“The onslaught started a few months ago, when my partner and I joined the City of Asheville’s composting program. The chore of taking our slop bucket to the East Asheville Library branch has been a revelation — of maggots.”

“The onslaught started a few months ago, when my partner and I joined the City of Asheville’s composting program. The chore of taking our slop bucket to the East Asheville Library branch has been a revelation — of maggots.”
Not all of Asheville’s pups live a life of leisure. There are several who work hard for the money — OK, the dog treats — in our libraries and schools as well as on our streets.
The Altamont Jazz Project, made up of three Asheville teenagers, scores weekly gigs. Plus, the East Asheville Library hosts a show focused on Black resiliency and hope; the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center selects the second cohort of its BMC Radio Art program; and a legendary moonshiner gets the spotlight in Sylva.
“Oakley, Swannanoa and Black Mountain would be diminished by the disappearance of these public places — a refuge for many of us.”
Speaking at a Dec. 17 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, attorney Ron Payne said that Stanley had been accused in a sworn deposition by former Assistant County Manager Jon Creighton of improperly accepting unspecified “things of value” from former county contractor Joseph Wiseman Jr.
The final cost for the library now comes in at roughly $6.98 million, which includes previously unaccounted-for expenses to provide fixtures, furniture and equipment for the building. The project had initially been estimated at $4.5 million, and commissioners approved a $1.3 million budget increase last year.
Under the new rules, proposed by Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman, members of the public would no longer be permitted to comment on each of the board’s motions individually. Instead, all public input would be lumped into a single general comment period, moved to the start of the meeting from its current position at the end.
Under the revised policy, all certified 501(c) nonprofits registered in Buncombe County would be able to buy property appraised at less than $30,000 for its fair market value, first come first served, during the 10 days after its declaration as surplus. Only after that window has passed would the property be listed online for perusal by the general public.
Taken together, the adjustments on the docket would generate nearly $1 million in new annual revenue for water operations and capital improvements. In a staff report issued before the meeting, city CFO Barbara Whitehorn estimated the total annual impact of the changes as $6.60 per household.
Despite projections showing it could cost more than initially estimated, the long-awaited renovations to the East Asheville Library, located at 902 Tunnel Road, received unanimous approval on Nov. 20 from the Board of Commissioners.
2018’s annual joint meeting of Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners highlighted issues of racial equity, police use-of-force and zoning conflicts affecting Buncombe residents.
“Asheville: center for creative arts and intellectual pursuits. East Asheville Library: the fourth most used library in the system. Yet poor Asheville government can’t provide what’s called the ‘core of communities.'”
“An accessible community room, which the East Asheville Library currently does not have, would provide a welcome space for story hours and other children’s events, not to mention its benefit for adult activities, as well.”
“The families of East Asheville deserve a new library, a community meeting space and a study of the Tunnel Road corridor to improve walkability, safety and to encourage new types of businesses for our citizens.”
This week’s roundup includes a documentary series at the East Asheville Library, the annual Movies by Movers Festival at Appalachian State University, two special screenings of 20 Feet from Stardom and a workshop for local writers who want to transform prose into a working script.
East Asheville Library continues its free documentary series, Wake Forest University students produce a documentary about the Hollerin’ Contest at Spivey’s Corner and a local documentary looks at creativity as force for social change.
The World Made Straight arrives on Netflix, Wedge begins its outdoor movie screenings and a Weaverville resident’s film heads to Cannes.