Home › Blog › Page 91

Born free | Baby sea turtles hatching along Strand beaches

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

Monitoring 18 loggerhead sea turtle nests in the heart of the busy summer beach season is quite a chore for Linda Mataya and other members of the North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol.

Mataya and Rob Kayton are co-leaders of the group that keeps close tabs on sea turtle nesting activity, which generally occurs from early May through mid-August each year and just happens to coincide with the time when human traffic is the heaviest on the beaches.

The NMB Sea Turtle Patrol monitors the beaches from Cherry Grove to the Briarcliffe area. Nine of the nests are on the North Myrtle Beach beaches, the other nine located on the small stretch of beach at Briarcliffe.

Four of the nests have hatched, the most recent of which took place late Friday night. Mataya said the fourth nest will be inventoried on Tuesday to gather a host of information, including how many eggs were in the nest and how many hatched, and to check if any hatchlings are remaining.

With 14 more nests each containing about 120 eggs still to hatch and the end of the nesting season fast approaching, hundreds of hatchlings will emerge from the nests located just above the spring high tide line in the next few weeks and make their way into the surf.

The group runs into all sorts of problems — from both humans and wildlife — in helping ensure nature is able to take its course for the nesting turtles, the eggs in the nest and then the hatchlings.

Humans have a natural fascination with sea turtles, but that fascination is best served from a distance.

People just need to stay back and respect them.

Linda Mataya member of the North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol

Mataya recalls a late-night incident in mid-June when a loggerhead sea turtle was laying her eggs in a nest on the beach adjacent to Shore Drive on the north end of Myrtle Beach. Patrons from a popular nearby bar stumbled upon the spectacle of nature.

“They were putting beer cans on her back (while she was laying the eggs),’’ Mataya recalled, not so fondly.

As the hatching season reaches a peak, Mataya encourages onlookers to just watch and not interfere if they find hatchings heading for the sea.

“People just need to stay back and respect them,’’ she said. “It’s OK to watch them. Nests are hatching all over the place. People just need to leave them alone. They don’t have any trouble finding the water.’’

Numerous animals have a taste for turtle eggs, giving patrol members another threat to keep an eye out for.

Despite the urban nature of North Myrtle Beach, a fox has been snooping around a few of the nests this summer but doesn’t appear to have damaged any eggs. Mataya says coyotes have also been spotted in the area, but have not bothered the nests thus far.

“We’ve had challenges here,’’ said Mataya. “We try to monitor them the best we can. When I know it’s over 50 days, and they have a 50 to 75 day period of incubation, I check them every night and stay around until dark when activity (on the beach) decreases.’’

The first three of the nest hatchings, which invariably occurred at night, went well.

“All three were very successful,’’ said Mataya. “There was no disorientation and (the hatchlings) all went right to the water.’’

Two occurred unnoticed overnight and were discovered the next morning, with tiny turtle tracks headed to the surf one tell-tale sign.

Another hatching occurred at night on Monday, July 27.

“We were there, and we had probably 50 tourists watching,’’ said Mataya. “We have to make sure people don’t shine lights on them, take pictures with flashes or mess with them.’’

Balloons and plastics are a problem with turtles. If you bring it onto the beach, take it off the beach.

Linda Mataya

While the patrol group spends plenty of time and energy on nesting activity, members are also involved in rescuing stranded sea turtles.

Mataya has a permit from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources allowing her to transport alive or dead sea turtles when a stranding occurs and is the go-to person when a stranding occurs along the Grand Strand.

Such an event occurred on May 6 when the crew at Ocean Watersports, located near Third Avenue South in Myrtle Beach, found a green sea turtle struggling in the surf and called Mataya.

The turtle was in a weakened state, emaciated and was covered in barnacles, thus earning the name Barnacle Bob.

Mataya transported Barnacle Bob to the South Carolina Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Charleston.

Staff at the Sea Turtle Hospital consider Barnacle Bob to be the most emaciated turtle ever admitted to the facility. The turtle has recovered very well but is still currently being treated for a joint infection on one flipper.

In August 2014, the same Ocean Watersports crew found another turtle in distress, which Mataya transported to the Sea Turtle Hospital.

The loggerhead, named McAdoo, appeared to have been hit by a boat propeller and had been attacked by a shark. After more than nine months of rehab in Charleston, McAdoo was released on June 8 at the Isle of Palms.

“Not all of them survive once they reach the hospital — they’re usually in such bad shape when they’re found,’’ said Mataya. “The ones they can save like Barnacle Bob and McAdoo are our success stories.’’

Mataya and her husband, Charles, retired to Cherry Grove in 2001 and became involved in sea turtle protection and rescue in 2006. In 2010, the North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol was formed.

She urges the public to consider the impact trash left on the beaches or allowed to enter the ocean has on sea turtles and other marine species. Specifically, plastic or rubber items such as water bottles or balloons are very harmful to turtles that ingest them.

“Balloons and plastics are a problem with turtles,’’ said Mataya. “If you bring it onto the beach, take it off the beach.’’

For more information on the North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol, visit www.nmbturtle.blogspot.com.

Tagged with:

South Africa, Namibia criticize airline ban on trophies

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

Posted: Friday, August 7, 2015 6:56 am
|


Updated: 7:15 am, Fri Aug 7, 2015.

South Africa, Namibia criticize airline ban on trophies

Associated Press |

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Some African countries that allow hunting have criticized a decision by a number of international airlines to ban the transport of parts of animals killed in hunts.

South Africa is disappointed at Delta Air Lines’ announcement this week that it will no longer accept lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo trophies, the environment ministry said Thursday.

Subscription Required


An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety.


You need an online service to view this article in its entirety.

Have an online subscription?


Login Now

Need an online subscription?


Subscribe

Login

Create or log into your All Access account

To log in, enter the email and password for your Times-Dispatch All Access account.

