Moog Foundation’s education project gets under way in Asheville, Buncombe

from TippNews Daily excerpt Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool (DBSS), the Bob Moog Foundation’s hallmark educational project, is expanding to serve two school districts in Western North Carolina. Twenty-five teachers from Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools will be teaching the 10-week curriculum to over 500 second grade students beginning in January. This marks the first […]

UNCA students showcase community-service work at Monday, Dec. 3, presentation

Press release from UNCA UNC Asheville Welcomes Community Organizations to Service Learning and Internship Showcase UNC Asheville students will showcase their work in community service projects and internships at a celebration with community partners from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3, in the Kimmel Arena on campus. More than 400 people, including representatives of community partner […]

Workers, detained by ICE last year, file lawsuit against restaurant

Press release from Defensa Comunitaria Five workers detained last November during a raid by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) will file a lawsuit today against their former employers, Shogun Buffet and Hibachi Grill, of Asheville, Inc., and Jian and Sandy Wang, who subjected them to inhumane working conditions and withheld tens of thousands of dollars […]

Rotary Club of Asheville seeks nonprofits that need small community grants

The Grants Committee of the Rotary Club of Asheville is seeking applications from nonprofit groups for funding from its Community Grant Program. The Community Awards are derived from the Harry Morrill Endowment Fund administered by the Rotary Club of Asheville. Grants are required to be used for a charitable purpose that benefits the community in […]

Jim Westbrook, former Asheville city manager, killed in car wreck, Citizen-Times reports

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that Jim Westbrook, Asheville’s city manager from 1995-2005, has been killed in a car wreck outside Vass, N.C. Westbrook, 68, was the interim county manager for Moore County and lived in Vass, according to the Fayetteville Observer. He had also recently served as the assistant city manager in Fayetteville. A decorated […]

Unemployment fell in 12 WNC counties, including Buncombe, Carolina Public Press reports

The North Carolina Department of Labor recently released the October employment numbers. Local nonprofit Carolina Public Press looks at the numbers, which show Buncombe County at 6.8 percent unemployment. Media report from Carolina Public Press Figures from the month show that, among the 18 westernmost counties, monthly unemployment fell in 12 counties between September and […]

For Nantahala, Pisgah planning, Forest Service gets input from biking group SORBA

Press release from the N.C. News Service For the first time in its history, the U.S. Forest Service is placing greater importance on watershed protection when it comes to long-term planning. In western North Carolina, the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests will be two of the first to have their plans revised with the new […]

N.C. approves 13.2 percent increase for dwelling property

Press release from the North Carolina Department of Insurance Agreement Reached for Dwelling Property Insurance Rates Decision Saves Policyholders $54.4 Million, Spreads Increases Over Time Note: This settlement is in relation to a January 2011 rate filing for dwelling fire and extended coverage rates; it is unrelated to and should not be confused with the […]

Carolina Public Press gains acceptance, recognition by North Carolina Press Association

Press release from Carolina Public Press The North Carolina Press Association recently admitted the nonprofit, online news service Carolina Public Press into its membership, making it the first online nonprofit news service in Western North Carolina to gain the distinction. “We’re delighted to welcome the Carolina Public Press into the N.C. Press Association,” said Beth […]

Urban News, YMI discuss race, history & Thomas Wolfe’s “The Child by Tiger” story

Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe wrote about a 1906 killing spree that took the lives of three blacks and two whites. In a discussion series hosted by the YMI, UNCA history professor Darin Waters and Wolfe scholar Joanne Mauldin will talk about Wolfe’s story, “The Child by Tiger,” on Tueday, Nov. 27, and Thursday, Nov. 29. Community […]

Whole Foods will build new Asheville store at Tunnel Road Kmart location

Press release From Whole Foods Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) announces it will open a second store in the current Kmart shopping center on Tunnel Road in Asheville. The newest store in North Carolina for the natural and organic foods supermarket will occupy approximately 35,000 square feet of retail space in the existing Kmart location. […]

Hendersonville City Manager “Bo” Ferguson takes Durham deputy city manager job

William Bowman “Bo” Ferguson — who has served about five years as Hendersonville’s city manager — has accepted the deputy city manager job for Durham. In an email that he said was “part press release, part personal thank you,” Ferguson praised Hendersonville’s city council and staff, also noting, “We will miss our friends and colleagues, […]

PIsgah Center for Wildlife Education earns environmental-education award

Press release from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, located alongside the Davidson River in Transylvania County, has been recognized for excellence in environmental education. The Environmental Educators of North Carolina named the wildlife education center as its 2012 Exceptional Environmental Education Program. The award was […]

Public-private partnership helps restores hundreds of acres in Grandfather Ranger District

Press release from the U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina Kristin Bail, forest supervisor of the U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina, today announced that a coalition of conservation organizations helped to restore hundreds of acres across the Grandfather Ranger District by treating invasive plants and performing other work over the […]

New and green: Appalachian Ranger District office in Mars Hill now open, U.S. Forest Service says

Press release U.S. Forest Service MARS HILL, N.C., Nov. 13, 2012 – The U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina today announced that the new, environmentally friendly Appalachian Ranger District office in Mars Hill, N.C., is now open. The address is 632 Manor Rd., phone: (828) 689-9694. The Forest Service designed the facility to […]

Local educators earn Mars Hill College Alumni Leadership awards

Heidi Allison, principal of Barnardsville Elementary School in Buncombe County, and Miranda Wheeler, math teacher at Cane River Middle School in Yancey County, are the 2012 recipients of the Mars Hill College Educational Alumni Leadership Awards. The awards were presented at a banquet on October 27 on the campus of Mars Hill College. Educational Alumni […]

Mills River Presbyterian series: “Close encounters of the spiritual kind” (Christian mystics)

Press release from Mills River Presbyterian Church Mills River Presbyterian Church will host a series of two one-hour informative study classes in December entitled “Close Encounters of the Christian Kind: Christian Mystics.” The sessions are free and all adults in the Asheville and Hendersonville areas are invited to participate from 6:00pm to 7:00pm on December […]

First International American Ginseng Expo brings together enthusiasts for two-day December event

Press release from the The North Carolina Natural Products Association INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN GINSENG EXPO A TWO-DAY EVENT BRINGING TOGETHER GINSENG ENTHUSIASTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTY WHEN: Friday, December 7, 10 AM – 8 PM; AND Saturday, Dec. 8, 8 AM – 2 PM WHERE: Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, 455 Research Drive, Mills […]