A host of factors, including poverty, job loss, lack of transportation, unaffordable housing and chronic health issues, contribute to creating barriers to food access. But the vague mental images painted by these scenarios do not necessarily put an accurate face on WNC’s sprawling and complicated food insecurity problem.
On Tuesday, March 5, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will consider a proposal to award an updated franchise to Medic, allowing the company to use the county’s 700 mhz radio system and respond to calls when its ambulance crews are closest to an incident.
Author Lynne Forrest will present a three-hour workshop Sunday, March 10, at Jubilee! Community in downtown Asheville. The goal, she explains, will be to help participants “get in touch with the limited story they are believing about themselves in the world, and then I will give them tools to see it in a different light.” The event is a fundraiser for Woman to Woman WNC, which promotes women’s self-empowerment.
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.
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.
Since beginning her new job as Asheville’s city manager in December, Debra Campbell — the first woman and person of color to permanently occupy the position — has inspired appreciation, as well as sky-high expectations. In our Q&A, learn about Campbell’s priorities and principles.
As of late January, Equity and Inclusion Manager Kimberlee Archie’s office is fully staffed. Its four employees are together charged with advancing equity, which the city defines as “just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper and reach their full potential,” and promoting inclusion, defined as “authentic and empowered participation with a true sense of belonging.”
“I think you can see by the turnout here, the phone calls to City Council, our emails, our response, that Vance in general — I don’t speak for every parent here or every student — does not feel like this is a win-win,” said Vance parent Marissa Brooks at the Feb. 27 meeting.
The $1.4 million program, unanimously approved by Council members at their Feb. 26 meeting, offers no-interest loans of up to $40,000 for low- and moderate-income borrowers to make down payments on single-family residences within Asheville city limits.
The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office will no longer honor requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees on ICE’s behalf without a valid criminal warrant.
In 1916, E.W. Pearson formed the Asheville Royal Giants, the city’s first black baseball team.
Against the backdrop of ongoing controversy surrounding the persistence of Confederate monuments in the Southeast, UNC Asheville history professor Darin Waters will deliver a presentation on Thursday, Feb. 28, about collective historical memory in the wake of the Civil War.
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
Jason Carter’s creative instructional attitude recently earned him the honor of being named a Teacher Ambassador by the California-based National Center for Science Education. Along with nine colleagues from across the country, he will help develop, test and deploy a curriculum that addresses climate change denial.
Brandy Mills and her husband, Robert, say that one of their fondest memories of growing up in Asheville is of meeting friends and family at the Tastee-Freez on Patton Avenue to enjoy their favorite ice cream on hot summer days. “Both of our families could only afford to take us there once or twice a […]
By reaching out to African-American residents in rural parts of WNC through surveys, conversations and community meetings, a new three-year, $350,000 fellowship aims to raise awareness and reduce racism in the region’s nonurban health care delivery system.
Funded by a $60,000 grant from Duke Energy’s Water Resources Fund and developed by city staff in conjunction with Asheville GreenWorks and RiverLink, the plan lays out environmental and aesthetic projects such as stormwater control, invasive species removal, wildlife habitat construction and an ecological mural.
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.
Politicos of all stripes have begun gearing up for a 2020 election that looks to be a broad moment of opportunity. In Asheville, ballots will include offices from president on down to City Council. Experienced campaign runners and elected officials are teaming up to try to recruit new candidates or train and encourage those already considering a run.
Commissioners voted 4-3 to approve a plan that dedicates $3.13 million in Article 46 tax revenues in fiscal year 2020 for capital expenses at the college. The money would keep coming in each of the next seven years, increasing 5.5 percent annually to account for anticipated increases in construction costs. The county would also cap transfers from Article 46 tax revenue to the general fund at $5 million and would limit the use of that money to operations at A-B Tech.
Asheville and Buncombe County high school students got actively involved in various war-time efforts upon America’s entry into World War II.