Good day and welcome to DKos Asheville. This is the weekly DKos Asheville Open Thread for Saturday, September 10th, 2022.
We offer this space every weekend to share what we're up to in Western North Carolina and to give readers a variety of links to local and regional news of interest.
DKos Asheville and other local and state groups can give us all a better sense of connection, a better understanding of who we stand with, work with and share with. We hope this local and wider community can help leverage our orange passion for progressive politics.
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Please jump the fold for a list of things to do and places go for over the next few days.
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Mountain Express, Brooke Randle, 9-7-2022
In the general election, Edwards is trying to unite Republican voters after a bitterly fought eight-way primary in which he received just over a third of the vote. His Democratic challenger, Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, must convince voters who haven’t elected a Democrat to Congress since former Rep. Heath Shuler in 2010 that now is time for a change. (Libertarian candidate David Coatney, a marketing professional and filmmaker, is also taking his chances in a district that has never given a third-party option more than roughly 2% of the vote.)
With two months to go until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 8, Xpress took a look at how the two major-party campaigns are handling their unique challenges.
On the trail
On the Democratic side of the ballot, the party’s District 11 chair, Matt Ballance, says that in-person events are critical for voter outreach. While such gatherings are always important, he says, they take on added urgency after two long years of COVID-19 restrictions.
“We had a hard time [connecting with voters] in 2020 because of COVID and trying to keep people safe,” Ballance admits. “Politics is built on relationships; relationships are built on trust. And trust is only built when two people are able to communicate and feel heard and validated. If candidates and party volunteers are out in the field listening to voters and making them feel valued and heard, that lends itself much more to that voter being persuaded to trust and vote for that candidate or party than a social media post.”
Through the party lens
Even without a debate between the candidates, their different approaches to the issues facing WNC are becoming clear as the campaign wears on. Edwards and the GOP are focusing attention on matters at the national level, while Beach-Ferrara and the Democrats are emphasizing issues with specific regional ties.
- Changing lines and affiliations
- On the ground
WLOS, Jennifer Emert, 9/9/2022
Ready, set, vote.
Absentee mail-in ballots were mailed Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, and could be in the hands of North Carolina voters as early as Saturday. In Buncombe County, election officials have already received online ballots for the midterm election. By 10:30 a.m. Friday, Buncombe County Elections had already received two overseas ballots from France, making North Carolina the first state in the nation to cast ballots in November’s midterm election.
In Buncombe County Friday, the staff stuffed 2,500 requests for absentee ballots.
“Anyone who wants to vote by mail in North Carolina, can vote by mail,” said Corinne Duncan, Buncombe County Elections Services director. By noon, those ballots were headed to voters, pre-sorted for the U.S. Post Office by zip code.
“That’s one step the post office doesn’t have to do to get ballots out fast,” said Duncan.
Asheville Watchdog, Sally Kestin, 9/7/2022
The US Open winds to a close this weekend in New York, and among those attending in the luxury suites at the tennis Grand Slam event will be more than two dozen Buncombe County VIPS – courtesy of the public tourism board and $1.3 million in local tax money.
The Tourist Development Authority announced last month that it had paid $1.3 million to become an official sponsor of the US Open and touted benefits, including signs promoting Asheville, television spots, and an Asheville Night on Sept. 7.
Not mentioned were some of the other benefits the TDA received, according to the sponsorship agreement:
– A luxury suite in Arthur Ashe Stadium for two sessions to be selected by the TDA. “With the suite will be included 20 suite admission tickets, two host passes and three VIP parking passes.” The TDA also agreed to purchase a minimum of $1,800 in food and beverages (not counting gratuities, service charges and taxes) from the official US Open concessionaire for each session.
– Invitations for four TDA executives and one guest each to the President’s Suite for one session. “Invitations are for the exclusive use by BCTDA executives and their guests and may not be re-sold or otherwise transferred,” the agreement said.
WLOS, Kari Barrows, 9/10/2022
The skies are staying cloudy on Saturday, but widespread morning rain moves out for some nice dry time in the afternoon. (randallt-Good luck with that.)
More showers, some heavy can be expected late evening and Saturday night.
NEWS 13 FULL WEATHER FORECAST
Sunday will see more scattered activity, so the flood threat will be lower, except in areas that see the heaviest rain on Saturday.
Additional showers and thunderstorms along a passing cold front Monday into Monday night could worsen any lingering flood problems or create new flooding.
Asheville Citizen-Times, Tiana Kennell, 9/8/2022
Apple season is in full swing in WNC, and many orchards are inviting the public to relish in their abundant offerings.
This season is particularly one to note as it follows challenges from the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and a difficult season in 2021 in which apple growers experienced inclement weather that damaged crops. This year, the consensus is that the harvest season is exceeding expectations.
“It’s a big celebration, especially in a year where there’s an abundance of apples,” said Sarah Hart, communications manager for Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. “After some of them experienced flooding and frost and certainly just the down years with the pandemic where the u-pick carnival celebrations were a little bit subdued, this is feeling like it’s a good apple season across the board. Everybody’s growing and producing, and I’ve heard people say it’s a bumper year, so even better than just ‘not bad.’”
WNC apple orchards and more
- Appalachian Ridge Artisan Ciders, 731 Chestnut Gap Road, Hendersonville. saintpaulfarms.com
- Apple House and Owenby Orchards, 3807 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville. owenbysapplehouse.com
- Coston Farm Apple House, 3748 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville. costonfarm.com
- Creasman Farms, 280 Bent Arrow Lane, Hendersonville. creasmanfarmsnc.com
- Fruit of the Spirit Orchard and Vineyard, 756 Dalton Trail Dr, Hendersonville. thefruitofthespiritorchard.webs.com
- Grandad's Apples, 2951 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville. grandadsapples.com
- Green Heart Farm, 3200 Little Creek Road, Hot Springs facebook.com/GreenHeartFarmNC/
- Heirloom Apples at Freeman Orchards, 3016 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville.
- Holt Orchards, 17 Holt Pond Dr., Flat Rock. holtorchards.com
- Jeter Mountain Farms, 1126 Jeter Mountain Road, Hendersonville. jetermountainfarm.com
- Justus Orchard, Garren Road, Hendersonville. justusorchard.com
- KT’s Orchard and Apiary, 158 Pigeon Ford Rd, Canton.
- Lively Orchards, 1115 Upward Road, Flat Rock.
- Mountain Fresh Orchard, 2887 Chimney Rock Road, Hendersonville.mtnfreshorchards.com
- Saint Paul Mountain Vineyard, 588 Chestnut Gap Road, Hendersonville. saintpaulfarms.com
- Sky Top Orchard, 1193 Pinnacle Mountain Road, Flat Rock. skytoporchard.com
- Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard, 170 Stepp Orchard Dr., Hendersonville, steppapples.com
- The Orchard at Altapass, 1025 Orchard Rd, Spruce Pine. altapassorchard.org
- Twisted Apple, 4039 US-64, Hendersonville. twistedapplefarm.com
Thanks for reading and contributing, I hope your weekend is safe.