Quick hits: Connemara needs funding and Fantasia & N.C. need to re-brand?

Carl Sandburg home in need of funding
"... For many visitors to the Carl Sandburg home," says the Citizen-Times, "the experience of walking through the house and its grounds helps them to learn about the Pulitzer Prize-winning author who moved to the 264-acre home in Flat Rock in 1945.

"But a lack of funding could put preservation of the home's 50 historic structures and thousands of archived materials in danger. A report released last month by the National Parks Conservation Association gave the park's cultural resources a “fair” score of 78 out of 100, saying insufficient staffing and funding limit the park's ability to adequately protect historic structures and accomplish all the needed cultural resource planning work and research. ..."

Fantasia is rebuilding her post-'American Idol' life

" 'American Idol' winner Fantasia Barrino gets her house back in order on the first episode of her VH1 reality series, debuting at 10 p.m. tonight," says the Charlotte Observer.

"Despite a successful autobiography, a made-for-TV movie, a Broadway role in 'The Color Purple' and a platinum album, Barrino fell into money problems after moving from High Point to Charlotte following her 'Idol' win in 2004.

"Liens were filed against her first home, in Piper Glen in south Charlotte, over unpaid homeowner association fees. Creditors filed suit for her $240,000 Mercedes. And her second home, a $1.2 million mansion off Elm Lane, was saved from auction after fees were paid on back taxes in 2009. ..."

N.C. slipping as a destination?

"In recent years," writes the Observer, "North Carolina owed much of its prosperity to newcomers who pulled up stakes elsewhere and gambled on opportunities here.

"Now, at least one survey suggests that the state is losing some of its glitter as a land of opportunity.

"The survey, conducted yearly by the interstate moving company United Van Lines, shows North Carolina slipping as a migratory destination.

"In 2006 and 2007, the state had the highest rank of newcomers; in 2008 it ranked third. But in 2009, based on 10,292 shipments United made in or out of North Carolina, the state had fallen to 10th among 'high-inbound states,' with 55.4 percent of the shipments moving in and 44.6 percent moving out. ..."

(Photo by the Charlotte Observer)

Sandburg expansion bill heads to president's desk

The home site of poet and author Carl Sandburg in Flat Rock is closer to being expanded. A bill authorizing the expansion of the Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site and a new visitor center there is headed to President Bush's desk after passing the House, according to the Hendersonville Times-News.

The Consolidated Natural Resources Act passed the House on Tuesday. The bill had previously cleared the Senate and now heads to President Bush's desk for approval.

"The Sandburg Home is an important part of both our heritage and our economy in Western North Carolina," said U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, who co-sponsored the bill in the House. ...

The legislation authorizes the historic site to expand on its western boundary if land becomes available from willing sellers. The National Park Service supports the expansion, wanting to prevent development from encroaching on the park. The bill authorizes the acquisition of up to 115 acres. Up to five of the acres would be for the visitor's center and an expanded parking lot.
...

The land around Connemara, the name of Sandburg's home, is gorgeous, and the entire site is probably one of the least-known of the state historic sites. The home is left pretty much how Sandburg lived; it's a snapshot in time.

Sandburg won two Pulitzers, one for his Abraham Lincoln biography and one for The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg.

Quick hits: Park news galore

Water park, resort to open near Charlotte
"A Wisconsin developer confirmed Tuesday it intends to build an indoor water park and resort hotel in the Charlotte area this year, costing around $100 million and bringing about 400 jobs," according to the Charlotte Observer.

"Great Wolf Resorts' project would be the first of its kind in the Charlotte region and only the second in the Carolinas, an industry expert said.

"The company said it had not made a final decision on where its Great Wolf Lodge will go. But one place under review is in Concord between Lowe's Motor Speedway and Concord Mills mall. Another is in Fort Mill, S.C.

