which make decisions about where more sand is needed.
“We use this data to track long-term trends in shoreline position or erosion so that informed decisions can be made about beach management activities,” said Jennifer Carpenter, assistant director of DEP’s South District.
Managing erosion is expensive, so having the right information is critical.
“On to the next one,” said a DEP worker after measuring a section of Bowman’s Beach.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC (DCF) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Partners In Leadership, Inc. (PIL) on its majority recapitalization with Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney, Company, Inc. (HKW). The transaction represents DCF’s fourth closed deal in the training space in the last 12 months.
–>CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC (DCF) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Partners In Leadership, Inc. (PIL) on its majority recapitalization with Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney, Company, Inc. (HKW). The transaction represents DCF’s fourth closed deal in the training space in the last 12 months.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC (DCF) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Partners In Leadership, Inc. (PIL) on its majority recapitalization with Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney, Company, Inc. (HKW). The transaction represents DCF’s fourth closed deal in the training space in the last 12 months.
Temecula, California, PIL is the world’s premier provider of Accountability Training and Culture Change services. Since inception, Partners in Leadership has leveraged its award-winning content, results-based consultative approach, and global network of experienced professionals to assist thousands of clients and millions of people in achieving dramatic organizational results.
–> Temecula, California, PIL is the world’s premier provider of Accountability Training and Culture Change services. Since inception, Partners in Leadership has leveraged its award-winning content, results-based consultative approach, and global network of experienced professionals to assist thousands of clients and millions of people in achieving dramatic organizational results.
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Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Temecula, California, PIL is the world’s premier provider of Accountability Training® and Culture Change services. Since inception, Partners in Leadership has leveraged its award-winning content, results-based consultative approach, and global network of experienced professionals to assist thousands of clients and millions of people in achieving dramatic organizational results.
Roger Connors, co-founder and CEO, Partners In Leadership, Inc.
–> Roger Connors, co-founder and CEO, Partners In Leadership, Inc.
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“DCF delivered high-touch advisory services at every stage of the process. Their results-driven approach, deep capital markets relationships, and execution capabilities enabled us to secure an outcome that exceeded our expectations. We are excited to work with our new partners and continue to grow our business to the next level,” said Roger Connors, co-founder and CEO, Partners In Leadership, Inc.
Phil Colaco, managing director and head of the business services group, Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. “DCF focused on assisting PIL in identifying potential partners that understood the Company’s distinct competitive advantage while simultaneously limiting business disruption so that management could continue its focus on expanding customer relationships and driving growth throughout the transaction process.”
–> Phil Colaco, managing director and head of the business services group, Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. “DCF focused on assisting PIL in identifying potential partners that understood the Company’s distinct competitive advantage while simultaneously limiting business disruption so that management could continue its focus on expanding customer relationships and driving growth throughout the transaction process.”
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“The training and development industry continues to rapidly grow as large corporations increase their focus on improving organizational results through targeted investments in human capital initiatives,” said Phil Colaco, managing director and head of the business services group, Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. “DCF focused on assisting PIL in identifying potential partners that understood the Company’s distinct competitive advantage while simultaneously limiting business disruption so that management could continue its focus on expanding customer relationships and driving growth throughout the transaction process.”
About Partners In Leadership, Inc. For over 25 years, Partners In Leadership, Inc. has assisted thousands of companies and millions of people in more than 42 countries in understanding how to create greater accountability for results in their teams while helping leaders accelerate needed culture change. PIL’s clients utilize the Accountability Training and Cultural Transition Process to achieve key organizational objectives, such as increasing revenues and profitability, reducing costs, and successfully implementing major organizational initiatives. For more information, visit www.ozprinciple.com.
–> About Partners In Leadership, Inc. For over 25 years, Partners In Leadership, Inc. has assisted thousands of companies and millions of people in more than 42 countries in understanding how to create greater accountability for results in their teams while helping leaders accelerate needed culture change. PIL’s clients utilize the Accountability Training and Cultural Transition Process to achieve key organizational objectives, such as increasing revenues and profitability, reducing costs, and successfully implementing major organizational initiatives. For more information, visit www.ozprinciple.com.
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About Partners In Leadership, Inc. For over 25 years, Partners In Leadership, Inc. has assisted thousands of companies and millions of people in more than 42 countries in understanding how to create greater accountability for results in their teams while helping leaders accelerate needed culture change. PIL’s clients utilize the Accountability Training® and Cultural Transition Process® to achieve key organizational objectives, such as increasing revenues and profitability, reducing costs, and successfully implementing major organizational initiatives. For more information, visit www.ozprinciple.com.
About Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney, Company, Inc. Founded in 1903, Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney Company, Inc. (HKW) is a private equity firm, sponsoring management buy-outs of privately owned businesses and subsidiaries or divisions of public companies with revenues between $20 million and $200 million. With more than a century of excellence as its foundation, HKW is one of the nation’s oldest private equity firms. For more information, visit www.hkwinc.com.
–> About Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney, Company, Inc. Founded in 1903, Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney Company, Inc. (HKW) is a private equity firm, sponsoring management buy-outs of privately owned businesses and subsidiaries or divisions of public companies with revenues between $20 million and $200 million. With more than a century of excellence as its foundation, HKW is one of the nation’s oldest private equity firms. For more information, visit www.hkwinc.com.
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About Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney, Company, Inc. Founded in 1903, Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney Company, Inc. (HKW) is a private equity firm, sponsoring management buy-outs of privately owned businesses and subsidiaries or divisions of public companies with revenues between $20 million and $200 million. With more than a century of excellence as its foundation, HKW is one of the nation’s oldest private equity firms. For more information, visit www.hkwinc.com.
About Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC provides strategic advisory services and MA advice that help corporate, entrepreneurial and private equity clients create and act upon opportunities for liquidity, growth and long-term advantage. With an in-depth understanding of the marketplace and access to a global network of investment bankers, we help clients confidently pursue strategic transactions in both domestic and global markets. DCF, together with the Corporate Finance Advisory practices within the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited network of member firms, include in excess of 1,900 professionals, who work collaboratively across 150 international locations. With our significant experience providing investment banking services across key industries, we are able to offer our clients solutions that help them to achieve their strategic objectives. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com.
–> About Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC provides strategic advisory services and MA advice that help corporate, entrepreneurial and private equity clients create and act upon opportunities for liquidity, growth and long-term advantage. With an in-depth understanding of the marketplace and access to a global network of investment bankers, we help clients confidently pursue strategic transactions in both domestic and global markets. DCF, together with the Corporate Finance Advisory practices within the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited network of member firms, include in excess of 1,900 professionals, who work collaboratively across 150 international locations. With our significant experience providing investment banking services across key industries, we are able to offer our clients solutions that help them to achieve their strategic objectives. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com.
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About Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC provides strategic advisory services and MA advice that help corporate, entrepreneurial and private equity clients create and act upon opportunities for liquidity, growth and long-term advantage. With an in-depth understanding of the marketplace and access to a global network of investment bankers, we help clients confidently pursue strategic transactions in both domestic and global markets. DCF, together with the Corporate Finance Advisory practices within the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited network of member firms, include in excess of 1,900 professionals, who work collaboratively across 150 international locations. With our significant experience providing investment banking services across key industries, we are able to offer our clients solutions that help them to achieve their strategic objectives. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com.
Prior engagement performance is no guarantee of future performance and may not be representative of the experience of other clients. This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of a security.
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Prior engagement performance is no guarantee of future performance and may not be representative of the experience of other clients. This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of a security.
–>
Prior engagement performance is no guarantee of future performance and may not be representative of the experience of other clients. This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of a security.
FINRA and SIPC, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP and affiliate of Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP. Investment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.
–> FINRA and SIPC, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP and affiliate of Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP. Investment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.
–>
Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC, an SEC registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP and affiliate of Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP. Investment banking products and services within the United States are offered exclusively through Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.
On your visit to the ancient city of Yerevan, Armenia, you can stroll along the banks of the Hrazdan River, visit the historical Yerevan Circus, and go shopping on car-free Northern Avenue. Oh, and you can get an early pregnancy medical abortion at a private clinic for about 50 bucks.
These are the details of one of many packages available through Abortourism: a faux tourism agency that specializes in European excursions for women seeking reproductive healthcare options such as contraception, the morning after pill, or an abortion. The agency is a fictional creation as part of a Hungary-based campaign to raise awareness about reproductive rights. It’s not real, but it’s not exactly fake, either.
In Hungary, abortion is legal, but there are many barriers. In 2000, the government introduced a law that requires women to have a doctor confirm a pregnancy prior to an abortion—usually through a transvaginal ultrasound—which many critics consider invasive and unnecessary. A similar law in North Carolina requiring women to get ultrasounds prior to abortion and have the development of the fetus described to them was found unconstitutional last year.
Hungarian laws also require a woman to see a counsellor at least twice, with a mandatory waiting period in between, before getting an abortion. The first of these sessions has a number of requirements by law to try to “keep the fetus” and talk the woman out of the abortion, a requirement the Center for Reproductive Rights has called “onerous and biased.”
