After several weeks of rain and Tuesday’s snow in the mountains, U. S. Forest Service officials are lifting the campfire ban in the National Forests in North Carolina; the state also has lifted its burning ban.
Author: Hal L. Millard
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State unemployment drops for second straight month
North Carolina employment in November increased by 10,111 workers, and the state’s unemployment rate continued to decline for the second consecutive month to 4.7 percent, according to statistics released by the N.C. Employment Security Commission.
Local “Weed and Seed” grants available
Asheville’s West Riverside Operation Weed & Seed is offering grant awards of up to $5,000 each for programs that provide accessible youth services, increase parent involvement, improve health and nutrition, increase job readiness or contribute to neighborhood restoration.
The public education of Bill Russell
With his first full-blown Asheville City Council meeting just a couple of weeks away, Bill Russell has a lot on his plate as he begins his four-year term—and his first foray into representative politics. As someone who ran to bring more political balance to Council, rather than address any specific hot-button issues, Russell admits that […]
The Biz
The Biz loves puns. Not so much because we like to think we’re clever, but because even bad puns tend to draw in finicky readers and keep them reading a bit longer. And after sex shops and fat farms, what business could possibly inspire more puns than a head shop? Unfortunately for The Biz, Wonderland […]
The Biz
The holiday gift-giving season is bearing down on consumers, staring them in the face like a loaded .44 Magnum. If you’re one of those shoppers who is able to rein in the impulse to max out your credit at this time of year, you’re lucky. Millions of other shoppers nationwide will incur billions in holiday […]
Askville: The good mother
Mother Goose has nothing on Martha K. Gardenhight. As a foster parent who’s worked with many local agencies, including Eliada Homes, Gardenhight and her second husband, Billy, have taken in more than 60 youngsters (almost all boys) over the past 22 years. Though both are now retired from their jobs, the couple has not retired […]
I got you babe: Sonny Bono’s widow weds in Asheville
On Saturday, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack got married to Congresswoman Mary Bono in a private ceremony held at the Richmond Inn in Asheville.
Hey buddy, can you spare a dime?
Like an experienced football tackler, he came at an angle, out of the shadows of a city storefront’s awning with virtually no warning. With no way to avoid his advance, he pounced. Making change: The Spare Change for Real Change program hopes to make a positive impact on Asheville’s twin ills of homelessness and aggressive […]
Citizen policy wonks
A group of local progressive community activists has created the Vance Policy Institute, with an initial goal of promoting openness and transparency in local-government decisions and operations. The newly formed think tank, named for 19th-century U.S. Sen. and N.C. Gov. Zebulon Vance of Asheville, is the creation of local blogger Gordon Smith of Scrutiny Hooligans, […]
The Biz
Sugo, Rosetta’s Kitchen, 12 Bones Smokehouse. These are just a few of the area businesses that have benefited from the mostly free business advice offered by the nearly 40 retired or semi-retired executives that volunteer for the Asheville chapter of Service Corps of Retired Executives. A helping hand: The Asheville chapter of the Service Corps […]
Biz: Unemployment rates trend up slightly
Fifty-five North Carolina counties, including Henderson and Madison, saw an increase in their unemployment rates in October, according to the latest statistics from the state Employment Security Commission. Rates declined in 20 counties and remained the same in 25.
Asheville City Council
At its Nov. 27 meeting, the Asheville City Council unanimously approved a budget change to help fund the initial stages of a proposed renovation and expansion of the W.C. Reid Center for Creative Arts. Parks and Recreation Director Roderick Simmons said the move would enable the center’s “Raise the Roof at the Reid” capital campaign […]
The Biz
Local entrepreneur Avi Sommerville and her Woodfin-based company are intent on someday achieving global domination. “I believe in the cake”: Avi Sommerville (seated, in center) found a recipe for success with the World’s Best Carrot Cake, based on her mother-in-law’s family recipe. Photo By Jonathan Welch Her weapon of choice? Cake. But not just any […]
What the world needs now is another think tank
A group of local progressive community activists has created the Vance Policy Institute, whose initial goal is to bring greater openness and transparency to local government operations and decisions in Asheville and Buncombe County.
Dropping dime on erosion outlaws
Asheville’s Stormwater Services is now offering after hours on-call services, allowing residents to report sediment and erosion violations caused by new development.
Council write-ins: What were you people thinking?
In political elections that allow voters to choose a write-in candidate, the inner wag in all of us is apt to awaken. The idea is to allow voters the opportunity to eschew the conventional, balloted candidates and exercise their rights as Americans to, by God, pick whomever they damn well please. The people have spoken: […]
The Biz
It almost never fails: Whenever The Biz is researching a story about local small businesses or entrepreneurs, most sources end conversations with, “You really ought to talk with the folks at A-B Tech’s Small Business Center and Business Incubator.” Finally, we took their advice, if for no other reason than to see what the fuss […]
Asheville City Council: Nov. 27 meeting preview
An update on a conditional-zoning application aimed at ameliorating the controversy surrounding Greenlife Grocery and adjacent Maxwell Street residents, and a host of other items, highlight a packed agenda for Council’s Nov. 27 meeting.
City Council write-ins: What were you people thinking?
Alright — who voted for Mortimer Snerd?
State unemployment drops slightly
During the past month, North Carolina’s employment and unemployment numbers decreased slightly as the employment rate dropped to 4.8 percent, according to the latest statistics from the state’s Employment Security Commission. Data from the full year shows growth in the state’s labor force and employment.