A report on the options for I-26 alternatives by former Asheville Planning Director Scott Shuford is “incomplete” and leaves out several key factors, according to a critique by Dr. David Johnson, a longtime professional planner and professor emeritus of planning at the University of Tennessee.
The midnight movie that will not die finally gets a regular date in Asheville, as Carolina Cinemas and the Montford Park Players begin showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show this Saturday (at midnight, naturally).
The Buncombe County commissioners have a lot on their plate. The county is facing budget woes, thanks to the declining economy, and with a revaluation likely to reduce property values, County Manager Wanda Greene has instructed all departments to plan for a 5-percent budget cut. There’s also the ever-present issue of development—how to deal with […]
Is downtown Asheville becoming more dangerous? The answer seems to depend on whom you ask. Holding steady: Violent crime downtown is not on the rise, Patrol Lt. Wally Welch asserts. photo by Jonathan Welch Downtown resident Naydeehn Messier has no doubt about it. “I definitely feel as though it’s getting worse,” says Messier, co-founder of […]
Former Bier Garden employee Michael Plemmons, arrested after a controversial fracas with an Alcohol Law Enforcement agent, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, resisting a public officer and simple assault, court documents show. Plemmons will serve 120 days supervised probation plus a year unsupervised. The charges […]
In a tense 3-2 vote, Buncombe County commissioners Tuesday night voted for the route known as Alternative 3 for the Interstate 26 Connector route through Asheville.
In the future, Asheville’s downtown might be managed by a powerful independent board, with different types of development for each neighborhood “core,” better support for the arts, more green building, a shuttle system and police cameras on street corners. Those are some of the many initiatives presented in the draft of the long-awaited Downtown Master Plan. The city will hold a Jan. 15 forum on the plan.
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Richard Lutovsky told Xpress today that despite concerns raised about the Alternative 3 proposal for the I-26 connector, he still feels it is “best for the community in general” and superior to the Asheville Design Center’s Alternative 4b.
In its regular meeting Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 6, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners is set for a close vote on the controversial matter of which I-26 alternative to endorse.
The draft of Asheville’s Downtown Master Plan is now available in The Xpress Files.
As the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners gears up to endorse a plan for the future I-26 connector at its Jan. 6 meeting, Xpress offers a look at our coverage of many aspects of this controversial issue.
Alternative 3, a plan for the future I-26 connector backed by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and some Buncombe County commissioners, would demolish about 25 houses in the predominantly African-American Burton Street neighborhood, leaving 13 others nearby facing a sound wall.
Renovations will close the Buncombe County Law Library from Monday, Jan. 5, until April, County Manager Wanda Greene told Xpress today.
Michael Plemmons, a former Bier Garden employee arrested after a controversial fracas with an ALE officer, pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and simple assault on Dec. 15, court documents show. Plemmons will serve 120 days supervised probation and a year unsupervised.
Parkside “zombie” returns; activists want eminent domain In a rare 3-2 vote, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners narrowly agreed to delay endorsing one of the remaining options for the controversial I-26 connector until more information has come in. But less than 48 hours later, Commissioner K. Ray Bailey changed his mind, joining forces with […]
As tough economic times continue, Buncombe County government has asked all of its departments to plan for possible 5 percent cuts for the next budget year, County Manager Wanda Greene told Xpress. “In August, when we were facing increased fuel costs and caseloads, we asked departments to ready for 3 percent cuts. That was mostly […]
Scully’s is nestled just next to Chicken Alley, but the feel is quite different from the alternative cultures dotting Lexington Avenue. Photo by Jonathan Welch Come in here and you might well find the voices of local sports announcers booming through the place. During Bar Beat’s recent visit, three of them—from local ESPN radio 1310 […]
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ Dec. 16 meeting
Buncombe County Commissioner K. Ray Bailey, who cast the deciding vote to delay an endorsement of a plan for the future I-26 connector at the board’s Tuesday night meeting, has now called for a special meeting to resolve the matter—and he’s got the support to do it. The meeting will be at noon next Tuesday, Dec. 23.
Asheville’s Downtown Commission approved the demolition of the Hayes & Hopson Building by developer Stewart Coleman in a 7-2 vote on Dec. 12. The commission also recommended that any work at the site be postponed until an appeal resolves the legal status of an adjacent piece of parkland, which Coleman agreed to. Coleman’s controversial Parkside […]
As tough economic times continue, Buncombe County government has asked all of its departments to plan for possible 5 percent cuts for the next budget year, County Manager Wanda Greene told Xpress today.
