Follow our Xpress live coverage of the July 26 Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting here beginning around 5 p.m.
Author: Jake Frankel
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Controversial redistricting plan passes NC Senate
The GOP’s controversial congressional redistricting proposal passed the North Carolina Senate along party lines July 25. The plan shifts almost all of Asheville’s reliably Democratic voters from the 11th District, currently represented by Democrat Heath Shuler, to the conservative 10th, presently the domain of Republican Patrick McHenry.
Buncombe County Commissioners preview: Manufacturing a deal
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners is expected July 26 to approve a large real-estate sale to Linamar Corp. as part of an economic incentives package aimed at ensuring the Canadian-based auto-parts manufacturer fulfills its plans to operate in Buncombe County.
Local residents bash proposed Statehouse districts
Buncombe County residents upset about proposed new Statehouse districts aired their gripes at a July 18 public hearing in A-B Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium. Here’s a more detailed report than our July 18 post.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
Boxed out: Buncombe County allows some newspaper bins, bans others
Buncombe County approved the temporary return of three newspaper boxes to their former home outside the courthouse but is continuing to ban the others removed late last month. The move comes after Mountain Xpress and the Asheville Citizen-Times jointly retained attorney Amanda Martin to write a letter challenging the county’s decision.
Photos by Jerry Nelson, JourneyAmerica.org
Getaway: A guide to nearby national and state parks
It’s looking like another brutally hot weekend, with temperatures expected to hit 90 degrees in Asheville Saturday and Sunday. Looking for an easy escape? Here’s a look at some of the spots within an easy drive of town to cool down in mountain rivers, lakes and high-elevation forests.
Turf war: What Redistricting Means for You
Redistricting cuts to the heart of our democracy. To ensure that everyone’s vote counts the same, the boundaries for congressional as well as state House and Senate districts must be redrawn every 10 years, based on the latest census data. In North Carolina, members of the General Assembly do the job, factoring in assorted geographic, […]
Turf war: Democrats, Republicans square off over congressional districts
Republicans have fired the first round in the latest edition of the political turf war that predictably erupts every 10 years in the wake of the U.S. census. And the proposed new congressional districts could make it very difficult for a Democrat to represent Asheville and Buncombe County in the U.S. House, says Roger Hartley, […]
A house divided in the N.C. Statehouse
The proposed new districts for Statehouse and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners could further polarize both the legislative delegation and local voters. Released the evening of July 12, the new maps place Democratic Reps. Susan Fisher and Patsy Keever in the same district (the 114th, which now includes most of Asheville), potentially pitting them […]
Latest congressional district maps strip more of Buncombe from the 11th
The latest congressional district proposal from the General Assembly strips more of Buncombe County from its longtime home in the 11th – currently represented by Democrat Heath Shuler — and puts it in the 10th – currently represented by Republican Patrick McHenry.
Residents slam House redistricting proposal
About 20 Western North Carolina residents shared their views on the N.C. General Assembly’s House and Senate redistricting proposals at a July 18 public hearing at A-B Tech. The vast majority of them lambasted the House proposal as GOP gerrymandering designed to give Republicans an electoral edge at the expense of Democratic candidates and voters. Here’s a sampling of the people who came out and their views.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
Live Twitter-based coverage of redistricting public hearing
The General Assembly’s Joint House and Senate Redistricting Committee is holding a public hearing on its House and Senate redistricting proposals today, July 18, at A-B Tech between 3 and 9 p.m.
Fisher, Keever urge supporters to speak out against redistricting plan at July 18 hearing
In response to proposed Statehouse districts released July 13 that place Democratic Reps. Susan Fisher and Patsy Keever in the same district, both are urging supporters to speak out against the plan at a July 18 public hearing at A-B Tech. If passed, the plan would potentially pit the two colleagues against each other in a primary next year to represent a newly drawn 114th that encapsulates most of Asheville.
Analysis: Proposed commissioner districts could polarize board
For the first time in history, N.C. Statehouse districts now apply to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. Under the proposed new maps drawn by the first GOP-controlled General Assembly in 140 years, those districts would place several members of the all-Democrat board in the same districts and potentially make it easier for both Republicans and liberals to get elected.
Hard hearing
“Insane.” “Biased.” “Cynical.” Those are just a few of the words outraged Western North Carolina residents used during a July 7 public hearing to describe a proposal to move most of Asheville to the 10th Congressional District, leaving roughly two-thirds of Buncombe County in the 11th District. Released July 1 by the first Republican-controlled General […]
Hard hearing: Residents blast redistricting proposal
“Insane.” “Biased.” “Cynical.” Those are just a few of the words outraged Western North Carolina residents used during a July 7 public hearing to describe a proposal to move most of Asheville to the 10th Congressional District, leaving roughly two-thirds of Buncombe County in the 11th District.
With tears in her eyes, Athena Blakely said her severely autistic children divide their time between her home and an alternative family living center that the new maps would place in a different district from her home. Cecil Bothwell (left) and Lindsey Simerly (right) listened to her tell her story. Photo by Jonathon Welch
If you buy it, they will come
After weeks of speculation about a pending deal with an unnamed private company, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved one of the largest real estate purchases in the county's history in hopes of luring new jobs to the area. The commissioners unanimously agreed to pay $7 million for the former Volvo plant in Skyland, […]
Remembering the Marion Massacre: A meeting of the “Research Circle”
In the ongoing effort to help Marion come to grips with its own troubled history, researchers, storytellers and about 25 interested residents gathered June 29 at the M.A.C.A. Auditorium to discuss the area’s tumultuous labor strikes of 1929.
On retainers
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners June 21, 2001 meeting $303 million budget approved Emma Elementary gets sidewalk New rules triggered by the “Great Wall of Reynolds” aim to improve the safety and appearance of large retaining walls. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted the rules at their June 21 meeting. The changes had […]
Rep. Shuler reportedly considering athletic director job at UT Knoxville
Tony Basilio, host of the The Edge radio program on WVLZ radio in Knoxville, TN, is reporting that Western North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler is considering taking a job as the athletic director of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he gained national attention as a top quarterback in the early 1990s. What do you think? Does this seem like a job that Rep. Shuler would potentially leave his congressional seat for?
Buncombe Commissioners vote to buy former Volvo site for $7 million
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously June 28 to purchase the former Volvo plant at 2169 Hendersonville Road for $7 million in taxpayer funds. In the weeks leading up to the vote, county, city and state leaders have hinted that the purchase is part of a larger, multifaceted arrangement with a private employer to take over the site. And in the hours leading up to the vote, WLOS News 13 began reporting that the employer is the Canadian-based Linamar Corporation, a large manufacturer of engines, transmissions and drive trains.