“Our Swannanoa Library is a place where our children and many other children have discovered the joy of learning.”

“Our Swannanoa Library is a place where our children and many other children have discovered the joy of learning.”
Medication-assisted treatment. Training on how to administer Narcan. Education and stigma reduction. These are just a few of the initiatives funded by Buncombe County’s opioid settlement money to address the local impact of the opioid crisis.
New Buncombe County library director Jason Hyatt talks about changing roles for libraries and why he kissed a pig.
Kate Spratt, Buncombe County Public Libraries youth services specialist for the Preschool Outreach Program, discusses trends in children’s literature and ways parents can make reading fun.
Although an $870,000 trust fund exists to support the Buncombe County Public Libraries’ historical archives, manager Katherine Cutshall says she’s been locked out of accessing that money for years due to the county’s legal confusion.
The move comes after a two-year long examination of employee compensation across 16 other government agencies comparable to Buncombe County.
The National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows returns to The Omni Grove Park Inn. Plus: Citizen Vinyl launches a podcast; Hood Huggers offers free tours to Black residents; and the Western North Carolina Historical Association presents a talk on the Brevard Rosenwald School.
Two interlocal agreements up for consideration by the Board of Commissioners Oct. 5, to be signed with the town of Black Mountain and UNC Asheville, would allow those entities to combine their solar energy proposals with new county solar projects in a bid for installers.
To focus resources on larger regional branches, a proposed Library Master Plan would close three existing libraries in Black Mountain, Oakley/South Asheville and Swannanoa. Neighborhood groups in those areas fiercely oppose the changes, as they’ve made clear in recent community listening sessions hosted by the county.
Buncombe County Homeowner Grant Program accepting applications Eligible homeowners in Buncombe County can now apply for the Buncombe County Homeowner Grant Program. The new initiative, funded by the county, city of Asheville and town of Woodfin, offers up to $500 in relief tied to the increase on a homeowner’s property tax bill. Grants are available […]
The draft document lists six high-level goals for both county government and the broader community, such as providing racial equity education and communication, improving quality-of-life outcomes through racial equity initiatives and establishing Buncombe as an equity inclusion model.
Projected capital investment costs for implementing the library plan total at least $81 million over the next 15 years, including nearly $18 million for a new 25,000-square-foot facility in Enka/Candler and over $16 million for a new building of the same size in West Asheville.
The state grant for Buncombe’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, funded as part of the first federal COVID-19 relief package, will be considered at the Tuesday, Jan. 19, meeting of the county Board of Commissioners.
At about $32.47 million, actual sales taxes through the end of the 2020 fiscal year were still down 3.2% from the budgeted target of more than $33.53 million. But during an April 7 budget work session, Budget Director Jennifer Barnette had projected sales tax revenue at just $30 million due to the impacts of the coronavirus, a decrease of more than 8.9%.
Indoor library services return, the Asheville Art Museum launches a fund drive and more area arts news.
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Richard Sneed, whose tribe owns two casinos in Western North Carolina, had lobbied the board to oppose the rival operation at an Aug. 4 briefing. He argued that the Catawba Indian Nation, members of which primarily reside in South Carolina, were not properly authorized to operate gaming across state lines.
Most of the 16 public commenters at the June 4 Buncombe County Board of Commissioners hearing on the budget made the case for allocations beyond the roughly $334.52 million in suggested general fund spending. Libraries, schools and nonprofits all approached commissioners for more money.
The premise of a seed library is relatively simple — patrons of the library “check out” their selections to grow the season’s crops and then return usable seeds from their harvest at the end of the season. The goal is to provide a free source of locally adapted crops and contribute to the biodiversity of local agriculture. Ideally, as the seed library continues to operate, the number of seeds and varieties available will continue to increase.
Each week in July, different jazz artists and poems will be discussed at pack Memorial Library as part of a month-long series.