“The average family spends well over $1,000 a year on toys,” Dobroski points out. “A Toybrary lets you check out three toys at a time for a couple of weeks — it saves money and keeps toys out of the landfill.”
Flatiron hotel project seeks final zoning approval from Council
Asheville City Council will decide the fate of the historic Flatiron Building during the April 23 meeting.
WNC adjusts to shifts in recycling market
Eric Bradford, director of operations at local environmental nonprofit Asheville GreenWorks, calls China’s restriction of its recyclables market a wake-up call for domestic recyclers. “We were basically paying China to be our landfill for these ‘recyclables,’ and we felt good about it,” he says.
Sunil Patel pieces together an Asheville urban farm
“In designing food systems, the foods that need to be freshest when we eat them, the quick-turnaround crops, should be placed close to where we live,” Patel says. “I didn’t really think the farm would be as broad and idealistic as it turned out to be, but I’m pretty idealistic, so it has naturally turned into that.”
Paradigm shift: City urges denser, greener development
The city of Asheville has taken initial steps toward rezoning real estate in four places around town in hopes of encouraging new development that would offer a denser mix of housing, shops and office space, similar to Biltmore Park Town Square or Reynolds Village in Woodfin. “Asheville wants to move in a direction that is more urban, that is more walkable, that has a greater mix of uses,” says city planner Vaidila Satvika.
Kids Seed Co. promotes generational sustainability
A few summers ago, Laszlo told his parents, Thomas Stern and Laura Gazzano, that he wanted to set up a stand to sell cucumbers in their driveway. Now 8 years old, Lazlo and his two younger sisters, Mina and Csilla, play a central role in the family business, an online seed store that launched on Thanksgiving 2017.
Jon Nilsson promotes biochar as soil superstar
“With charged biochar, you’re building a better biome for the plant, permanently changing soil’s ability to hold nutrients, water and beneficial biology,” Nilsson says. “You can buy a carbon-sequestering tomato that was organically grown and also contributed to building the biome — it’s a path out of climate change.”
Business briefs: Just Ducky makes a move, Horizon Heating and Air donates to education
In this week’s business briefs, local businesses make new hires, celebrate new locations and anniversaries and more.
Anthony Thomas makes connections
Thomas’s UpStaff Personnel, an offshoot of the nonprofit Green Opportunities, connects unemployed and under-resourced community members with employers. Unlike other staffing agencies, he explains, the company also provides employees with a network of support, including transportation, child care and counseling.
County approves revised incentive agreement with Linamar
Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday to enter into a modified economic development agreement with Linamar, which the county believes will enable the business to meet its targets by 2024.
Healthy change: West Asheville’s developing wellness corridor
“This is increasingly a wellness corridor,” says chef Reza Setayesh of West Asheville, the location of his newest restaurant BimBeriBon. Local entrepreneurs, he notes, “have invested in businesses that promote a lifestyle and environment that includes the whole being, whether it’s acupuncture, massage, food, yoga. This is a neighborhood that helps people move, make healthy choices and thrive.”
Biz briefs: Spring WNC Career Expo set for April 11
What are you waiting for? Turn your side hustle into a budding business with a $5,000 micro grant from community donors coordinated by Venture Asheville. Applications are due April 1, and Venture Asheville’s Jeff Kaplan says innovative business ideas and dreams have a great shot at receiving funding.
Asheville government, schools, nonprofits launch effort to address achievement gap
A group representing government, education, business and nonprofit organizations is coalescing to form a community response to a severe racial achievement gap in Asheville City Schools. But it’s not yet clear how the initiative will define its goals and approach — and what resources it can attract to fund the effort.
Buncombe County considers expanding access to manufactured homes
In Buncombe County, manufactured housing is limited to certain zoning designations, but the county planning board recently voted in favor of an amendment that would expand the list of areas where manufactured homes would be allowed. The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing about the change in the coming weeks.
Mission Health sale brings changes to adult day care, other services
The sale of Mission Health to HCA Healthcare means several changes to organizations and services once affiliated with Mission, including a shift of adult day care services from CarePartners to a new nonprofit, MountainCare.
UNCA hosts this year’s Appalachian Studies Association conference
The 2019 Appalachian Studies Association conference returns to Asheville after 27 years. The annual gathering brings together an eclectic mix of scholars, educators, activists, students, groups and institutions to discuss and present on a wide range of topics related to life in the region.
News briefs: Airport adds routes, residential building permit application now online
The local hospitality industry got together for a look back at 2018 and forecast of industry conditions for 2019 on Feb. 22. Buncombe County announced it has named Diana Sierra family justice coordinator and Mike Mace general services director.
Tourism Development Authority approves long-term planning and research strategy
The four-phase, roughly $440,000 project is set to begin this spring and conclude in April 2020. Those funds will come from occupancy tax revenue in the Tourism Product Development Fund budget. Funding for community projects will then resume at a time yet to be determined after the planning is complete.
Biz briefs: Daily service to Washington Dulles from AVL, Slow Money NC hosts gathering
Beverly-Hanks Realtors celebrated a big year with an awards ceremony Feb. 12. Mega Networking returns to the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce on Mar. 14. And the cost of renting an apartment rose nearly three percent over the past year, according to an industry website.
News briefs: County dollars go to affordable housing, economic incentives
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners doled out a $2.2 million loan for an affordable housing complex in Swannanoa and over $200,000 in economic development incentives at its Feb. 5 meeting. The city of Asheville held two public sessions seeking input on the selection of a new police chief. Residents can also weigh in via an online survey through March 1.
I-26 Connector construction delayed in draft plan
The I-26 Connector project, an almost $1 billion overhaul of the highway system in and around Asheville, is one of 37 Division 13 projects that have been changed in a new draft State Transportation Improvement Program for 2020-29. The draft STIP identifies state transportation projects that will receive funding over a 10-year timeframe.