SMART SPEAKERS BIG HIT AS CHRISTMAS GIFTS
According to national news regarding Christmas retail sales, smartspeakers such as the Amazon Echo/Alexa and Google Home sold in record number during the Christmas gift-giving season.
There are some 50 million of these devices currently in use and are helping folks 'break away' fromt their computers and smartphones. At least for a little while. They are being used to listen to the radio and a person's favorite music selection and to listen to news. Additionally these devices are loaded with answers to thousands of questions one might ask, and to play games and to send and receive messages.
These smartspeakers are particularly adept when employed to control a homes heating and lighting systems, in turning heat and lights up and down.
The smartspeakers require plugging into a homes AC power outlet. However, the smaller Amazon 1st Gen Echo can be operated on batteries.
Another way in which these assistants have made a positive impact is in giving people more independence. People with visual impairment, physical disabilities, or memory loss have benefited by using these devices. In addition, seniors, who may not be tech-savvy and may not even own a computer or smart phone, can still take advantage of services on the Internet they would otherwise be cut off from.
At WHKP, we are particularly interested in and following them as listening devices for WHKP 1450 AM and 107.7 FM. To pick up the stations, all one has to do is say: ALEXA WHKP RADIO and immediately the sound of the station comes into the smartspeaker which features a high-quality speaker. No more static or interference. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, with a smartspeaker, a person can listen to WHKP radio as if they were sitting right in the studio.
The only 'hitch' to listening is a person must have a wi-fi internet connection.
One could perhaps go as far as to say these new devices may one day replace the radio.
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ASHEVILLE AIRPORT ANNOUNCES WEEKEND NEW YORK FLIGHTS
American Airlines will be offering weekend service to LaGuardia Airport in New York City starting on or after May 4, 2019.
Photo credit: WLOS Staff
This new seasonal, nonstop route will be available on weekends this summer.
In October, the airport announced new nonstop flights to Washington, D.C., and Dulles International Airport starting in February 2019.
And in June, the airport announced the airport’s sixth airline, Spirit Airlines, would be coming to Western North Carolina. Those flights started in September 2018.
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SEARS TO CLOSE ANOTHER WNC K-MART STORE
Sears announces it's closing 80 more stores across the U.S. in March, including the Kmart on Brevard Road in Asheville.
The announcement comes after Sears filed for bankruptcy on October 15, and said it would close nearly 150 stores.
In November, it announced the closure of 40 more stores, including the Kmart on Patton Avenue
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FATZ CAFE CLOSES
FATZ CAFE IN HENDERSON'S CROSSING ON FOUR SEASON'S BOULEVARD AT DANA ROAD IN HENDERSONVILLE HAS APPARENTLY CLOSED ITS DOORS,
WHKP News found the sign on the door Thursday afternoon. No advanace notice of the closure was given,
Reportedly, the parent company that owns the entire Fatz chain filed for bankruptcy about two months ago.
It is not known how many employees of Fatz were involved in the closure.
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WHKP News will have more details if/when they become available.
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EGOLF BRINGS MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIP TO HENDERSONVILLE
"Egolf said that Mitsubishi has a great all wheel drive system that is excellent in the snow".
WHKP.COM News announced this past week that Egolf Motors on the Spartanburg Highway has become the new Mitsubishi car dealership for the Henderson County area.
In an interview with WHKP News, Jay Egolf said said the dealership had been purchased from Skyland Automotive in Asheville. He said they purchased over 100 Mitsubishi models and have moved them all over to Hendersonville. He said they all have Mitsubishi’s ten year, 100 thousand mile warranty, plus a five year, 50 thousand mile
bumper-to-bumper warranty, what Egolf described as “the best warranty in the business.”
Egolf said that Mitsubishi has an excellent all wheel drive system that is excellent in the snow.
They have those new Mitsubishi’s starting in price at around $299 per month, Egolf said. And he added that you can’t find a cheaper SUV in Hendersonville than the Mitsubishi’s they now have in stock and expect to sell quickly.
“I think a lot of people are concerned with price and reliability”, he said, and the price and the warranty makes these cars unbeatable.
“We have the Outlander, the Outlander Sport, even an Outland that has three rows of seats that’s a great vehicle...and we have an electric model that obviously gets great gas mileage”, Egolf stated this week.
Prices on those 100-plus new Mitsubishis that Egolf has in tock range from $15 to $35 thousand. But most, said Egolf, are priced in the low 20s.
The Egolf family has been in the car business in Hendersonville for many years, they expanded a while back with a dealership in Brevard, and this new Mitsubishi dealershop on the Spartanburg Highway will enable Egolf to serve their customers of so many years even better, said Jay Egolf.
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CHAMPION CREDIT UNION TO OPEN BRANCH IN MILLS RIVER IN FEBRUARY
What used to be a branch of TD Bank in Mills River at the intersection of Highways 191 and 280 is being re-modeled...and will soon become a Champion Credit Union branch. The TD branch moved out a number of years ago and the property has been vacant but available since that time. Work is now going on re-modeling the facility.
