Letter writer: City of Asheville works with partners to house veterans

“Through a partnership with Homeward Bound, the city of Asheville provides support to implement the federal Supportive Services for Veteran Families grant. Homeward Bound was awarded $2.7 million in federal funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement its Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) over the next three years.”

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.

City of Asheville CIO wins Impact award for cloud computing

Whereas cloud computing is more commonly used to back up data for companies or individuals, Next City, a nonprofit and quarterly magazine based in Philadelphia, credits Asheville as being one of the first cities to use a cloud-based data recovery system — and this kind of forward-thinking is winning our city (and our CIO) awards for its use of this innovation.

Mountain Xpress Wellness Supplement­: Preventive Care and Beyond Medicine

Beyond medicine Living the healthy life Part II of Xpress‘ two part special wellness feature (see Wellness Issues stories sidebar for articles from both special wellness issues). by Susan Foster, Wellness editor Increasingly, researchers, care providers, government agencies and even insurance companies are recognizing that social factors play a much larger role in determining health outcomes […]

Permit by numbers: City offers public art contractin­g classes

“Putting artists to work” may sound like a WPA-era poster slogan. But it’s also the fundamental basis of a new series of public art contracting courses hosted by RiverLink and organized by Brenda Mills, the city of Asheville’s economic development specialist. The classes offer an introduction and general overview of being a contractor with the city — […]

Asheville Council to consider Rad Lofts incentives

On Aug. 26, Asheville City Council will consider providing a roughly $764,000 incentive package to developers of the RAD Lofts, a mixed use development planned for the intersection of Roberts Street and Clingman Extension. In exchange, owners would provide 198 units of workforce housing and 11 units of affordable housing. The project would also encompass […]

Long walk ahead: Asheville falls short of sidewalk constructi­on goals

Asheville has constructed about 18 miles of new sidewalks since 2006, but that’s a far cry from what advocates say is needed to improve pedestrian safety in the city’s neighborhoods. A new report released by city government shows that it’s fallen well short of its goal of building 108 miles of sidewalk. A 5-year $132 […]

Will tiny homes be Asheville’­s next big thing?

The blogosphere is abuzz these days with romantic visions of picturesque miniature dwellings. And a growing number of local advocates say the “tiny home movement” could help achieve a wealth of positive outcomes, from environmental efficiencies to enhanced affordability. Amid the swelling interest, however, many hurdles remain.