–>

Haven’t signed up for All Access yet? Get started here…

Need more information about All Access? Get all of the details here.

If you are a current subscriber and haven’t signed up for All Access yet, get started here.

Choose an online service.

The following services are print only and offer no digital access

Get started here…

Need more information about All Access? Get all of the details here.

If you are a current subscriber and haven’t signed up for All Access yet, get started here.

© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Thank you for reading 15 free articles on our site. You can come back at the end of your 30-day period for another 15 free articles, or you can purchase a subscription and continue to enjoy valuable local news and information. If you need help, please contact our office at 434-791-7900.


You need an online service to view this article in its entirety.

Have an online subscription?


Login Now

Need an online subscription?


Subscribe

Login

Create or log into your All Access account

To log in, enter the email and password for your Times-Dispatch All Access account.

–>

Haven’t signed up for All Access yet? Get started here…

Need more information about All Access? Get all of the details here.

If you are a current subscriber and haven’t signed up for All Access yet, get started here.

Choose an online service.

The following services are print only and offer no digital access

Posted in
Wire

on

Friday, August 7, 2015 6:56 am.

Updated: 7:15 am.



General News,



Wildlife,



Environmental Concerns,



Environment,



Environment And Nature,



Animal Poaching And Smuggling,



Crime,



Industry Regulation,



Government Business And Finance,



Business,



Government And Politics,



Government Regulations

| Location Tags:

South Africa,

Africa,

Namibia,

Southern Africa

Tagged with:

Votes for pie trail show many like sweet Indiana life

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

How sweet is it to be a Hoosier?

At least as sweet as 1 million pies, because that’s how many pies one local company makes each year.

Hoosiers like pie, and we’re gaining national attention for the sweet treat.

The Hoosier Pie Trail is currently ranked third in the national USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice food trail contests.

Anyone may vote in the contest at http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-food-trail/

Votes may be cast one per day until noon Aug. 17.

The Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail of New Mexico and Mississippi Gulf Seafood Trail are ranked in first and second place, respectively.

Mike Wickersham, president of Wick’s Pies in Winchester, Ind., said national attention focused on the pie trail would be great for tourism and an economic boost for Indiana.

Visitors from around the country could drive around the state finding eateries and spending money at hotels and other businesses, Wickersham said.

“There are a lot of interesting things in Indiana,” Wickersham said.

State enthusiasm for pie has local connection

Why are Indiana’s pies featured in the contest?

The contest cites the 2009 action taken by the Indiana General Assembly declaring sugar cream pie to be the state’s official pie.

Wick’s Pies in Winchester is especially known for its Old-Fashioned Sugar Cream Pie.

Wickersham said Winchester is the sugar cream pie capital of Indiana because the company sells more sugar cream pies than anyone else.

Sugar cream is the company’s top flavor for its wholesale business as well as its own restaurant, Mrs. Wick’s Pies. (Pecan is No. 2 for the wholesale business and coconut cream is No. 2 at the restaurant).

The famous sugar cream pie is made from a Wickersham family recipe that dates back to the 19th century farm, still using milk, sugar, flour, shortening, vanilla and nutmeg.

However, as the contest ballot points out, the Hoosier pie trail is not limited to sugar cream pie, because Indiana restaurants feature everything from apple to coconut to chocolate.

Pies are big business in Winchester

Wickersham said Wick’s Pies makes about a million pies each year and 18 million pie shells.

Pies are produced for restaurants, stores and mail-order customers. They also are sold at Mrs. Wick’s Pies in Winchester, which is a full-service restaurant and factory outlet store.

The eatery offers soups, sandwiches, salads, breakfast and lunch specials and 30 varieties of pies baked fresh daily.

Wickersham said a few of those 30 varieties include apple, cherry, mixed berry, gooseberry, Reese’s and peanut butter banana.

“People call that the Elvis pie,” Wickersham said of peanut butter banana.

The restaurant employs about 30 workers and the bakery has about 60 employees, Wickersham said. His dad began the company in 1944.

The food trail contest website says one stop along the trail, Storie’s in Greensburg, makes as many as 50 different kinds of pies daily, and notes that more than a dozen stops across Indiana feature pie around the clock.

Wickersham jokes that in his retirement, his goal is to get every state to choose a state pie flavor. So far, besides Indiana, the only other states that have official pies are Vermont (apple) and Florida (Key Lime), he said.

What other food trails are in the contest?

Other categories following the Hoosier Pie Trail in the contest’s recent rankings include the Sweet Tea Trail of South Carolina, Cajun Boudin Trail of Louisiana, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Oregon Cheese Trail, Texas BBQ Trail, Alabama BBQ Trail, Vermont Cheese Trail, South Carolina BBQ Trail, Wisconsin Cheese Tour, Beer Brewery Trail of Vermont, Historic Barbecue Trail of North Carolina, Hot Tamale Trail of Mississippi, Connecticut Chocolate Trail, Tennessee Whiskey Trail, Kona Coffee Belt of Hawaii, Arizona’s Salsa Trail and the Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail of New York.

It’s as easy as pie

•The Hoosier Pie Trail is currently ranked third in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice food trail contests. Anyone may vote in the contest at http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-food-trail/ Votes may be cast one per day until noon Aug. 17.

•Learn more about what Wick’s Pies of Winchester, Ind., sells at http://www.wickspies.com/

•Mrs. Wick’s Pies, at 100 Cherry St., Winchester, Ind., is a full-service restaurant and factory outlet store. It’s open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

Tagged with:

Climb on: Smoky Mountain Adventure Center gets ready to rock – Asheville Citizen

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

ASHEVILLE – Stuart Cowles puts a lot of meanings behind birthdays and milestones. The year he turned 35, the outdoor adventurer was one of the first three people to launch the inaugural Mountain Sports Festival in downtown Asheville.

At age 38, he spent the night atop Mount LeConte, the third highest peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On his 40th birthday, Cowles and a friend climbed one of the highest peaks in the Andes Mountains of Perú — Artesonraju, at nearly 20,000 feet elevation.

