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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina Asheville was an afterthought, a last-minute addition at the end of a nearly weeklong trip to neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Rookie mistake.

This mountain town in far western North Carolina deserves top billing on its own itinerary, filled with gallery hopping and top-rated restaurants, a quirky drum circle and comedy bus tour.

And did I mention the beer?

The city, population 95,000, is perhaps best known for being home to the Biltmore Estate, the elaborate former home of George and Edith Vanderbilt, the largest private residence in the United States, open daily for touring.

Read more: The Biltmore, Americas most elaborate private residence, is fit for a king

Its best attribute, however, is its location surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, with parkland on all sides.

The regions stunning beauty has made Asheville a long-time magnet for artists and adventurer seekers, who collectively give the town a cool, authentic vibe, all of which also happens to make it a great place to visit.

If youve never been here -- or even if you have -- its worth the trip, all on its own.

Downtown window shopping in Asheville.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Comedic guide Cookie Carter entertains a bus full of tourists on the LaZoom Comedy Bus Tour in Asheville.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Wicked Weed Brewing, one of more than 30 brewpubs in Asheville.Courtesy ExploreAsheville.com

Laughing at the citys past

To get my bearings, I signed up for the LaZoom Comedy Bus Tour, a 90-minute, PG-13 romp through town in a retrofitted school bus that covers much of the citys history, from a frontier outpost in the late 1790s to the arrival of the Vanderbilts a century later to Ashevilles first designation as Beer City USA in 2010.

We motored by downtowns former 75-foot-tall memorial (the erection at the intersection) to Civil War-era governor Zebulon Vance, dismantled last year; and the Asheville Civic Center, where Elvis Presley played three shows in July 1975, including one when he famously exited the stage for seven minutes to use the restroom (Sometimes, the king needs to sit, he reportedly said).

We passed the Asheville Masonic Temple, built in 1915 and used as a hospital for Black residents during the Spanish flu, the worst pandemic in history, according to comedic guide Cookie Carter. (Whoops, she added. I think we need to update the script.)

And we drove by the former Highland Hospital, a psychiatric facility turned wedding venue, where Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, died in a fire in 1948. An accomplished painter, writer and dancer, Zelda Fitzgerald may have also been the uncredited source of much of her husbands work, according to Carter. Described as schizophrenic and possibly bipolar, Carter said, Maybe she was just an independent woman in the 1920s.

Halfway through the tour, we stopped for an adult beverage at Green Man Brewery, founded in 1997 and among the oldest brewpubs in the citys beer-focused South Slope neighborhood (bro-muda triangle on sunny Saturday afternoons, according to Carter).

We also wheeled through the River Arts District, just southwest of downtown along the French Broad River, where dozens of former factories and warehouses have been turned into galleries, and the Montford historic district, filled with beautiful old homes.

I made a mental note of all the places I wanted to revisit.

Gallery-hopping in Asheville's River Arts District.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Medina County native Kevin Giriunas recently opened a studio in Asheville's River Arts District.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Exploring the neighborhoods

My visit coincided with the River Arts Districts Second Saturday gallery walk, with demonstrations, workshops and entertainment in and around the neighborhoods studios and galleries. My husband and I meandered through a dozen-plus spaces, perusing hundreds of pieces of art whimsical and serene glass, pottery, painting, jewelry and more. Locals (and visitors) can take classes at the studios and watch artists in action.

During my browsing, I met Kevin Giriunas, a Medina County native who recently relocated to Asheville and opened a painting studio on Roberts Street.

Asheville has a vibrant big city feel in a small mountain town, said Giriunas, a former engineer who is now working full-time as an artist. The art scene is awesome.

From River Arts, we headed back downtown, where there are many more galleries to explore including the Woolworth Walk, inside a former F.W. Woolworth Co. store, now filled with mini exhibits featuring the works of more than 100 local artists. Also here: the stores recreated Soda Fountain, featuring ice cream, sandwiches and salads. (One historical note: The actual lunch counter here was the subject of civil rights protests in the 1950s, as high school students in Asheville sought to emulate the college protesters in nearby Greensboro.)

Downtown Asheville features some of the best, most eclectic shopping Ive experienced anywhere terrific stores in a relatively compact, easily walkable space.

Other downtown stops:

* Grove Arcade, a four-story retail and office complex that was built in 1929 and billed as Americas first indoor shopping mall (but we Clevelanders know that our Arcade, which opened in 1890, was, in fact, the first). During World War II, the arcade here was taken over by the federal government for wartime planning.

* French Broad Chocolate Lounge, with exquisite chocolate drinks, pastries and candies to consume on site or take with you (or, even better, both). You can also take a tour of their production facility just north of downtown.

* The Asheville Bee Charmer, a story devoted to honey, with a tasting bar and more; Malaprops Books, Voltage Records; the Center for Craft and many others.

The historic Grove Arcade in Asheville.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

The honey tasting bar at downtown's Asheville Bee Charmer.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Every Friday, April through October, a group gathers at Asheville's Pritchard Park to play drums, dance and hang out.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Dining and drinking

Downtown is also the epicenter of the highly regarded dining scene in Asheville, which is routinely cited among the nations best foodie cities.

On our first night in town, my husband and I headed to Chai Pani, a casual Indian eatery that was recently named Americas most outstanding restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. Prepare to wait an hour or more for a table the place doesnt take reservations and it wasnt accepting any more additions to its waiting list by the time we arrived.

We dined instead at Red Ginger, with terrific small plates and sushi, across from Pritchard Park, home every Friday night (April through October) to the citys quirky drum circle, a feel-good Asheville tradition since 2001.

