Asheville tries to keep pace with rising demands for sidewalks, bike lanes

From the Get It! Guide: Asheville is faced with a rising interest in transportation alternatives, but the path to greater advances seems to be lined with historic neglect and budgetary hurdles. The city still has a long walk ahead to fulfill its 2004 goal of building 108 miles of sidewalks. In the last decade, Asheville has constructed only about 18 miles worth.

Surfing the skies: Gliders fly high above Mount Mitchell

More than just birds are soaring the winds above Mount Mitchell. Dozens of pilots from around the country will soon attempt to fly motorless gliders over 20,000 feet above the area’s highest peak. They hope to be propelled upward by a natural phenomenon known as wind waves, which crest when air currents blow against the mountain ridge from the northwest.

Red Cross announces upcoming opportunities to donate blood in Asheville

Start a lifesaving habit by giving blood with the American Red Cross Buncombe County —The American Red Cross encourages eligible blood donors to start a lifesaving habit by becoming a regular blood donor this year. Winter is a challenging time for blood donations. Inclement weather can result in blood drive cancellations, and cold and flu […]

Patsy Keever elected chair of NC Democratic Party

Former Buncombe County Commissioner and longtime local political leader Patsy Keever a was elected Feb. 7 to lead the North Carolina Democratic Party as chair. Kathy Sinclair, chair of the Buncombe County Democratic Party, sent out the following congratulatory announcement via email newsletter: Congratulations to Patsy Keever, elected yesterday to be the North Carolina Democratic […]

Odyssey middle schoolers produce music video

Odyssey Community School’s students have been doing a lot more than traditional reading, writing and arithmetic lessons. The institution’s middle schoolers recently spent two weeks of their semester devoting all of their time and energy into creating a collaborative music video. The song, “Soaring on Strings,” and video were written, performed and edited by the […]

Warren Wilson College Farm: No. 1 college farm in the nation

Announcement from Warren Wilson College: The Warren Wilson College Farm, established in 1894 when the Asheville Farm School was founded, has won numerous awards over the years in addition to producing a lot of good food. Now it has received another major accolade: No. 1 college farm in the nation. In a feature titled “The […]

Asheville City Schools Foundation announces ‘Champions’ event

Announcement from the Asheville City Schools Foundation: (Asheville, NC)  Twenty community members were recently nominated to be Champions for Asheville City Schools. The Champions include Lifetime Achievement Awardee Elinor Earle, Community Champion Awardee Pamela Jaillet, Community Agency Champion the Common Ground program of AB Tech represented by Sherrie Mahowald, and Parent Leader Champions Scott and […]

Town hall meeting on divesting UNC Asheville’s endowment from fossil fuels

The UNC Asheville Divestment coalition is holding a town hall meeting on the school’s investments and endowments. Information from organizers: WHAT: A town hall meeting on the topic of divesting UNC Asheville’s endowment from fossil fuels WHEN: February 12, 2015 at 8 p.m. WHERE: UNC Asheville, Karpen 038 WHO: Four panelists are currently scheduled to […]

The Ferguson Movement: A local community forum

Here’s the information via Facebook: Western North Carolina Baptist Fellowship Church, 240 Haywood Street, Asheville NC, 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1. Ten Asheville residents returned home in January following a 10-day trip to St. Louis focused on learning from and connecting with the Ferguson Movement. Several members of the group, which include nine individuals connected […]

‘Get Covered’ health insurance tour comes to Asheville

Announcement from Pisgah Legal Services: On Tuesday, February 3rd the Get Covered America’s (GCA) “Countdown to #GetCovered Tour” will be making a stop in Asheville from 10 am – 11 am at the Dr. Wesley Grant Southside Center at 285 Livingston Street. During the seven-day bus tour through the Southeast, Enroll America President Anne Filipic […]

WNC Nature Center’s Groundhog Day is Nibbles’ time to shine

Here’s the news from the city of Asheville: ASHEVILLE – With temperatures hovering around the 30’s and occasional snow flurries blowing around the city, it may be up to Nibbles the Groundhog to give Asheville the good news it needs. The piliferous prognosticator has been predicting the arrival (or delay) of spring in Asheville for […]

Arboretum to add Olmsted sculpture, preserve tree

Press release from the NC Arboretum: A combination of thoughtful planning and fortunate circumstances has ushered in 2015 as an exciting time of growth and preservation for The North Carolina Arboretum. In the coming months, the organization will embark upon projects of historical and contemporary importance that honor the vision and integrity of landscape architecture. […]

New biofuels testing lab opens at A-B Tech

Excerpt from the article at the Renewable Energy website: The first biofuels testing lab in the Southeast has opened at the Enka, North Carolina, campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech ). Researchers at the lab “will provide convenient, cost-effective testing of biodiesel to assure quality products are going to market,” says Sam Brake, […]

New plan puts North Carolina in the crosshairs for offshore oil drilling and exploration

Announcement from the Environment North Carolina advocacy group: Raleigh, NC- Today, Secretary Sally Jewel and the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) released the five-year draft plan for offshore oil drilling, and North Carolina is front and center. “From Kitty Hawk to Cape Hatteras, the Outer Banks are one of North Carolina’s shining gems,” […]