The team who dreamed up a mobile app for local visitors looking for the best places to eat, drink or shop didn’t quit working after winning Asheville Startup Weekend last fall.

“I came with an idea after talking with my friends around town. I wished there was something to give people an easy way to find local beer, or the best restaurants,” said Hartley Brown, an AmeriCorps volunteer who needed another line of work after her gig at Asheville High School was winding down. She pitched her idea among 24 business ideas that weekend.

She soon found a team willing to work on the idea, including marketing veteran Ted Pate and programmer Trevor Parker. They drew up a business plan and a functioning web page during the grueling 52-hour marathon.

By Saturday afternoon, Pate called his wife, Flori. A graphic designer, she also was friends with Brown, but she couldn’t attend the weekend event because someone had to stay home with the kids. “Ted was frantic,” Flori recalled.

“We have a chance of winning this thing,” he said. “But we need a logo, and we need it in the next three hours.”Article source: http://www.blackmountainnews.com/article/20140126/COLUMNISTS31/301260048/From-Startup-Weekend-to-successful-launch If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Real Deals

Flip, shop and save on specials from your favorite retailers in Asheville, NC 28802

GET DEALS NOW

Article source: http://www.citizen-times.com/usatoday/article/4919877 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

A fundraiser for Tundra, the snowy owl found malnourished in Transylvania County, will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at Consignments, 1266 Asheville Highway, No. 9, Brevard. Guests will paint a snowy mountain moonlit scene of trees with an owl to commemorate the event and enjoy food and music. Tickets are $40 with 50 percent going to Carolina Mountain Naturalists, who are rehabilitating Tundra. The event is BYOB, and participants can pay at the door. For reservations, call 828-255-2442.

Orchestra to present famous chamber ensemble

The Spartanburg (S.C.) Philharmonic Orchestra will present the world-famous Millennium Brass in concert at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Chapman Cultural Center theater, 200 E. St. John St., Spartanburg, S.C. This fundraising performance will feature jazz, pop and classical music, along with food, drinks and dancing. Tickets are $35, with $75 VIP tickets available. For information, call 864-542-ARTS or visit www.chapmanculturalcenter.org.

Soprano to perform at Candlemas Concert

Soprano Katherine Sandoval Taylor will perform “Dames, Divas and Drama Queens: A Glittering Promenade Through Broadway’s Songbooks” for the 24th annual benefit Candlemas Concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. James Episcopal Church in Hendersonville.

The concert will feature songs from various Broadway shows, including “The Sound of Music” and “The Music Man.”

Taylor has

Article source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20140124/ARTICLES/401241000/1042/NEWS?Title=5-with-Appeal-for-Jan-24 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Press release

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 24, 2014) – Mission Health and Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) hosted the 14th Annual Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award Program. Each year, Mission partners with MAHEC to recognize employees for their efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. This year, there were three winners; two from Mission Health, which for the first time extended this to all its members, and one from MAHEC.

“Mission Health is devoted to promoting a welcoming and inclusive environment to our patients and visitors, as well as among our employees,” said Jill Hoggard-Green, PhD, RN, Chief Operating Officer of Mission Health and President, Mission Hospital and Mission Medical Associates. “Our goal is to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities across the organization, the communities we serve throughout Western North Carolina, and beyond.”

The ceremony began and closed with the Spirit of MLK Choir, made up of Mission Health and MAHEC members. It was followed by a keynote address delivered by David R. Williams, PhD, the Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health and Professor of African American

Article source: http://www.mountainx.com/article/55789/Mission-Health-and-MAHEC-honor-employees-for-diversity If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

Question: With all of Asheville’s new charter schools popping up, I’m curious about what exactly charter schools have to provide to the state to ‘prove’ they’re needed in addition to existing public schools. Do they have to do something different that isn’t already being offered? Also, does the state oversee who they’re admitting?

My answer: My understanding is that all students may be admitted who properly loath Portland and all it stands for.

Real answer: Charter schools do have to prove their worth to the state before opening, though those standards are fairly vague and open to interpretation.

Joel Medley, coordinator for the state Department of Public Instruction’s charter schools department, said the groups must also explain how the proposed charter school will achieve at least one of the six legislative purposes of charter schools, which include providing “expanded choices” and “creating new professional opportunities” for teachers.

If they have more applicants than available slots, the law requires an open lottery to fill the remaining spots.

The state approved plans this month for Franklin School of Innovation, the county’s first charter high school, and INVEST Collegiate, which opened a charter school

Article source: http://www.blackmountainnews.com/article/20140124/NEWS/301240032/ If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

NIGHTLIFE

620 STATE: Bristol, 620 State St. Jan. 25, 8 p.m., Deep Fried 5. 423-652-0314.

ACOUSTIC COFFEEHOUSE: Johnson City, 415 W. Walnut St. Jan. 23, 8 p.m., Carey Murdock; Jan. 24, 8 p.m., Chameleon Red and The Vinegar Creek Constituency; Jan. 25, 8 p.m., Billy Crawford Band and Seth Young. 423-434-9872.

BEARS BAR GRILL: Bristol, 4460 Hwy. 421. Jan. 23, 8:30 p.m., The Rose Sisters; Jan. 26, 8 p.m., Karaoke with Vicky Carter; Jan. 29, 8 p.m., Karaoke with Vicky Carter. 423-217-0442.

BIGGIES: Kingsport, 417 Stone Dr. Jan. 24, 9 p.m., Justin Mychals; Jan. 24, 9 p.m., Jason Eli’s Jack’d Up Band. 423-765-9633.

BONEFIRE SMOKEHOUSE: Abingdon, 260 W. Main St. Jan. 30, 8:30 p.m., Ryan Ward. 276-623-0037.

CAPONE’S: Johnson City, 227 E. Main St. Jan. 24, 8 p.m., If Birds Could Fly. www.caponesjohnsoncity.com or 423-928-2295.

DOWN HOME: Johnson City, 300 W. Main St. Jan. 24, 8 p.m., Missy Raines and the New Hip, $16; Jan. 25, 8 p.m., Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboys, $12. www.downhome.com or 423-929-9822.

THE HANGAR GRILL: Wise, 6104 Airport Rd. 24, 9 p.m., Scratch River; Jan. 25, 9 p.m.,

Article source: http://www.tricities.com/news/local/article_c30abd4c-836a-11e3-a6ea-001a4bcf6878.html If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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Illustrated: The boundaries of the BID

With prospects of a special tax to fund a downtown Business Improvement District unlikely, the city announced today Jan. 24, that the Asheville Downtown Improvement District’s board was going dormant. According to a board representative, the members continue to work to accomplish the BID’s goals through other organizations and methods.

“It’s because [Asheville City] Council is not really interested in funding a BID downtown at this time. They’re not interested in funding a further

Article source: http://www.mountainx.com/article/55774/Ashevilles-downtown-BID-board-goes-dormant If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com