Other places we ate: The Rhu for brunch, a sister restaurant and bakery to the more upscale Rhubarb; and Nine Mile, with terrific Caribbean fusion fare in the Montford historic district.

We also got a primer on sour beer at Funkatorium, an outpost of Wicked Weed Brewing, where our bartender explained the effects of a longer fermentation period on what we were about to drink. Its like when you let a bottle of wine age, she said. It tastes better.

On our tasting flight: mouth-puckering samples of Silencio, barrel-aged with coffee and vanilla, and Sandiaca, a tasty concoction fermented with watermelon and basil.

Where to stay

We stayed at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast, a large, luxurious inn in the historic Montford neighborhood, just north of downtown. The house, along with numerous others in the neighborhood, was designed by Richard Sharp Smith, who was the supervising architect of the Biltmore Estate following the death in 1895 of primary architect Richard Hunt Morris.

Smith, along with numerous other creative types, stuck around Asheville after the Biltmore was completed and helped the town evolve into the arts-focused community that it is today. We have more culture than a yeast infection, quipped guide Cookie Carter.

Dont take her word for it. Put Asheville at the very top of your next vacation itinerary, and go see for yourself.

The Carolina Bed and Breakfast in Asheville's historic Montford neighborhood.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

If you go: Asheville, North Carolina

Where: Asheville, in far western North Carolina, is about an eight-hour drive from Cleveland, along I-77 south, I-81 south and I-26 south. Asheville Regional Airport, south of town, is the closest airport.

Nearby: The city is adjacent to to Pisgah National Forest, close to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is near the southern terminus of the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway, the scenic drive that connects the Smoky Mountains with Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Where to stay: We stayed at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast in the historic residential Montford neighborhood, just north of downtown. Rates start at about $230 a night. See carolinabb.com

More information: exploreasheville.com

Read more:

Dodging the crowds and clouds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Americas most popular

Overnighting at LeConte Lodge, the only inn inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park (but first, you have to get there)

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Weekend in Asheville: Hip, artsy enclave in the Blue Ridge Mountains beckons visitors with food, beer, browsi - cleveland.com

Its been the longest off-season weve had since 2019. While were all ramping back up, it felt reasonable to ask the staff an easy question to kick off our pre-season roundtables.

Whats your prediction of the Dallas Mavericks record and seed in the West?

Ben: As it stands, the Mavericks just dont have the depth to weather the injuries that are sure to come throughout the year. If Luka Doncic can somehow play 75 games this year, maybe they can pull off a record that gives them home court advantage in the playoffs. But I just dont see that happening. Luka has averaged 66 games per year in his career, and he probably plays something close to that in 2022-23. Instead, I think the Mavericks go 50-32, just barely eking out the sixth seed.

Matthew: There are many reasons to believe this team will be worse next season. They experienced a tremendous defensive turnaround which is part of the Jason Kidd coaching experience. Unfortunately his teams have consistently gotten worse as his tenure has gone along and the integration of Tim Hardaway Jr. and Christian Wood would not seem to be part of a recipe to stave off that regression.

The team is aging, and they play a methodical style that wears both them and other teams down. They lost Jalen Brunson and Trey Burke (I know that is no great loss, but he would be the third best ball handler on the current team.

All of that being said, they employ Luka Doncic who is coming off his first playoff success in the NBA. I believe that will only motivate him to be even better. There is some truth to his recent statements that he does not need another superstar. The core of Doncic and three-and-D role players should push the Mavericks to 52-30 in a brutally competitive West.

Brent: The start of last season saw several challenges the Mavericks had to overcome in real-time. A new coach, a new defensive system, a rash of early season injuries, and Covid-induced player streaming that felt like Bizarro world fantasy basketball. This year the coaching staff hits the ground running with most of the roster returning. Integrating Christian Wood is the biggest wild card, but his motivation should be bountiful given his contract year status and what will be his first taste of a winning percentage north of .500. The loss of JB is regrettable and leaves this roster with an obvious need at point guard. But this doesnt feel like an unsolvable problem, even if Nico and company are nearing the end of the off-season with only two-thirds of their three-headed point guard monster from last season still intact. Expect a trade before the deadline to solve this problem and heres hoping it can happen before the start of the season.

Losing the WCF is a different vibe than losing the Finals would have been. Dallas clearly had enough to top Boston in a long, grueling series. That would have been a gut punch. Losing to the eventual champion Warriors doesnt feel that way at all. Feeding off hunger for another deep playoff run, the Mavericks get off to a red-hot start.

Every Mavericks fan wants to see the next logical step in this progression, get to and hopefully win the finals. But I see something different in the ole crystal ball. An eventual 5th seed finish, a 51-31 record, and sadly a tough, bitter second-round exit. Gosh, I hope I am wrong. A Luka-led finals squad would be amazing. Given expiring contracts, the impending freedom to make a major trade after the Knicks pick is conveyed, one thing is certain. Expect the team to look very different after this season regardless of the outcome.

Jordan: I dont think the Mavericks will be bad. The hope is Luka Doncic carries some of the fitness he displayed this summer into the season. The offensive potential of a motivated Christian Wood is tantalizing next to Doncic. And the team still has solid complimentary pieces in Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, and Maxi Kleber. If Dinwiddie and Hardaway can put together solid seasons then there is reason for optimism, winning between 50 and 55 games.

If its worse, it wouldnt be because the team is bad it would be from asking Luka Doncic to do too much for too long. And because a handful of Western Conference teams returned to health or got better. But I do think they cross the 50 win threshold and avoid the play-in, somewhere between the four and six seed.