For his 50th birthday this past June, Cowles wanted to go even bigger by opening his new business, Smoky Mountain Adventure Center in the River Arts District. It will be his first expansion from his downtown climbing gym, Climbmax, in 22 years.

On a recent “behind the scenes” tour of the soon-to-open sporting center, however, Cowles admitted he felt bad about missing the mark as he walked around the climbing center that was still looking a bit spartan on the inside.

But Cowles, not one to let lack of high-elevation oxygen, giant ice crevasses, or construction delays get him down, says his newest project, a multi-use recreation facility at 173 Amboy Road, sitting in between the French Broad River Park and Carrier parks, will open before Labor Day.

“We had some challenges with lending and with permitting. We had to wait for a variance to sit closer to the street. We didn’t want to disturb the cliff line,” Cowles said of the steep slope behind the building. “Also, we were trying to save the trees on the property, and we’re being proactive at being flood proof in a very challenging site. All of that has set us back.”

But the inside bones of the building are coming together and one can envision the exciting gathering place it will be as part of the burgeoning recreation scene in the River Arts District. The 6,000-square-foot, flood-proof building designed by Patti Glazer of Glazer Architecture and contractor Buchanan Construction of Asheville, sits on about an acre of land across from the French Broad River and the city greenway system.

The center began with a $100,000 grant from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority in 2010. Cowles and part-time Asheville resident Daniel Nash bought the land, which they will lease to Smoky Mountain Adventure Center, which in turn will lease to Climbmax, Earthsports and two companies that will provide tube, raft, kayak, stand-up paddle board and comfort bike and kids mountain bike rentals.

Smoky Mountain Adventure Center also is working with the city and the N.C. Department of Transportation to provide a safer pedestrian crossing over Amboy Road to the greenway and the river.

“We’re putting in the requisite handicap ramp to receive the crossing. The DOT said they would be willing to put up signage and striping and eventually flashing signs to connect to the parking lot,” Cowles said.

Cowles also is working with RiverLink to create an overall outdoor experience. RiverLink secured a $25,000 grant from the Pigeon River Fund for a bank stabilization and steps down to the river, making for easier access for folks renting gear from the Adventure Center.

“We are very fortunate to have received the funding from the Pigeon River Fund. We’re doing the documents and surveying to put a new river access and bank stabilization across the road. It’s all part of the Wilma Dykeman Riverway,” Karen Cragnolin, RiverLink executive director, said of the new adventure center. “It’s fantastic. It’s really exciting to see so many people moving into the area to make use of the river.”

The two-story center will not just be a climbing center with a 34-foot-high climbing wall, the highest permanent wall to go up in the RAD, but will partner with Asheville Adventure Rentals on Riverside Drive and with Kolo Bike Park in West Asheville. Those businesses will set up rental kiosks for folks to rent canoes and kayaks, inner tubes, stand-up paddle boards, and mountain bikes, and head off on an adventure.

Cowles is hoping eventually people can rent a bike and ride by greenway all the way to New Belgium Brewing being built on Craven Street, and Sierra Nevada Brewery, which is open near Asheville Airport.

In addition to a 42-foot-high outdoor wall, the north, south and west walls of the 34-foot-high indoor wall will be completely climbable around the inside perimeter of the building. There will be an upstairs with a yoga room, a space for Cowle’s sewing business, Earthsports Design, a workout room, and a bar called the Asheville Hangout, which will sell root beer, as well as local cider and draft beer that people can enjoy on the wrap-around deck overlooking Amboy Room and the French Broad River Greenway. Downstairs will be a coffee bar selling smoothies, coffee and tea.

Cowles said he is constantly being asked when the center will open, and said he’s trying hard to open before the end of August.

Eric Krause, owner of Kolo Bike Park in West Asheville, which will rent bicycles from the Smoky Mountain Adventure Center for use on the French Broad River Greenway, or anywhere people want to ride for a day, said he’s ready to go as soon as Smoky Mountain Adventure Center gets the green light.

“We’re super excited about the expansion cutting across the Duke Energy section to New Belgium — that’s our main focus for bike rentals. But we’ll also rent mountain bikes and road bikes,” Krause said. “We’ll be sending people up to Kolo who want to do mountain biking or to DuPont State Forest. We do road bikes as well for people who want to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway. The River Arts District will be a second location for us. When it happens, we’ll be ready.”

CITIZEN TIMES

Bouldering increases in popularity, indoors and out

Tagged with:

Power line could hurt production, drop land values, farmers say

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

Power line could hurt production, drop land values, farmers say

By Bill Moss, Published: August 7, 2015

In an effort to avoid the most densely populated parts of Henderson County, Duke Energy has proposed transmission line routes that cross mostly rural areas. That means farmland, and farmers are raising concerns.

