Firth, Blunt filming in Wilmington

Apparently the bad reviews of the Durham-filmed "Main Street" have not kept Colin Firth out of the Tar Heel State. He and Emily Blunt are currently filming "Arthur Newman" in and around Wilmington, according to the Star-News.

... Firth, dressed in rolled up khakis and a plaid shirt and with a small orange tent in the background, strolled down the beach Thursday afternoon near the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, waded into the surf and tossed his top into the water, revealing a short-sleeve, white T-shirt.

The temperature, elevated by the bright sun and nearly cloudless sky, hovered around 80 and a brisk south-southwest wind blew as "Arthur Newman, Golf Pro" made its Pleasure Island debut.

Before Firth lost his shirt, the crew filmed some boats maneuvering near the shore – a scene meant to simulate a search for Firth's character based on the discovery of his lone piece of clothing floating in the water, said Pat Story, the movie's publicist.

The film planned additional shooting in Carolina Beach on Thursday and Friday nights, when the production is to close off Lake Park Boulevard from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. between Charlotte and Atlanta avenues for low-speed chase scenes.

Academy Award winner Firth and Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt are starring in "Arthur Newman," which opened offices at EUE/Screen Gems Studios last month and will shoot in the area from mid-October to mid-November.

"We couldn't be more excited," said producer Alisa Tager on the set Thursday afternoon. "We needed a place with a certain amount of geographic diversity and architectural diversity, and we found it in the Wilmington area."

Avett Brothers win big at Americana Awards

Just a few days after performing an emotional benefit show in Greensboro, the Avett Brothers, that most "Carolinian" of bands, were honored as Duo/Group of the Year at the Americana Awards. The Concord band held the same title in 2007 and 2010. Seth and Scott Avett (sans bassist Bob Crawford, who is dealing with a family health issue) accepted the award at the 10th Annual Americana Awards and Honors ceremony in Nashville Thursday.

The Avetts were among the night's performers playing "The Once and Future Carpenter." The band continues its fall tour in Dallas Friday.

'Iron Man 3' to film in Wilmington next summer

The third movie in the "Iron Man" series will begin filming next summer, and the location will be Wilmington, according to Screenrant.

The Old North State apparently beat out Michigan as the filming location.

Shane Black will be directing "Iron Man 3."

Gazetteer fun: S-U

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer was recently updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, S, T and U. (Click here to see some older versions.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Sapphire, community in s(outh)w(est) Transylvania County s(outh) of Horsepasture River. Named because sapphires are found in the vicinity or for the vivid blue of the sky and water.


Toddy, community in w(estern) Pitt County. The community was known as Tugwell and the railroad name was Toddy Station in the early twentieth century. Named for the fact that a drink of whiskey could be had at a local store.


Utah Mountain, central Haywood County between Snakeden Top and Fulbright Cove. Named for the fact that a band of Mormons lived there in the 1880s and 1890s. Their practice of polygamy made them unpopular with their neighbors, and the Mormons were forced to leave North Carolina. Their houses, barns, fences, and other property were abandoned, and the ruins still exist. Orchards and vineyards, as well as ornamental flowering shrubs, are now growing wild in the vicinity.

New exhibit honors the official state dawg

Wanna learn about the official dog of North Carolina? Let's go to the AP:

The North Carolina Museum of History is showing an exhibit dedicated to the Plott hound, the only dog breed known to have originated in the state and the state dog.The small exhibit is titled "Our State Dog: North Carolina's Plott Hound" and is on display through Sept. 30. The traveling exhibit comes to the museum from Western Carolina University.

The exhibit describes the Plott hound's specific roles in a bear hunt, boar hunt and raccoon hunt. It also highlights five significant breeders of Plott hounds.

The breed originated in Haywood County in the 1800s when the Plott family bred native German dogs to become a distinct breed of animals that would hunt game and protect livestock from predators.

Hardee's embraces N.C. college football

Yes, it has morphed into somewhat of a tacky, sexist company, but ya gotta hand it to Hardee's. The North Carolina-born restaurant is celebrating the just-started 2011 college football season across the state with a special promotion.

Every Tuesday this season, Hardee's restaurants statewide will offer a 5-piece Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders(TM) combo meal for the reduced price of $5, a savings of over $2.

More than 230 Hardee's restaurants statewide will participate in "Team Tender Tuesdays." The promotion begins Tuesday, Sept. 6 and runs the duration of the 2011 regular football season, according to a press release.

Fans throughout North Carolina are encouraged to take advantage of "Team Tender Tuesdays," whether cheering for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, the East Carolina University Pirates, the North Carolina State University Wolfpack or the Appalachian State University Mountaineers. (What? No Duke? No Wake Forest?)