Matt: On its face, it feels a little silly to be too upset at a team for running back a roster that just made a Western Conference Finals run. The decision to essentially swap Jalen Brunson for Christian Wood feels like one that will be very evidently a boom or bust move early on. More scary than Dallas roster decision, though, are the decisions of the moves made by the rest of the conference. The Clippers have Kawhi and Geroge back, Minnesota added Gobert and have a potential star in Anthony Edwards, The Grizzlies are young and getting better, New Orleans had Zion coming back, and the Warriors, coming off a dynasty-extending championship, are going to be as tough as ever. The rumors of the Western Conferences demise have been greatly exaggerated. So, knowing all that, its hard to see where Dallas ekes out more wins than they did a year ago with this roster. Im expecting something like 48 wins and a hard-fought 5th seed.

Doyle: The Mavericks arent a better team than they were last year. They rode the wave of hop shooting and a high-level ball handler looking to secure the bag all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Now, that ball handler is gone and the team twiddled its thumbs and added two big men. Given the state of the West, its easy to see Dallas winning 46 games and either falling into the play-in tournament or narrowly avoiding it. That said, I dont discount Luka Doncics ability to make the team look like overachievers once more.

Clint: Last years Mavericks were such a pleasant surprise, but Im afraid their luck may have run out. Losing Jalen Brunson and not even attempting to replace his role just seems like its not gonna work out, so Im feeling pessimistic. I predict the Mavericks go 0-82 this year. In fact, Ill go even further, and predict the Mavericks wont score their first point until the 10th game.

David: Despite the Mavericks mishap with Jalen Brunson and an overall bad vibe in the off-season after the Christian Wood trade, the Mavericks will be just fine. They have a solid team, they have a good coaching staff, and, most importantly, they have one of the three best players in the world. When you have a generational player like Doncic, it is really hard to regress year-over-year as a team. The Mavericks roster is good enough to be a contender next season, and has the ceiling of a championship team if they can put it together again and/or make one more roster move. Luka Doncics greatness cannot be overstated, and he will lead them to a 50-32 record, good for fifth in the West.

Jack: I actually think that the Mavericks have a chance to be a better regular season team than they were last year, provided Luka Doncic stays healthy. The biggest x-factor is the play of Christian Wood. If he becomes the perfect pick-and-roll partner for Doncic on offense and excels in Jason Kidds defensive scheme, he very well could be a candidate for the All-Star team. I think we have to put trust in the coaching staff to get the most out of Wood; theyve earned that with their performance last year. Losing Brunson obviously hurts a ton, but a full season of Dinwiddie (another year removed from ACL surgery) will do a lot to make up for that. If they add another ball handler at the deadline, this could be a 55 win team. The loss of Brunson will really be felt in the playoffs, where the team as currently constructed has a limited ceiling. But Luka Doncic exists, and I think this is the year he finally wins MVP with a completely dominant showing. I expect a strong regular season, health permitting, and will predict a record of 53-29, good for the 4 seed in the West.

Kirk: Im in my optimist phase of the off-season and Im tying the Dallas Mavericks season directly to a Luka Doncic MVP season. Luka Doncic is going to win the award this season and Dallas is going to finish with a top 3 seed in the Western conference. So lets get nuts and predicted a 55-27 season.

Brian: Its always more fun to be the hunter rather than the hunted. With 29 national tv games, lets see if the Mavericks can adjust to the bigger spotlight. Before the new year last season, the Dallas Mavericks were 17-18. With 31 games on their schedule in November and December, we should know where this team stands seeding-wise by then. Given that the Western Conference will be a gauntlet this season, I predict the Mavericks will win 46 games and finish as the 6th seed. Spoiler, the Mavericks, will face a familiar foe as their first-round opponent in the playoffs, the Los Angeles Clippers.

Logan: On one hand, I was unhappy with the Mavs off-season. The Brunson fiasco was bad enough, but many corresponding moves and reactions from team brass, seemed like the work of an organization failing to learn from both past mistakes AND from success.

Was our biggest problem really Kevon Looney, or was it being out-gunned on talent to the point we were stretched so thin that Kevon Looney did that? The latter seemed obvious, and some of the modern principles that gave us our successwing centrism, running centers off the floor, multiple ball handlersdidnt seem to resonate. On the other hand, some principles I think will remain. I believe in the coaching and defensive infrastructure, and so often in last years second half we all wondered how we were winning so much.

Maybe thats how it feels again as we follow a formula of Luka and scrappiness to a top 4 seed. Luka is that good, and only getting better. But regression seems more likely, and its as much to do with the West getting better than anything else. Last year the general vibes were a marked improvement over the years before, and I havent lost faith in all the reasons that was true, from the defense to the chemistry. Still, hovering just under 50 wins, fighting to avoid the play-in, and a feeling of the dreaded take our medicine year seems most likely, and I think the question will become how the team and Luka responds to that for the sake of the future contention.