“It’s serious,” said Jerred Nix, a third generation apple grower who farms family-owned land on Bearwallow Mountain. “I’d rather have it in my yard than have it in my livelihood. It’s getting all agricultural land is all it’s doing. It’s getting serious for us as an industry. It’s something we’ve all got to be a part of.”
The farm community is among the factions that has organized to fight a proposed 40-mile transmission line from Upstate South Carolina to Asheville that Duke Energy says is needed to supply reliable power to the region for the future. Landowners, real estate agents, homeowners and the tourism industry are all raising concerns and asking questions. But farmers feel particularly vulnerable because they understand that Duke wants to choose a path that’s least populated. That means the giant towers could cross orchards and farm fields, potentially hurting farm production and, as important to farm families, lowering land values.
Mark Williams, executive director of the farm-business group Agriculture Henderson County (AgHC), organized a meeting Friday of farm leaders, N.C. Farm Bureau officials and others to try to get answers.
“We have a Duke member on our board (Craig DeBrew), and he keeps us informed as well and we’re talking to folks from Farm Bureau and trying to make sure we can protect our interest and our ability to continue production,” Williams said. “We’re checking with resources through the Farm Bureau to provide guidance and really to get information on what can and cannot be done within the right of way, particularly for agriculture production.”
Although Duke Energy says on its website that farmers can grow crops up to 12 feet, some farmers locally are hearing there are other limiting rules. The 12-foot limit might allow row crops but not apple trees. And farmers want to know what whether maintenance crews will spray weed killer under the right of way.
“What kind of impact is that going to have on the right of way or beside the right of way?” Williams said.
Williams had invited both Sen. Tom Apodaca and Rep. Chuck McGrady to the meeting. Apodaca does not expect to be able to break free from budget work in Raleigh, Williams said. McGrady, who is also involved in high-level budget talks, plans to attend, Williams said.
Farmers fear that if they push hard for their own sake, neighboring farms will suffer.
“So we try to be careful,” Williams said. “Anytime you start crossing developed property versus undeveloped property, the cost goes up. You look at it from a business light it’s probably the best thing you could do. If you look at it from the farm community, probably not.”
Almost as big as farm production in the near term is the farm community’s view of land and its long-term value.
“I think the bigger overriding factor particularly for the farm owner that people might not take into account is the farmers don’t tend to have 401(k)s,” Williams said. “Their retirement is tied up in their land.” Even if they can continue to farm, “What’s the impact on the value of their remaining property? The property value impact is really a bigger factor perhaps than the immediate impact.
“We can point very directly at some of the sales. I know at least a dozen sales that have fallen through because of the possibility of the line. Particularly on residential sites, contracts are being pulled back on because of the impending possibility of that line coming through.”

‘Don’t wish it on ourselves or others’

Jimmy Cowan, who represents farming interests as the fulltime Farm Bureau representative for Western North Carolina, said he is hearing concern on many levels.
“Farmers aren’t wanting to think about the idea of having to plow and work equipment around towers from now on,” said Cowan, who lives in Mills River. “Farmers are family people and they have concerns about living and working close to high-power transmission lines. We don’t wish it on ourselves but we don’t wish it on our neighbor either.”
“I know Duke is probably figuring out the very best plan they can and I think from the Farm Bureau point of view our policy is for the most minimal impact possible,” he said. Even if the transmission lines preserve farm production, Cowan, like Williams, worries about depreciated values.
“If you take the value it’s the same thing as wiping out the 401(k),” he said. “There’s nothing good can come out of it for Henderson County other than long term power.”

Steve Woodson, the Farm Bureau’s associate general counsel, plans to attend the AgHC meeting Friday in Hendersonville “more or less to listen.”
“I understand what farmer’s concerns are,” he said. “A lot of farmland would be taken or put under easement. Farmers are concern about loss of value and loss of production and what kind of crops they might be able to grow.”
Woodson said it makes sense that Duke would look first at more rural areas. But in doing so, the line may disproportionately harm farmers.
“Obviously they’re trying to avoid residential areas and trying to find relatively level land,” Woodson said. “It’s going to be impossible to avoid farmland altogether but we’re concerned about the amount of farmland that will be affected.”
Nix, the apple grower from Bearwallow, says the transmission line could cut the county’s $77 million agricultural output by a third.
“It’s not affected me,” he said. “But I’m not a component of me, I’m a component of agriculture.”

Mills River to meet with Duke rep

Mills River Mayor Larry Freeman said the town council is fielding a barrage of questions and hearing widespread opposition to the transmission line, which in some options would go through the farming community. Freeman tried to get DeBrew, the local Duke Energy manager, to appear before the council to answer questions.
“He’s going to hear us one on one,” Freeman said. “I also contacted the Utilities Commission in Raleigh to find out the process that this whole thing is going through. We’re thinking about putting up a special page on our website just to bring our property owners up to date on what’s happening.
“One of their proposed routes would goes right through the middle of my family’s property,” he added. “It goes over High Vista and goes through a nice subdivision that (council member) Wayne Carland built. All of Mills River will be impacted in a fairly sizable way.”
The North Carolina Utilities Commission has the ultimate say on the proposed transmission line and Duke Energy’s plans to convert its Lake Julian coal plant to a natural gas-fueled plant. The commission will hold at least one public hearing, likely in Henderson County, on Duke’s application for the line, said James McLawhorn, the electric division director of the Utilities Commission’s public staff, which represents the interest of consumers and ratepayers.
Although constituents are calling U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, the congressman does not expect to get involve, said Wayne King, the his 11th District director.
“That is not a federal issue,” King said. “We are referring all those calls to the N.C. Utilities Commission. We’ve had a handful of calls. That’s up to the utilities commission.”

Tagged with:

Why packing Keurig for dorm is a bad idea

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

Do you need information about your account? Send an email to onlinesubscriptions@butlereagle.com

Tagged with:

Fishermen get up close and personal with a whale shark – The Virginian

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓
By Lee Tolliver
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 9, 2015

With all the talk this summer about sharks – sightings and attacks – Ken Neill wasn’t going to be surprised by seeing a shark while fishing for marlin along the Norfolk Canyon.

But when he saw the dark figure rise from the depths and cruise into his bait spread, surprise was about all he could feel.

There, just feet behind his boat, was one of the ocean’s most magnificent creatures – a giant whale shark in what is a rare encounter off the coast of Virginia Beach.

Whale sharks frequent tropical waters that must be at least 71 degrees. They don’t venture this far north often.

The waters to the northeast of Cancun, Mexico, have become a thriving location for eco-tourism, where tourists pay to go out and snorkel with these large, but docile creatures.

Strangely enough, it wasn’t Neill’s first encounter with a whale shark off Virginia Beach.

“We saw one about a dozen years ago along the Norfolk Canyon, pretty close to where we saw this one,” said Neill, a dentist from Seaford and a representative to the International Game Fish Association. “That first one stayed deeper and we really couldn’t get a great look at it, much less pictures.”

