Asheville City Council members voted to remove Mayor Terry Bellamy from her lead oversight role in personnel matters at its March 11 meeting. The matter, which was added to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, didn’t sit well with Bellamy or Council member Carl Mumpower, who called the maneuver “reprehensible.”
A proposed North Buncombe concrete plant hearing before the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment was adjourned after two hours of testimony due to insufficient notification of the project’s neighbors — and with scores of members of the public left standing on the sidewalk because of inadequate hearing-room space.
According to Asheville’s Building Safety Department, City Council last year authorized almost double—double—the already astronomical dollar value of development that occurred in 2006! Our progressive Council has left a carbon footprint on our beautiful mountains that would make Halliburton blush with environmental embarrassment. How many oxygen-making trees have been permanently displaced by inert impermeables? Thousands? … Read more
All eyes may be on this year’s presidential contest, but it’s the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners race that has brought local personalities into the spotlight. The filing period closed Feb. 29, with no less than 15 people duking it out for four seats on the board. The contenders include a monthly newspaper editor, both … Read more
Following a deluge of neighbors’ complaints, the city of Asheville once again cited the developer of the 65-acre Beaucatcher Heights subdivision project in Kenilworth after heavy rains washed silt and mud from the site into a creek that feeds Kenilworth Lake. This is the fourth time the development has been slapped with a violation regarding … Read more
Influential artists will visit over the next year in a series of workshops, discussions and films, the Asheville Art Museum has announced. That’s a wrap: Christo and Jean Claude, with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, at the unveiling of “The Gates” in Central Park. wireimage.com The artists will come to Asheville as part of … Read more
Jonas Phillips, the West Asheville man arrested for holding an “Impeach Bush/Cheney” sign over the Haywood Road/Interstate 240 overpass in August—a form of protest known as highway blogging—was found not guilty March 6 on charges of obstructing the sidewalk and endangering motorists. Photo by David Forbes District Court Judge James Calvin Hill said the prosecution … Read more