Josh: If theres one thing Ive learned about the Luka Doncic era, its that everything usually works out and things are OK. When the Mavericks had a disappointing offseason in 2019, they still had a great regular season. When Doncic missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and team went through a COVID outbreak at the same time, the Mavericks went 5-5 in those games playing a lot of guys they literally signed off the street. So yes, the Mavericks 2022 offseason was not good losing your second best player for nothing and your only two major additions being at a position that seems to matter less and less as years go by is not ideal. But the Mavericks still have Luka and they still have the formula Luka plus another ball handler plus shooting usually equals success. Despite the Mavericks losing Jalen Brunson, they still have that secondary ball handler in Spencer Dinwiddie. The team still has shooting in Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber, Christian Wood, and Tim Hardaway Jr. They still have the pieces of their improved defense, with the added rim protection of JaVale McGee. The main concern seems to be the Mavericks are screwed if Doncic gets hurt, but you could argue no matter how the roster looks, theyd be screwed if their superstar gets injured. Dallas seemed to handle it fine enough last season, so at this point Im just a believer in the Mavericks handling these kinds of things.

In reality, my only main concern about this upcoming season isnt about the offseason moves the Mavericks did or didnt make, but what the rest of the Western Conference is up to. There were five teams that finished below the Mavericks in the standings last season that all expect to be better this upcoming season, with different ranges for how much better. The Timberwolves, Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, and Lakers should all be much more competitive this season, with only the Jazz being a team that significantly downgraded. The Suns, Warriors, and Grizzlies should all still be good. Theres a decent chance the Mavericks play well and still finish seventh or eighth, because the Western Conference is just that loaded. Having said that, Luka is still Luka and the Mavericks formula is awfully reliable. Despite the challenges in the conference and losing Brunson, I still expect the Mavericks to finish in that 48-52 win range. Officially put me down for 49-33, with the Mavericks in the hunt for home court advantage again.

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Predicting the Maverick record and seed for the 2022-23 - Mavs Moneyball

Across the Obelisk is a chaotic genre mash-up that melds Dominion, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic the Gathering into a frenetic, satisfying mlange. This deck-building PC game offers rich character variety, but lacks focus, and bogs down the card-acquisition thrills with minutiae. Still, developer Dreamsite Games consistently taps the joy of conquering monsters with iterative math, making it worth your $19.99.

(Credit: Dreamsite Games)

Leveraging the well-trod array of champion roles, you start with a standard cleric, mage, rogue, and warrior in this deck-building RPG. You can control all four characters or invite up to three other people to split the party responsibility. Regardless, you journey through medieval-inspired villages, ice fields, and flaming pits. The goal is to uncover the mysteries surrounding the long-dormant, eponymous obelisk, and the disappearance of the Kingdom of Senethias princess and court magician.

During each campaign run, you undertake quests, meet NPCs, and battle a menagerie of monsters. The story's outset and finale are set, but otherwise you have many narrative options to explore as you play. Parties start in a town, with a few different ways to kit out the team before your trek. From there, each biome gradually builds story and character arcs from the dozens of choices you make along the way. These choices may be as unassuming as selecting a travel route or as bombastic as sending your pre-Industrial automaton to shield the party from a crumbling tower.

In some cases, such as when your group attempts to sneak past pig-men or elemental beings, you must draw a skill card (as opposed to an attack). Outcomes are determined by many factors, such as the characters in your party, equipped items, and the cards youve placed in your deck. Collectively, your decisions unlock other cards, characters, and even more potential outcomes when you revisit areas.

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(Credit: Dreamsite Games)

Stitching all this together is Across the Obelisks heart: deck-building combat. Most individual map scenarios, which are connected by their many branching paths, have a battle attached to them. Your characters and enemies roll to determine the turn order (helpfully displayed in the center of the interface). Each player draws and plays out their turn, with their abilities nicely feeding into one anothers systems. The teams rogue screens others decks for potential hazards, while the mage invigorates the team tank to make additional attacks. The potential interactions are staggering, and the many pieces move together like intricate choreography when play finds its stride.

Across the Obelisk's many gameplay elements also lead to a key flaw: juggling four decks (one for each character) is a lot to ask of new players going at it alone. In addition, this delicate dance doesnt quite work in two ways. The first is the heavy focus on customization in the game's earliest stages. Between the altar, armory, and forge, its not clear how all these choices impacts play. Successive runs yield selection fatigue, too. Still, there are clear advantages to this system, so its hard to discount it completely. For example, you can import cash from prior campaigns to spend in the town, which results in beefy decks.

The second major issue crops up in the latter stages. Status effects on both sides stack, which sometimes makes it feel as though you're tiptoeing through a minefield filled with Bleeding, Burning, Chilling, Poison, and other hazards. You can lose half of your HP at the top of a turn, and another half at the bottom (not to mention dealing with debuff effects). It can bring play to a crawl, and diverts your efforts to countering massive bursts of complex, stacking status effects. You can plan around this in the early game, but the effects are consistent enough that it still feels like a limiting factor in deck-building freedom.

(Credit: Dreamsite Games)

Across the Obelisk isn't a demanding game; it will easily run on just about any PC released in the past decade. According to the game's Steam page, your PC needs at least a single-core, 2GHz CPU; 2GB of RAM; 1GB available video memory (though integrated laptop GPUs are just fine); 1GB of storage; and the Windows XP operating system (it's also available for macOS and SteamOS). Our testbeda gaming PC with an Intel 5820K CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GPU, and 32GB of DDR4 RAMhad no trouble moving the game at 120 frames per second (at 1440p resolution).

The scant system requirements bely a sharp-looking adventure, though.Vibrant, surrealist art brings Senethias monsters and locales to life. There are countless monsters, each with smooth idle, attack, or spell animations to keep the screen lively as you mull your card decisions. Many creatures are refreshing interpretations of fantastical beasts. Whether youre squaring against an eerie, possessed sheep or a dryad with a log-hammer for a hand, the designs are crisp. The best art, and indeed the most interesting creatures throughout the game, end up in your party as valuable additions.

