The total fiscal 2020-2021 city budget proposal stands at $184.6 million, a 3% decrease from last year’s total of $190.3 million, and will continue funding for existing services while limiting new programs, service enhancements and initiatives. The property tax rate would remain the same under the proposal, and no fee increases are recommended.
“The No. 1 thing that has increased with the drivers — and I’m sure with the passengers as well — is stress,” says Diane Allen, who has worked as a city bus operator in Asheville for 14 years.
“Asheville and Buncombe parents and students need assurance that a return to classrooms will be well-managed and safe.”
COVID-related deaths in Buncombe County are low, but dying remains a part of daily life. Scott Groce, funeral director at Groce Funeral Home & Cremation Service, discusses the unique challenges of memorial services during the pandemic.
As of May 25, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, there are zero confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hot Springs. However, the town is still following statewide protocols to help flatten the curve of coronavirus infections, and businesses such as Laughing Heart Lodge have borne the impacts.
The record daily increase of 1,107 cases is up from a previous high of 853 cases on May 16. The bump came just one day after restaurants, breweries, personal care services and pools were permitted to reopen at 50% capacity as the state moved into Phase 2 of its three-part reopening plan.
Camps have already suffered layoffs and revenue loss without the spring season, says Sandi Boyer, executive director of the North Carolina Youth Camp Association. But if they can’t operate this summer, they will face nearly 22 months without earned income. “It would be devastating for the camp industry to not open at all,” she says.
Local brewpub owners discuss the safety precautions they’re taking prior to reopening.
A new county policy to require the wearing of face coverings at all indoor public facilities will go into effect on Tuesday, May 26, at 7 a.m., announced Brownie Newman, chair of the Buncombe Board of Commissioners, during a May 22 press conference. The county commissioners passed a resolution directing staff to develop the policy […]
“Workers of the world, rise in virus crisis unity!”
With social distancing practices and limited crowd sizes likely the new normal for the foreseeable future, local nonprofits are reconsidering how they go about connecting with their supporters.
Restaurants, pools and personal care services — including salons and barber shops — will be allowed to open at 50% capacity, while child care facilities, day camps and overnight camps can open with “enhanced cleaning and screening requirements.”
For some store owners, the highly anticipated May 9 move of North Carolina into Phase 1 of reopening was a signal that an end to their financial woes might be in sight. Others felt the move came too soon and remained closed to protect the safety of their staff and customers.
As Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Tony Baldwin explained to the county Board of Commissioners during a May 19 meeting, the system’s pandemic response has completely exhausted its $4.6 million rainy day fund — and the schools now project a $2.1 million deficit by the end of the fiscal year.
In her recently released debut book, Motherwhelmed: Challenging Norms, Untangling Truths, and Restoring Our Worth to the World, Berry — mother of four daughters, ages 12, 15, 19 and 25 — examines the stressful state of modern motherhood and how an unsupportive culture keeps mothers from thriving.
“As animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors of human-made greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and water pollution, an animal-free diet would have been another at-home opportunity on Earth Day.”
“People are so friendly right now, it’s unbelievable,” says Tim Orson, local mail carrier. Along with expressing their gratitude for his services, Orson says residents have offered him hand sanitizer. “I’ve got so much stockpiled in my front windshield right now.”
“COVID-19 should be a stark reminder that we always live in uncertain times and we should conserve our resources that we may be better prepared to make it through the hard times that will surely come.”
Four nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Buncombe County are now experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, announced Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, the county’s interim health director, at a May 18 press conference. The county has not yet disclosed the names of two of the facilities reporting outbreaks.
No one ever plans on getting sick, says Lucy Ortiz, a mother of six in Henderson County. Four members of her family have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, including her 17-month-old son.
