City of Asheville residents stepped up their recycling game in a big way following the introduction of “Big Blue,” the 96-gallon carts rolled out in April, with a whopping 87 percent increase in recyclables collected over April 2011. April was the first full month of implementation of the Zero Waste AVL Recycling Program, with 28,000 homes [...]
The first phase of the City of Asheville’s Transit Master Plan was set into motion on Monday, May 21, as Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy and members of City Council officially launched the Asheville Redefines Transit (ART) system. Following a bus ride around downtown Asheville in which Transportation Director Ken Putnam described system improvements, the mayor and [...]
City of Asheville employees from throughout the organization and across multiple disciplines were recognized May 2 at the Asheville Way Awards. The event is organized each year to spotlight achievements that affirm the city’s core values of excellent service, continuous improvement, integrity, diversity and safety and welfare. Whether it was dramatically reducing landfill waste through a [...]
The annual Asheville-Buncombe Memorial Day ceremony held May 30 on Roger McGuire Green in Pack Square Park was a chance for residents and visitors to reflect upon and remember service men and women who had given their lives in the name of protecting the nation. This year, the event also marked a special milestone, as [...]
***UPDATE*** Jan. 8 meeting POSTPONED: Due to the winter weather forecast for the Asheville area over the next 24 hours and in the interest of safety, the pedestrian bridge community update meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 8 from 1-3 p.m. has been postponed. Information on the make-up date will be released once a new date is confirmed. The [...]
The City of Asheville’s Community Development Division will host a training workshop focused on applications for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Partnership Act (HOME) grant funds on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 in the Asheville City Hall 6th Floor Training Room from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. New applicants and previous sub-recipients are encouraged [...]
Olive and Obiwan, the otters of the WNC Nature Center, are getting a home renovation that will expand their habitat by 50 percent. Construction on the center’s most popular exhibit is expected to be completed in January, and will make it more accommodating to the otters’ needs as well as more interactive for WNC Nature [...]
An Asheville City Council meeting may be the big event for those who follow local government, but meetings of council’s boards and commissions offer plenty of opportunity to participate in crafting city policy. 2011 will see seats becoming available on a wide variety of those boards and commissions, (click here for a PDF of upcoming [...]
Twenty fire engines from departments throughout Buncombe County – including four trucks from the Asheville Fire Department – have been outfitted with equipment that drastically cuts back on their emissions of particulate matter, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. The upgrades, announced November 19 at Fire Station One in downtown Asheville, come thanks to a $31,500 North Carolina [...]
Racing veterans, fans, and representatives from the City of Asheville and Buncombe County convened at Carrier Park on Amboy Road September 23 for the unveiling of a monument commemorating the former Asheville Motor Speedway. The site was home to the popular speedway from the early 1960’s until the track closed in the late 1990’s. It is [...]
On Thursday Sep. 24 and Friday Sept. 25, Asheville was host to a gathering of the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition. Mayors from North Carolina’s 26 largest cities, including Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy, gathered to discuss important issues common to their municipalities and build an advocacy agenda to present to the North Carolina General Assembly. The N.C. [...]
The Homeless Initiative of the City of Asheville and Buncombe County holds meetings throughout the year to coordinate efforts among area service providers and bring them together with people who may be experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. But the year’s biggest event is Project Connect, a comprehensive conference of providers and those [...]