Asheville City Council’s April 26 meeting brought a new wrinkle to the already shambolic process of establishing permanent supportive housing at an East Asheville Ramada Inn.
Author: Brooke Randle
Showing 43-63 of 285 results
Spring clean: Asheville organizations, volunteers clean up downtown
After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Asheville was due for a spring cleaning. City government, along with area nonprofits, kicked off the first of four community cleanup efforts downtown April 18.
School board candidates stake out positions in first forum
Candidates elected to the board will help pick a new superintendent, address Asheville City Schools’ achievement and opportunity gaps between Black and white students and face a wave of resignations and declining financial reserves within the system.
Deaverview Apartments seeks zoning change for expansion
New construction at Deaverview Apartments, Asheville’s second-oldest public housing community, will consist of two three-story buildings and one four-story building containing 82 total mixed income units.
One year after freeze, farmers, scientists talk the future of WNC apples
The late freeze in spring 2021 caused millions of dollars in damages throughout the region, as well as price hikes and supply chain issues for many local farmers and distributors. How worried should they be about WNC’s tumultuous weather?
Council discusses budget priorities, concerns in work session
Members of Asheville City Council discussed transit, parking revenues, personnel costs and weighed funding options for the newly approved updates to Memorial Stadium.
Council to hear updates on boards and commissions proposal, reparations
Aside from voting on its consent agenda, Asheville City Council isn’t scheduled to take any action during its meeting of Tuesday, April 12.
Tourism survey reveals changing attitudes, long-standing issues
Negative sentiments regarding Asheville-area tourism appear to have ebbed since 2019, according to according to a new survey presented at the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s annual planning session March 25. While 65% of residents in 2019 believed that they couldn’t enjoy the city and its amenities because of visitors, only 45% said that they agreed with that viewpoint in 2022
Council outlines priorities in annual retreat
An exchange between protesters and Asheville City Council member Sandra Kilgore marked the start of Council’s March 17-18 retreat, where the elected officials heard feedback from top city staffers and plotted their approach to the coming year.
Six-lane track unanimously approved for Memorial Stadium
Neighborhood residents had been asking for a new track as part of renovations to Memorial Stadium since 2017, after Asheville voters approved a $74 million bond issue in 2016.
Wellness roundup: Dogwood releases 2021 annual report
In total, Dogwood approved 287 funding requests of the 354 grant applications in 2021. The nonprofit also reports that it added 21 new staff members to the organization.
Ingles pledges support for UNC Asheville Food Equity Initiative
Press release from UNC Asheville: Each Tuesday, on the University of North Carolina Asheville campus, the Food Equity Initiative (FEI) hosts a pop-up event on the Quad. The two-hour student-led event is a chance for students, faculty, and staff facing food insecurities to pick up non-perishable food supplies anonymously. Now, with the support of Ingles […]
Homelessness, safety rank as top downtown concerns
Safety and reducing criminal activity downtown closely followed homelessness among the top concerns. Survey respondents were asked to evaluate downtown in terms of how safe they felt. The average score was 3.5 out of 5 for perceived safety during the daytime, dropping to 1.9 out of 5 at night.
WTF: Ballot initiatives
In the latest installment of our recurring “WTF?” feature — Want The Facts — Xpress looks into the practice of local ballot initiatives to answer some of the biggest questions.
Hilliard Ave. development approved in unusual Council procedure
A conditional zoning request for The Avery, a 187-unit housing development slated for 363 Hilliard Ave. in Asheville’s downtown, was denied by Asheville City Council in a Feb. 22 meeting. Two weeks later, Council approved the request after employing a rarely-used rule to rescind its prior decision.
Council to again consider Hilliard Ave. development
Council will vote on whether to reconsider a previous vote denying a conditional zoning for the project. If approved, Council members will have the opportunity to vote again on an updated proposal.
Asheville seeks to restructure citizen advisory groups
In February, Asheville unveiled a plan to reduce the number of advisory groups from 20 to four. Each of those boards would be capped at 11 members, meaning the number of residents who serve in a regular advisory role would be cut by roughly 80%.
Haywood Street affordable housing to receive $2.2M in city support
The project, located at 343 and 357 West Haywood St., will consist of affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom units available for residents of mixed income levels.
Q&A: Tonia Plummer, operations manager at the YMI
Plummer shares her thoughts on the Young Men’s Institute Cultural Center, which celebrated its 129th birthday Feb. 12.
Council returns to in-person meetings Feb. 22
Members of the public wishing to speak live will be required to attend in-person and sign up at the meeting.
Local Black leaders reflect on intergenerational politics
A moment in 2012, when Preston Blakely was a senior at Asheville High School, would prove pivotal to voters in Fletcher nine years later. “I was turning 18 at the end of October, and Election Day was coming up, and I would finally be able to register to vote,” says Blakely. “I remember voting for […]