But this whale shark, spotted last weekend, wanted a much closer encounter.

Neill and those fishing with him were shadowing Capt. Randy Butler on the Rebel, trying to improve on the technique of pitching live bait to feeding white marlin.

“We were getting tired of watching Randy have all these marlin jumping around behind his boat,” Neill said. “We just weren’t catching any. We had a hammerhead shark and ended up with a nice big-eye tuna.

“But this thing really made our day.”

When the whale shark came in to inspect the boat’s offerings, Neill was worried it might get tangled in the bait spread. So he turned away from the creature.

“It just followed us like a puppy dog,” said Neill, who said the whale shark was longer than his 35-foot boat. “It eventually got tired of playing with our teasers and swam away.”

Whale sharks are filter feeders that can grow up to 60 feet long.

“It wasn’t so much that we saw it, but that it seemed to come to see us. He got up close and personal with us. Capt. David Wright saw it too,” Neill said. “We’ve definitely been seeing lots more sharks this year, but this wasn’t expected.

“It was real special.”

Lee Tolliver, 757-222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com

Twitter @LeeTolliver

[X]

Click a thumbnail to view the full-size image.
Buy Pilot photos here.

–>

Posted to: Off the Hook Outdoors Sports


Tagged with:

What’s that smell? Public urination, politics and paying for restrooms – Asheville Citizen

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

ASHEVILLE – Where downtown restaurant manager Carly Reese parks her car has a lot to do with what happened the night before in the Civic Center Garage.

There’s a certain smell, you see.

“I try to be selective about which stairwells I use,” Reese said. “I try to time when I get here so I park closest to the stairwell that leads directly to Walnut Street, so I can limit the amount of time I’m in it.”

Whether it’s lack of funding for public restrooms or an unintended byproduct of becoming known as “Beer City,” the topic of urination and where people do it has reached the lofty heights of City Hall.

Asheville’s top government officials are now debating a problem that one City Council member said has reached the point of embarrassing. At the urging of Vice Mayor Marc Hunt, the council last month delayed a $390,000 contract for a private company helping city parking services run the garages while a long-term solution is hashed out.

As Asheville looks for ways out of the quandary, there’s the question of who will pay for the fix, with some saying tourists rather than taxpayers should bear the burden.

Public urination: a brief history

Complaints about people doing their business in public have largely followed a similar pattern as downtown’s growth. When the city center was largely abandoned in the 1970s and 1980s, concerns about public urination weren’t at the top of most people’s minds.

When downtown began to hit its stride in recent decades and people packed in, complaints went up.

The former bus depot where Patton Avenue and College and Haywood streets met was once a gathering spot for the homeless. The spot’s $1.4 million conversion into Pritchard Park attracted more tourists and locals, but it remained a place for many homeless to congregate. Downtown residents and business owners complained some were using the new trees, bushes and rock features as urinals.

At the same time, the local craft beer scene boomed. One festival celebrating beer as well as bluegrass music, Brewgrass, was so successful that tickets got snatched up instantly. But the festival wasn’t so popular with a neighborhood surrounding it. In 2013, residents of the East End area said festival-goers were urinating in their yards.

Two years later, parking garages have become the epicenter as the stench wafting from stairwells repels residents and visitors alike. Some elected officials said the problem parallels the increasing popularity of bars serving local brews.

A public health problem or just gross?

While no one is thrilled with the idea of human waste flooding the sidewalk, the problem, as it turns out, is not health-related.

Urine is typically sterile, public health experts say, unless a person has an infection of the urinary tract. That could be caused by a sexually transmitted disease. But even then, there is little danger, said Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, medical director for Buncombe County Health and Human Services.

“I think it would be extremely unlikely (to the point of impossible) for an infection to be transmitted in this way,” Mullendore said. “The germs would likely be killed by being outside the body. Plus the germs would have to get into another person’s body through mucous membranes or mouth before the germs died.”

A far bigger problem is the transmission of germs through sneezing and coughing, she said.

Public urination is still considered offensive enough that it is against the law, though it is punished only as the least serious type of misdemeanor, a “class-three.” Charges of indecent exposure can be tacked on if, for example, a female who is not a police officer, testifies that she saw the act, Asheville police spokeswoman Christina Hallingse said.

Pop-up ‘loos,’ spatter paint

Other cities have tried approaches ranging from public restroom innovations to walls that fight back.

In Hamburg, Germany, and San Francisco, city leaders have applied a highly-water resistant paint that sprays pee back onto the person’s shoes and pants.

Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, a company has manufactured a stainless steel latrine that is easily assembled but permanent. The “Portland Loo” starts at $90,000 and has a clean, durable, but not overly-inviting feel that gives privacy but also discourages lingering. It offers a “unique solution to a universal problem,” company marketing materials say.

Along with it’s home city, the Portland Loo company has sold models to municipalities in Oregon, California, Washington, Alaska and Ohio.

Mopping up in Asheville

Here the city has coped by assigning a dedicated “ranger” to an overly loved park and moving beer festivals out of neighborhoods. Asheville officials have also built more public restrooms and extended their hours.

More facilities, though, might be in order, say some such as resident Isa Satake who was standing in a short restroom line with friend Savannah Waddell of West Palm Beach, Florida, under the Pack Square Pavilion Thursday.

The $525,000 pavilion which includes restrooms and a visitor information center was paid for almost entirely through a tax charged to hotel guests.

“I think there could be more. There are places downtown that let you use their bathrooms, but they’re not the greatest about it,” Satake said. “These ones are really nice, too, which is good because public restrooms sometimes aren’t very nice.”

But with at least nine public restrooms downtown, some say the issue isn’t lack of facilities. Existing restrooms just need to stay open later, said Vice Mayor Hunt.

“As evening progresses, fewer and fewer restrooms are available just as people are drinking more and more alcohol and heading home. People have to find a place.”