Across the Obelisk falls just shy of the modern deck-building genres defining hits, but holds its own in an increasingly crowded field. It can struggle to keep pace with itself at times, but you should check it out if Dungeons & Dragons meets Slay the Spire sounds at all appealing. Coming to understand and master the gameplay is great fun, particularly as you tweak your creations and internalize the games nuances. Just be prepared to deal with its many systems and status effects.

For more PC game reviews and previews, check outPCMag's Steam Curator(Opens in a new window) page. And for in-depth video game talk, visitPCMag's Pop-Off YouTube channel(Opens in a new window).

Across the Obelisk (for PC)

The Bottom Line

Across the Obelisk is an exciting deck-building RPG that combines a magical fantasy setting with a charming art style and occasionally frustrating combat systems.

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Across the Obelisk (for PC) Review - PCMag

Never mind the art gallery, how about the six bars and eight fireplaces?

Anyone whos been paying attention will be quick to tell you that times are getting tough in the real estate market. Interest rates have more than doubled since the beginning of the year, putting a squeeze on buyers who are increasingly hesitant to pay sellers sky-high listing prices. And down on the normal human end of the scale, growing families are finding themselves trapped by their old sub-3% rates and so unable to move up to bigger houses with dramatically higher mortgage payments. That leaves would-be first time buyers stuck in a rental market that is itself spiraling out of control.

For Unreal-caliber houses and the type of people who own them, the solution appears to be simply standing pat and waiting for the market to improve. A scant 14 houses in San Diego County hit the market over the last month that featured an asking price of $8 million or more, and close to half of those are re-listings of old inventory that weve already visited at some point. But if youre a house flipper who happened to take on an incredibly ambitious project that happened to wrap up right as the market began to turn, what choice do you have but to sell? That brings us to Grand Blanc, a modern Art Deco masterpiece, as the Zillow listing remarks by way of introducing us to the 11,300-square-foot mansion at 2034 Arenal Road in Carlsbad. The home, which features six bedrooms and a whopping 12 baths, has every amenity of modern living imaginable including an art gallery, home gym, wellness room, elevator, guard house, full smart home capabilities, game room, home theater, multiple kitchens [and] laundry rooms.

Our tour begins at the semicircular stone-paved (or is that just stamped-and-dyed concrete?) driveway with a port cochere at the main entrance. There, the black glass pivot entry door leads you into a grand foyer and gallery reminiscent of a boutique hotel. Inside, weve got a pleasant circular chandelier that does pretty well at pulling off a candlelit aesthetic, but Im not sure I like all the fake plants stuffed into the ceiling above it.

The living area off the foyer has 18 exposed wood ceilings, and the walls are painted in what the listing calls Rolex green, which is a much bolder choice than Gentrification gray. I think it works well, and some orange crushed velvet chairs and throw pillows add further pop the home is being offered furnished, so if youre flush with cash, I hope you enjoy some of these weird choices as much as I do.

A large black-and-white room follows. Mirrors line the walls, a black fireplace (one of eight!) occupies one end, and a green-canopied bar (one of six, possibly more impressive than the eight fireplaces!) is situated at the center. A cozy-for-1100-square-feet dining area follows, with more velvet-look armchairs surrounding the table; they look comfortable, but that might not be the best choice of material for a zone dedicated to the consumption of food. The kitchen (one of the kitchens?) boasts a center island (with sink and dishwasher) that appears to be bigger than my entire kitchen as its defining feature. The requisite commercial grade appliances are all here, and the ceiling cutouts for the skylights are nicely done, but this room doesnt stand out as much as some of the others weve seen.

What I assume is the main bedroom comes next. Its plenty spacious, and has a full wall of glass that Im sure opens onto the garden beyond. Theres another bar with what looks like a wine fridge in here, but why is the television sitting on a table in commoner fashion, instead of being affixed to the wall with some sort of fancy backlit mounting hardware?

Dig the Chanel logo chandeliers!

Another small living room follows; given the order of the photos, Im going to assume this is a private sitting area off the main suite, because we move from there straight into a closet that looks like a mall boutique, complete glass display cabinets, fancy chandeliers, and its own stone-topped center island. The bathroom that follows is modern but basic, though I do like the glass blocks that afford both light and privacy to whomever is spending time in the soaking tub at one end. Now its time for a quick glance at an outdoor patio, which is filled with expensive-looking lounge furniture and flanked by a handful of mature palm trees. I see the glass blocks from the bathroom here, so maybe this is an outdoor retreat, accessible only from the main bedroom?

Back inside, were headed down a winding wood-and-wrought-iron staircase to what I assume is the art gallery, which has a glass atrium ceiling that allows light to stream through the house to view a myriad of custom paintings and sculptures. It also looks like there may be a koi pond of some sort at the bottom of the staircase. If the art is included, I hope you like giant paintings of Slash, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis, interspersed with some black and gray squiggles and splotches on canvas. Moving on, we get another sitting area outfitted with gas fireplace topped by green stone, a second kitchen, and another living area where the couches focus half on a giant TV and half on a wall of wine bottles backed by yellow marble. Then theres the home theater, yet another living room with yet another fireplace and bar, and phew, were back outside on a rolling grass lawn that the listing says occupies fully one of the nearly two acres of property, which is adjacent to the Omni La Costa resorts golf course. A covered patio out back houses outdoor lounge seating and, yes, another bar, this one looking out toward the Roman-style lap pool and cauldron-like black spa perched above.