Funding for abortions is also restricted to cases of rape or medical complications, and while the morning-after pill is legal in Hungary, it requires a prescription.Since the morning-after pill is only effective if taken within five days of intercourse, many countries choose to dispense it over-the-counter, to prevent any delay in receiving the pill (from trying to get a doctor’s appointment, then having to go to the doctor, then to the pharmacy, and then wait for the prescription to get filled). When Hungary confirmed earlier this year that the morning-after pill would stay prescription-only, many nonprofits, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, criticized the decision for this reason.
In light of these barriers, an anonymous group of women came up with the idea for a resource for Hungarian women to show them what options they have, particularly in nearby countries, should they need to travel to access an abortion or other reproductive healthcare. But part of Hungary’s abortion law states that “it is forbidden by any means to encourage or promote abortion.”
Not wanting to break the law by somehow “promoting” abortion (this is part of the reason for their anonymity), the group created a fake website instead. It just happens to have actual, well-sourced information on it.
The group has also been promoting the site through a physical booth they’ve set up around Europe, handing out flyers, buttons, and stickers to raise awareness.
“I believe the whole point of juxtaposing abortion-on-demand to a ‘crisis situation’ is about the entitlement to the free reproductive labor of women,” wrote one of the creators of Abortourism, who would not reveal their identities, in an email. “If choosing to terminate a pregnancy would be nothing traumatic, but straightforward and easy, certain ‘truths’ (that women are inherently submissive and subservient, all they want in life are babies and a husband, and working and caring for others is not commitment, sacrifice, labor, but the natural order of things) would be endangered.”
But while the travel agency isn’t real, the idea of travelling in order to get an abortion is no fiction. Abortion “tourism,” as it’s sometimes dubbed, is an all too common phenomenon where women are forced to travel—sometimes to other countries—in order to access abortion or other reproductive healthcare needs.
It happens frequently in Europe, where reproductive rights can vary dramatically between neighboring countries. In 2014, 5,521 women travelled to the United Kingdom from other countries to get access to an abortion, according to the UK Department of Health. The majority of those women, 67.7 percent, were from Ireland, where abortion is illegal except in cases where the mother’s life is in immediate danger, and where women face 14 years in prison for obtaining an illegal abortion.
But abortion travel happens in North America, too. Women who live in rural communities sometimes have to travel for hundreds of miles to get access to reproductive healthcare, and in the US some women need to cross state lines, depending on local laws, to get the access they need. In Texas, for example, where abortion is illegal after 20 weeks, there is a nonprofit group dedicated specifically to helping women fund travel so they can access abortions.
Abortourism mirrors a similar faux-travel-agency project that was created in Spain last year in response to proposed changes to the law that would make abortion legal only in cases of rape or if the mother’s life was in immediate danger. Those proposals were eventually scrapped, but the “travel agency” site lives on, a reminder of “a reality we need to avoid,” as the site’s tagline says. But that reality already exists for many women.
“Just like as Nikolas Rose talks about the biological citizen, citizenship has a biological modality, and within it the relation to new medical technologies is a defining element,” the Abortourism group wrote. “You don’t have to be a technological determinist at all to see how medical technology aids the making of politics.”
VICE is covering the launch of the Global Goals for sustainable development. In the next fifteen years, the UN wants to achieve three massive tasks: end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and fix climate change. For more information on the Global Goals go to collectively.org.
By Matthew Clark mclark@scbiznews.com Published Oct. 8, 2015
With a self-imposed deadline to announce a proposed transmission line route looming, Duke Energy officials said they need more time to analyze public comments before making a decision.
In August, Duke proposed expediting the announcement for the new Foothills Transmission Line to October, but now officials said they plan to extend the review process until early November before deciding where the proposed 230-kilovolt line will run between Asheville and a new substation in Campobello, off Interstate 26, adjacent to Duke’s transmission corridor.
A transmission line similar to this one located near Campobello is part of Duke Energy’s proposed $320 million Foothills Transmission Line project, which will run from Asheville to a new substation located off Interstate 26 in Spartanburg County. (Photo by Matthew Clark)
“Our goal is to have the best possible plan with the least impact on property owners, the environment and the communities we serve,” said Robert Sipes, general manager of delivery operations for the Western Carolinas. “Concerns about the transmission line and substation, and the potential impact on tourism and mountain views we all enjoy, are significant.
“We want the thousands of property owners and others to know we are listening, and we very much appreciate their patience. The job for the Duke Energy team is to offer solutions to as many concerns as we can, including possible alternatives to the transmission line and substation, while also meeting the region’s growing expectation for cleaner and reliable power.”
