Day: April 2, 2003

The simmering debate over how to manage growth dominated the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ half-day retreat last week. But with countywide zoning shelved for the time being, the discussion didn’t generate any real heat. The March 25 retreat included a request from an informal citizens’ coalition that commissioners follow recommendations in the county’s Land … Read more

Understanding how statewide mental-health reform will unfold locally is a bit like trying to piece together a puzzle. But as a forum last week revealed, one of the challenges is trying to find the missing pieces. About 55 people attended a March 25 forum on state-mandated mental-health reform, held in an A-B Tech auditorium. Many … Read more

A key appointment will be made at the next Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting: a seat on the five-member WNC Regional Air Quality Agency Board, which regulates and enforces air-quality standards in Asheville and Buncombe County. But it looks like it won’t be Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chairman Nathan Ramsey filling the seat. … Read more

As the weather warms, folks all over are digging out their shades and sandals, emerging from months of housebound hibernation. And while adrenaline junkies will soon be careening down near-vertical bike trails or slamming through class IV rapids, the less suicidal among us may opt for a lazy game of backyard hackysack or a round … Read more

[Editor’s note: A recent story highlighted Partners Unlimited, a local mentoring program (“It takes a village,” Feb. 12 Xpress). Here, we consider how mentoring fits into a broader community effort to help local students graduate.] At times, the world seems to offer each of us a multitude of different paths — some more positive than … Read more