This newly remodeled and furnished trophy estate is offered for sale for the first time, the listing concludes, which is close enough to the truth, given the homes current appearance. Originally built in 1985 (according to public records) or 1992 (per the listing), Grand Blanc last sold in April 2021 for a reported $3.5 million, a full $500,000 more than the asking price at the time. The buyer was Method Development Holdings LLC, billed as a full-service design, planning, and remodeling company that specializes in high-end residential projects. Following an extensive remodel that appears to have involved the removal of copious amounts of purple and black carpet among many other things, the home was re-listed in late June with an asking price of $14,950,000. After that listing failed to attract a buyer, Grand Blanc went back up for sale in mid-September with an asking price of $11,950,000 that remains unchanged to date.

2034 Arenal Road| Carlsbad, 92009

Current owner: Method Development Holdings LLC | Listing price: $11,950,000 | Beds: 6 | baths: 12 | House size: 11,300

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Carlsbad's Grand Blanc: a modern masterpiece with giant paintings of Slash, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis - San Diego Reader

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A new book has claimed former President Donald Trump told some White House guests he had a personal "secret bathroom" just off the Oval Office renovated after taking over from his predecessor Barack Obama, adding that one of the guests took his language to contain racial undertones.

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The claim is included in New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman's new book on Trump, entitled 'Confidence man'. The book, slated to hit bookshelves Tuesday, October 4, reportedly includes an account of the bizarre comment about the bathroom which the former POTUS would allegedly refer to as the 'Monica room' -- apparently referring to former President Bill Clinton's escapades with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

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"When Trump showed visitors his workplace, he invited some to peer into what he periodically described as his 'secret bathroom,' which he occasionally presented with the claim he had renovated the entire space down to the toilet," Haberman wrote in an excerpt obtained by the Daily Mail. "'You understand what I'm talking about?' Trump said to one guest," the author wrote of a comment the unnamed White House guest took as a reference to Trump's disgust with Obama. The statement was strange and vague and open to interpretation as to why he emphasized the changes, but the guest interpreted it to mean Trump did not want to use the same bathroom as his Black predecessor," Haberman added.

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However, there have been reported claims that no such renovation ever took place. "Trump's claim of a full remodeling happened to be untrue, officials said at the time: only the toilet seat was replaced, which was customary during a change in the office holder," Haberman wrote in an odd footnote. "The most significant addition he made might have been the collection of hairsprays that some visitors took note of."

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It's worth noting that Trump has strongly denied allegations of racism, once describing himself as the "least racist person in the world." The 45th President's spokeswoman Liz Harrington slammed the claims made by Haberman. "This is so ridiculous. The world is on fire and this is seriously the best she can come up with?" Harrington said in a statement to the Daily Mail. "It is so absurd. Some anonymous person making up more fake stories to try to smear President Trump," she added.

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Meanwhile, Trump's bathroom issues are a significant focus in several parts of the book, which also features photos of alleged torn-up documents in a White House toilet bearing words resembling the former president's handwriting. Another passage claims that bathrooms in the residence were "stocked with Trump-branded toiletries." Haberman also claims that White House staff "repeatedly stopped [the president] when he tried to press cash into the hands of military aides serving as valets." She also claims Trump decked up his renovated room with a large TV and various "knick-knacks," including a professional wrestling belt gifted by retired wrestling promoter Vince McMahon.

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Trump renovated Oval Office toilet as he wouldn't use 'the same bathroom as his Black predecessor' Obama - MEAWW

Tree-clearing on Beacon Island, along the Hudson River and Normans Kill, is among the missteps at proposed turbine manufacturing site. Lets pursue wind energy without collateral damage to the local environment.

As our society enters the necessary but challenging transition to clean energy to combat climate change, it is important to ensure that we do not cause collateral environmental damage along the way.

New York State has a laudable plan to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035. Riverkeeper supports generating clean, renewable power through wind energy. New York is working quickly to build out its supply chain to create massive wind turbines and is improving existing industrial ports to achieve this goal. The Port of Albany has proposed Beacon Island as one of these sites for the manufacture of offshore wind turbines.

Beacon Island is an 82-acre parcel just south of the Port of Albany on the Hudson Rivers west bank. It is immediately south of a tributary called Normans Kill. The Port of Albany bought the property three years ago for the purpose of developing the property to build components for offshore wind turbines.

A controversy arose in May, when 80 acres of wooded land on the site were suddenly clear cut under a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation permit but before required federal approvals were obtained.

In June and July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) called out several significant problems with this proposed project.

It appears that potential impacts to anadromous and resident fish that use this section of the Hudson River as migratory, spawning, nursery, resting, and foraging habitat were not fully considered during project planning and design, NOAA stated in comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Both the EPA and NOAA recommend that the Army Corps permit for the project not be granted until proper assessment and modifications are made:

The EPA and NOAA state that alternatives, including other locations, must be considered in the proposal.

The project proposes to permanently impact .81 acres of wetland without considering alternatives to avoid and minimize environmental impacts. The proposal does not provide justification for why these locations were chosen.

Proposed in-water construction would fragment habitat, disrupting and damaging a .21-acre bed of important underwater grasses and the many fishes that use this section of the Hudson River as migratory, spawning, nursery, resting, and foraging habitat. Similar to the wetland impacts, there is no justification provided for why construction of a wharf in this location is needed. The EPA and NOAA call for studies of alternatives, and NOAA calls for fish impacts to be properly considered.

As stated by the EPA and NOAA, the projects plan to replace the affected habitat is inadequate, and the project cannot proceed until a proper plan is identified.

