Age: 83

Occupation: Lawyer and retired judge

Education: Hendersonville High graduate, undergraduate degree from Duke University and law degree from UNC Law School.

Family: Children Andrea in Oak Ridge, Bruce, in Seattle, and Craig in Hendersonville

Political experience: Elected judge twice for a total of 8 years to N.C. District Court; appointed judge for 6 additional years by the governor; elected member of two school boards in Sacramento County, Calif.; deputy city attorney in San Bernardino, Calif., counsel to mayor of San Bernardino, and lobbyist for San Bernardino County at state capitol in Sacramento.

Why are you running for mayor? If elected, what are your goals?

To open up City Council meetings for more public interaction, have council meetings more frequently than once a month so council can stay informed and on top of issues, and to enact my platform for progress.

Platform includes creating more free parking downtown and eliminating parking meters; be more business and new homeowner friendly by eliminating the so-called impact fees; enforcement of speed and noise ordinance laws and directing that police officers walk their beats in neighborhoods and get to know residents; emphasize redevelopment in the 7th Ave. Historical District by the selective use of the N.C. Redevelopment Law; initiation

Article source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20130929/articles/130929854 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

During his precious 16 days in the United States, most of it in Omaha, a young visitor from Romania is hoping to absorb as much Americana as he can.

So Nicolae-Daniel Naste’s to-do list includes going to a Husker game, visiting the Henry Doorly Zoo and ordering a steak.

But I’d like to think that the most American thing this 21-year-old engineering student will do is to give of himself.

Nicolae-Daniel, who goes by “Dani,” spent two days last week working side by side with Americans his age, helping build houses on a stretch of North 37th Street.

As Dani held a long two-by-four wood brace, Tylilla from North Carolina, Gilbert from the Bronx, Jerry from California, Alyse from Michigan and others raised the 45-foot-long north wall of a Habitat for Humanity house. The organization is building three houses on the street and rehabbing another.

Tylilla, Gilbert, Jerry and Alyse are with America’s domestic Peace Corps, called AmeriCorps. They volunteer for nearly a year to communities that need help. What they get in return is not unlike the experience Dani will have in Omaha: soaking up a different place and different people and being transformed because of it.

Dani was hammering and holding, sweeping and

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SENECA, S.C. – Since he was 13 and growing up in Anderson and Piedmont, Jason Shirley has wanted to make movies.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” the young writer-director said this week.

After Wren High School came a stint at Greenville Technical College and then film school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

All the while in film school, and later during some independent-film projects, he was working on a script, a Southern-themed romantic comedy called “Elbow Grease” set in the fictional town of Guppie, S.C., and revolving around a family named Barnes.

When writing the character of the grandfather, he was imagining the actor he’d love for the role. But what chance was there that Burt Reynolds would want the part?

“You have to call it luck,” Shirley said. “We sent the script to his agent and … (Reynolds) liked it.”

Matt Zboyovski, one of the film’s co-producers (“I just help keep things moving along.”) and an Asheville, N.C., native, acknowledges that Reynolds’ own history with and ties to the area from the 1971 filming of the classic film “Deliverance” on the Chattooga River, which some film critics consider his star-making role, might have been a factor

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   Box Score: Charlotte 3, Gardner-Webb 0

   Buy your GWU photos now at www.GWUPhotos.com!

Charlotte, N.C. – Gardner-Webb freshman outside hitter Taylor Lillard posted a career-high 14 kills on Tuesday night, however, it was not enough as the Runnin’ Bulldogs fell in straight sets to the Charlotte 49ers 25-23, 25-19 and 25-14 in non-conference action at Halton Arena.

The loss drops GWU to 6-9 overall, while the win propels the 49ers to 10-5 on the year.

“I am proud of our girls for hanging in there in a tough situation. Any time a player goes down with an injury as Kacy (O’Connor) did, it is very hard to re-gather and the girls showed some response getting back into the game,” stated head coach Leo Sayles. “Taylor Lillard did an outstanding job today and I am very proud of her effort. She was able to find the court and did a good job passing. It is tough because if we don’t pass well and serve well it is always going to

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Who will it be?: (left to right) Former city staffer John Miall, Vice Mayor Esther Manheimer and community activist Martin Ramsey are vying to be Asheville’s next mayor. However, after the primary, only the top two vote-getters will advance. (Photo by Max Cooper)

Whether it’s four years on Asheville City Council, 30 years as a city official or eight years working in a downtown restaurant, all three candidates for mayor tout experience, though they define it in vastly different terms.

“It’s the job of a good leader to engage the community and work effectively with fellow Council members as well as other entities in the community,” current Vice Mayor Esther Manheimer declares.

“If you look at every element of the risk management profession, they are all required at City Hall,” former Risk Management Director John Miall points out.

“My concerns as a working person who makes less than $30,000 a year, and who’s been off and on health care, are not the same as members of the country clubs around here,” community activist Martin Ramsey explains.

The three contenders laid out their respective visions for the city in interviews

Article source: http://www.mountainx.com/article/52987/Terms-of-engagement-Asheville-mayoral-candidates-make-their-case If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com