Opportunity zones offer tax breaks to investors who put money to work in areas designated as economically depressed — including parts of every Western North Carolina county. The latest edition of Xpress’ WTF feature takes a deeper look into the significance and consequences of the program.
The Community Reparations Commission, tasked with developing recommendations for Asheville and Buncombe County to address the impacts of systemic racism, currently consists of 25 members and seven alternates but has no youth representation.
African Americans in Asheville are three times more likely than white people to be searched by police in traffic stops and are disproportionately charged with common crimes such as marijuana possession in disparities that experts in police bias called shocking, an AVL Watchdog analysis of police data found.
Amid calls for increased public access to policing data, Asheville City Council left the city’s volunteer board dedicated to hearing residents’ concerns about law enforcement in place for now. At the same time, the elected officials noted many vacancies on the Citizens Police Advisory Committee and signaled their longterm intent to dissolve the body once the newly forming Human Relations Commission has gotten up and running.
“In the words of Bernie Mac, bust a move.” Asheville City Council member Keith Young summarized the sentiments of many in attendance at Council’s April 24 meeting as he encouraged interim City Manager Cathy Ball and other city staff to speed up their work on promoting data transparency for the Asheville Police Department. Council considered […]
Asheville voters turned out in relatively high numbers on Tuesday, Nov. 7 to reelect two incumbents and significantly increase the diversity of City Council.
“I have seen her not only show up and speak up for the black community, but also I have seen her advocate for a city that is accessible to all of us.”
“While there are four women vying for seats on Asheville City Council, Gwen Wisler will not be getting my vote. I base this decision largely on Gwen’s lack of advocacy to fund for Youth Transformed for Life …”
“Dee, a native of Asheville and a small-business owner, has worked for issues of justice all her life as a black woman.”
Candidates for Asheville City Council and mayor got up early for one last candidate forum before Nov. 7’s general election. Presented by the Council of Independent Business Owners, the Nov. 3 forum focused on business and economic issues.
Asheville City Council and mayoral candidates fielded questions about everything from childhood hunger to city-county food policy partnerships at a recent food-focused forum at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
The Buncombe County Young Democrats and the Asheville Sustainable Restaurant Workforce hosted a forum for Asheville City Council candidates this week that probed issues affecting the city’s population of restaurant and hospitality workers.
A City Council candidate forum called into question how progressive Asheville really is when it comes to rights and protections for those in the LGBTQ community. All six candidates said they are in favor of the city of Asheville implementing a nondiscrimination ordinance, which is specifically disallowed under House Bill 142.
As Asheville enjoys the benefits of a bustling economy, it also confronts challenges that come with growth, including concerns over housing, tourism, budgeting and certain segments of the city getting left behind. Xpress asked all the candidates for mayor and City Council to share their thoughts on these topics and more prior to the Nov. 7 general election.
A group that’s receiving funding from Buncombe County’s Isaac Coleman Community Investment Grants has been instructed to take corrective action after discontinuing one component of its programming, a masonry skills job training course. County staff says it is working with United Community Development to find a solution.
“She is a born leader, and her whole life has been a preparation for this opportunity to represent all of the citizens of Asheville.”
“Personally I will be voting for Sheneika Smith, Dee Williams and Kim Roney. I really believe these three amazing, strong, outspoken, forthright, visionary women will make a huge difference that is needed on our City Council.”
“As a longtime environmental and social justice activist, it is my honor to endorse Dee Williams for Asheville City Council.”
“She is a critical thinker and is willing to break problems down to look at the smallest details in order to find a solution.”
“Because I vote for what candidates have done (their experience defines their qualifications) and not what they say they’re going to do, I’m voting for Dee Williams in the upcoming City Council primary on Oct. 10 and in the general election on Nov. 7.”
Who can afford to live here and how can we all live together? Those questions formed the crux of the conversation among Asheville City Council candidates at a Sept. 18 forum where two issues garnered strong and varying viewpoints: the lack of affordable housing and persistent racial tensions in Asheville.