The entire site is within the 100-year flood plain of the Hudson River, which leaves it prone to flooding, especially as climate change intensifies.

The tree clearing went beyond the limits of the proposed permit. EPA recommends full restoration of cleared forested wetland areas that are not authorized for impact under the proposed permit, the agency wrote in its June 23 letter to the Corps.

Riverkeeper is a member of the NY Offshore Wind Alliance, and fully supports wind energy development and other alternatives to fossil fuels. Riverkeeper also supports the recommendations by EPA and NOAA concerning local environmental impacts of the proposed project. We call upon the New York DEC and the Town of Bethlehem Planning Board to follow the federal agencies in examining these issues closely, and consider alternative sites and designs to minimize impacts.

In addition, community members have raised concerns about the environmental impacts from the disturbance of 2 million tons of coal ash on the site, and the projects infringement of the Town of Bethlehems zoning code. The coal ash is a waste product from a local coal-fired power plant. Coal ash contains contaminants such as arsenic, lead and mercury. The zoning code requires a 100-foot no-build buffer along the Normans Kill Creek, and prohibits development within the 100-year flood zone of the creek bank. Riverkeeper urges all regulatory entities to seriously consider the local communitys concerns, and uphold the local zoning code.

New York State has failed in its oversight of the Beacon Island site, and must do better. We cannot reach a sustainable future if we disregard our local environments and communities in the process.

More information:

Letter from EPA to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, June 23, 2022

Letter from NOAA to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, July 11, 2022

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EPA and NOAA identify problems with Port of Albany wind energy site - Riverkeeper

The Central Java Police are investigating a slash-and-burn that created thick smoke, allegedly causing a pile-up collision involving 13 vehicles killing one and injuring 18 others on a toll road in Brebes.

Brebes police chief Adj Sr Comr Faisal Febrianto said on Monday that the accident began when a Toyota SUV driver suddenly braked after having difficulty seeing the Pejagan-Pemalang toll road due to thick smoke at kilometer 253.

The drivers of the other vehicles were not able to respond in time. One of the drivers was killed in the accident.

We have summoned the toll road operator and owners of the land around the toll road patch, Faisal said.

According to Faisal, the toll road operator and the highway patrol have held routine patrols, but due to the toll road length of 57.5km, the smoke was not detected before the accident happened.

Separately, Central Java Police head of traffic directorate Sr Comr Agus Suro Nugroho said the police are calling all toll road companies and state-owned toll road operator Jasa Marga to meet and discuss preventive measures for the future.

Were calling for not only the management of the toll road, but also the surrounding environment. Lets not have any more rice straw burning which can create thick smoke, disrupting the toll road traffic, Agus said. The Jakarta Post/ANN

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Police look into alleged land-clearing smoke in crash - The Star Online

The Two Rivers Land Bank got a boost from the City of Jacksonville last week that will help to mitigate vacant and blighted properties.

The Jacksonville City Council approved a request by the citys Director of Community Development Brian Nyberg for $200,000.00 in funds to be put into the land bank.

The money going into the land bank is a portion of the more than $2 million in American Rescue Plan Funding that was awarded to the city by the federal government last summer.

Nyberg says the increased funding heading into the Two Rivers land bank is a big win for both the city and Morgan County. The purpose of the land bank is to help cities and municipalities and counties deal with the vacant and abandoned properties that we have. And we all have them, its not just Jacksonville, I mean its everywhere.

In Jacksonville that has been my top priority to help clean up and do something with these vacant and abandoned properties, and the main goal is to get with them before they need to be demolished and back on the tax rolls. Which would be good for the city for the county.

The payments that go for your property taxes, that umbrella, goes for schools, it goes for the police department, fire department, all of the things under that property tax umbrella. So this is a win for the city and the county.

Nyberg says that even though the land bank is shared between Jacksonville, Quincy, Morgan, and Adams Counties, any money put into the land bank by the city, stays in Jacksonville. That will go into the land bank and pay for the method to get clear title from these properties that have delinquent taxes. They have liens on them. There has actually been a few properties weve had gifted so that makes that process even better and that money from those properties will go back into the land bank.

It starts with attorney fees and it goes to clearing out the liens and settling any judgments, any delinquent property taxes. A lot of the properties we look at are already going through the tax abatement process, and thats actually this month. So we do have a few properties that we have interceded with the property tax redemption.

Nyberg says the land bank is also getting a boost from state funding as well. The Illinois Housing Development Authority has already paid for a lot of what attorneys are doing for land banks. And they just signed on for another two years to pay for a lot of the stuff we are doing through the land bank.

So good things are happening. Look for multiple properties to be on the land bank website. That should be happening very quickly. Theres already a couple of properties on there from Quincy that were donated to the City of Quincy, and we will have the same thing coming up very shortly.

More information about the Two Rivers Land Bank including properties available for sale can be found at http://www.trlba.org.

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Jacksonville to Benefit from ARPA Funds Sent to Two Rivers Land Bank - WLDS-WEAI News

Trees are our best green technology to fight climate change and build healthy, beautiful communities, especially as heat and storms intensify, Wu said. Dedicating staff and resources to our new forestry division will empower the city of Boston to strengthen our tree canopy citywide, so every community benefits from these treasured resources.

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Wu said the new forestry division will grow Bostons tree team from five to 16 city employees, with resources to plant new trees and inspect, maintain, and prune existing ones, focusing on under-canopied and environmental justice neighborhoods.

The new division will include a director of urban forestry, three arborists, three three-person maintenance crews, and other support staff.

