Cherokee candidates square off at forum
With just one month left until the election, candidates for chief and vice chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee…
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Jackson gives final OK to new development regulations
Jackson County commissioners have given final approval to what are generally regarded as the state’s toughest subdivision and steep slope…
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SCC’s Macon campus named after college president Cecil Groves
It’s a first for the president and a first for Macon County. Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees named the…
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HRMC eliminates 36 jobs as patient volume drops
Haywood Regional Medical Center has downsized its workforce by 36 positions in response to a decrease in patient volume and…
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Passing school bonds in Macon could prove a tough sell
If retirees Fred Plesner and Ray Behr are any indication of how voters in Macon County are reacting to a…
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Housing industry, county leaders stage battlefield as tax debate heats up
A battle over whether to tax property transactions will soon be playing out in communities across the state, but likely…
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Dayco deal finalized after three-year process
An abandoned rubber plant in Waynesville that once seemed destined to rust into the ground was officially turned over to…
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Health services building marks beginning of Millennial Campus
N.C. Gov. Mike Easley signed a $20.7 billion budget bill Tuesday, July 31, that includes $46.2 million in funding for…
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Swain seeks more input on road regulations
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Contractors, Realtors and graders in Swain County claim they need more time to comment…
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Deal underway to preserve Dean Island from development
A 40-acre island in the Little Tennessee River will be protected from development if the owner can successfully hammer out…
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Feeding the need: New power plants destined for state’s future barring radical action
A state energy bill expected to pass this week has received mixed reviews from environmentalists for failing to go far…
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Two bite the dust
On one hand, Avram Friedman couldn’t believe Duke Power’s announcement two years ago that it wanted to build a twin-unit…
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Haywood pitches unique tomato
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Vidalia onions. Georgia peaches. Washington apples. Haywood County tomatoes? The formal name is still…
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Emergency department expansion slated for Harris Regional
Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva is planning an $18.45 million renovation project to expand and modernize the emergency department. The…
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Room tax will pay for visitor center
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Swain County commissioners have approved a measure that will carve out up to one…
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Waynesville searching for Russ Avenue fix
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Increasing congestion coupled with pressure from candidates in the upcoming election is forcing the…
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Jackson should lift subdivision moratorium Aug. 6
Jackson County commissioners heard yet another round of public comment last week in the final countdown to passing the most…
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Forest Hills coin toss election returned to voters this fall
The voters of Forest Hills will get the chance to weigh in on their preference for mayor this fall after…
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What other towns have done
• Bryson City recently conserved the old Lands Creek watershed, getting $1.5 million from the Clean Water trust fund to…
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Reaching out: Hispanic market looms large for WNC businesses
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Hispanic culture has infused nearly every aspect of American life — from restaurants to…
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Crowded field likely to ramp up election interest in Waynesville
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Waynesville voters will have plenty of choices on their ballot for mayor and town…
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Moratorium gives Macon time to develop floodplain rules
The developer of a proposed upscale RV community alongside Cartoogechaye Creek in Macon County says a moratorium on floodplain and…
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Haywood pulls out after bid for recreation land tops $1 million
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood County commissioners last week put a halt to their bidding for a 22-acre…
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Meeting, no meeting: Swain leaders cancel North Shore hearing on 3-2 vote
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Supporters of a 30-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that would…
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Ingles announces expansion, gas station for Waynesville store
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer A proposed project by Ingles to expand its Waynesville store and add a gas…
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Dam removal process faces stiff opposition
The proposed removal of the Dillsboro dam on the Tuckasegee River is up for review by state water quality officers,…
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Police: Cherokee voting results not affected by break-in
A break-in at the Cherokee election office a few days after the primary last month did not compromise the results…
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Regulations may prompt lawsuits: John Locke Institute has taken strong interest in Jackson proposals
Jackson County is on the verge of passing the toughest development regulations in the state this week, potentially making it…
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The defense rests: Prominent attorney Reid Brown becomes prosecutor
One of the most prominent defense lawyers in the region is trading in a long and lucrative career defending the…
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Sediment build-up causes environmental concern
One of the top concerns over the removal of the Dillsboro dam is the unleashing of sediment backed up behind…
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Road supporters not giving up
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Canceling the public hearing on the North Shore Road couldn’t shake the unwavering determination…
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Macon wants to use incentives to foster responsible development
Instead of the stick, Macon County might try carrots as this fast-growing area tries to control its booming construction industry.
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Parking problems plague downtown Bryson City
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Entire half hours dedicated to finding a parking space. Cars backing into each other.…
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Macon considers floodplain moratorium
A countywide moratorium on floodplain and watershed development in Macon gained some momentum following the town of Franklin’s decision to…
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Homeowner hassles: As developments evolve, many homeowner associations find themselves woefully unprepared for the future
Last week was more than the season for fireworks and cookouts. As second-home owners descended on the mountains to kick…
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Foy, Brown vying for mayor of Waynesville
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The big race to watch in this year’s Waynesville town elections is between Alderman…
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Jackson adds finishing touches to regulations
Jackson County is in the final countdown to approving what appear to be the toughest development regulations in the state…
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Haywood wades into bidding wars for two properties
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Haywood County commissioners are currently ensnarled in bidding wars for two separate properties that…
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Preserve’s sediment woes pre-date dam break
Balsam Mountain Preserve, a 4,500-acre development in Jackson County, has been fined $300,000 for ongoing sediment and erosion control violations…
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Counties struggle to recruit teachers
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Paula Ledford is getting worried. With a little over a month to go before…
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Seven western counties share land-use ideas
Slope and ridgetop development, protecting waterways, and farmland and open-space preservation emerged as the top land-management concerns of those responsible…
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Maggie studies potential growth, regulations
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer The surprisingly large crowd at a presentation on Maggie Valley’s proposed land-use plan seemed…
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Swain sets hearing on North Shore Road
Just when the fate of the Road to Nowhere through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seemed sealed, road supporters…
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Money vs. quality of life an easy choice for some
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Two newly licensed teachers with ties to Western North Carolina offered a very different…
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Mill buyer amasses large share of juice carton market
Mill workers at Blue Ridge Paper Products are optimistic about their future under a new owner. The buyer, a billionaire…
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Commissioners weigh in: More flexibility proposed as Jackson board scrutinizes development regulations
Jackson County commissioners are poised to make numerous changes to a slate of proposed development regulations billed as the most…
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Courthouse – again – slated as possible library site
The hilltop above Sylva that’s home to the iconic historic courthouse is back on as a potential site for a…
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Whittier golf course to re-open
Following months of course reconstruction, Smoky Mountain Country Club in Whittier will re-open 9 holes of golf this weekend.
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New life for an old Sylva graveyard
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer After decades of neglect, an overgrown hill in Jackson County holding the remains of…
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The mysterious art of dowsing
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Searching for the term “dowsing” on the Internet will bring up all kinds of…
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