Motown Explosion fires up Black Mtn.
Drum circle moves inside for winter
— See Review, Pg. B1
I-26 Connector issue kicks up
— See Story, Pg. A4
— See Story, Pg. A9
ILLE V E H AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER
December 2015
Vol. 12, No. 1
An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE
Tree-raising at Biltmore Estate
Workers at the Biltmore Estate carried in, set up and decorated the large 35-foot Christmas tree in front of hundreds of spectators on Nov. 4 during the annual Biltmore treeraising ceremony in Asheville.
From Staff Reports
Photos courtesy of the Biltmore Company
Fawn Juan
Duke Energy drops plan for 45-mi. line, substation
SKYLAND — Duke Energy officials announced Nov. 4 that the utility is dropping plans to build a 45-mile high-voltage transmission line that would have run from its Lake Julian plant in Skyland, near Asheville, to a substation in Campobello, S.C., just north of Spartanburg. Duke Energy officials said the change-of-plans to reconfigure the plant — first announced in May — will mean that the line and the substation are no longer needed. As a result, Duke will build two smaller natural gas plants to replace its one coal plant that the utility plans to shut down by 2020. A third gasfired plant might be needed by 2023 or so, if conservation efforts fail to lower electricity demand sufficiently, the officials said. Previously, Duke had planned to build one gas-fired generator to replace its coal-burning turbines. Under the new plan, the two gas plants will provide a backup source of power in case one goes down. A number of residents, as well as environmental groups, had opposed the transmission line, based on environmental and aesthetic concerns. Duke had planned to use the transmission line to pull backup power from elsewhere, if problems arose at the Lake Julian generating plant, company officials said. The change was hailed by environmental leaders — and likely was a relief to thousands of people in Buncombe, Henderson and Polk counties in North Carolina and in Upstate South Carolina who worried the power lines would mar mountain scenery and lower property values. See DUKE, Page A7
The Advice Goddess Amy Alkon
Q: I’m a 31-year-old single guy with a problematic pattern.
Women I ask out seem to love how I’m open and very complimentary from the start, but then, suddenly, they get cold feet. It seems that once women know they’re desired, they’re done with you. My guy friends tell me I should “play it cool,” but then I’m not being authentic. — True Man Want to know the answer?
See ADVICE GODDESS, Page A6
Buncombe TDA OKs $3.9M in grants for tourism projects From Staff Reports
The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority awarded six projects about $3.9 million in grants on Oct. 29. The funding was approved unanimously by the TDA board. Eighty percent of the grants went to the City of Asheville for greenways, soccer fields and the Western North Carolina Nature Center. Meanwhile, a project that includes Beaucatcher Greenway, the west bank of the French Broad River Greenway and a crosswalk and river access at Amboy Road Park, received about $1.7 million in grant funding.
“This is exciting,” Stephanie Monson Dahl, director of Asheville’s Riverfront Redevelopment Office, told local news media. “This is funding the community’s plans and is funding for making this a better place. “These projects won’t only be helpful to visitors to Asheville,” Monson Dahl added. “They also improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in Asheville.” The funding for Riverfront development nearly matches last year’s total, when those projects were awarded $1.8 million in tourism grants. See TOURISM PROJECTS, Page A8