UNCA to host second annual State of Black Asheville Forum

Last year, a group of students in a political science course at UNC-Asheville began researching socio-economic issues facing African-Americans in Buncombe County. Led by African Studies Professor Dwight Mullen, their work culminated in a forum that brought elected officials and community leaders to the table to talk about blacks’ experiences relating to health care, housing, […]

CTS agrees to assess ground-water contaminat­ion

Some 150 south Asheville residents turned out Jan. 31 for an arduous, heated public meeting to talk about the ground-water contamination at the former CTS of Asheville plant on Mills Gap Road. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the N.C. Division of Waste Management, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and others […]

The Green Scene

A half-dozen environmental groups say the state has mismanaged a fund established to ensure safe drinking water for residents using wells. Last August, the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources allocated $300,000 from the Bernard Allen Emergency Drinking Water Fund—the entire initial allotment for the fund—for a two-mile water-line extension that benefited just four […]

Sampling results will determine next steps at CTS plant

During the final weeks of 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources conducted sampling in the neighborhoods surrounding the former CTS of Asheville plant. In an effort to learn whether the ground water contamination there poses an exposure risk to nearby residents, the agencies sent out […]

The Green Scene

Green homes in Fletcher’s future A mixed-use development planned for Fletcher may raise the bar for green design. With plans for 1,600 solar panels, the 400-unit Rivercane Village is positioned to become the largest residential application of solar-thermal energy nationwide. Plans call for solar technology to provide 80 percent of the community’s hot water, heating […]

A woman’s best friend

When it comes to furry companions, a possum probably isn’t the first creature that springs to mind. A lot of animal lovers keep cats, dogs, gerbils, maybe even rabbits in their homes. But wildlife rehabilitator Sondra Allison specializes in possums—many of which have narrowly escaped becoming roadkill. Allison, whose volunteer gig has earned her the […]

Evergreen Community Charter School kids win national recognitio­n

A nationwide search for the greenest grade school in America has narrowed it down to 10 finalists, and Asheville’s Evergreen Community Charter School is one of them. Some 3,000 elementary schools across the country competed to win the “Go Green with all” (sponsored by all laundry detergent) contest, and each finalist was granted $5,000. The […]