When Kit Cramer arrived at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce as president and CEO in 2010, Asheville’s downtown was the subject of much complaining about panhandling, trash and graffiti.
Fourteen years later, Asheville’s downtown is the subject of much complaining about panhandling, trash and graffiti. And the community is once again considering a BID.
“Our new interim police chief, Michael Lamb, City Manager Debra Campbell and the Council need to listen to a new plan so that Asheville can regain the national reputation it once had as the Eastern mountain destination.”
Community members offer thoughts on crime, panhandling and more in 2023.
“COVID was the most disruptive thing that cities in America have ever experienced. It had a devastating effect on cities and to right that shift has really been a tremendous struggle,” Mayor Esther Manheimer told members of CIBO.
At a Downtown Commission meeting July 14, Assistant City Manager Rachel Wood said that portions of the 60-day downtown safety and cleanliness pilot have transitioned into ongoing services.
In the wake of a Supreme Court ruling allowing businesses to refuse LBGTQ customers and an overall hostility from certain segments of the population, planning for this year’s Pride festival is a little more complex.
Four firefighters compose the team — two primarily reaching out to people who may be unhoused or experiencing a behavioral health issue, and two primarily meeting with downtown business owners to address their needs and concerns.
With N.C. Republicans in the supermajority, lawmakers from Western North Carolina predict a wave of controversial bills to make their way through the legislature.
“Why not bring in the National Guard to help assist the Asheville Police Department in the downtown area?”
“The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority is sitting on millions of dollars in its coffers and should spend some of its money making downtown Asheville the tourism haven that it promises it is in all of its marketing efforts, but their promise is currently not delivered.”
“It would be an open invitation to violate people’s First, Fourth and 14th amendment rights.”
Asheville has a reputation as welcoming individuals of all gender identities and sexual orientations. The city has numerous gender-affirming health care providers, social groups for the LGBTQ community and inclusive arts and culture spaces. Yet the local trans women who spoke with Xpress say they’ve continued to face bigotry in their careers, health care and social lives.
Xpress asked activists, law enforcement leaders, government officials and others to weigh in on how local crime and related issues shaped the past year.
“More resources without strategy that apprehends the true nature of the challenge won’t get the public safety and public health job done.”
On July 15, the federal government debuted 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a new, easy-to-remember dialing code that operates differently from National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Uvalde, the deadliest school shooting in a decade, underscored persistent questions about school safety, stricter gun laws and ways to “harden” schools to help keep students and staff safe. In Asheville and Buncombe County, those topics are on the minds of families, law enforcement and school personnel.
City staff hosted listening sessions to learn how residents envision the delivery of public safety services. But Asheville City Council must vote on budget allocations for the remainder of the fiscal year on Tuesday, Sept. 22, leaving little time to synthesize and consider participants’ input
“Low wages, corporate landlords, lack of rent control, high prices, brutal traffic, the fake homeless, street crime and white collar crime have all combined to make Asheville an increasingly undesirable place in which to call home.”
“Recent research from Princeton University demonstrates that law enforcement’s use of military armaments does not reduce crime rates nor protect officers in the line of duty.”
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?
