“I support Commissioners Brownie Newman and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara’s calls for the occupancy tax to be used for community needs vs. more tourism marketing.”
Tag: climate change
Showing 22-42 of 191 results
Letter: Take a closer look at ‘freedom’ claim
“Cataldo Perrone, spokesperson for Pratt & Whitney, was quoted in the Mountain Xpress as saying, ‘The military aircraft we power are engaged in defensive operations designed to help defend freedom around the world.’ I think we need to take a closer look at that claim.”
Local nonprofits talk climate impacts
Uncertainty is a fact of life at nonprofits, especially with regard to funding. But local organizations are increasingly attuned to another uncertainty: how to prepare for the consequences that climate change will have on their work.
Letter: Sierra Club offers endorsements
“These candidates have a proven record of support for addressing climate change and protecting our environment.”
Letter: Ullman can help make Asheville truly livable
“I believe Maggie will listen to and elevate the voices within our community and create an inclusive, collaborative environment so we together can tackle our community’s critical challenges, which span housing to city services to climate change impact. “
Down in flames
Letter: Branyon will investigate incentives deal
“Bill will work to investigate how Raytheon Technologies’ subsidiary Pratt & Whitney was approved for almost $100 million dollars in varied tax incentives to build a fossil-fuel-intensive airplane parts plant here.”
One year after freeze, farmers, scientists talk the future of WNC apples
The late freeze in spring 2021 caused millions of dollars in damages throughout the region, as well as price hikes and supply chain issues for many local farmers and distributors. How worried should they be about WNC’s tumultuous weather?
Q&A with Karin Rogers, interim director of the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center
Whether by hiking the debris flow pathway of a landslide or reading arcane scientific articles, Karin Rogers dedicates herself to understanding complex scientific data so she can translate that information for ordinary people to understand.
Letter: Ullman offers leadership on environmental issues
“Maggie Ullman Berthiaume is the only City Council candidate with environmental or climate credentials, and she has two qualities we need: 1) leadership on environmental issues and 2) a proven ability to work with the city.”
Letter: Don’t cut healthy trees for ‘better’ mountain views
“Trees are our No. 1 defense against a warming world and, here in Asheville, we’re on a disturbing trend toward canopy loss. Every tree counts.”
The future of Coolville
“By the end of the decade, I predict that … Newbies who, in 2022, called out longtime residents as NIMBYs for opposing unbridled development will, by 2029, be NIMBYs themselves.”
Q&A with Ray Russell, founder of Ray’s Weather Center
The founder of Ray’s Weather Center speaks about the local forecast service’s growth over the years, how meteorologists handle the area’s tricky topography and what weather sayings carry a grain of truth.
Green in brief: Asheville falls behind carbon reduction targets
In fiscal year 2019-20, the most recent year for which data is available, the city emitted the equivalent of roughly 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Its target for the year was approximately 15,600 metric tons of CO2, about 15% less than the actual figure.
Threats challenge local bat populations
White nose syndrome, a fungal disease first seen in Western North Carolina in 2011, has reduced some local bat populations by as much as 95%. And climate change poses a long-term challenge to their habitats and survival.
Letter: Invest in climate, care, jobs and justice for NC
“Right now, there’s a historic opportunity to invest $3.5 trillion in our communities by passing the Build Back Better deal.”
Letter: Why have land-use plans if they can’t be counted on?
“What is the point of envisioning the future if, when the future arrives, the plans are changed and can’t be counted on? People lose trust.”
Letter: For peace, justice and sustainability, recruit green industries
“Providing tax inducements and infrastructure to bring industries here that are not part of the real solution, but are actually part of the ongoing problem, is something that those who truly seek peace, justice and sustainability cannot support.”
Council approves COVID relief spending categories
Starting Friday, Sept. 24, local organizations can submit projects in the following categories for grants from the federal funds: affordable housing, care for aging residents, climate change, city infrastructure, domestic violence prevention and assistance, food systems, homelessness services, public engagement, revenue losses, small business recovery and workforce development.
Buncombe awards $9.3M in pandemic recovery grants
The largest single grant of $4 million will support broadband infrastructure expansion in unserved areas of the county. Brownie Newman, chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, said that investment would leverage an additional $6 million from the state of North Carolina and private broadband providers.
Letter: Support needed for environmental justice bill
“Western North Carolina will soon experience environmental degradation because of our legislators’ inability to act on climate policy.”