Press release from the Oakley Farmers Market The Oakley Farmers Market opens for its second season on Thursday, May 9. This season, the market will take place 3:30-6:30 p.m. Thursdays May 9 – Oct. 24, 2013 in the parking lot next to the Oakley Community Garden behind Oakley United Methodist Church, 607 Fairview Road, Asheville. […]
Author: Margaret Williams
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C-T: Asheville buys property between French Broad, Carrier Park
The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that the city of Asheville has purchased two parcels between French Broad River Park and Carrier Park. Park visitors who walked, ran and biked the greenway trails will remember the appearance last year of “No Trespassing” signs and a chain blocking the two small parcels, located near the Amboy/Meadow Road bridge. […]
Next Classic Hike of the Smokies: May 21 at Big Creek with guide Lenny Bernstein
Press release from Friends of the Smokies Waynesville, N.C. – What better way to get in shape for the summer than with a long, creek side hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)? Join the next Classic Hike of the Smokies for a waterfall and wildflower filled hike along Big Creek in GSMNP off […]
How’d alt-energy advocates beat a N.C. bill? Jobs, says Southern Studies report
From SouthernStudies.org A bill that would have ended North Carolina’s renewable energy program was voted down this week by a state House committee in a bipartisan vote by a surprisingly wide margin. House Bill 298 was backed by more than a dozen conservative advocacy groups including the American Legislative Exchange Council, Americans for Prosperity, the […]
Wake, Mecklenburg counties exempt from statewide implications of water bill
From the Asheville Citizen-Times Two of North Carolina’s largest counties would not be forced to give up their public water systems under Senate amendments to a bill that would move the [Asheville] city system to a regional authority. Meanwhile, former congressional candidate and past Republican City Councilman Carl Mumpower said he would leave the GOP […]
Pawndemonium XXIV: An Asheville-Buncombe chess tournament for kids, Saturday, May 4
Press release from the Kiwanis Club of Asheville Pawndemonium XXIV – local chess tournament for kids We in the Kiwanis Club of Asheville are convinced that learning to play chess can have a major positive influence on academic performance. U.S. educators have begun to realize that playing chess improves cognitive abilities, rational thinking and reasoning […]
Going to Shining Rock? Beware the bears, says Forest Service
Press release from the U.S. Forest Service PISGAH FOREST, N.C. — The U.S. Forest Service encourages campers and visitors to Shining Rock Wilderness and other parts of the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, to store their food securely and be on the lookout for black bears. The alert comes on the heels of a […]
CJR’s Corey Hutchin keeps a wry eye on North Carolina legislation
How do you keep up with the approximately 1,700 bills pending in the North Carolina General Assembly? More particularly, how do you “keep up with the rapid pace of proposed legislation while deciding which measures merit devoted coverage and which to dismiss as hackery?” Columbia Journalism Review writer Corey Hutchins riffs on the plethora of […]
N.C. Senate passes bill requiring Work First applicants to undergo drug testing
From the Raleigh News&Observer Applicants for North Carolina’s cash and worker-training welfare program would have to undergo a drug test to qualify for benefits and pay for it upfront under a bill approved Monday night by the Republican-led state Senate following debate on whether such a get-tough strategy goes too far. Senators agreed in a […]
Mars Hill resident Bob Cole awarded I. Ruth Martin Award for Christian service
Press release from Mars Hill College Mars Hill College Awards I. Ruth Martin Award for Christian Service to Bob Cole Bob Cole, a resident of Mars Hill, has received the I. Ruth Martin Award for Christian Service. The award was presented at the Mars Hill College Community Service Convocation April 16. The award was established […]
Flipping the switch: A-B Tech SGA hosts presentation on coal power, Wed. April 24
Press release from the A-B Tech Student Government Association ASHEVILLE NC—Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College will host an upcoming presentation on coal as part of Earth Week on campus. The presentation will take place in Ferguson Auditorium, on the Asheville campus, at 4pm this Wednesday, April 24th. The Student Government Association has invited some key community […]
Google will invest $600 million in Lenoir data-center site
Press release from the N.C. Governors Office Governor Pat McCrory, along with U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, N.C. Sen. Dan Soucek, N.C. Rep. Edgar Starnes (Majority Leader), Duke Energy State President Paul Newton and Google Operations Manager Enoch Moeller announced Friday that Google will invest an additional $600 million in the Lenoir data center site. “It […]
Wilson, N.C., becomes first community in N.C. to offer ultra-fast Internet
Remember Asheville’s bid to get Google’s 100 gigabit Internet service? Consider that the average Internet speed in the U.S. is about 7 megabytes per second (hint: that’s so much slower than gigabit service, it feels like old dial-up speeds), that about 48,000 Western North Carolinians don’t have access to 4 Mbps service (the FCC definition of a broadband minimum), that North Carolina ranks 27th in broadband speeds (10 spots behind Guam). Now take a look at what one small town down east has done on its own.