In addition to "Team Tender Tuesdays," Hardee's will sponsor on-field promotions at three games during the season. At each game a fan will be given the chance to kick a field goal at halftime. If the kick is good, every fan in the stadium will receive a coupon for a free Hand-Breaded Chicken Tender(TM) Wrapper.

"Hardee's was born in North Carolina and we recognize the big role college sports play in the lives of many of our customers here," said Jerry Allsbrook, chief marketing officer for Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee's franchisee in North Carolina and the U.S. "We're looking forward to continuing our tradition of supporting North Carolina's love of football with our 'Team Tender Tuesdays' and on-field kick promotions."

Hardee's Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders are fresh, all-white-meat chicken tenders, hand-dipped in eggs and buttermilk and lightly breaded. The Tenders were added to the menu last year and were introduced to Hardee's by Boddie-Noell who first developed the menu item in the company's North Carolina test kitchens. The 5-piece Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders combo meal includes Natural-Cut French Fries and a beverage. ...

More red wolves = fewer 'coons = more birds

We've discussed some in the past the terrific work that has gone on to save the red wolf population in North Carolina. It's apparently having a positive effect on birds (but not raccoons, apparently).

"Good news for a wolf is good news for a turkey. At least it is in Eastern North Carolina, where red wolves are making a comeback and helping other animal species along the way," says McClatchy.

Since the wolves were reintroduced in 1987, biologists have watched them rattle all the links in the food chain.

"We've certainly seen turkey come back. We've seen quail populations increase," said David Rabon, coordinator of the Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Wolves' role in helping these ground-nesting birds is well known, Rabon said. Raccoons eat the birds' eggs, and red wolves prey on raccoons. More wolves mean fewer raccoons, and fewer raccoons mean more quail and turkey. Connecting the dots, more wolves mean more birds.

Effects like this aren't unique to Eastern North Carolina. Research from around the globe, compiled in an article in the journal Science last month, shows just how deeply large predators like wolves and cougars are connected to the ecosystems where they live. ...

There are three national wildlife refuges in the red wolves' territory: Alligator River, Pocosin Lakes, and Lake Mattamuskeet. The refuge managers work to create habitat for red wolves and other animals, including waterfowl, bears and alligators.

Other public lands in the area are managed as state game lands, where managers create habitat for species such as turkey, quail, and deer instead of wolves.

Creating a habitat for one animal doesn't necessarily make it harder for another, Rabon stressed. "The higher you go in the food chain, usually the larger the umbrella is for how many other species you also benefit."

But in the years since they've been reintroduced, the red wolves have expanded well beyond public land, where their impact is even less visible.

Much of the territory the wolves occupy is privately owned farmland. That land must be drained for farming, Rabon said, so it's already a very different landscape from the one the wolves might have originally inhabited. Because it's actively maintained for farming, any effect the wolves might have is constantly erased.

'Tar Heel Traveler' does the food tour

WRAL's Scott Mason may have the best gig in the state. He gets to travel all over North Carolina as part of his "Tar Heel Traveler" segments, taking him to interesting locales, meeting unique people and discovering the varieties of culture in this beautiful state.

Mason's most recent "Traveler" was a 25-minute-long exploration of some of Nawth Cackylacky's culinary hotspots. (Although, truth be told, very few of these places are probably recommended by heart doctors.)

Among the places noted in the special are Britt's Donuts in Carolina Beach, the Sunnyside Oyster Bar in Wilson and Flo's Kitchen -- home of the "Cathead Biscuits."

Heat could be very bad for apple crop

A confession: I've always had this dream of having a large apple orchard in the mountains. It would be my ticket to the "Thomas Jefferson School of Gentlemen Farmers" (sans the other accomplishments, mind you). But now may not be the best time to take a stab at it, according to the Hendersonville Times-News.

“This heat has affected fruit, and a lot of growers are putting materials on to reduce sunburning,” said Marvin Owings, interim director of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Henderson County office.

... Fred Hoots, owner of Fred Hoots Orchard, who has been growing apples full-time since 1966, said last year's and this year's summers are the worst he can remember with regard to hot and dry conditions.

Hoots just finished picking one of the earliest apple varieties of the year — the tasty, semi-sweet ginger gold — and he's been using a product that holds the fruit firm and prevents it from getting too ripe.

...

Meanwhile, Mark Williams, the county's new agri-business executive director, has been busy in his first month on the job, exploring opportunities for potential new markets for not only apples but other commodities as well, he said.

With the possibility of a couple of new buyers already that Williams has contacted, he's hoping Mother Nature will cooperate.

