In the latest installment of our recurring “WTF?” feature — Want The Facts — Xpress looks into the practice of local ballot initiatives to answer some of the biggest questions.

In the latest installment of our recurring “WTF?” feature — Want The Facts — Xpress looks into the practice of local ballot initiatives to answer some of the biggest questions.
At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19, a public hearing will take place in Room B of the Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center at 340 Victoria Road in Asheville regarding Duke Energy’s plans to build a 12.5-acre landfill on its property beside Lake Julian.
“This is an emergency — we should act like it!”
Joining demonstrators worldwide, hundreds of local teenagers, children and adults walked out of class and work to participate in the Global Climate Strike on Sept. 20. Gathered in front of Asheville City Hall, the activists held a climate protest and “die-in”.
The $100,000 report, commissioned from Massachusetts-based consultants The Cadmus Group, finds that local government action will be insufficient for Asheville and Buncombe County to run operations entirely on renewable energy by their goal date of 2030 without the purchase of renewable energy certificates or significant state-level regulatory changes.
“We have been shouting about climate change for a long time, but now, we feel like it’s going to take more messaging in a different way,” says Avram Friedman of the Canary Coalition, a Sylva-based environmental activism group. “We’re showing people that we’re so committed to this, it’s so important, that I’m willing to fast for 10 days to get this message across.”
“When it comes to protecting our land, air and water, the people of Asheville need a law that guarantees our rights.”
“People need to see the power they really have, especially the power to prevent Duke Energy from making all the decisions,” says Asheville Community Rights co-founder Kat Houghton. “Corporations should not have more rights than people. That is not a democracy.”
Black Mountain chefs and farmers collaborate for a twist on the idea of street food. Proceeds from the event will fund scholarships for local students pursuing careers in agriculture.