Alternative facts of America?
Big Band Weekend swings at Omni GPI — See Review, Pg. B1
Plan would fence in 1/2 of Pritchard Park
— See Column, Pg. A12
See Story, Pg. A6
LLE I V HE AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER
February 2017 Vol. 13, No. 03
An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE
Asheville ranks #2 on list of fastest gentrifying cities
Women march on Asheville
‘The quirky creative characters who once defined the city are vanishing’
From Staff Reports Asheville ranked No. 2 on a list — “The U.S. Cities That Are Gentrifying the Fastest” — featured in a Jan. 23 article by Realtor.com. Charleston, S.C., came in at No. 1 on the list, followed by Asheville, Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore.; Denver, Colo.; Nashville, Tenn.; Sacramento, Calif.; Jersey City, N.J., Long Beach, Calif.; and Austin, Texas. Yuqing Pan, author of the Realtor.com article, noted that Asheville has reached 50 percent of its gentrification potential and the median home price increased from $125,000 to $235,000 from 2000 to 2015. Pan wrote that, “back in 2000, Rolling Stone (magazine) called Asheville ‘America’s new freak capital,’ attracting an eclectic population of hippies, artists and musicians. Today, tourists flock to its craft beer breweries, and gated golf communities sell homes for prices as high as $6.5 million — but the quirky creative characters who once defined the city are vanishing.” A building boom has been experienced over the past decade in Asheville and Buncombe County, following the Great Recession of 2008-09. Also, the apartment vacancy rate stood at 2.7 percent last year and home prices have skyrockets while home sales records continue to be set. Among North Carolina cities, Asheville consistently ranks among the most expensive places to live, with an overall rating of 97.5, just above Wilmington at 97.1 and Charlotte at 96.4, according to the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Cost of Living report. As examples of gentrification in Asheville, Realtor.com pointed out the nowdefunct “dive bar” Vincent’s Ear, which was located on North Lexington Avenue, which was replaced “by a high-priced eatery.” The website also cited cited the River Arts District, noting that the city commissioned a report in 2014 that described the area as “in the middle phase of gentrification,” with two dozen artists displaced that year after their buildings were closed because of fire hazards.” Pan described gentrification as “the hottest of hot-button urban housing issues... But here’s what it really comes down to: poor or working-class families in growing cities being pushed out of their neighborhoods after better-off outsiders move in and substantially drive up the cost of living.”
Get off my yawn!
Q: I’m a 61-year-old guy who’s been married four times. I love the security and acceptance of marriage, but after several years, either my wife du jour or I will get bored, and we’ll agree to move on. Clearly, I like being a husband, but I do a poor job of remaining one. Can I change that? — Chairman of the Bored A: So, you just want the security of marriage with all the excitement of dating somebody
The Advice Goddess Amy Alkon
new — which is kind of like wanting a latex hood and ball gag that are also a comfy old pair of slippers. Though, no, you can’t have it all, you might manage to have a good bit of it all — the security and the excitement — by bringing in the neurochemistry of the chase when you’re in the cuddly-wuddly long-term attachment stage. See ADVICE GODDESS, Page A8
Daily Planet Staff Photos
Thousands of area women held a rally with impassioned speeches, followed by a march, on Jan. 21 in downtown Asheville. The twohour midday event was held in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington. Predicted rain held off until 20 to 30 minutes after the march ended. A story and more photos of the rally and march appear on Page A2.
City takes look at splitting itself into political districts From Staff Reports
Asheville City Council is revisiting a proposal to split the city into political districts — a move it is making after roughly six months following a tough fight that stopped a powerful state lawmaker from forcing the change on the city. Under the current setup, all seven council members, including the mayor, are elected at-large, a system that allows every city voter to vote on all council seats. Also, there is no
residency restriction for council candidates, other than that they live in Asheville. District systems often vary, but at the minimum they require that some members of the governing body live in the districts for which they are running to assure geographic diversity. Also, voters only can cast ballots for candidates representing their respective district. Council’s three-member governance committee on Dec. 13 approved examing the possibility of shifting to a district system. See DISTRICTS, Page A14