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Community
2 weeks ago
Helene water recovery efforts in WNC earn national award

NCDEQ has awarded $861 million for 217 drinking water and wastewater projects, but significant needs remain

Nora Mae “Aunt Mae” Gilliam stands with children outside the tiny Broad River Community Library, which she operated in rural Buncombe County beginning in 1938. The 12-by-12-foot log building served residents with books and other reading materials.
Asheville History
2 weeks ago
Tombstone Tales: Aunt Mae brought books to Broad River

Nora Mae Gilliam ran a 12-by-12-foot Buncombe County library where books crowded the shelves and children exchanged them through school-bus windows

The building at 123 Lyman St. in Asheville’s River Arts District is slated to become the first building of the planned RAD Creative Campus. The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority has approved more than $2.1 million in tourism-tax funding for the building.
Business
3 weeks ago
RAD Creative Campus gets $2.1 million tourism grant

The Buncombe County TDA award will help fund the first building, but the foundation must buy the property by December 2027

Front of a Housing Authority Central Office building with a bold sign reading 'HOUSING AUTHORITY' and 'CENTRAL OFFICE'.
Community
3 weeks ago
Asheville housing voucher changes could raise costs for some families

HACA says it used a 150% payment standard without required HUD approval; affected households move to a lower rate Oct. 1

Downtown Asheville is seen from the Buncombe County Courthouse webcam on Sept. 30, 2026.
Community
3 weeks ago
Tourism board awards $11.2M to 10 projects across Buncombe County

Tourism tax dollars will support projects in the River Arts District, Black Mountain, Biltmore Village, downtown Asheville and at Asheville Regional Airport

The Rev. Scott Rogers will retire as executive director of Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry at the end of the year
Community
3 weeks ago
Scott Rogers to retire after 45 years leading ABCCM

ABCCM member churches will vote in November on Brandon Wilson as the ministry’s next executive director

Business
3 weeks ago
Asheville weighs how to spend $30M in Helene recovery funds

City Council wants more information before deciding how federal money should be invested in flooded commercial corridors

Books about Tropical Storm Helene and its impact on Western North Carolina line a shelf in the Special Collections area at Pack Memorial Library in Asheville.
Community
3 weeks ago
How Western North Carolina artists are telling Helene’s story

Books, documentaries, songs, photography and art are creating a lasting record of the 2024 disaster

Deb Maslowski, a longtime Swannanoa resident, recalls how neighbors came together to share food, supplies and other necessities after Tropical Storm Helene devastated the community in September 2024
Community
3 weeks ago
Swannanoa resident recalls Helene, neighbors who helped

Deb Maslowski remembers rapidly rising water, weeks without power and neighbors helping neighbors

Debris is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Community
3 weeks ago
Helene in Asheville: From rain to catastrophic flooding

A timeline of the rain, rising rivers, power outages and flooding that reshaped Western North Carolina