“The apple crop is looking good,” he said. “We've suffered through some hail storms — there are always those things to contend with, and other challenges that we face — but overall it looks like a good crop, and we're just trying to make it through until we get the apples picked and get them sold. Until that happens, you never know. There's always risk.”

Tales of the Melungeons?

"Tales of Melungeons are packed with mystery and meaning in the Appalachian region," writes Indiana's The Republic. "Campfire stories about the dark-skinned mountaineers have long swirled through the hills and hollers, largely depicting the Melungeons as secretive, lawless, and even threatening to outsiders."

I'm a native North Carolinian who has NEVER heard of these folks. A conference in Swannanoa "may help unravel the mystery of the Melungeons, including DNA results that show that their dark hair and European features likely came from Arabic and Jewish immigrants centuries ago."

Melungeons have been traced back for more than four centuries in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, but their unusual appearance and familial closeness often kept them apart from many of their white neighbors.

Phyllis Starnes of southwestern Virginia said she began to probe her Melungeon ancestry a decade ago after she was treated for a bout of stomach and chest pain.

Born and raised in the mountains, Starnes was shocked to hear her doctor diagnose familial Mediterranean fever, a rare hereditary disease passed down by Arabs and Jews,

"My family has been in Appalachia for hundreds of years, so I thought: this doesn't make sense," Starnes said.

Following her own heritage trail led the Fort Blackmore, Va., resident to the Melungeons, a group that had often been stereotyped as less intelligent and lazier than their lighter-skinned neighbors.

"Melungeon ever so long was a dirty word. Nobody wanted to be Melungeon."

But with new research and a renewed interest in ancestry and family backgrounds, the affiliation is taking on a much more positive spin.

"Seems like everybody wants to be Melungeon now," said Starnes, 59.

Autosomal DNA testing, which measures mixed geographic heritage, offers a profile of Melungeons that includes Jewish, Middle Eastern, Egyptian and sometimes Gypsy ancestry. African and Native American heritage also appears. ...

The origin of the term Melungeon is unknown. It first appeared in written form in 1813 church records from Stoney Creek, Va., where someone accused a church member of harboring "them Melungeons."

Some say the term was derived from the French term mélange, meaning mixture.

Melungeon historian Brent Kennedy links arrival of the Melungeons in Appalachia to the Spanish Inquisition, when a half-million Jews and Muslims were exiled from Spain and Portugal in the 16th Century.

Kennedy writes that the exiled people became renowned for their seagoing exploits and sometimes wound up on ships headed for America — either as slaves or galley hands.

An early American historical account tells of British explorers in the 1600s encountering a settlement in the Tennessee Valley where people spoke in a foreign language they referred to as "Portyghee."

Genetics Professor J.P. Evans at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says it can be useful to combine DNA research with stories such as the one the British told in the 1600s.

"The Portuguese were the first Europeans in the Age of Discovery to start crossing the Atlantic," Evans said. "It would not surprise me at all if some wound up in the mountains of North Carolina or Tennessee." ...

Parks are cut, but thankfully they are still open

The Raleigh News & Observer/Charlotte Observer (they're essentially the same now, after all) has a nice piece on the impact of the state budget on the state parks. It is significant. Thankfully, the parks are still open and essentially free to visit, though some fees (camping, for example) went up.

"As states struggle with deficits, the nation's parks are under siege. California will close 70 of its 278 parks. Washington state withdrew all its state support. Ohio plans to allow oil and gas drilling in its parks," says the article.

No North Carolina parks or recreation areas are expected to close. But visitors will pay more to camp, swim or picnic, because of fee increases. They'll find fewer rangers and more peeling paint.

"You can only nail, hammer and paint so much," said Shederick Mole, superintendent of Jordan Lake State Recreation Area in Chatham County. ...

As the state park budget is reduced over the next few years, less money will be available for parks to renovate and remodel existing buildings. ...

Legislators diverted $8.4 million from the trust, which gets income from real estate excise taxes, to help balance the state budget. They also took an additional $6 million for park operations. ...

A recent study from N.C. State University found that the cost of installing and staffing fee stations would offset the revenue from a fee. The study also predicted that visits would fall, hurting the parks' $400 million annual contribution to local economies.

Click here for the rest of the article.

Oh, the humanity!

From MyFox8:

Vandals destroyed an iconic sign on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Haywood-Jackson county line.

Rangers tell the Asheville Citizen-Times that the latest sign to be hit was a 5-foot tall wooden marker indicating the highest point on the parkway near the Haywood-Jackson county line. The sign was pulled off its stone base sometime in the past two weeks.