The larger staff, supported by the citys new investments in trees, will improve the Parks and Recreation Departments ability to respond more quickly to tree maintenance requests and clear a maintenance backlog, with the goal of reducing tree mortality, city officials said.

Bostons trees beautify our communities, create oxygen, and mitigate the urban heat island effect, while cleaning pollution from our air, said Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, the citys chief of environment, energy, and open space.

She added: We know that Bostons history of disinvestment has led to inequitable access to trees. I am thrilled that the citys new forestry division will take proactive steps to correct these inequities.

The city has a history of failing to live up to its promises to plant and protect new trees.

In 2008, Mayor Thomas M. Menino vowed that Boston would plant 100,000 new trees by 2020, expanding the citys tree canopy by 20 percent.

Boston, however, fell woefully short.

Between fiscal years 2008 and 2017, the city planted 9,809 street trees and removed 5,815 a net gain of fewer than 4,000, according to a Globe review of records in 2018.

While many more trees were planted on private property, which makes up about half of all land in Boston, the citys canopy may have actually decreased in that period.

When Menino announced his plan in 2007, city officials said a comprehensive assessment found that 29 percent of city land had trees.

A decade later, an assessment of the citys canopy that used more sophisticated, high-resolution aerial imagery and lasers determined that just 27 percent of Bostons land had trees. A 2014 study by a Boston University professor placed the figure around 25 percent.

While Boston has challenges that some other cities lack, such as densely populated neighborhoods and limited amounts of open space, its tree canopy lags behind most other cities. Overall, urban areas in Massachusetts have about 65 percent of their land covered by trees; nationally, the figure is 35 percent, according to a 2012 study by the US Forest Service.

The trees have also been concentrated in some neighborhoods, leading to temperature disparities in those neighborhoods with fewer trees.

In a city report last year, city officials noted that temperatures in leafier neighborhoods are often significantly lower than in more densely populated areas. For example, on one summer day in 2019, city officials found afternoon temperatures in Chinatown and Lower Roxbury exceeded 105 degrees, about 10 degrees more than in Franklin Park and West Roxbury. There was a similar disparity at night.

Wus creation of a forestry division follows the first recommendation of the Urban Forest Plan, which has a series of strategies to improve the urban canopy.

The other efforts include a cyclical care program to proactively protect trees; improving the quality of planting sites and clearing space for trees to grow; and providing more tree data to local groups to enable them to help care for trees in their neighborhoods.

Our new tree division will significantly expand the citys capacity to plant and care for trees in every neighborhood, said Ryan Woods, director of Boston Parks and Recreation. We are committed to increasing the survival rate of our new plantings and supporting the growth and maturation of trees across Boston, particularly in communities that need more canopy.

David Abel can be reached at david.abel@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @davabel. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.

Excerpt from:
Wu announces forestry division to preserve and expand tree canopy in Boston - The Boston Globe

Steinberg is one of many California Democrats who have long focused their efforts to curb homelessness on services and shelter, but now find themselves backing more punitive measures as the problem encroaches on public feelings of peace and safety. Its a striking shift for a state where 113,000 people sleep outdoors on any given night, per the latest statewide analysis released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2020. Californias relatively mild climate makes it possible to live outdoors year-round, and more than half of the nations unsheltered homeless people live here.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced the state had cleared 1,200 encampments in the past year, attempting to soften the message with a series of visits to social service programs. But without enough beds to shelter unhoused people, advocates say efforts to clear encampments are nothing more than cosmetic political stunts that essentially shuffle the problem from street corner to another.

Steinberg, a liberal Democrat who resisted forcibly removing people until more shelters can come online, has for more than 20 years championed mental health and substance abuse programs as ways to get people off the street. But such programs have been largely unable to keep up with the rising number of homeless people in cities like Sacramento, where local leaders are now besieged by angry citizens demanding a change.

He and many of his fellow Democratic mayors around the state are not unsympathetic to their cause. San Diego has penalized people refusing shelter. Oakland upped its rate of camp closures as the pandemic receded. San Jose is scrambling to clear scores of people from an area near the airport or risk losing federal funding.

No ones happy to have to do this. ... Were doing everything we can to provide people with better choices than the street.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria

No ones happy to have to do this, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said earlier this summer as he discussed ticketing people who refuse shelter. Were doing everything we can to provide people with better choices than the street.

Other Democratic leaders around the country, facing similar pressure, have also moved to clear out encampments and push homeless people out of public spaces. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain who won his office on a pledge to fight crime, came under fire this year for his removal of homeless people from subways and transit hubs. The citys shelter system is now bursting at the seams.

In California, where the percentage of people living day-to-day on the streets is far higher than New York, the shortage of shelter beds has caused friction and embroiled local and state officials in court challenges.

A recent court decision requires local governments to provide enough beds before clearing encampments a mandate that does not apply to state property. But thats easier said than done in a state where there are three to four times as many homeless people as shelter beds.

Californias homelessness problem has deep, gnarled roots dating back decades, but has become increasingly pronounced in recent years. Tents and tarps on sidewalks, in parks and under freeways have become a near-ubiquitous symbol of the states enduring crisis. A pandemic-spurred project to move people from encampments to motels has lapsed, and eviction moratoriums have dissolved. Homelessness is a top concern for voters in the liberal state, and as Democrats prepare for the midterm elections, Newsom and other leaders have been eager to show voters theyre taking action.

But the practice of clearing out camps can be a futile exercise, particularly when the people being forced to pack up their tents have nowhere else to go or simply end up doing the same thing just a few blocks away.

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Rising homelessness is tearing California cities apart - POLITICO