WNCA continues 30th-anniversary celebration with “Renewing Our Roots” gathering in Franklin

This Saturday, April 14, WNCA will continue celebrating our 30th anniversary at our annual spring gathering! ‘Renewing Our Roots’ will be held where WNCA was birthed: Franklin. Several FREE family-friendly outings will be offered throughout the day, culminating in a barbecue (BBQ tempeh for all of you veggies!) and live “blue ridge bluegrass” celebration at […]

Asheville Sailing Club hosts regatta, races on Saturday-Sunday, April 21-22

PRESS RELEASE The Asheville Sailing Club will host a Jet 14 Sailboat regatta at Lake Julian the weekend of April 21-22. Racing will take place Saturday afternoon, April 21, and Sunday midday, April 22. Anyone picnicking, fishing or boating at Lake Julian Park on these two days will enjoy the spectacle of these beautiful sailboats […]

City calls for bids on Craven Street infrastructure improvements related to New Belgium project

Roadway widening for bike lanes and sidewalks, a greenway and a low-impact development parking lot — the city of Asheville is calling for landscape architects and/or civil engineers to submit bids for infrastructure improvements on Craven Street. The project is related to plans for craft brewer New Belgium to build its new East Coast facility […]

Earth Fare gets new majority owner in $300 million deal, 570WWNC reports

“Oak Hill Capital Partners has bought about an 80 percent interest in [Earth Fare] from Cambridge, Massachusetts based Monitor Clipper Partners. The transaction is valued at approximately $300 million,” WWNC 570 Radio reports. Read more: http://www.wwnc.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=122546&article=10024267#ixzz1rjZ5pE3G

U.S., N.C. Forest Service personnel contain 100-acre wildfire outside Robbinsville

FULL PRESS RELEASE The U.S. Forest Service is working with North Carolina Forest Service personnel to suppress a 100-acre fire on part of the Cheoah Ranger District, Nantahala National Forest. The fire is 100 percent contained, but not extinguished. The fire, which started around 12:30 p.m. yesterday, is located along Upper Mountain Creek, about six-to-eight […]

Deputies searching for escaped Haywood inmate

FROM WWNC (570 Radio) “Deputies in Haywood County are searching for 22-year-old Rigel Bonilla. Sheriff Bobby Suttles says he walked out of the jail about 1:30 Monday afternoon after other prisoners allegedly busted a sprinkler head, causing water to spread on the floor. ,,,” Read more: http://www.wwnc.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=122546&article=10017878#ixzz1rdoN01ZR

Beware: High threat of wildfire this week in area forests

The U.S. Forest Service today announced there is a high threat of wildfire this week in the Nantahala, Pisgah, Uwharrie, and Croatan National Forests and encouraged visitors to help prevent wildfires. Dry conditions are increasing the chances of wildfire across North Carolina. All campfires should be completely extinguished before leaving a campsite and never leave […]

Asheville-area gas prices continue to rise

FROM ASHEVILLEGASPRICES.COM (full press release) Average retail gasoline prices in Asheville have risen 3.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.95/g yesterday. This compares with the national average that has increased 1.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.91/g, according to gasoline price website AshevilleGasPrices.com. Including the change in gas prices […]

Poll shows Meadows, Wingfield ahead but many undecided in 11th District

The Asheville Citizen Times reports: Atlanta-based polling company Rosetta Stone Communications “has [Mark] Meadows first and [Ethan] Wingfield second [in the 11th Congressional District]. Jeff Hunt is the third front-runner, though he’s trailing Meadows by almost nine points, according to the poll. But 40 percent of the 494 people it surveyed are undecided. The respondents […]

Take a guided hike on the Boogerman Loop on Thursday, April 19, with Friends of the Smokies

PRESS RELEASE from Friends of the Smokies Space is still available on the Friends of the Smokies’ guided hike exploring the Boogerman Loop on Thursday, April 19. Learn how the Boogerman Loop got its unique name, walk along old stone walls that once protected gardens and home sites, and visit towering hemlock and tulip trees. […]

EDC releases statement, comments on New Belgium picking Asheville

PRESS RELEASE In conjunction with the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC), New Belgium Brewing Company announced the selection of Asheville, North Carolina, to build its first expansion brewery outside of Fort Collins, Colorado. The nation’s third-largest craft brewer plans to invest $175 million over seven years to build a state-of-the-art brewery in Asheville’s […]

Local groups join in lawsuit filed for federal coal ash protections

PRESS RELEASE From Earthjustice: Washington, D.C. – Environmental and public health groups will file a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete its rulemaking process and finalize public health safeguards against toxic coal ash. Although the EPA has not updated its waste disposal […]

Mortimer Campground near Nebo closes due to flash-flood potential

PRESS RELEASE U.S. Forest Service, Asheville office The U.S. Forest Service today announced that 12 sites in the lower portion of Mortimer Campground will remain closed indefinitely because of the risks that potential flash flooding poses to public safety. Eleven other sites at the campground will remain open. The campground, located in the Grandfather Ranger […]

PARI Skywatch: Five planets will be visible in the evening sky April 22

PRESS RELEASE from the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute Astronomers at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman point out opportunities starting about April 22 to spot the Moon and four of the five visible planets stretched across our the evening sky. Since the planets move at different rates depending on how far they lie from […]

Mission Health CEO Ron Paulus urges call-to-action on COPA dispute

In a press release today, Mission Health President/CEO Ron Paulus urges a “grassroots call-to-action among the community and Mission Health caregivers … to voice their disapproval of recent intrusive activities by the House Select Committee on CON and Hospital Related Issues.” That committee has been reviewing the 1995 Certificate of Public Advantage — an agreement […]