Reese, the restaurant manager, agreed that the biggest splatter producers are likely intoxicated bar patrons. The problem is exacerbated, she said, by aging stairs and concrete.

“It almost seems like the stairs themselves are deteriorating and they absorb the stench worse than if they were whole.”

Who pays for potties?

The city has extended hours at a public restroom at 29 Haywood St. in a hall that connects to the Rankin Avenue Garage. During the busiest time of June-November, those restrooms remain open until 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Otherwise they’re open until 6 p.m.

Extending the hours for the restrooms costs roughly $7,000, said City Parking Services Director Harry Brown. Parking services controls two restrooms including one in the 51 Biltmore Ave. garage under the Aloft Hotel. The department is funded by parking fees and fines paid by motorists.

Brown said he is reviewing various solutions, such as longer hours for the two restrooms. Other public restrooms are run by agencies and groups, ranging from police to county court officials.

Council members have said restroom upgrades should be funded by hotel tax proceeds, a pot of money controlled by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority.

TDA officials say that’s possible, but the city would have to submit an application and be selected in a competitive process. There’s also a specification that the project pump up hotel business, said Stephanie Brown, executive director of the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau, which carries out the TDA’s initiatives.

State legislation that created the hotel tax requires “capital projects that significantly increase the use of lodging,” Brown said.

That would mean, for example, that new restrooms, particularly those that are part of larger projects such as the Pack Square Pavilion, could be eligible, while cleaning and staff would not, Brown said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CITIZEN TIMES

Urine-soaked garages delay $390,000 city parking contract

THE RULES

Asheville City Ordinance, Section 11-15 Public urination

(a) No person shall urinate or defecate upon any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, walkway, right-of-way or ground, or public property except for properly designated restrooms.

(b) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor as set forth in North Carolina General Statute Sec. 14-4.

Penalties are between $205-$230, including fines and court costs.

Tagged with:

Yet another sales tax plan introduced

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

Email–>
Print–>

Font Size:

A North Carolina Senate proposal to change the way sales tax revenues are distributed has once again been changed. Senate Bill 369 was changed to legislation that would call for a distribution of sales tax revenue based 50 percent on point of sale and 50 percent on the population of a county.

According to data provided by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, Surry County sales tax revenues, under the new plan, would increase by about $500,000 if the plan is implemented as proposed for the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Senate Bill 369, which was introduced in late-March, is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown of Onslow, Surry County’s Sen. Shirley Randleman and more than a dozen other Republican lawmakers. Since its introduction the bill has been a hot-ticket item all over the state.

Stiff opposition

The overall concept of the legislation is to shift sales tax revenue distribution from a point of sale system in which revenues remain where they are earned to a per capita distribution that would take funds earned in larger metropolitan and tourist areas and distribute the revenue around the state based on population.

The proposal met its first opposition from lawmakers and other public officials when those officials from larger counties with more shopping centers and other revenue-garnering businesses lined up against it. Sen. Joel Ford, who represents Mecklenburg County, went as far as to call Brown’s bill “short-sighted” and “a redistribution of wealth.”

However, opposition didn’t stop in larger counties that were destined to lose sales tax revenue under the proposal. In its initial form the bill, that had been entitled “The Sales Tax Fairness Act,” would have stripped some taxing authority from counties and municipalities and converted those sales taxes into a state sales tax.

Surry County Commissioner Larry Phillips was among the most out-spoken local officials opposing Brown’s initial plan. Phillips explained that state lawmakers had given local officials little reason to trust the actions of Raleigh when it comes to promises of funding, citing Education Lottery fund money as one example of his and others’ mistrust of the goings-on in the state capitol.

In retaliation to state lawmakers’ attempts to strip counties and municipalities of some of their taxing authority, Phillips even went as far as saying “Why elect us (county commissioners). Maybe Raleigh just ought to appoint us.”

Additionally, Surry County commissioners and three of the county’s four municipalities joined other entities across the state in passing resolutions in opposition to the proposed measure. Brown and other lawmakers went back to the drawing board, introducing a new plan in early June.

The new plan included a phased-in approach that changed the sales tax distribution system to a system based 80 percent on population and 20 percent on point of sale. The June proposal also did not strip taxing authority from counties and municipalities. However, it did expand the tax base, placing sales taxes on services such as veterinarian clinics.

Local officials like Phillips described the June plan, which would have been almost revenue-neutral for Surry County as “more palatable.” Surry County Manager Chris Knopf said that he was “OK” with the June plan.

Where it stands now

While the June plan may have been “OK” with Knopf, apparently it wasn’t “OK” with some lawmakers in Raleigh. According to an email from the N.C. Association of County Commissioners to county officials throughout the state, the Senate Finance Committee chose to vote its approval on Brown’s new 50-50 distribution plan on Thursday.

Though Surry County would see an effect of about a $500,000 increase as a result of Brown’s latest proposal, the interest is much greater for other counties. Stokes County, which is also part of Randleman’s Senate district, could see an added $1.6 million in sales tax revenue in the first year of the proposed new plan.

The plan would have some harsher effects on the budgets of other counties. The counties that would be hardest hit by the new proposal are Durham and Dare, which would each see more than $4 million in lost sales tax revenues as a result of Brown’s 50-50 distribution plan.

Dare County Manager Robert Outten said that he’s absolutely not opposed to helping distressed counties, but he is opposed to any form of Senate Bill 369. Outten explained that his county had a population of about 35,000 residents, though services in the county support a much larger population.

“Our economy is based on tourism. Right now we have about 300,000 people here who we provide services for,” said Outten. Outten said the financial hit that Dare County would take as a result of Brown’s proposal accounts for about 5 percent of the county’s annual operating budget.

“Since 2008 we have cut everything we can in our budget. Further cuts would be to the meat of our services. We would probably have to raise ad valorem (property) taxes to make up for the shortfall,” said Outten. “That would amount to our residents footing the bill for services provided to tourists.”

