Chris Abell’s latest exhibit, “This is Not Rush Hour,” debuts at Pink Dog Gallery on Friday, Dec. 9.
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The enduring joys of Beaver Lake
“My suggestion is to avoid a head-on attack but clear a small mental runway for insights to land on if they so desire.”
Don’t just celebrate Native American heritage — take it seriously
“Indigenous heritage is not just important for its cultural value: It offers solutions to some of the biggest problems we face as a society today.”
A-B Tech to demolish Enka campus tower
The structure, previously known as the Haynes Building, is over 50 years old and has been vacant since 2015. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will vote on a memorandum of understanding with A-B Tech regarding the demolition at its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 15.
Vote against the bonds and hold our leaders accountable
“Our wealthiest households are not paying their fair share now, and these bonds will simply add to the inequity, asking disproportionately assessed lower-income households to continue to shoulder more than their fair share of the burden.”
Was U.S. Open cash drop the best use of tax dollars?
“Our leaders are allowing dubious choices like spending $1.3 million on vague ads and luxury VIP suites in New York City, while Asheville’s homeless situation is ever more disturbing.”
Buncombe approves affordable parking program at Coxe garage
The initiative will make 150 spaces in the county’s Coxe Avenue garage available to low-income downtown employees at $40 per month — less than half the current $85 monthly rate — by the end of the year.
Bonds will tackle housing and climate change crises
“Our community faces two mounting crises that we must address in concert — housing affordability and climate change. We can do this by providing a wider range of housing options in and around Asheville and our other municipalities, while not contributing to sprawling development patterns that clear forested land, feed gridlock and increase auto emissions.”
WNC Scary Stories: Footsteps in the attic
This is a spooky story my grandma Betty Jo used to tell us grandchildren. She lived up South Morgan Branch Road in Candler, in a house over 100 years old.
Buncombe considers $31.2M for school capital projects
Security, technology and a better place to play tennis: All are included among nearly $31.2 million in capital spending for local schools recommended by Buncombe County’s School Capital Fund Commission. The county Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on accepting those recommendations during its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 1.
WNC Scary Stories: Ghost calls
For about 10 years, I was the floor manager at a downtown eatery. When I first started, all the servers had a story or two. The most common tale involved having their hair pulled or having an unfamiliar voice whisper their name.
WNC Scary Stories: The smell of cigarettes
Lauren Loiacono, owner of Ebb & Flow Massage Therapy Center, discusses the ghost named Sarah who haunts her business’s back hallway.
WNC Scary Stories: Among mannequins
In 2008, I was on patrol for the Asheville Police Department when I was called to the old costume shop on Haywood Street for a break in. When I got there to take the report, I noticed there were a lot of costumes and mannequins up against the walls throughout the shop.
From CPP: NC law makes mandating affordable housing hard — did Asheville find a solution?
In Asheville, officials stopped hotel construction after a years-long boom of developer interest. And while the city didn’t call what happened next “inclusionary zoning,” the game plan did achieve something similar.
WNC Scary Stories: Jovial ghost rocks out in a hearse
When I was leading tours for our family-owned business Dark Ride Tours a few years ago, I didn’t really have many first-hand experiences with ghosts. But when we were renovating the 1972 Cadillac hearse we used to transport guests, I was told by someone I consider spiritually sensitive that our hearse was indeed haunted.
From CPP: Rural N.C. residents struggle to connect with doctors virtually
Across the entire state, an estimated 4 million North Carolinians don’t have access to reliable broadband service. This particularly affects rural residents, many of whom live in communities that tend to suffer most from a lower supply of health professionals.
Female financial advisers make their mark
“In our society, money is a taboo topic, especially for women,” says Laura Webb of Asheville’s Webb Investment Services. She and other local women are working to change that in the financial industry.
Local organizations update Buncombe on opioid response
According to figures shared with the county Board of Commissioners by Dr. Shuchin Shukla, a physician and opioid crisis educator with the Mountain Area Health Education Center, Buncombe’s rate of overdose deaths has exceeded the statewide average since at least 2016. In 2021, the county suffered 45.2 deaths per 100,000 residents, compared with 35.8 deaths per 100,000 for North Carolina as a whole.
Buncombe to vote on conserving 590 acres Oct. 4
The county’s Agricultural Advisory Board and Land Conservation Advisory Board are seeking $384,000 to fund six easement projects. Five easements would protect farmland in Asheville, Barnardsville, Leicester and Weaverville. The remaining project would help Hendersonville-based nonprofit Conserving Carolina secure an easement for Camp Woodson in Black Mountain.
From CPP: Broadband boost planned for 1,000 Buncombe County homes
Rural northern Buncombe County is the first area in the county to see the result of the American Rescue Plan Act’s quest to expand reliable broadband access. Buncombe is one of 81 NC counties that have received state funding to improve internet service.
Does pushing students to succeed foster achievement or cause harm?
“The time has come to ask ourselves: Why do we push children to succeed so tirelessly? And what does ‘success’ mean, anyway?”