Day: July 25, 2007
“Village of Penland” real-estate scheme examined by Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal has highlighted the ill fate of a plan by a Spruce Pine real-estate developer.
The word on the street
A grassroots drive to force a referendum on partisan elections in Asheville appears tantalizingly close to success, but the full accounting won’t be known until the end of July. Checking it twice: Let Asheville Vote organizer Charlie Hume counting signatures on the afternoon of July 16, hours before the petition was due. Photo by Jonathan … Read more
Pack Square Park land sale: “We screwed up.”
A little-noted sale of county-owned land adjacent to the Asheville City Hall has belatedly drawn heavy criticism from both local media and community activists. A piece of the park:Buncombe County sold a parcel that includes most of the grassy triangle on the left, including a magnolia and other trees, to Black Dog Realty. Photo by … Read more
The slate is set (well, sort of)
With Asheville facing the possibility of a citywide referendum on partisan elections, voters may be wondering who all is actually running for City Council. In the wake of the switch to partisan elections approved by Council last month, some confusion has reigned. According to Assistant Director of Elections Marvin Hollifield, only Democrats or Republicans could … Read more
Down by the river, up from the ashes
Riding his bicycle through the Chicken Hill part of Asheville’s River District in 1998, Whit Rylee saw potential where others saw only decrepitude. During the next few years, he began restoration efforts, including the award-winning resurrection of the Parsonage, an Arts and Crafts cottage from the early 1900s. First, the public space: Architect Roberto Behar … Read more
Homeless newspaper: Read all about it
There are advocates and there are critics, but the voices missing from debates about the homeless are often those of the very people being discussed. Speaking for themselves: StreetSide, a new newspaper published by local ministry Zacchaeus House, tells the stories of Asheville’s homeless people in their own words. With that in mind, a new … Read more
Tall building leaps two hurdles
The Ellington—a proposed hotel and condo high-rise on Biltmore Avenue—certainly has its detractors. Some say that at 23 stories, the structure would block mountain vistas, while others contend the massive scale of the “neo-deco” building is out of character with Asheville, not to mention the block the building would call home. Two steps closer: It’s … Read more
Civic Center director exits the stage
As director of the Asheville Civic Center Director for the past decade, David Pisha has on occasion found himself in the beam of the spotlight—and sometimes, but not always, the kind that brings accolades. Pisha, who is stepping down from his role at the end of July, has served as not only the manager but … Read more