Seriously? What is this world coming to?

"Officials say the Cold Mountain Outlook sign is frequently stolen. They also have seen an increase in graffiti. ... Park rangers say they are seeing an increase in vandalism along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Rangers say several pieces of large equipment such as tractors and mowers have been damaged."

So folks want to steal a sign referencing an overrated story? (Sorry, I probably shouldn't say that.) That's just weird.

Anyone with information about this incident should call 800-PARK-WATCH or 298-2491.

N.C. still a great state for business

Our neighbor to the north, the Old Dominion, comes out on top again. But the Old North State has nothing to be ashamed of, according to CNBC's Top States for Business Rankings.

Virginia topped our inaugural study in 2007 with Texas at number two. In 2008, they switched positions and Texas took the title. In 2009, it was Virginia/Texas. In 2010, it was Texas/Virginia.

This year, Virginia powers back to the top spot with the best overall score in the history of our study — 1,660 out of 2,500 points. Texas slips back to number two with a respectable 1,578 points. ...

Our fifth annual study once again puts all 50 states to the test, measuring them on 43 different metrics in 10 key categories of competitiveness. We weight those categories based on how frequently the states use them as selling points to attract business. That way, we hold the states to their own standards, and tell you how they measure up.

This year's categories and weightings, for a total of 2,500 points, are:

• Cost of Doing Business (350 points)

• Workforce (350 points)

• Quality of Life (350 points)

• Infrastructure & Transportation (325 points)

• Economy (300 points)

• Education (225 points)

• Technology & Innovation (225 points)

• Business Friendliness (200 points)

• Access to Capital (100 points)

• Cost of Living (50 points) ...

Top 10 States for Business
1. Virginia
2. Texas
3. North Carolina
4. Georgia
5. Colorado
6. Massachusetts
7. Minnesota
8. Utah
9. Iowa
10. Nebraska

And the official state sport is ...?

... if you guess basketball, then you'd be wrong. But if you guessed NASCAR, well, ding ding.

Gov. Bev Perdue is waving the green flag to make stock car racing North Carolina's official sport, says the AP.

Perdue planned to visit Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday and sign a bill that makes official the state's close and longstanding connection with the popular pastime.

Elementary school students urged legislators to place stock car racing on the list of state superlatives — the state bird is already the cardinal, the turtle is the state reptile and the sweet potato the official vegetable. ...

The bill notes that North Carolina's motorsports industry creates more than 20,000 jobs in the state and is home to racing greats such as Richard Petty and Junior Johnson.

Thoughts? Is this appropriate and spot-on? Does it enhance a stereotype? Does it really matter at all?

Quick hits: It really was Blackbeard's boat, and Uwharrie going natural

They're sure now ... it's the Queen Anne's Revenge
"The Raleigh News and Observer is reporting that the State has decided that the remains of a shipwreck off Beaufort, N. C. are in fact those of Blackbeard's flagship the Queen Anne's Revenge a.k.a QAE," writes the Beaufort Observer.

"Now we should say up front that we have no clue whether or not they are correct that this wreck is indeed Blackbeard's ship. What we do have a clue to is why they have declared it to be what they have thought all along it was. Money. ..."



Forest Service wants to return Uwharrie back to native condition

"The U.S. Forest Service wants to restore Uwharrie National Forest to its more natural condition by planting different trees and carrying out selective burning to encourage the growth of rare sun-loving plants," says the Winston-Salem Journal.

"The Forest Service last week released the draft management plan and environmental impact statement for the forest, which covers 51,000 acres in Davidson, Montgomery and Randolph counties. ...

"Plan highlights include reducing the number of loblolly pine plantations in favor of longleaf pine and oak-hickory forests.

"Currently, about 20,000 acres in the national forest are occupied by loblolly and shortleaf pines, mostly the result of past plantings for timber harvesting. ..."

Two N.C.-filmed TV pilots will continue shooting ... in L.A.

According to the reports, two television series that filmed pilots in North Carolina won't be returning to North Carolina to film regular episodes.

The StarNews of Wilmington reports ABC's "Revenge" and The CW's "Hart of Dixie" will film in the Los Angeles area.

EUE/Screen Gems Studios executive vice president Bill Vassar says the stars in the shows wanted to stay on the West Coast to be near their families. Vassar is waiting to hear about a feature film that could open production offices in Wilmington next week.

The HBO comedy series "Eastbound & Down" begins filming a third season in Wilmington in July.

Dr. Beach likes Hatteras

The beach at Cape Hatteras was named the fifth-best beach in the country in an annual survey by Florida International University professor (and NCSU graduate) Steven Leatherman, who is also known by the friendly nickname "Dr. Beach."