Outten called the Brown’s proposal to narrow the gap between counties that are doing well and distressed counties a “scatter-shot approach” that redistributes some funds from some counties to others. “It’s not directed where it needs to be,” commented Outten.

“This proposal removes all incentive for us to do well in every category. It removes economic development incentives, and removes the incentive for us to do a good job monitoring expenditures. We’ve kept our tax rate low here, and now we could face increasing it,” explained Outten.

In the end, Outten said the Senate’s new sales tax proposal is no different than the two prior proposals. “Any county that was a winner is still a winner, and any county that was a loser is still a loser,” said Outten.

Even though Surry County stands to gain $500,000 as a result of Brown’s new sales tax plan, Phillips questioned the thought process behind the legislation, voicing concerns similar to that of Outten. “If a county makes an investment, it should reap the benefit of the added sales tax revenues that result from that investment,” said Phillips.

Phillips went on to say that he has concerns that such a sales tax distribution measure could prove to eliminate the incentive for counties and municipalities to make investments in their communities.

“Though this latest proposal is palatable to a lot more counties, it’s not really what I want,” commented Phillips.

By Andy Winemiller

awinemiller@civitasmedia.com

Andy Winemiller is a staff writer at the Mount Airy News. Andy can be reached at (336) 415-4698 or awinemiller@civitasmedia.com.

mtairynews

Andy Winemiller is a staff writer at the Mount Airy News. Andy can be reached at (336) 415-4698 or awinemiller@civitasmedia.com.

Tagged with:

N.C. craft beer industry now tops in the South

Posted on by See Article Source Posted in Tourism — No Comments ↓

Want to make people in North Carolina’s craft-beer world laugh? Tell them this:

In 2005, when the North Carolina legislature was considering a bill that would raise the limit on alcohol in beer, one of the sponsors said a microbrewing industry could potentially create 300 jobs.

That was off by 2,700 jobs. And that’s just the number working in North Carolina’s 132 craft breweries. If you add related jobs, including servers, delivery truck drivers, beer shop cashiers and hop and barley growers, Erik Lars Myers, president of the N.C. Craft Brewers Guild, says the number is closer to 10,000.

Two years ago, Mecklenburg County was grabbing attention with seven independently owned breweries. Today, there are 18. With estimates that at least 15 more are in the works, Fortune.com recently declared that Charlotte now contends with Asheville as the hub of craft brewing in North Carolina.

For the state’s exploding craft-brew industry, a special day is approaching. Thursday is the 10th anniversary of the date then-Gov. Mike Easley signed the legislation known as Pop the Cap, raising the alcohol limit on beer sold in the state from 6 percent to 15 percent and allowing the sale and creation of a full range of beer styles. That change, along with several adjustments to the distribution laws that let small breweries flourish, allowed North Carolina to join a fast-growing national trend toward artisan-style beers.

What has happened since then has stunned everyone. As a state senator, Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter was one of the people who helped shepherd the bill to passage.

“I didn’t anticipate the absolute explosion of the industry,” he says. “You look back on stuff you’ve done over the years and the effect it had. I really didn’t expect what happened with craft beer.”

Grassroots lobbying

Sean Lilly Wilson owns Durham’s Fullsteam Brewery. In 2005, he was the spokesperson for the small group behind Pop the Cap, a grass-roots lobbying effort to change the beer law. It took 21/2 years to work through the resistance, from beer distributors who feared the competition, from public health organizations who feared underage access to higher-alcohol beverages, and from legislators who feared backlash from non-drinking constituents.

“Our part was navigating all that,” Wilson says. “It was fascinating politics. …We just wanted six words stricken from the General Statutes: ‘and not more than 6 percent.’”

He knew they were making headway, Wilson says, when he overheard a conversation in the statehouse in Raleigh one day.

“I heard one of the good ol’ boy legislators say to another one, ‘What do you think about Pop the Cap?’ I heard that and I was like, ‘we got ‘em. They’re talking about us. We’re going to figure this out.’”

If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t be a professional brewer. I wouldn’t have taken the leap.

NoDa Brewing owner Todd Ford

If Pop the Cap hadn’t passed, Todd Ford, the owner of Charlotte’s NoDa Brewing Co., says he wouldn’t even be in the beer business.

“Every time I see Sean, I thank him for doing this,” he says. “If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t be a professional brewer. I wouldn’t have taken the leap.” After using their retirement money to start their small brewery on North Davidson Street, Ford and his wife, Suzie, have found wide acclaim and are now moving to a bigger location on North Tryon Street with more space for brewing and a new canning line.

Forcing out imports

Just after 7 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2005, Mike Brawley of Brawley’s Beverage sold the first legal higher-alcohol beer in North Carolina. He kept a bottle from that case, Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout, and wrote the date on it. It’s still in his shop, in a former gas station on Park Road.

What Brawley wanted to stock in those days were imports, all those German, English and Belgian beers. What he got were two things he didn’t expect: First, an American beer selection that he says is now unrivaled in the world. And a statewide beer culture that is attracting national attention as the best in the South.

“What we have now is trying to whittle down the chase,” he says. “There’s just so much available to us. Back then, you could bring in every single thing available and not fill half my store.”

Before Pop the Cap, there were a few state brewers, like Weeping Radish in Manteo. In Charlotte, several breweries had tried, including Johnson Beer, Dilworth Brewing and The Mill, but they had all closed by 2001, leaving a few brewpubs that made beer they sold on the premises with food, like Southend Brewery, Rock Bottom and Hops.

132 N.C. craft breweries

18 Charlotte breweries

15 New breweries planned in Charlotte

Ford says that a lower alcohol level limited what breweries could make to the same American-lager styles made by the mainstream beer companies like Budweiser. Since the big companies could do it cheaper and afford the equipment that allowed them to do it consistently, local breweries couldn’t compete.

