In the latest installment of our ongoing series of interviews with Asheville City Council candidates, Jake Frankel talks to Tim Peck about issues ranging from government outsourcing and affordable housing to changes at the police department. (Audio from the interview included).
Follow live Twitter coverage of the Sept. 27 Asheville City Council meeting. Word came earlier today that Mayor Terry Bellamy has signed a proclamation recognizing the Blue Ridge Pride festival, and a vote on that item will not be on the agenda.
You hear much about “Asheville, the bastion of the progressive,” as in “making progress toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, i.e., a progressive community. “Making,” “employing” and “advocating” are all about action taken to achieve progress. The question then is, where’s all this “action”? Few even voted in the last […]
An experienced neighborhood advocate like Chris in City Council can ensure that our neighborhoods needs and concerns are heard! When residents and homeowners have to react to each issue in their neighborhood — inappropriate development, wrong residual zoning, digital billboards, stalled developments with issues of storm runoffs, no sidewalks, etc. — we expect that our […]
Yesterday, it looked like tonight’s Asheville City Council meeting would see a conflict over a proclamation recognizing the Blue Ridge Pride festival. This afternoon, however, an announcement from Blue Ridge Pride claims Mayor Terry Bellamy has agreed to sign a proclamation recognizing the event.
In the latest installment of our ongoing series of interviews with Asheville City Council candidates, Jake Frankel talks to Jan Davis about issues ranging from economic development and incentives to affordable housing and campaign strategy. (Audio from the interview included).
In the latest installment of our ongoing series of interviews with Asheville City Council candidates, David Forbes talks to Chris Pelly about issues ranging from infrastructure to economic development and defending Asheville in Raleigh. Audio from the interview included.
An e-mail exchange released by Asheville City Council member Bill Russell reveals new details about how a proclamation recognizing the Oct. 1 Blue Ridge Pride festival made it onto Council’s agenda for its Sept. 27 meeting. In the exchange, Mayor Terry Bellamy, who has not given the festival a standard mayoral proclamation, notes that she will place it on the new business portion of the agenda. Russell says he hoped for a standard proclamation instead of a contentious vote.
City proclamations aren’t typically a point of controversy, but the Asheville City Council meeting tomorrow, Sept. 27, will see an exception. A proclamation recognizing the Blue Ridge Pride festival is on the New Business portion of the agenda, as Mayor Terry Bellamy refused to endorse it.
In the latest installment of our ongoing series of interviews with Asheville City Council candidates, David Forbes talks to Lael Gray about issues ranging from transit to development and police accountability. Audio from the interview included.
In this installment of our ongoing series of interviews with candidates for Asheville City Council, Jake Frankel interviews Mark Cates on issues facing the city. In addition to an edited transcript, this post includes audio of the conversation.
For weeks, Asheville has seen rumors swirl that New Belgium is considering the city for a new brewery and looking for economic development incentives. Today, Sept. 22, City Council member Jan Davis publicly confirmed the rumors at a Council of Independent Business Owners forum. He tells Xpress that while he welcomes the company, he’s skeptical about the need for incentives.
Caitlin Byrd interviews Asheville City Council candidate Marc Hunt on issues facing the city.
Proposed rules allowing food trucks downtown once again dominated the agenda during Asheville City Council’s Sept. 13 meeting. After a lengthy public hearing and contentious debate, Council members had narrowly approved the move Aug. 23 on a 4-3 vote. Because of that slim margin, however, the city's development guidelines required a second reading. Proponents of […]
I'll be voting to return Jan Davis to Asheville City Council this fall, and I encourage Xpress readers to do the same. Jan has been a steady hand on Council since 2003, and has always had a pragmatic view about how to get the best outcomes for all stakeholders in city policy. I often see […]
I am writing to endorse Marc Hunt in his bid for Asheville City Council. Marc’s many years of business, nonprofit management and community-service experience will bring much practical value to Council. His deep commitment to his community will bring value to the whole city. Marc has a long and successful record of business and organizational […]
Marc Hunt has an unusual pedigree for a politician. His accomplishments in professional life and community service uniquely qualify him as at once knowledgeable, caring and capable in the very topics that City Council must grapple with on a daily basis. His financial prudence has been honed by years of leadership in the budget-making aspects […]
In this, the first of an ongoing series, Caitlin Byrd interviews Asheville City Council candidate Saul Chase on issues facing the city. Xpress will run an interview with a different candidate every day this week. UPDATED with audio.
In this edition of the Mountain Xpress’ local news podcast: Jake Frankel on the most recent Buncombe County Commission meeting; Susan Andrew with the latest on the CTS cleanup; Tracy Rose on the Women In Business supplement and David Forbes on the Asheville City Council meeting about downtown food trucks.
Back for a second reading before Asheville City Council, new rules allowing food trucks downtown passed 5-2 this evening, Sept. 13. Passage of the new rules clears the way for up to 10 food trucks to begin operating in Asheville’s core district.
With the second vote on allowing food trucks in downtown Asheville, City Council members have a full agenda for today’s Sept. 13 meeting. For live dispatches from Senior News Reporter David Forbes, look here, or follow #davidforbes or #avlgov on Twitter.
