Under pressure from advocates of public-access TV, Buncombe County has been pushing Charter Communications to shoulder the cost of setting up a station and helping to support channels for public-access, educational and government (PEG) programming. But the idea of Charter’s passing on those costs to customers has some PEG advocates crying foul. “That just basically […]

Buncombe County Manager Wanda Greene maintains that local media are doing more harm than good by publishing parts of a draft franchise contract between the county and Charter Communications. The document doesn’t represent any actual agreement between the two parties at this point, and many elements are still in flux, she said last week. The […]

On a warm afternoon in early May, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue told a room full of Western North Carolina leaders that by 2025, biotechnology is projected to generate $24 billion in annual revenues in the state. “Do you not want some of those billions up here?” she asked the group, adding, “I do.” The possibility […]

While prominent figures in the local business and university communities eagerly pursue biotechnology, another group is charting a less flashy path toward economic self-sufficiency that, philosophically, is miles apart. A cadre of state, academic and private-industry leaders is hatching a nonprofit called the N.C. Natural Products Association, says Greg Cumberford, senior resources manager at Gaia […]

Here’s a list of the members of The Steering Committee to Strengthen Biotechnology in Western North Carolina: • K. Ray Bailey, president, A-B Tech; • John W. Bardo, chancellor, Western Carolina University; • George Briggs, executive director, N.C. Arboretum; • Robert F. Burgin, president/CEO, Mission St. Joseph’s Health System; • W. Steven Burke, senior vice […]

Ten days after adopting — in a surprise move — a county budget based on a 59-cent tax rate, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners last week restored funding in some areas and made further cuts in others. But those moves came after about 90 minutes of public comments at the board’s July 9 meeting, […]

In the space of one 45-minute meeting, Buncombe County Commissioners Vice Chairman Bill Stanley sought to put two contentious issues to rest: a hefty proposed tax increase and the specter of countywide zoning. At the June 29 continued meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, Stanley asked to speak just prior to County Manager […]

The words were heartfelt. The concern was obvious. But the hard reality remained that there was nothing anyone could do to change the fact that the Buncombe County commissioners had adopted a tax rate for this fiscal year that slashed funding for public schools and yanked most of the money usually allocated to nonprofit agencies. […]

County residents opposed to a proposed property tax increase came out by the dozens last week to urge the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners not to raise their taxes. The county’s annual public hearing on the budget, held on June 18, drew about 75 people to the large fifth-floor courtroom of the county courthouse. While […]

Cruising through Hendersonville in an air-conditioned minibus, East Flat Rock resident Lillie Ricketts gave the public transportation experience a thumbs-up. “I think it’s nice, real nice,” offered Ricketts, ticking off the new public bus’ attributes as it motored down Spartanburg Highway. Those included comfortable seats, a pleasant driver, room for the handicapped and — at […]

Thanks to two new bus routes, folks can use public transportation to get from Asheville to Black Mountain and Hendersonville. Bus service between downtown Asheville and Black Mountain started May 17, says Bruce Black, director of the city of Asheville’s Transit Services Department, which runs Asheville Transit. Buses leave the Asheville Transit station on Coxe […]

Opponents of widening Interstate 240 to eight lanes through West Asheville had more speakers and seemingly most of the audience in their corner at a public hearing last week. But proponents had the weight of established business interests and some longstanding Asheville residents on their side. Nearly 70 speakers offered an earful to the local […]

[Editor’s note: In the second of a two-part story, Xpress takes a look at the governmental and commercial forces that have changed the face of radio — both across the country and right here in Asheville.] For some folks, turning on the radio is as much a habit as flipping on the lights. But what […]

At the same time the FCC has been tilting toward more deregulation — and therefore consolidation — other groups across the country have been campaigning the federal agency for low-power FM licenses that would allow small radio stations to broadcast in a three- to seven-mile radius. Locally, three applicants are seeking low-power licenses: UNCA, the […]

They moved a little slowly — some with the help of canes — but their message to the commissioners was clear: Don’t end the group meal program for the elderly. A crowd of about 55 people, many of them elderly, filled the chambers of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners on June 4 to protest […]

[Editor’s note: Although listening to the radio is often a highly personal event, what comes out of receivers is shaped by federal and corporate forces far removed from the individual. In the first of two parts, Xpress looks at what led to the rise and fall of local rock station WZLS. Next week, we check […]

The Blue Ridge Area Authority (the local mental-health board) is hosting a public forum on mental-health-care reform on Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m. at the Mountain Area Health Education Center (501 Biltmore Ave.) in Asheville. In addition, both a Buncombe County task force and an eight-county advisory committee are being set up to provide […]