Like 40 percent of rural U.S. households, many Sandy Mush residents in northwest Buncombe County can’t get Internet service that meets the Federal Communications Commission’s current definition of broadband.
Author: Cameron Huntley
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Conservation in WNC — where we’re going, where we’ve been
From the Get It! Guide: Long before the age of Internet lists and online travel magazines, people came to Asheville and Western North Carolina for the intrinsic natural beauty. In fact, the beauty of our environment is what many say makes this place so special. But are we protecting what we have? What initiatives are underway to help ensure that the region remains a respite and a haven for generations to come?
How to lobby your local government
From the Get It! Guide: Government is pervasive and omnipresent that it may be easy to think that an individual voice will not be heard. But Timothy Sadler doesn’t think that’s the case — in fact, he says, getting involved in local government is just a matter of learning the ropes.
From goggles to land conservation, Buncombe commissioners get an earful
The public-comment stretched nearly three hours at the Feb. 3 Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting, as a tsunami of local residents expressed their displeasure with two recent and highly controversial county decisions — the planned closure of the county’s only indoor aquatic center, Zeugner, and the equestrian revisions to the animal-control ordinance. Citizens — including goggled […]
Buncombe commissioners may get goggled at Feb. 3 meeting
Look for the goggles at the next Buncombe commissioners meeting: A group called “Save Zuegner, Save Our Swim Teams” is trying to get swimmers, coaches and likeminded people to come to the Feb. 3 meeting and speak about the Zuegner Center, which will shut down forever at the end of the swim season this year. […]
Asheville Council lays out hopes for the year
Sidewalks, housing, public data systems and leaf collect al popped up on Asheville City Council’s all-day retreat Jan. 30.
Coffee with a Cop fosters familiarity between police, community
The Bojangles parking lot on Merrimon Avenue was packed the morning of Jan. 24, spilling over into the adjacent lots. But it was no ordinary mad rush for biscuits that crowded the asphalt. Many of the spaces are occupied by the white decal-laden squad cars of the Asheville Police Department, as they held the first […]
A pioneering school for black children in Madison County finally gets its due
In 1965, with the advent of integration, the Long Ridge Rosenwald School (known since 1959 as Anderson Elementary) closed for good in Madison County — 11 years after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, declared segregated public education unconstitutional.
Commissioners approve animal ordinance, new human services facility
Buncombe commissioners don’t often hold marathon sessions, but on Jan. 20, their agenda started at 8:30 a.m. and took all day: By the end, they had waded through an overview of several county departments, heard preliminary funding requests from local nonprofits, taken a second vote on the changes to the Animal Control Ordinance, directed staff to look for inexpensive […]
Me2We teens talk about key issues on MLK Day
“I think people don’t realize how stressful it is to be a teenager,” said Brittany Boseman. A senior at Asheville High School, Boseman was one of the roundtable leaders for Me2We’s “We Matter 2” Summit, held at the YMI Cultural Center for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The summit brought together over 40 Buncombe County students […]
Commissioners to discuss project funding, vote again on Animal Ordinance
Project funding and the animal ordinance take front and center on the Buncombe commissioners’ all-day-long Jan. 20 agenda.
High and dry at CIBO’s Jan. 9 breakfast meeting
City Manager Gary Jackson, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and Buncombe County’s new District Attorney, Todd Williams, spoke at the Council of Independent Business Owners’ Jan. 9 breakfast meeting at A-B Tech’s Enka Campus.
Commissioners split vote on revised animal control ordinance
In a heated three-hour session that included pleas from opposite extremes during the public-comment period and one person getting thrown out of the chambers, the Buncombe County Board of Commissions voted 4-3, to approve changes to the county’s animal control ordinance.
Commissioners to review budget, staff increases and tethering rules
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will start the new year with a Tuesday, Jan. 6, meeting, at which they’ll consider changes to the Animal Control Ordinance, including current regulations for tethering dogs.
Job statistics don’t tell the whole story for local economy
On Nov. 21, Gov. Pat McCrory’s office released a statement saying that all of the jobs North Carolina lost during the Great Recession — some 62,000 positions — had been gained back. Not long after, local unemployment numbers started coming in, showing that Asheville had the lowest unemployment numbers among the North Carolina metro areas at […]
Buncombe commissioners swear in DeBruhl and name Belcher vice chair
New and smiling faces populated the crowd at the Buncombe County Commissioners meeting on Dec. 1, as four winners of the Nov. 4 elections took their oaths of office and commissioners elected a new vice chair. Buncombe County Commissioners Ellen Frost, Miranda Debruhl, and Brownie Newman — and re-elected Sheriff Van Duncan — stood with their families […]
County approves economic incentives, King bids farewell
Counting on a longterm return and benefit to the area, Buncombe County commissioners approved two economic incentive packages today, Nov. 18, in exchange for the creation of new jobs and millions of dollars of investment in the county economy. Commissioners unanimously approved a $9 million economic incentive for gear maker Linamar North Carolina Inc., to […]
Asheville forum focuses on housing, income shortfalls and change
Leigh Snyder teared up several times as she spoke to well over 100 people who had gathered for a forum on family homelessness in downtown Asheville on Nov. 6. The event, sponsored by Homeward Bound of Asheville, brought together activists, volunteers, community leaders, business owners and local politicians — enough to easily fill the Celine and Company Catering’s large banquet hall at 49 Broadway.
What was N.C.’s jury-trial ballot amendment about?
North Carolina voters did more than move representatives around Nov. 4: They voted on an amendment to the state constitution that could possibly have major repercussions for criminal justice procedure. But what does that amendment do? Fifty-three percent of N.C. voters approved the amendment, which, if adopted by legislators, would enable “a person accused of any […]
Oak Hill Commons caps goals for 10-year plan to end homelessness
Ten years ago, the Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee, made up of eight city and eight county appointees from a variety of organizations, embarked on an ambitious plan to end chronic homelessness in Asheville. Now, almost precisely that amount of time later, it is coming to fruition, with a final project that cty of Asheville Homeless […]
In the trenches: Forum spotlights Buncombe County school board candidates
School board members are, in fact, the elected officials most closely connected to local school systems’ day-to-day operations. An Oct. 9 forum highlighted the issues and the candidates for Buncombe County’s board.
