mediamongrel

i agree with a lot of the things you said. As far as the mall debate goes, it just seems to me that it is in a crappy area of town. Tunnel Rd. isn't that great of an area, especially the north part. I drive up and down that section at least three or four times a week, and I see a lot of loitering, crackheads, and no effort is really being made to improve it other than building a car wash and vitamin store. I don't frequent that mall as much as the defunct Biltmore Square or the Biltmore Park plaza. They are just nicer areas with easier access and less traffic. However, if some people still like the Asheville Mall that's fine, but I honestly cannot see it as a mall that would be attracting higher end stores in the future.

3 days in a row for the all time high in Charlotte of 104.

so much for the cool summer...Charlotte tied the ALL TIME RECORD of 104 today (last set in 2007)

The last time I remember going into a Best Buy, they would never have anything I wanted in stock, whether it be a DVD or CD. They would always say, "We can order it for you," and I'd be saying, "So can I, on Amazon." Best Buy will probably also be gone around the time of B & N's exit. Media sales will be primarily over the internet (via streaming and downloading) and regular CDs and DVDs will still be easier to have shipped to your house, rather than "going out to buy a CD." If Best Buy just opened up a smaller type store, focusing on TVs, DVD players, and cell phone sales, they might actually make it, but I doubt the execs would go for that.

Yes that is really odd. Especially considering B & N has two stores within 10 miles. (Asheville Mall & Biltmore Park) Speaking of Kmart, another thing that is puzzling is that you can get a B & N Nook at Kmart (when they are on sale) for $30 less than B & N's price. They are just killing themselves in essence. Also, they try to make people think all their dvds are a bargain at 50% off, but the regular prices on some of their DVDs are $39.99 for ONE Blu-Ray! People just go to B & N to read without paying, get coffee at the coffee bar, and leave. I don't see the B & N stand alone stores surviving for more than 5 years. There's too many outlets to get books that are a lot cheaper, like E-books, or if you want the actual paper versions, they are always cheaper on Amazon anyway.

Sears Holdings tends to shut down grops of stores after the holiday season. So in all likelyhood, I would expect the Sears at Asheville Mall, the adjacent Kmart, and the Skyland Kmart to shut down sometime around the beginning of 2013. This would leave the Brevard Road and Patton Ave. Kmarts as the only two remaining Sears Holdings properties in the Asheville area (not counting the Kmart in Hendersonville).

Most malls are "packed" because teens and other people loiter around them. That being said, teens rarely buy anything of a substantial value, other than maybe Claire's, FYE, or the food court, so when you see a packed mall it is very misleading. The Asheville mall is starting to become like the old Four Seasons mall in Greensboro when it comes to people loitering around. And as far as Best Buy goes, it does seem like they are on their last legs. Movies, CDs, TVs, and practically everything else they sell is all available cheaper online. I haven't been inside a Best Buy in probably 10 years.

You're right, that mall, for being the only one is Asheville, is pretty sad. The Biltmore Square Mall never took off, and I really couldn't think of a decent place for a second mall. However, like all enclosed malls, it will probably eventually meet it's demise. The move to outdoor malls is what the future is (other than shopping online). The ULTA store was probably the only poisitve thing in that mall in a while. Holiday traffic is a nightmare near the mall, and I don't know if Macy's would ever choose the Asheville Mall in all honesty. Like you mentioned, they are just not quite upscale enough for a Macy's, and I doubt they ever will be.

If you like that sort of thing, I guess downtown is your haven. I'm just saying I can see why some people dont.

That's pretty funny. I actually agree with you. I like Asheville a lot, but I stay away from downtown most of the time. I would rather not deal with crackheads, panhandlers, "occupy" groups who just do nothing all day...Is that supposed to be inviting for tourists? No wonder people just stay near Biltmore Village or Biltmore Park when they come here. If I was introduced to the city's downtown by seeing all of that garbage, I would too!

Dewpoints tend to be higher in the mountains because of the moist air getting "trapped" in between the mountains. Though the temperature may be 95 in Charlotte and the dewpoint 66, Asheville for instance may see only 89, but with a dewpoint of 69, making it feel about the same. The mountains (relative term) aren't much cooler, except for places like Boone and Jefferson. Those areas are a lot higher in elevation though. Areas like Forest City and Rutherfordton may be considered "the mountains" but they usually get temperatures equal to that of Charlotte because of the downsloping effect.

That's a nice area, but in my opinion, it's way too far south of I-40 to be considered "Asheville."

Montogomery Ward? Most of them shut down a few years after this (around 1999 or so)

That HT you are speaking of is very old though. It was built in 1990, and is comparitively small inside, so more people might switch than you think.

RECORD #1 BROKEN; HIGHEST AVERAGE AUGUST TEMPERATURE = 83.7 (2007) OLD RECORD = 81.9 (1900) RECORD #2 BROKEN; 2ND LONGEST STREAK WITH TEMPERATURE 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER = 32 (2007) *NOTE THE FIRST PLACE RECORD IS 33 DAYS BUT WILL PROBABLY NOT BE TIED TOMORROW. RECORD #3 BROKEN (TENTATIVE) LEAST RAINFALL FOR AUGUST = 0.41" (2007) OLD RECORD = 0.61" (1972) *NOTE THIS RECORD IS VALID UNLESS THE AIRPORT RECEIVES 0.21" OF RAIN OR MORE THIS EVENING CERTAINLY, THIS AUGUST WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS WE BREAK THREE ALL TIME RECORDS, AS WELL AS SETTING NUMEROUS TEMPERATURE RECORDS THIS MONTH INCLUDING 104 DEGREES, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST EVER.