When the beer floodgates opened, what rushed in was a generation of young brewers who couldn’t wait to get creative. And the drinking public loved it. Today, supermarkets and bottle shops are crammed with choices, from the fresh, German-style Olde Mecklenburg to the tall cans of NoDa’s Hop Drop ’N Roll and Coco Loco. Craft styles from sour beers to goses, even mead, have bubbled up all over.

Even the N.C. Craft Brewers Guild has trouble keeping up with it all. They’re working on a new economic impact study, but Erik Lars Myers says craft brewing in North Carolina now brings in about $791 million a year.

“It’s just bananas,” he says. When Myers wrote his book, “North Carolina Craft Beer and Breweries” in 2012, there were under 50 breweries. He’s now working on the second edition and expects to add almost 100. At least 12 have opened in 2015 – “that’s 10 percent growth in a year,” he says.

There are several reasons why brewers have succeeded. One is state distribution laws that have been adjusted several times, both before and since Pop the Cap, by both brewers and wholesalers to make them more advantageous. Currently, as long as they make less than 25,000 barrels a year (a barrel holds 31 gallons), North Carolina allows small breweries to distribute their own beer to retailers. That means they don’t have to share profits with a wholesaler while they’re growing.

Georgia raised its alcohol limit for beer in 2004, a year earlier than North Carolina, but it hasn’t seen anywhere near the same growth. One reason is Georgia connects beer sales to food: You can’t sell on site unless you also sell food, so most Georgia breweries have to be beer pubs.

Sean Wilson thinks a big part is a population distribution that’s specific to North Carolina.

“When you think of Georgia, you think of Atlanta, Athens, maybe Macon. But after that, there’s a drop-off in the dense population centers. It doesn’t have the network of midsize cities connected by the good roads of North Carolina.”

That’s also brought an unexpected boon to smaller towns. From Fonta Flora Brewery in Morganton to Mother Earth Brewing in Kinston, even small towns have breweries, often in what had been unused old buildings.

Breweries are often located in former industrial buildings close to neighborhoods. So North Carolina breweries are community centers, places where you go to hang out.

In Charlotte, most weekend afternoons or weekday evenings finds breweries from NoDa to South End crammed with people, even families with kids and dogs. Free Range Brewing on North Davidson Street built in a kids play area, with shelves of books and games.

Who’s drinking?

One of the biggest concerns about Pop the Cap was that higher alcohol limits would allow easier access for underage drinkers. The higher alcohol limit has also allowed sale of new products, like the sweet malt beverages nicknamed “alcopops” for their appeal to younger drinkers, and the state is launching a public-service campaign focusing on the dangers of underage drinking.

Craft beer, however, isn’t singled out as a target, and brewery owners say the craft products they make aren’t an issue because their beers aren’t attractive to young drinkers. They cost more, for one, but they also have big flavors that can challenge even mature drinkers.

The Rev. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League in Raleigh was one of the most vocal opponents of Pop the Cap. He’s still opposed to anything that involves drinking as a public health issue.

“There’s no way to determine every way that Pop the Cap had a negative effect on the state’s health,” he says. “When there’s a drunk driver, no one checks to see if they’re drinking a craft beer.”

Ford points out the people sometimes misunderstand the aim in raising alcohol limits. The idea wasn’t to make beers that get you drunk faster. The point is that to brew a full range of styles, some will be higher in alcohol.

Very high-alcohol styles, like Imperial Stouts, are difficult to drink in large quantities. And many of the craft beers are still close to 6 percent or lower. NoDa’s award-winning American IPA, Hop Drop ’N Roll, is 7.2 percent alcohol by volume compared with 5 percent for Budweiser.

“Obviously, underage drinking is a problem we take seriously, whether it’s a 4 percent beer or higher,” says Ford. “But the majority of people drinking our beers aren’t going to be underage. If you’re binge drinking, you’re going to do something that’s more available and is easier to drink.”

Beer cities

With a craft-brewing industry entrenched statewide, cities are developing bragging rights after their breweries, and the tourism dollars that accompany them. Asheville, with a population of 87,000, is a mecca, with 16 breweries and two more expected. Raleigh, with just over half of Charlotte’s city population of 792,000, has 18 breweries, with seven more expected. Charlotte has 18 with 15 more predicted by the Charlotte Chamber.

However, with a metropolitan population of 2.4 million, including Concord and Gastonia, Charlotte is similar in size to Denver, one of the nation’s major beer cities, with a metropolitan population of 2.9 million. Denver has 50 breweries, the national Beer Association says. If Charlotte does grow to 33 breweries, as predicted, that could raise the state’s ranking in a beer world still dominated by California, Washington State and Colorado. North Carolina brewers now dream of being the center of beer on the East Coast.

As mayor of a large city in North Carolina – and a craft-beer fan since he went to school in England – Clodfelter is enjoying those bragging rights.

He likes to call North Carolina’s brewing scene a “Craft Beer Alley” that runs from Asheville, through Charlotte to the Triangle.

“We’ll see more activity here, with large producers looking at us seriously as an East Coast hub.”

What’s next for brewers?

What will it take to keep North Carolina’s beer industry growing?

▪ Excise tax reform. Erik Lars Myers, president of the N.C. Craft Brewers Guild, says high excise taxes, which are worked into the cost of certain items, mean brewers get taxed at both the federal and state level. If brewers paid lower taxes, he says, they could buy more equipment and do more marketing, creating more sales that would come back to the state as sales taxes.

▪ Higher distribution limits. While brewers can self-distribute if they remain under 25,000 barrels, once they get bigger, they have to go through a wholesaler, which can add to their costs. Under North Carolina law enforced by the Alcohol Beverage Commission, those distribution deals are long-term contracts, designed to keep big companies, like Coors, from moving their business and sinking a wholesaler, who distributes to retailers. Small breweries would prefer more flexibility on both the gallons they can distribute and the contracts with distributors.

Tagged with:
Top