Mills River Town Manager said the Champion Credit Union is scheduled to open in that re-modeled facility this coming February.
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LOCAL WINERIES NEAR DISTINCTIVE RECOGNITION
For a wine to be labeled with an AVA name, at least 85 percent of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the area represented by that name."
An AVA is a grape-growing region having distinguishing features, a name and a delineated boundary. These designations allow vintners and consumers to attribute a given quality, reputation, or other characteristics of a wine made from grapes grown in an area of the wine’s geographic origin. The establishment of AVAs allows vintners to describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers to identify wines they may purchase. For a wine to be labeled with an AVA name, at least 85 percent of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the area represented by that name. Examples of AVAs are Napa and Sonoma Valley in California and Yadkin Valley, here in North Carolina.
AgHC’s Executive Director, Mark Williams has been actively working with local growers and wineries for our own AVA, “Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County” and efforts recently hit a big stride.
A petition for the designation was jointly filed with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in December 2016, by Williams, on behalf of AgHC, and Barbara Walker, support specialist for NC Cooperative Extension (now retired). Receiving an AVA designation typically takes three or more years for final approval and involves multiple steps. On December 6, 2018, the TTB posted the petition for public comment, following the initial “proposed rulemaking”. Williams indicates, “this is no small step to get to this point and it has taken a team effort, working with our established vineyards, Burntshirt, Saint Paul Mountain and Point Lookout, along with NC Cooperative Extension and the Henderson County TDA.”
There are more steps to follow, which the TBB estimates may take another year. AgHC is hopeful the final approval will come sooner and indicates Congressman Mark Meadows and his staff have been very supportive of the initiative and based on a letter sent to the TTB, “strongly encourage the TTB to adopt the proposed rule.”
Sandra Oates, co-owner of Burntshirt Vineyards, with her husband, Lemuel and board member of AgHC said, "This will be a huge step in the right direction for the wine industry and assist in establishing this region as a designated wine producing area. The economic growth from this AVA designation will be substantial for Henderson County. How exciting!"
The proposal seeks to establish approximately 215-square miles as “Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County” AVA. The area has 14 commercial vineyards over 70 acres, with several existing vineyards planning to expand by a combined 55 additional acres in the next 5 years. Two wineries were located within the AVA at the time of application and a third has already been added. AgHC indicates Henderson County has at least three more wineries on track to open over the next couple of years and in addition, the County has three hard cider producers.
AgHC began facilitating meetings about three years ago with Burntshirt and Saint Paul Mountain vineyards, along with Flat Rock Cider and Bold Rock, since hard cider falls into the category of wine by alcoholic beverage standards. The goal was to brand this category of locally produced items by a descriptive and catchy name.
Barbara Walker suggested “Crest of the Blue Ridge”, a term first used by Colonel Joseph Pratt, who was the chief of the North Carolina Geological and Economic Survey from 1906 to 1923. Pratt proposed creating a scenic road and chain of tourist hotels atop or adjacent to the summit of the Blue Ridge Mountains and named the project the “Crest of the Blue Ridge Highway.” Several small sections of the road were built, but the start of World War I interrupted the work, and completion was put on hold. In the end, the project was never completed, but the term “Crest of the Blue Ridge” survived and remains in widespread, present-day use to describe areas of the Southern Appalachians, especially in North Carolina.
The AVA petition requires identification of distinguishing features, along with name evidence. The distinguishing features of the proposed Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County AVA are its climate and elevation. Warm days and cool mountain nights during the growing season, coupled with the right soils and quality water, provides a favorable and unique combination for grape production. Geographically the area straddles the Blue Ridge Escarpment and the Blue Ridge Plateau, which are separated by the Eastern Continental Divide, also known as the Crest of the Blue Ridge. Attaching “Henderson County” to the name specifically identifies the area.
Henderson County is also promoted as the Crest of the Blue Ridge Agricultural Area for its wide variety of commercial agricultural products. AgHC specifically promotes the county's farm businesses through its Southern Mountain Fresh brand, which states, “Enjoy the freshness of the Crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and sustain our local heritage.”
In early meetings held with producers, it was also decided that since “Crest of the Blue Ridge” was being broadly used to market Henderson County agriculture and agritourism in general and that trademarking it would be wise. Burnshirt volunteered to take the helm in this effort and it was agreed that guardianship of the trademark would be placed with the Henderson County TDA because of the funding they would provide from revenues generated by hotel room taxes.
“We have a unique agricultural production area with flavorful products that capture the essence of the Crest of the Blue Ridge. AgHC is striving to make sure that’s well known,” said Williams. The AVA designation fits this mission.
The public may help this initiative by visiting and commenting on the online public proposed rule docket, which can be accessed by going to http://www.regulations.gov and searching for "TTB-2018-0009. Public comments may be submitted until February 4, 2019.
Agribusiness Henderson County is a public and privately funded non-profit which promotes the economic development of agriculture and agribusiness in Henderson County and assists new and existing operations to foster growth in the industry. Southern Mountain Fresh is the local brand created by Agribusiness Henderson County.
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