Henderson County commissioners voice concerns about new water-sewer merger
The Hendersonville Times-News reports that Henderson County commissioners have several reservations about House Bill 488, which strips Asheville of the local water system and merges it — along with a Henderson system, Cane Creek — with the Metropolitan Sewerage District. For starters, Henderson commissioner want five members on the new 15-member, water-sewer board, not three, […]
Carolina Public Press: Buncombe posts highest population growth in WNC
“With an increase of more than 6,100 people in two years, Buncombe County posted the highest population growth in the 18-county [Western North Carolina] region,” Steph Guinan reports for Carolina Public Press. “The increase is largely a result of relocation,” she adds, noting that most of those relocating are not coming from Florida. As outlined […]
Greensboro News-Record cautions North Carolina legislators on restraining cities
Asheville leaders raised the alarm that pending legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly severely cuts revenue for cities — so harshly that heavy service cuts may be needed to compensate. Meanwhile, recent jobs and economic reports note Asheville and other metro areas of the state as having the lowest unemployment rates and being, in […]
Winston-Salem Journal: ‘Legislative meddling’ is ‘hypocritical’
The Winston-Salem Journal editorial board points to several initiatives North Carolina’s Republican legislators are pushing, and dubs the “legislative meddling in local issues … hypocritical.” The WSJ board cites Henderson County Sen. Tom Apodaca as telling the Charlotte Observer: “Cities are getting too big and powerful. We have to look after the counties.” “Local control” […]
Clean Water for NC: Cities, towns citizen groups oppose water-sewer merger bill
Press release from Clean Water for NC Statewide opposition grows as water transfer bill advances Greensboro, Winston-Salem pass resolutions against H488 RALEIGH AND ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the bill sponsored by Buncombe and Henderson County representatives which would force the City of Asheville to transfer its water system to an […]
NC News Service: NC House Bill 379 restricts local protections for organic farms in GMO fight
From the NC News Service “NC Organic Farms Feel Threatened by Agriculture Bill” by Stephanie Carroll Carson FAIRVIEW, N.C. – North Carolina’s organic farmers are concerned about their livelihood because of a bill proposed in the North Carolina House. House Bill 379 places the State Board of Agriculture in control of commercial planting in the […]
News&Observer: N.C. Legislators have filed 1,600 bills but jobs agenda is “sidetracked”
The “jobs, jobs, jobs” mantra in the Republican legislative agenda is sidetracked for the moment. The House and Senate moved quickly at the start of session to cut jobless benefits and reduce the cost of unemployment insurance on companies, saying it will save “job creators” money. But the broader effort to help jolt the state’s […]
Citizen-Times: Water-sewer bill passes House, moves to Senate
A controversial bill that strips Asheville of the local water system passed its third vote in the North Carolina Statehouse. According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, the bill moves to the Senate, “where an opponent said it will be difficult to stop.” A bill to transfer the city water system to the Metropolitan Sewerage District received […]