According to David Wallace, the western representative for the North Carolina State Energy Office, Gov. Mike Easley’s proposed new budget would leave many of the state’s alternative-energy initiatives in the lurch. Writing in his new blog on the Web site Sustainable WNC (sustainablewnc.org), Wallace reported last week that the governor “is asking that the State […]
Author: Cecil Bothwell
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Farm and garden
Scratching a living from the soil has always been a gamble. The weather, the locusts, the woodchucks and the market make for a volatile mix that can just as easily mean boom or bust for those who work the land. While farmers may achieve prosperity “living off the fat of the land,” money alone is […]
Garden Journal
Disappearing farms: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, North Carolina lost 1,000 farms during 2005 (the latest year for which statistics are available), tying Florida and Tennessee for first place in the nation. That figure continues a trend in the state, which lost 3,000 farms in 2004, also first place in the nation. Disappearing […]
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Progress Energy blocked — but power company still holds lease in Woodfin
Progress Energy’s plan to build a power plant on land adjacent to the old Buncombe County county landfill was thwarted by the town of Woodfin Zoning Board of Adjustment last night, but the company still holds a one dollar per year lease on the property.
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Woodfin says no to new power plant
Progress Energy’s power plant plans went down to defeat Monday night.
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Stunning performance, brilliantly written
Approximately 69,700 Ashevillians were in the wrong place Thursday night (March 29).
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Buncombe Commish gets report on stormwater enforcement
When the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meets on Tuesday, April 3, the most significant business will be a report by Planning Director Jon Creighton concerning the Stormwater Ordinance enacted last September.
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A death is born
Later, when the full story of Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath is told, it will be viewed as somehow contrived that the world premiere of a play about a suicide was staged at a black box theater called BeBe.
Buncombe County Commission
Open door policy: Patrons in adult-establishment movie-viewing booths must remain fully visible under a new county ordinance. photo by Jonathan Welch Enforcement issues topped the agenda at the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ March 20 session. The board tweaked the county’s animal-control ordinance to clarify that owners of seized critters held for more than five […]
Shuford planning to call it quits
Scott Shuford, Asheville’s sometimes embattled planning director, submitted a letter of resignation to City Manager Gary Jackson last week, effective “on or before June 30.” Moving on: Asheville City Planning Director Scott Shuford has announced he will resign in June. photo by Jonathan Welch In a press release, Shuford said: “After a rewarding period of […]
The gardener’s shadow
Gardening season isn’t just for those who till the soil: Many local tailgate markets are already open, and others will soon follow suit (see Garden Journal for details). Before you know it, local farm stands will join the mix, offering this season’s freshest fare. Such direct-to-consumer marketing also connects the community to its food supply […]
Garden Journal
Go local: The following WNC farmer’s markets will be open soon: Tue, Thu & Sat mornings: Hendersonville Curb Mkt. (Church St.) Tue & Thu mornings: Canton Tailgate Mkt. (Park St.) Wed, Fri & Sun afternoons: Greenlife Grocery (Merrimon Ave.) Wed & Sat mornings: Asheville Downtown Tailgate Mkt. (BioWheels/French Broad Food Co-op parking lot); Waynesville Tailgate […]
Going for the green
A March 15 workshop led by staffers from the Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. could point the way toward a substantive sustainability initiative for Asheville. Invited by the city’s Sustainable Energy and Environment Advisory Committee, company representatives led some 50 participants—including Mayor Terry Bellamy, City Manager Gary Jackson and many high-level city staffers—through a series of […]
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State energy rep: Gov. Easley’s budget would allow alt-energy programs to wither
According to David Wallace, the western representative for the North Carolina State Energy Office, Gov. Mike Easley‘s proposed new budget would leave many of the state’s alternative-energy initiatives in the lurch.
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Who is that masked pollster? Xpress readers report phone queries regarding new power plant
Xpress has received numerous tips from readers who say they’ve received phone calls from a polling company in Ohio. The questions, our tipsters say, are focused on the proposed Progress Energy plant in Woodfin and are framed as a “push poll,” which is to say they are posed in such a way as to reinforce certain attitudes or answers.
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Weaverville trailer owners helped by developer
Weaverville First, an activist group formed in response to development plans that will displace residents in the Mountain Terrace trailer park, announced this week that they have secured substantial funding from Harris, Murr and Vermillion, developers of the project. The trailer park is located on part of an 85-acre parcel slated for North Ridge Common which will include a Wal-Mart and a Lowes building-materials store.
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Cleanin’ up the ‘hood
Five Points Neighborhood Group will be litter pickin’ on April 7.
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Asheville Planning Director Scott Shuford resigns
Scott Shuford, Asheville’s sometimes embattled planning director, has submitted a letter of resignation to City Manger Gary Jackson, effective “on or before June 30.”
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CIBO TV ad sparks more development debate
Local development debates are drawing creative responses from several quarters. A Council of Independent Business Owners TV ad is one of the latest salvos.
New deal on Merrimon
Deal Buick, for decades one of Asheville’s handful of downtown car dealers, is moving from Merrimon Avenue to new quarters near the intersection of N.C. 181 and I-26 near the Biltmore Square Mall. Asheville businessman Chris Peterson, who owns Cinjades and Magnolia’s Raw Bar and Grille and is a partner in Jasmine Developers LLC, announced […]
Garden Journal
All’s fair: The wildly popular Organic Growers School has announced plans for a True Nature Country Fair. Described as “a weekend-long celebration of sustainable living in the southern Appalachians,” the event will be staged at Deerfields in Mills River Sept. 28-30.The organization is looking for vendors, exhibitors, sponsors and volunteers. If you’re interested, contact Program […]