“Down and Out in Asheville: The Many Faces of Local Poverty”

Reams of text are regularly devoted to Asheville’s beer, food, arts, local businesses, architecture and natural beauty — as well as whatever new development City Council is considering this week that will, we’re told, either save or doom everything we hold dear about our hometown. But a far more pressing topic is often completely ignored. […]

Room service

In limbo since 2008 due to a faltering economy, the 51 Biltmore project took a couple of steps forward at the Asheville City Council's Dec. 14 meeting. If the hotel/parking deck/retail development is approved, the target site — a large parking lot on Biltmore Avenue — could change dramatically. On a pair of 4-2 votes […]

AFD extinguish­es Turtle Creek Apartments fire

Early this morning, the Asheville Fire Department responded to a three-alarm fire at the Turtle Creek apartments. More than 50 firefighters, including several from other fire departments, battled the blaze for over an hour. According to the AFD, 31 people lost their homes, but no one was killed or injured in the fire.

Photos courtesy of Asheville Fire Department

Anarchists march in protest of APD, gentrifica­tion

Chanting “cops, pigs, murderers,” and “smash the state, burn the prisons, anarchy and communism,” about 40 people gathered in Pack Square early this evening to protest police actions (including the arrest of 11 alleged vandals on May 1) and gentrification. The group marched down near the Buncombe County jail and up to Pritchard Park.

Photo by Jerry Nelson

Size matters

Asheville City Council Nov. 23 meeting City sales-tax revenues higher than expected Council endorses ethics code After two years of discussion, debate, committees and consultants, the first major changes proposed by the Downtown Master Plan came before the Asheville City Council Nov. 23 and were approved with only one dissenting vote. But not without controversy. […]

Higher calling

Asheville City Council Nov. 9 meeting “Transformational development” incentives narrowly approved Enka Center rezoning OK’d For a proposal to allow cell-phone towers in residential areas under certain conditions, the third time was not the charm. An amendment to the city’s cell-tower ordinance, coming before the Asheville City Council for the third time Nov. 9, once […]