As Americans battled the early days of the Great Depression, Asheville residents were urged to take up dairy farming as a way to combat the country’s ongoing economic woes.
Buncombe to serve as state COVID-19 vaccination hub
At its meeting of Tuesday, Aug. 3, the county Board of Commissioners will vote on a more than $665,000 budget amendment to support regional vaccination efforts. The money includes a new allocation of $75,000 from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as over $590,000 in unspent funds from last fiscal year.
BCTDA to allow remote public comment, prepares for board changes
Unlike Asheville and Buncombe County governments, which ended the practice of live remote comment after their return to in-person meetings, the BCTDA will continue to allow members of the public to call into live meetings to comment — an option that was not offered before the pandemic.
Council debates COVID relief spending plans
Highest on city staff’s list of potential funding priorities were affordable housing, public engagement, homelessness, public and mental health, small business recovery and workforce development.
Shop local-ish
It’s impossible to walk in downtown Asheville without receiving the message loud and clear: This city supports its local businesses. Locally based brands like Spicewalla, Roots Hummus and Buchi Kombucha appear regularly on store shelves. Stickers promoting Go Local Asheville (formerly the Asheville Grown Business Alliance), a locally focused economic alliance, adorn window fronts. A […]
Cullowhee’s enigmatic Judaculla Rock continues to inspire conjecture
A tribal historian with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a local author and a Western Carolina University biology professor share thoughts on the Jackson County landmark, which bears some carvings thought to predate the recorded history of the Cherokee.
Revised noise ordinance clears Council in 5-2 vote
The new rules will take effect Wednesday, Sept. 15.
From CPP: Worker shortage continues amid concerns of Delta variant, low vaccination rates
Employers, especially restaurants and other hospitality businesses, still struggle to find employees in a rebounding economy.
Xpress earns national award for 2020 voter guide
The paper’s 2020 Voter Guide earned second place in the special section category of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s annual awards, announced on July 23. The competition included 54 publications and 598 entries from across the U.S. and Canada.
From CPP: Economy of pandemic whipsawing NC logging and sawmill industries
Swings in supply and demand, a shortage of truckers and other issues create challenges for companies supplying the lumber industry in North Carolina.
Noise ordinance changes come before Council July 27
Scheduled for a vote at Council’s regular meeting is a series of revisions to the city’s noise ordinance that would set specific decibel levels for downtown, as well as commercial and industrial areas, as measured from any property away from the source of the noise.
Biz Briefs: Blue Ridge Pride debuts LGBTQ+ business alliance
Blue Ridge Pride, a nonprofit supporting the LGBTQ community in Western North Carolina, launched an online business directory for LGBTQ-owned and inclusive businesses called the Blue Ridge Pride Business Alliance on June 25. The directory, available at BlueRidgePride.org/Business, includes retail, food and drink, leisure and services and other categories. Businesses listed in the BRPBA directory […]
Q&A with Kareen Boncales, director of entrepreneurship at Mountain BizWorks
Many people who volunteer with the Peace Corps consider it a life-defining experience. Kareen Boncales is one of them. She served in Cameroon from 2009-11 in small enterprise development, teaching basic business skills to everyone from farmers to boutique owners. “I really admired that entrepreneurial spirit of turning challenges into opportunities,” she recalls. “I knew […]
Out-of-town interest drives local real estate market
According to Redfin, a nationwide real estate brokerage, the average real estate budget for an outsider moving to Asheville was $615,500 as of April, 31% higher than the average local budget of $469,000. That disparity between outside and local buyers was greater than in either Charlotte or Raleigh.
Birthing pains
A recent Tuesday afternoon at the Western North Carolina Birth Center was unusually quiet. The birthing rooms were empty. No laboring mothers paced the halls; no infants wailed. The staff arrived for work, but the mood was forlorn. July 20 marked the close of the WNC Birth Center, the only 24/7 midwifery option in Asheville. […]
Critical race theory debate comes to Buncombe
Critical race theory, a set of ideas about the ways race influences society, drew 13 commenters at a June 3 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Education. Officials at both the county and Asheville city school systems say they do not explicitly teach CRT and encourage students to develop their own judgments.
From CPP: HCA takeover reframing primary care in WNC, could threaten regional hospitals
HCA Healthcare’s acquisition of Asheville-based Mission Health has driven a shakeup among physicians going to work elsewhere.
Asheville Archives: Imaginary melee at the Biltmore Estate makes front-page news, 1891
On Sept. 14, 1891, the Asheville Daily Citizen falsely reported that roughly 600 Black workers nearly broke out into a riot at the Biltmore Estate. Subsequent letters to the editor refuted the paper’s unfounded claims.
New Black-owned businesses populate The Block
Over the past year, the addition of such Black-owned businesses as the Noir Collective collaborative shop, Jawbreaking fashion store, Asheville Iridescence Yoga and Sole82 sneaker boutique has suggested a renaissance for the former Black Wall Street. Yet in a rapidly changing city where obstacles for minority entrepreneurs remain rampant, sustaining that growth could prove challenging.
From CPP: Communities struggle with meth outside spotlight of opioid crisis
Increase in methamphetamine use in Western North Carolina affects the region’s “misery index,” even if the death rate is lower than that of opioids.
Buncombe sets $300 cap on homeowner grants
Residents who have owned their primary residence for at least five years and make no more than 80% of the area median income — $60,100 for a family of four — could apply for aid to cover property tax increases starting Sunday, Aug. 1.