Leatherman ranks beaches on 250 criteria, including the look and feel of the sand, water quality, weather, facilities and crowds. A top score is 250.

Leatherman described the beach at Cape Hatteras as "providing some of the best board surfing along the East Coast, as well as the most famous lighthouse in the United States, Cape Hatteras attracts beachgoers to its historic fishing villages."

The best beach in the country is Sarasota's Siesta Beach. ...

San Diego's Coronado Beach was runner-up. Rounding out the top 10 were No. 3, Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; No. 4, Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.; No. 5, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina; No. 6, St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle; No. 7, Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.; No. 8, Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.; No. 9, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii, and No. 10, Cape Florida State Park near Miami.

A No. 1 spot on the popular list annual typically brings a 15-to-20-percent boost in visitors for the beach destinations.

Scotty wins 'Idol,' continuing N.C. dominance

In case you live under a rock, then you are not aware that Garner's Scotty McCreery won season 10 of "American Idol" last night. Congratulations to the guy that has been described over and over and over again as a wonderfully genuine young man.

McCreery joins High Point's Fantasia Barrino (season three) as winners of the singing contest, while Raleigh's Clay Aiken was runner-up in season two. Others from N.C. that have done well include Chris Daughtry of Lasker (third place in season five), Kellie Pickler from Albemarle (fourth in season five), Bucky Covington from Rockingham (eighth in season five) and Anoop Desai of Chapel Hill (sixth place in season eight).

Needless to say, North Carolina was pretty excited for McCreery, according to WRAL.

More than 8,000 of those fans packed into the RBC Center in Raleigh for a viewing party Wednesday night. They made a thunderous roar when "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest named McCreery as the winner.

Three of his biggest fans – childhood friends and part of the Blue Crew, a student fan club at Garner Magnet High School – were at the RBC Center Wednesday.

The trio was also at the first viewing parties when fewer than 100 people gathered in Garner to watch McCreery at the start of this season of "American Idol."

"From that to last night at the RBC Center, home of the Wolfpack and the Hurricanes, 8,200 people screaming for Scotty – it doesn't get much better than that," Garner High student Colin Perry said.

McCreery's friends said they can't wait to see him again. McCreery has said he doesn't know how his world will change, but he hopes to get home soon.

"I'm going to have some fun and celebrate with my family, and I can't wait to get back to Garner," he said.

GQ calls Asheville a ‘rad city’

In the May issue of GQ, Stan Parish writes what many North Carolinians already know — Asheville is awesome. | story and photographs

The stickers are everywhere — on the windows of dive bars, used-record stores, head shops, and the omnipresent yoga studios. “Love Asheville,” they read. “Local Is the New Black.” Yes, they’re a little twee. But after a few meals, a few local microbrews, and a rock show or two, you realize that loving Asheville’s basically a reflex. The city of 80,000 is an anomaly in its home state, with its indie-music cred, ambitious restaurants that could hold their own in San Francisco, and a panorama of the Blue Ridge Mountains that will have you turning circles just to take it all in. The locals are too modest and well- mannered to say this themselves, but we’ve got a better slogan for that sticker: “Asheville is the new Austin, with a better view.”

End of the line coming for 'One Tree Hill'

Full disclosure: I'm a big "One Tree Hill" fan. Haven't always been, but what can I say?

Anyway, it looks like the Wilmington-filmed (and quasi-based) TV series will be wrapping it up in the very near future, according to the Star-News.

The CW announced its new fall schedule today, but “One Tree Hill” wasn’t on it. The locally filmed series will be held for midseason. And according to a CW release, season nine will be the show’s last.

The CW has ordered 13 episodes, and while the release doesn’t specify that the final season will only be that long, it’s unlikely more episodes will be ordered. Though with this show, never say never.

Filming of the new season will start in Wilmington this July. If there are only 13 episodes, and “OTH” doesn’t need to replace any failed new series early, the show will completely wrap filming by the time the ninth season starts.

Here’s what the CW says will happen in the final season: “In season nine, how will Brooke and Julian juggle parenthood and their very young careers? With Nathan traveling more as an agent, how will Haley’s life change with a second child, an increasingly independent Jamie, and a busy café to run? Is a wedding in store for Quinn and Clay? Or Mouth and Millicent? And what’s to become of Alex and Chase and their burgeoning romance? Following a fictional four year jump in time, “One Tree Hill” has now spent four seasons exploring the experiences of twenty-somethings. Season nine will continue to grow and break new ground, as the show approaches the rarified air of 200 episodes.”

Sigh.