"Public incentives have been used to lure Great Wolf to other cities. A package worth more than $5 million, for example, helped attract it to a site outside Fort Worth, Texas. But it's too early to say what incentives, if any, the company will seek here, Great Wolf spokeswoman Jennifer Beranek said. ..."

Chimney Rock Park may be renamed
"With the state's $24 million purchase of Chimney Rock Park on Monday, the General Assembly is considering changing the name of the planned Hickory Nut Gorge State Park," according to the Hendersonville Times-News.

"The new name as specified in Senate Bill 773: Chimney Rock State Park.

" 'Typically all our state parks are traditionally named in recognition of their significant natural features,' State Parks Director Lewis Ledford said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

"So Chimney Rock, with its iconic, flag-topped spire jutting from the side of Hickory Nut Gorge, will join the other monumental North Carolina land forms with state parks named after them -- Mt. Mitchell, Pilot Mountain and Hanging Rock.

" 'I've heard it described as one of the top five most recognized landmarks on the East Coast,' Ledford said. 'I don't know what the other four are, perhaps Stone Mountain, Georgia, Grandfather Mountain. I think we all recognize that rock formation with the flag.' ..."

Carl Sandburg historic site expansion gets OK from House
"A 115-acre expansion of the Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site was approved Wednesday by the House," according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.

"The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, easily passed 268-150 after several Republican House members attempted to delay or pare down the expansion.

"The state’s Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr have introduced a companion bill, which is pending in the Senate. The Bush administration has expressed support for the idea.

" 'Carl Sandburg was a national treasure,' Shuler said of the famous poet during House debate. 'We in North Carolina are proud to claim him as one of our own.' ..."

Quick hits: Sandburg, smoking and (a hit to) sippers

Carl Sandburg's Flat Rock home listed as one of '10 Great Places'
"Take the fork in the road and see the landscapes that inspired some of America's best-loved poets," writes USA Today online. "April is National Poetry Month, a good time to visit the homes of some of the nation's most renowned poets. J. D. McClatchy, poet, editor of the Yale Review and author of American Writers at Home, shares his recommendations with Kathy Baruffi for USA Today."

One those homes is Carl Sandburg's home in Flat Rock, N.C. (pictured).

" 'The son of Swedish immigrants, Sandburg (1878-1967) was born in Illinois and made his name with poems about Chicago (Hog Butcher of the World). He won the Pulitzer Prize twice, was friendly with presidents and movie stars, but he never forgot his humble beginnings,' McClatchy says. Hence, his somewhat baronial estate, 30 miles from Asheville, N.C., may seem out of character to some visitors. A herd of goats is a reminder of the dairy farm his wife once ran here. ..."

Weakened statewide smoking ban passes House committee -- again"A ban on smoking across North Carolina, bounced back from the House floor in a dispute over business owners' rights, again won the support of a House committee Tuesday in a weakened form that put much of the onus for restrictions on local governments," writes WRAL.com.

"The modified bill would still ban smoking statewide in restaurants, hotels and state government office buildings. However, it would specifically exclude restaurant-bars that are age-restricted and smoking-designated hotel rooms.

"Local governments would have the authority to override those exceptions and to bar or restrict smoking in public places, workplaces, local government buildings, public transportation and schools. ..."

Frost turns grapes and vintners blue
"Peaches and apples weren't the only crops hurt by the Easter weekend freeze," writes the Charlotte Observer.

"Across North Carolina's young wine industry, grape growers and wine makers are assessing damage to their fields -- and waiting to see how bad it gets when warm temperatures return and vines begin to grow again.

"Agriculture agents in grape-growing counties, particularly around the Yadkin Valley, report heavy losses in white-wine grapes such as chardonnay, pinot gris, viognier and riesling. Those vines break into buds early, and warm temperatures before the freeze pushed them as much as two weeks ahead.

"Red-wine grapes, particularly cabernet sauvignon, are hardier and break bud later, so they sustained less damage. ..."