Some business owners in northern Spartanburg County and into Polk County, North Carolina said the $320 million expansion could cause an economic hardship on an area reliant on the equestrian industry with the addition of the Tryon International Equestrian Center near Columbus, N.C., and various horse farms between there and Landrum.
“This will cut into our natural beauty and kill our economy,” said Suzanne Strickland, owner of Stone Soup restaurant located in Landrum. “I am looking at serious lost revenue.”
Duke officials contend the project is driven by a 360% increase in power demand since 1970 in Duke’s Western North Carolina region which currently serves 160,000 customers in nine North Carolina counties. In order to meet an expected growing demand — expected to increase by 15% over the next decade, according to the company — Duke Energy has proposed retiring its coal-fired power plant in Asheville and replacing it with a natural gas plant which “is expected to produce electricity less expensively than the existing coal plant, which is often dispatched to ensure the region’s power reliability even when it is not economical.”
Duke officials said if they receive approval from regulatory agencies in North and South Carolina, construction on the new transmission route could start in spring 2016 with a completion in summer 2019. Regulatory officials in North and South Carolina have held public hearings, but no decisions have been made on project approval.
Matthew Clark can be reached at 864-235-5677, ext. 107 or @matthewclark76 on Twitter
▪ From Interstate 20 west from Florence, take I-77 south to Exit 6, and turn right (west) on Shop Road, and reach fairgrounds in 3 miles.
▪ From U.S.-76/U.S. 378 west from Sumter, once inside Columbia city limits, continue on Garners Ferry Road, past I-77, then left on North Beltline Boulevard, right on Rosewood Drive to Assembly Street/George Rogers Boulevard, and left on the latter to fairgrounds.
WHEN: Oct. 14-25
▪ 3-11 p.m. Oct. 14
▪ Noon-11 p.m. Oct. 15, 18-22 and 25
▪ Noon-midnight Oct. 16, 23
▪ 11 a.m.-midnight Oct. 17 and 24
ADMISSION:
▪ For ages 6-54: $1 opening day for fairgrounds only, $7 advance, $10 at gate
▪ $7 ages 55 and older
▪ Free ages 5 and younger,with adult accompaniment
▪ Free for active and retired military, and dependents, with military ID
▪ Parking $5 cash in fair lots; parking for cars with an official handicap license or placard available near south gate.
▪ For rides: Wristbands (good for unlimited rides, Mondays-Fridays) and tickets available.
GRANDSTAND CONCERTS: Ticket purchase required for most events, but fair admission included –
WHERE: 1025 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh – From Interstate 95, take I-40 west, then Exit 289 east on Wade Avenue, then north onto Edwards Mill Road to fairgrounds
WHEN: Oct. 15-25 –
▪ 3 p.m.-midnight Oct. 15
▪ 8 a.m.-midnight Oct. 16-17 and 22-24
▪ 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Oct. 18-21 and 25
HOW MUCH:
▪ $10 ages 13-64 (Advance online $8 through Oct. 15, and $9 Oct. 15-25)
▪ $6 military and their dependents
▪ $5 ages 6-12 (Advance online $3 through Oct. 15, and $4 Oct. 15-25)
▪ Free ages 5 and younger, and 65 and older
ALSO: Available advance online through Oct. 15 –
▪ “Mega Pass,” good for all 11 days, $66.
▪ “Mini Pass,” covering any four days, $24.
RIDE TICKETS: $18 for $10 advance online through Oct. 15, and $1 each on site.
GRANDSTAND SHOWS: $10 extra each –
▪ “United Pullers of the Carolinas Tractor Pull,” 6 p.m. Oct. 16, noon and 6 p.m. Oct. 17, and 1 p.m. Oct. 18.
▪ Demolition Derby and Monster Truck Freestyle, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23-24 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 25.
SCHEDULED ENTERTAINERS: Free with admission (Tickets for reserved floor seats available at box office at 9 a.m. the day of each show, with six-ticket limit), with all shows 7:30 p.m. (doors open 7 p.m.) –
▪ FireHouse with The Fifth, Oct. 15
▪ “The Great I Am” gospel concert, Oct. 16
▪ Jason Michael Carroll with Luke Combs and Stephanie Quayle, Oct. 17
▪ Orquesta GarDel, Oct. 18
▪ Nuv Yug presents “Bollywood Night,” Oct. 19
▪ Black Sheep with Shadina, Oct. 20
▪ Band of Oz, and The Embers, Oct. 21
▪ “A Night of Praise,” with gospel choirs, Oct. 22
▪ The Love Language, with Spider Bags, Oct. 23
▪ Charlie Daniels Band, with Kasey Tyndall, Oct. 24.
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