Summer Afternoon Tea to explore St. Genevieve’s and Gibbons Hall

From press release: The A-B Tech Community College Foundation will present the second in a series of summer Afternoon Teas and Lectures at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, in the Fernihurst Building on the A-B Tech Asheville campus. Kieta Osteen-Cochrane will speak on the legacy of St. Genevieve’s and Gibbons Hall and “Education on the […]

Public forum on fracking scheduled Thursday in Brevard

From press release: On Thursday the statewide Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and their chapter People for Clean Mountains will hold a public forum on the impacts of exploration and extraction of natural gas in the mountains of North Carolina.  The meeting will take place in Brevard at 6:30 PM in the Transylvania County Library.  The Pisgah […]

Asheville Regional Airport awarded $6.5 million DOT grant for airfield redevelopment

From press release: Asheville, NC – The Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority has been awarded a $6.5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation for use towards its upcoming airfield redevelopment project. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will distribute the funding, which will be used for the first phase of a four-year project that will […]

Young opera singers to perform at UNC Asheville June 27

From press release: Participants in Asheville Lyric Opera’s Summer Artist Training Program will perform a variety of songs at 3 p.m. Friday, June 27, in UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center. This program is free and open to the public. The Summer Artist Training Program is an opportunity for young artists from around the country to participate in […]

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians hosts 39th Annual Pow Wow July 4-6

From press release: CHEROKEE, N.C. – For almost four decades, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has hosted its annual Pow Wow on the Qualla Boundary and this year’s promises to be the best ever. This year’s event, July 4-6, features world-champion dancers and drums competing for prizes. Vendors from across the country will offer […]

Asheville glass artist John Alamaguer featured at Beverly-Hanks Discovery Center

From press release: Asheville, NC – Join HandMade in America and Beverly-Hanks as they feature the glass works of Asheville artist John Almaguer at the Beverly-Hanks Discovery Center in Biltmore Park Town Square, located at 1 Town Square Boulevard, Asheville, NC 28803.  The Artist Reception will be held on Thursday, July 31 from 5:30-7:30pm.  John […]

State website seeks ideas on efficiency and reform

From press release:   Raleigh, NC – The North Carolina Government Efficiency and Reform initiative, commonly known as “NC GEAR,” launched a new website today to collect ideas from state employees and citizens interested in improving state government. State employees and citizens from across North Carolina are being encouraged to submit reform ideas to ncgear.nc.gov.  Links to […]

Free home safety checklist available for Buncombe, Henderson, Polk, Transylvania  and Haywood seniors

  From press release: In recognition of National Safety Month, the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Buncombe, Henderson, Polk, Transylvania  and Haywood Counties is offering a free home safety checklist for area seniors and their families. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 20 million seniors ages 65 and older visit […]

Grace Lutheran youth plan July work mission in Indianapolis

From press release  HENDERSONVILLE – Grace Lutheran Church will be sending 24 youth and seven adult guides on a mission work trip to a Youthworks site in Indianapolis, Indiana from July 12 to 19. Youthworks is an organization whose purpose is to connect teenagers to God, each other and communities through life-changing Christ-centered mission trips. […]

FLS Energy begins construction on 38 Megawatts of utility scale solar for N.C.

From press release: ASHEVILLE, N.C., June 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FLS Energy hasclosed financing and begun construction on 38 megawatts ofutility-scale solar farms across eight locations in North Carolina. Thesolar energy plants will produce approximately 56 million kilowatthours of electricity per year or enough energy to power over 5000average U.S. homes.The portfolio of projects […]

William J. Whalen honored by NC Bar Association for outstanding service

Pisgah Legal Services attorney has spent 33 years advocating for the poor  From press release: William J. “Bill” Whalen may look like a mild-mannered attorney, but inside that calm exterior beats the heart of a Rottweiler. As an attorney at the nonprofit Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) for the past 33 years, Whalen has fought hard […]

Filmmaker Paul Bonesteel headlines ECO event

From press release:   (HENDERSONVILLE, NC, June 10, 2014) – Local filmmaker Paul Bonesteel will speak and show his documentary film “The Mystery of George Masa” on Monday, July 28, as a fundraiser for the Environmental and Conservation Organization (ECO).  The showing will be in the McIntosh Room of the Blue Ridge Conference Hall, 180 […]

Forest Service says most trails and roads reopened in Trace Ridge Area

From press release:   PISGAH FOREST, N.C., June 18, 2014 — The U.S. Forest Service has reopened most of the trails and roads in the Trace Ridge and Wash Creek areas of Henderson County in the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest. The closures were necessary to implement portions of the Brushy Ridge project, an ecosystem […]

N&O: NC tries one-time pay hike to retain state workers

To retain workers in high-demand state government fields, a little-noticed fund provided pay raises this year to nearly 3,500 employees that totaled more than $7.5 million, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. Gov. Pat McCrory’s office announced the salary raises in January but the administration didn’t release a full list of employees who received […]

AC-T: Bear activity shuts down some Smokies trails, campsites

 Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have closed a number of trails and campsites because of visitor encounters with what rangers deemed aggressive bears, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports. While no one has been attacked, twice in the last week when hikers encountered bears on backcountry trails, the animals stood their ground, park spokeswoman Dana Soehn […]

HT-N: Some people determined to live outside laws of the land

People have railed against taxes and swiped at the hands of over-reaching government officials for centuries. At various times in U.S. history they have been viewed a patriots, terrorists or traitors, the Hendersonville Times-News reports. Fueled by government angst, the Internet and the recession, this unorganized sect of tax-evaders and law-shruggers is growing in North […]

AC-T: WNC farmers hopeful of better summer

A week before the official start of summer,  booths at farmers tailgate markets around Asheville are filled with a bounty of greens, squash, cabbages, carrots, beets, cucumbers, turnips and even early tomatoes. This year is far different scene than in last year’s growing season, when many  crops lay rotting in lakes that were once fields, the […]

American Herbalists Guild celebrates 25 years with a mid-summer herbal stress buster

From press release: The American Herbalists Guild (AHG) was founded in 1989 as a non-profit, educational organization to represent the goals and voices of herbalists specializing in the medicinal use of plants. The primary goal of the AHG is to promote a high level of professionalism and education in the study and practice of therapeutic […]