Obama vacationing in Asheville NC

Just sitting here thinking about President Obama coming to Asheville North Carolina next weekend. Why AVL? When he was here in Asheville during his campaign run, he mentioned that if there was a prettier state than North Carolina, he has yet to see it.

The Asheville area is a great place to live and enjoy the quality of life that it and the surrounding WNC Counties offer. Some people come here to get away from the hustle and bustle of life in the inner city. We have the downtown area which is growing very nicely with arts, music, and food; but we also have incredible nature activities just minutes away. Hiking, camping, rafting, bicycling, rock climbing, and fishing is readily available.

So here some places we recommend and/or have spoken to that give President Obama an open invitation to host his family.

1. Barley's Pizza and Taproom - Everyone likes pizza and beer and this is a great place for Obama to have some Pizza with the fam. Ask for Jimi and let him know what you need. Complimentary at http://www.barleystaproom.com/

2. Bruisin Ales would also like to extend a warm welcome and offer President Obama a complimentary Asheville VIP beer tasting. http://www.bruisin-ales.com/

3. Mother and Son Bistro and Bakery offers the Obama family a complimentary 3 course meal with a beautiful dessert platter. http://www.motherandsonbistro.com/

4. We think that Obama and Michelle would love the Asheville City Market, so we want to make mention of this. http://bit.ly/ctSqv4

5. The Grove Arcade would be another option for the Presidential Fam to check out. Lots of shops and restaurants inside this historical building, which used to be the old Asheville Federal Building. http://bit.ly/93PYS2

6. Then of course since they will already be in the building, we are having the Free Asheville Social Media school by GSocialMedia on Friday 4/23 from 5pm - 7:30pm at Elaine's Piano in the Grove Park Inn, and we invite President Obama to drop in and join our talk for a few minutes. Our focus is on video marketing, YouTube, etc. More info here: http://bit.ly/dzjNWs

*There are plenty of things to do in Asheville. These are just some fun ideas and offers that maybe the Obama family will receive.

Oh, they can also see http://askasheville.com/ for lots of pictures, videos, blogs, and businesses in Asheville NC.

Thanks.

Infrastructure Repair; A Great Way to Spend Stimulas Funding and Create Jobs In Asheville

I was approached by a colleague this past Friday afternoon. He had been on a hike a few days prior in the area of Swannanoa where the chronic leak I have reported on is located. He informed me of his discovery of an additional and much larger leak just a short distance further through the woods. I went to this location and indeed he had found a leak of much greater concern; or so it appears. I have contacted Asheville Water Maintenance and informed them of the discovery. They were going to investigate today and do a follow up thereafter to keep me posted on the matter.

Typically in a situation of this nature I would do some simple testing of the water to verify whether or not it is municipal water or a fresh water spring. It would not be unusual for a spring to have found it's way along the underside e of a pipe this size. The previous several years of drought conditions and recent influx of water from the heavy snows we have experienced this winter could have contributed to this scenario. I did not test the water for chlorine (the tell tale signature chemical in our city water supply) and instead contacted the maintenance department to investigate. I expect to hear from them within a day and we will know their findings.

Regardless of what they report, when we know leaks of this nature are very common on infrastructure as old as the systems in these mountains and many others places across the country; why don't we see extensive infrastructure repair with stimulus funds? We certainly hear this idea expressed in the media. It has been a topic in President Obama's public position. What is being done with all this money? There are lots of local folks in need of  work, and this kind spending would create jobs in many areas of the market. Manufacturing, distribution, transportation, sales, management, food, labor and more would all benefit from the spending of money on infrastructure repair and upgrading. This would be good for the country, good for the people and makes complete sense for supporting a growing population.

What I know is that we lose much more water from leaking infrastructure than we do from inefficient everyday use, so if we're going to preach water conservation we need to look at the big stuff along with the little stuff; otherwise we're never going to get it right.

What do you think?

AP

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AquaPro@AskaquaPro.com 

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