City Council and Buncombe Commission­ers to meet in joint session, Aug. 18

Although Asheville City Council members and Buncombe County commissioners frequently attend the same meetings and community events, it’s been at least two years since the two bodies met in an official joint session. Finding a meeting time that works for all elected officials is challenging, explains City Clerk Maggie Burleson, but she believes that most officials will be present for the joint meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18.

City Council to hear preliminar­y steps in evaluating shape of Thomas Wolfe Auditorium

Asheville City Council has a light schedule for its regular April 14 meeting. Council members will hear a resolution to approve preliminary steps in evaluating the condition of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, as well as tackle some administrative tasks in Buncombe County’s purchase of a 137-acre plot on Ferry Road near Bent Creek from Henderson County.

Debated: The race for District Attorney

The results of the May 6 Democratic primary will send either incumbent District Attorney Ron Moore or challenger Todd Williams to the fall election unopposed. Both men are North Carolina natives; both attended UNC Chapel Hill. Moore has been DA since 1991. In the past several years, however, he’s come under scrutiny in connection with […]

Graffiti ordinance on Asheville City Council agenda

Asheville City Council will consider an ordinance next week aimed at attacking the city’s problem with graffiti. The Council will consider tougher penalties for the perpetrators while making property owners responsible for cleanup.  The ordinance calls for a three-way approach to dealing with  the issue: education, enforcement and rapid removal. A city staff recommendation would […]

Tensions run high over tackling Asheville’­s graffiti

Local business owners raised their voices and things got, by the moderator’s own admission, “a little out of hand” at Friday morning’s Council of Independent Business Owners meeting when it came to the issue of graffiti. With the district attorney, city leaders and a state representative on hand, opinions differed — sometimes sharply — on possible solutions and who should foot the bill.

Commission­ers approve $50,000 for Mountain BizWorks microloans on party line vote

Buncombe Commissioners voted along party lines April 1 to give Mountain Bizworks $50,000 toward a new microloan program that will help small local businesses get needed capital. The local business nonprofit will leverage the county funds to receive an additional $300,000 from the federal Small Business Association Microloan Program.

Asheville City Council preview: dueling futures

As a renewed push to move the Interstate 26 connector forward continues, Asheville City Council gets its turn on Tuesday, March 25, to consider a joint resolution seeking to make the long-delayed highway overhaul a reality, even as a number of community groups vocally oppose the plan. Council will also consider what to do with vacant property on Haywood Street across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence, another contentious issue.

The group behind the I-26 push

After being off the radar for years, both the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and Asheville City Council are voting to push the Asheville section of Interstate 26 connector forward. This new push is in part the result of a small group of local officials and leaders who have met to draft a new resolution and make some sort of I-26 overhaul a reality.