Cherokee council votes to keep vans gifted from Washington Redskins
A pair of Mercedes-Benz vans that The Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation once bestowed upon the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will remain with the tribe, Tribal Council decided earlier this month — almost exactly one year after it originally voted to cut ties with the organization and send the vans back from whence they came.
Asheville Regional Airport improvements continue
Geography and population conspire to make much of Western North Carolina a terrible place for an airport; west of Asheville, commercial airstrips are practically nonexistent.
Maggie Valley to regulate outdoor sales
Although the closure of Ghost Town in the Sky several years back has left many Maggie Valley businesses struggling just to keep their doors open, others like the half-century-old Joey’s Pancake House and the 15-year-old Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum have continued to succeed despite slowly climbing tourism numbers amidst the lingering aftertaste of the worst recession in living memory.
Sylva endorses one-lane Mill Street
Mill Street in Sylva will likely become a one-lane road in the future following a vote from the town board last week.
Canton economy keeps on truckin’
The recent announcement of one business’s relocation plans in Canton may lead to other Asheville-area corporations — and residents — considering the town as a convenient, affordable alternative to living and working in Buncombe County.
After pedestrian fatality, county scrambles for funding
After a June 9 accident that left a man dead and a community grieving, the effort to address a road that’s long been seen as dangerous is seeing a renewed surge of focus.
NC ‘Sanctuary Cities’ threatened with loss of school, road funding
In late October 2015, Gov. Pat McCrory signed the “Protect North Carolina Workers Act,” requiring state and local governments to verify the immigration status of potential employees and to prohibit interference in the relationship of local law enforcement with federal agents investigating immigration violations.
Presnell calls emissions testing a ‘sham’
The Great Smoky Mountains are known across the world for their beauty and the unique bluish haze produced in large part by local vegetation, but if N.C. Rep. Michele Presnell, R-Burnsville, has her way, the Smokies may soon become a lot smokier.
Balance sought in Howell Mill rezoning
As the $11.6 million Howell Mill Road project was winding down in late 2015, the Waynesville Planning Board began to take a look at zoning within the burgeoning corridor; what the board found was commercial development encroaching on formerly rural areas and disagreements between neighbors on the future of their community.
Patience on Canton paving project ‘a virtue’
For the past few months, downtown Canton’s long-awaited repaving and streetscaping projects seemed to be cruising right along in the fast lane. But now, residents and businesses alike are concerned that there’s a wheel in the ditch, and a wheel on the track.