Letter: A nonlocal double standard

“I object to the hypocrisy of your own local coverage policy as regards to greenhouse gases, which fails on grounds of being inherently global, giving them no place on your front page and vastly less place in local government policy than environmental contraception and abortion funding, which have vastly more local and regional benefits, such as the school tax and diaper litter.”

Statehouse candidates debate: Ramsey vs. Ager

There wasn’t much tension between Nathan Ramsey  and John Ager at the Council of Independent Business Owners’s early-morning debate, Friday, Aug. 29 perhaps because of a personal history. “John’s my neighbor,” said Ramsey. “I’ve known John since I was probably about two years old.” Not only are the two candidates personal acquaintances, both grew up in the […]

City Council to unveil 2014-15 Strategic Operating Plan

Asheville City Council and Mayor Esther Manheimer will host a community meeting, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at Charles T. Koontz Intermediate School (305 Overlook Road) to discuss the 2014-15 Strategic Operating Plan with the public. Each year, Council develops a SOP outlining goals for the upcoming fiscal year  and used as a roadmap for policy […]

Graffiti ordinance on Asheville City Council agenda

Asheville City Council will consider an ordinance next week aimed at attacking the city’s problem with graffiti. The Council will consider tougher penalties for the perpetrators while making property owners responsible for cleanup.  The ordinance calls for a three-way approach to dealing with  the issue: education, enforcement and rapid removal. A city staff recommendation would […]

Asheville City Council: Housing Trust Fund, ordinance adoptions and circus ban considerat­ion

On April 8, Asheville City Council members voted unanimously to pass a resolution to adopt a Housing Trust Fund recommendation to fund Biotat LLC’s Oak Hill Commons Project, as well as an ordinance adopting the new 2014-15 Fees and Charges Manual. Council also considered a request that city officials ban circuses that use exotic animals from […]

LIVE: Twitter coverage of the League of Women Voters’ Oct. 1 forum

Follow live Twitter coverage of the Asheville-Buncombe League of Women Voters’ forum here, beginning at 6:30 p.m. This forum focuses on the 114th House District (where Rep. Susan Fisher is running unopposed), and the 1st Buncombe County Board of Commissioners District (where Democrats Holly Jones and Brownie Newman are running against Republican Don Guge).

Pipe dream come true

For years, people living near the contaminated former CTS of Asheville site have asked to be placed on city water. Extremely high levels of trichloroethylene, a known carcinogen, have repeatedly been found in some Mills Gap residents’ wells. On Sept. 25, Asheville City Council unanimously approved extending water lines to all 129 households within a mile of the site.