Hoteliers drop lawsuit against city property sale, for now

Yesterday, representatives for several local hotel chains dropped a lawsuit blocking the city’s sale of property near the Basilica of St. Lawrence to the McKibbon Hotel Group. According to interim City Attorney Martha Walker-McGlohon, the plaintiffs gave no reason for dropping the suit, and retained the right to sue over the matter again in the future.

Asheville City Council preview: extending downtown, and monitoring transit

Asheville City Council has a light agenda for its meeting tonight, with the only public hearing concerning extending downtown zoning. However, the consent agenda includes meatier items than usual, like $450,000 (mostly from the state) for a new public transportation monitoring system, and $380,000 for a new sidewalk project in South Asheville.

Circle the wagons

I understand that nostalgia is popular, but I have to ask, at what cost? A horse sharing the pavement with motor vehicles has never been a good mix, and the new business of offering carriage rides in downtown Asheville seems quite problematic. Besides questioning the humaneness of forcing a single horse to pull a heavy […]

Asheville BID Board blasts Council over skepticism­, delays

At a meeting Thursday morning, March 14, members of the downtown Asheville Business Improvement District board harshly criticized Asheville City Council for delaying approval of the BID’s proposed bylaws and expressing “disappointment” that the board hadn’t also submitted a detailed budget. Many board members said they were almost ready to walk away from the project.

Keeping the faith: Historic Asheville churches confront religion’s changing role

At a time when growing numbers of Americans have abandoned traditional religion, Asheville residents still fill the pews in Church Street’s three historic sanctuaries every Sunday. Clergy from Central United Methodist, First Presbyterian and Trinity Episcopal tell Xpress how they’re responding to sweeping spiritual change. (Cover design by Emily Busey)