Political scientists and women who have run for office in Buncombe County suggest that obstacles for women to get elected to local office here are much lower now than they once were — even though the proportion of female elected officials is still a good bit less than their share of the county’s population.
As population grows in WNC’s once-rural areas, the model of volunteer-based fire and rescue services is giving way to bigger budgets, more training and significant numbers of paid staff. How are the departments keeping up with the changes, and should they be required to conform to the same requirements for transparency and public oversight as other organizations funded by property taxes?
The Buncombe County Board of Education voted unanimously Aug. 2 to direct staff to look in to consider doing an independent study of hazardous-waste contamination at the school system’s administrative offices at 175 Bingham Road — the former Square D plant.
