Chestnut Hill rises just north of downtown Asheville. Recognizing the neighborhood’s distinctive architecture, notable former residents and unique character, the National Park Service has listed the Chestnut Hill Historic District in its Register of Historic Places.
The WNC Business & Information Technology Summit, slated for Tuesday, June 4, at Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park, strives to empower small business owners to rid any fear of “geek speak,” and embrace the tools of the times.
A determined and inspirited contingent of Asheville’s faith community made itself heard last Monday, May 20, when over 20 faith leaders held a press conference at the foot of the courthouse steps to speak out against a plethora of laws that are being proposed and passed by the North Carolina General Assembly this year.
Passing a new budget resolution and agreeing to hire additional legal counsel were the two top items at the May 15 meeting of the board of the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County. The preliminary budget for the public agency, totaling roughly $40 million, includes a 2.5 percent rate increase for domestic users, a $16.7 […]
As dozens of young children played in downtown Asheville’s interactive water fountain, more than 50 adults criticized state legislation they say could jeopardize the future of educators, North Carolinians and the lives of the children playing in the nearby fountain. (Photo by Max Cooper)
As a private psychotherapist, Paul Fugelsang understands the struggle between saying “yes” to middle-class clients who can’t afford his services and “no” to people in need. To meet those challenges, Fugelsang recently launched a national nonprofit, the Open Path Psychotherapy Collective. Its mission is to make it easier for people to find the counseling they need at a price they can afford, and to reward and encourage counselors to say “yes” to a group Fugelsang says is “falling through the cracks.” (Photo of Paul Fugelsang by Max Cooper)
As Asheville gears up to file a lawsuit against state legislation that gives control of the city’s water system to the Metropolitan Sewage District, some rejected ideas posed by Buncombe County years ago to provide compensation have resurfaced.
The sometimes challenging road to health care in rural Western North Carolina extends beyond the curves of country back roads. Whether it’s dealing with the current physician shortage that affects all but Madison in the 16-county region or wrestling with social and economic barriers, local providers and patients share their challenges and plans to address rural health-care needs. (Cover by Emily Busey. Photo by Max Cooper.)
With two weeks left before the North Carolina General Assembly’s May 16 crossover deadline, Asheville-specific legislation remains in focus among the more than 1,700 bills and resolutions entered in the 2013 session. And everything must now compete for time with the nearly $50 billion budget recently proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory.
Take one look at the “spirituality” section of our calendar, and it’s easy to see that the Asheville area aims for wellness of mind and heart in a variety of ways — meditation, mindfulness, earth medicine, prayer, peacefulness, the metaphysical and Zen listings abound. One of those gems is Urban Dharma, where Hun Lye welcomes those seeking to practice and learn more about Buddhism. (Pictured: Hun Lye; photo by Taylor Johnson)
Election season is underway for Asheville City Council. So far, a number of contenders have announced that they’ll run: Vice Mayor Esther Manheimer and former Asheville Risk Management Director John Miall will aim for the mayor’s seat (current Mayor Terry Bellamy departs and will take another shot at beating Rep. Patrick McHenry for a seat […]
Micheal Dowd used to spend his time passing out fundamentalist Christian pamphlets on the street and arguing with anyone who thought the world was more than a few thousand years old. He was directly threatened by the idea of evolution.
A seemingly straightforward meeting of the board of the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County took two surprising turns on Wednesday afternoon. One led to a staff report on a private sewer-line failure that took more than two years to resolve. The other led to a vote on withdrawing a December proposal to the city of Asheville regarding the possible merger of water and sewer management — an action that was rejected. UPDATED THURSDAY, APRIL 18.
In Asheville’s thirst for sustainability, it's easy to forget that a third of the city's workers are low-wage, and in some neighborhoods, survival is the top priority.
Even as corporations spend billions of dollars on advertising and lobbying to encourage maximum consumption, local environmental educators are working hard to shape a more sustainable worldview — one mind at a time. (Pictured: Sarah Duffer; photo by Max Cooper)
It’s not every day that a local small business gets its product tested by a hurricane. But Living Roofs Inc., a local company founded 2006 by Kathryn Blatt Ancaya and Emilio Ancaya, got just that
In Asheville’s thirst for sustainability, it's easy to forget that a third of the city's workers are low-wage, and in some neighborhoods, survival is the top priority.
A few months ago, a conversation with longtime downtown Asheville advocate Karen Tessier led to talk about one of her marketing client — Robin Woodward of Blue Ridge Energy Systems. A profile on Woodward languished in the Xpress inbox, until we stirred the pot for ideas about sustainability — what it means and where we’re going. Asheville has been at the heart of green-building initiatives in the past few decades. Here’s a close look at one of its self-starters.
Elected in January as one of three Democratic whips, Rep. Susan Fisher of Asheville must know each bill’s contents and be able to explain them to her party’s caucus.
The cause of the structure fire that started in the River Arts District late April 5 evening remains as opaque as the smoke that billowed from it. The flames overtook two buildings at the future New Belgium site on Craven Street. (Photo by Max Cooper) ***UPDATE Saturday, April 6 at 3 p.m.: AFD has determined these fires were intentionally set.***
By about 11 p.m. tonight, the Asheville twitterati were reporting that a major fire — or multiple fires — were blazing in the River Arts District. Early reports indicate that vacant buildings at the future New Belgium site may have burned. (photo from West Asheville Watch)
