Maybe they were just talked out after their weekend retreat in Hendersonville. Whatever the cause, the Asheville City Council’s Feb. 4 work session was a marvel of brevity; it took a mere 45 minutes to cover a three-point agenda. Mayor Charles Worley called the meeting to order, asking for a moment of silence to remember […]

In an effort to rope in some of the federal money that’s on the loose, the Asheville City Council is considering whether to send a hired gun to Washington D.C. City economic-development staff, noting a change in funding trends at the federal level, are urging Council to explore the option of hiring a lobbyist to […]

You could say it’s symbolic: The radios used by the Asheville Police Department and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department are incompatible; neither system can receive the other’s signal. City/county differences loomed large at Council’s Jan. 7 work session,and though the matter of the incompatible communications systems wasn’t on the agenda, the topic nonetheless sparked some […]

Work sessions are typically opportunities to discuss and weigh issues before voting on them at the next formal session. But the Asheville City Council’s Dec. 17 work session proved to be the group’s last meeting of the year (the next two Tuesdays being Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve), and some items on the table […]

As zoning officials conclude their investigation of possible violations by a Montford soup kitchen, City Council may seek ways to enable the facility to keep serving the poor. The Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry — which provides food, clothing and other assistance to the area’s needy — is under fire from the city Planning and Development […]

A week after the Asheville City Council passed a new anti-soliciting ordinance that bans begging, blocking sidewalks and sleeping in public, Downtown Commission Chair Carol King asked Council to establish a task force to study “social issues” (including homelessness and addiction). “It is no news to you that this is a very complex issue,” King […]

“We’ve done as much planning as we can do.” — Beth Lazer, Public Access Channel Commission Not every City Council work session approaches the five-hour mark. And there’s no sure-fire way to predict which particular agenda items will drag on far longer than expected. If nothing else, however, marathons like the Nov. 5 megasession are […]

Despite having no prior political experience, Thomas Apodaca won the Republican primary for the 48th District state Senate seat, beating out three other candidates — all of whom had held public office before. He now faces Democrat Robert C. Burris (who was unopposed in the primary) in the general election. (Burris was not available to […]

It’s widely considered the lowest rung on the ladder in local/regional politics, but the Soil and Water Conservation Board of Supervisors still merits your attention. Why? Because the biggest impacts on rivers and streams come from agriculture and development. And the Soil and Water Conservation District is active in both arenas. Like its counterparts around […]

Few issues cut to the heart of Asheville’s ideological wars like homelessness. Panhandlers, street kids and loitering are perennial sore spots in this city, and tempers tend to run high on both sides whenever these subjects come up. That was certainly the case at City Council’s Oct. 15 work session. “If you are a human […]

They’ve drafted resolutions, petitioned the state legislature and cut the budget, but the Asheville City Council is not yet ready to jump on the lawsuit wagon. At Council’s Oct. 1 work session, there was general agreement that despite the state’s seizure of funds designated for local governments the last two fiscal years, which plunged Asheville […]

You won’t be reading about the Asheville City Council’s Sept. 17 work session in this space for one simple reason: There wasn’t one. Instead, Council spent a week checking out how other cities deal with things like sprawl and transportation issues. Five Council members joined three county commissioners and several dozen other local leaders visiting […]

Sometimes agendas can be misleading. Despite a very short one that made no mention of budget issues, the Asheville City Council devoted a chunk of its Sept. 3 work session to discussing money matters. Council members kicked around strategies for keeping state legislators’ feet to the fire on a critical decision that could help supply […]

All the candidates seem to agree about one thing: The race for the newly created 48th state Senate District is a short one. Since a Superior Court judge handed down a ruling in June making the new district a reality, candidates have had to scramble to get their campaigns up and running. Four Republicans — […]

Take the budget to the mat and there are only two options, City Manager Jim Westbrook told Council members during their Aug. 20 work session: cut or tax. Despite having already slashed $2.6 million in projected spending in the wake of the state budget crisis, the city is still scrambling to find a way to […]

When the cost of campaigning for public office makes even the candidates sweat, you know some kind of change is coming. But expecting the key players to agree on how much change is needed may be too much to ask for. Campaign-finance reform became a hot-button issue in the wake of record-breaking spending during last […]

“This is your evening to talk to us,” proclaimed Mayor Charles Worley at the outset of City Council’s east Asheville community meeting, held July 30 at the East Branch Library on Tunnel Road. But it soon became clear that at least one topic wasn’t welcome: challenges to Council’s July 23 decision to approve plans for […]

Asheville City Council meetings haven’t generally gotten high marks for their entertainment value. If you come expecting an evening of song and dance, you’ll probably be disappointed when you find it’s mostly talk, talk, talk. But if the July 16 work session was any indication, the tide may be shifting in favor of increased visual […]

You can’t throw a turnip in this town without hitting a small-farm grower. The same goes for entrepreneurs. With Asheville’s notoriously tight job market, the area has become known for those going — and growing — into business for themselves. For farmers and small food-business owners who grow and process food, building and equipment costs […]