E-mails reveal how Blue Ridge Pride proclamati­on made it to Council agenda

An e-mail exchange released by Asheville City Council member Bill Russell reveals new details about how a proclamation recognizing the Oct. 1 Blue Ridge Pride festival made it onto Council’s agenda for its Sept. 27 meeting. In the exchange, Mayor Terry Bellamy, who has not given the festival a standard mayoral proclamation, notes that she will place it on the new business portion of the agenda. Russell says he hoped for a standard proclamation instead of a contentious vote.

It’s official: New Belgium looking at Asheville expansion

For weeks, Asheville has seen rumors swirl that New Belgium is considering the city for a new brewery and looking for economic development incentives. Today, Sept. 22, City Council member Jan Davis publicly confirmed the rumors at a Council of Independent Business Owners forum. He tells Xpress that while he welcomes the company, he’s skeptical about the need for incentives.

What the truck?

Proposed rules allowing food trucks downtown once again dominated the agenda during Asheville City Council’s Sept. 13 meeting. After a lengthy public hearing and contentious debate, Council members had narrowly approved the move Aug. 23 on a 4-3 vote. Because of that slim margin, however, the city's development guidelines required a second reading. Proponents of […]

Going green

Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Sept. 13, 2011 meeting CTS building condemned, demolition planned Grants sought for Mountain Mobility Buncombe County is working to cut energy costs, lower carbon emissions and preserve farmland, various staffers told the Board of Commissioners Sept. 13 in a series of reports on current environmental initiatives. Assistant County Manager Jon […]

Forrester stands by “cesspool of sin” comment; insults Wilmington­, Chapel Hill too

State Sen. James Forrester, one of the main sponsors of the proposed anti-same sex marriage amendment, is standing by his remarks calling Asheville “a cesspool of sin,” according to a report from M2M radio. Forrester also dubbed Asheville, Chapel Hill and Wilmington as competitors for “the worst place in the state.”