While Asheville City Council meets in retreat to discuss its procedures and goals for the coming year, new Council member Cecil Bothwell has announced 11 goals he’ll pursue in 2010, ranging from the sweeping (decriminalizing drugs, ceasing immigration enforcement) to the local (ceasing to build downtown parking spaces, simplifying the city’s development ordinance).
The agenda itself was light, but public comment took up over half the Jan. 5 meeting, as the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners got an earful on its pre-meeting prayer.
Carousing at a bar, if one is not quite careful, frequently carries with it the risk of a bleary-eyed walk back to one's car the next morning. Of course, more foolish types might even choose to do something stupid like get behind the wheel of their vehicle in an intoxicated state. Scooted to safety: Buzzed […]
The Buncombe County Health Center now has appointments available for anyone who wants the H1N1 vaccine, according to a Dec. 31 announcement.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will continue to hold a pre-meeting prayer, as the board has decided, after consulting via phone, to wait on a federal court case to play out before deciding if the prayer will be replaced with a moment of silence.
Racial profiling — or even just the possibility of it — by those charged with upholding the law is an extremely sensitive issue, involving questions of potential prejudice, abuse of power and hidden motives. For law-enforcement personnel, trying to gauge whether illegal activity is taking place — often in stressful or ambiguous situations with the […]
Attempting to throw in some optimism after the announced closing of Volvo’s manufacturing plant, the AdvantageWest economic-development group announced today that 170 new jobs, as well as work for the 2010 census, will be coming to the area.
A reserve captain who was convicted of collecting protection money from illegal video-poker operators for imprisoned former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford is asking a federal judge to set aside his five-year prison sentence, saying he didn't receive proper legal representation. In papers filed from the minimum security prison in Kentucky where he currently resides, […]
It seems the only place people aren't shouting about the Dec. 8 swearing in of new Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell is Asheville. Blogs, including one on the Washington Post's Web site, have lit up about the "controversy" over Bothwell, a "post-theist" who earlier identified as an atheist, taking his seat. The controversy began […]
The Volvo Construction Equipment plant in Skyland will shut down March 31, 2010, according to a Dec. 11 press release from the Stockholm-based company. An estimated 228 employees will lose their jobs in a facility that both Buncombe County and the city of Asheville had earmarked for millions in economic-incentive grants just a few years […]
The Skyland Volvo plant will shut down on March 31, 2010, according to a press release from the Stockholm-based company. An estimated 228 employees will lose their jobs in a facility that the county and city were considering for millions in grants just a few years ago.
It seems the only place people aren’t shouting about this week’s swearing in of new Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell is Asheville. Blogs, including that of the Washington Post, have lit up about the “controversy” over Bothwell, a “post-theist” who earlier identified as an atheist, taking his seat.
Property owners have 90 days to appeal zoning decisions Stanley to continue as vice chair It was the last meeting of the year, and the Buncombe County commissioners had few items on their agenda. True to form, they kept it short and sweet: The whole meeting took less than an hour. Another go: Commissioner Carol […]
At their Jan. 5 meeting, the Buncombe County commissioners will consider substituting a moment of silence for the official prayer that has traditionally marked the start of their meetings, according to County Attorney Michael Frue. Contrary to an earlier announcement from Frue, the commissioners have not yet made a decision. "I probably erred by implying […]
By summer of 2011, Asheville residents will use local paper currency to purchase a variety of good and services at businesses throughout the area. That's the Asheville Currency Project's plan, anyway. The group unveiled its idea on Dec.4 at the BoBo gallery. Local currency, according to its proponents, keeps more value in the community, remains […]
Thanks to a new shipment of the H1N1 flu vaccine, the Buncombe County Health Center will hold an open clinic from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Biltmore Square Mall. For the first time this season, the vaccine will be free to everyone who shows up.
A proposal for a local barter/alternative currency system was unveiled Dec. 4 by the Asheville Currency Project. Here’s an interim report, based on Twitter coverage of that meeting.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners kept their last meeting of the year short — under an hour — which was just long enough to give countywide zoning final approval and keep Vice Chair Bill Stanley in his spot for another year.
On Jan. 5, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners may replace an official prayer before its meetings with a moment of silence, according to County Attorney Michael Frue. Contrary to Frue’s original announcement, the commissioners have not yet made a decision.
Asheville facing $5.1 million budget shortfall next year Asheville City Council Nov. 24 Council contemplates living-wage requirement for city contractors Council members approve federal-stimulus-backed infrastructure projects City signs off on parts of Woodfin annexation deal For the Asheville City Council, Nov. 24 was a day of transition. It marked the last meeting for Kelly Miller, […]
On May 8, Stuart Peterson and two other men robbed the F&J Food Mart on Biltmore Avenue at gunpoint. A witness to the gang-related heist described their vehicle to police, and all three were soon caught and charged with armed robbery. It was Peterson's first felony arrest. A new leaf: Stuart Peterson, center, with fellow […]
