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Overview > Local Scoop > Archive > 2007/12/23/index Thursday, December 27, 2007 City of Asheville to propose converting to hybrid buses Asheville City leaders want to use state transportation funding to begin converting the Asheville Transit System's diesel buses into diesel hybrids some time in the next year. Ordering only of five of the new hybrid buses would give Asheville one of the biggest hybrid bus fleets in North Carolina. The five buses would come at the cost of $3 million. Funds would come from both state and local taxpayer coffers. The purchase will most likely depend on the State of North Carolina giving Asheville $2.7 million in transportation funding. The hybrids would be an element of a program that would replace Asheville's 16 older diesel buses, which were purchased in 1996. While the hybrids would cost 30 percent more than standard diesel buses, they would use 25-50% less diesel fuel as well as reduce maintenance costs. City Councilman Brownie Newman says that fuel savings is one of the major reasons to support the hybrids. Also among the stated reasons are improved air quality and lower noise levels downtown, among other advantages the hybrid buses would provide. Labels: asheville, environment
Asheville's new Winter Warmer Festival Asheville has a new beer festival. To be held at The Garage, The Winter Warmer Festival will be from 3:00pm to 7:00pm on January 19th, 2008. The Garage is a new music venue on Fairview Road, close to Biltmore Village. It can be found next-door to the French Broad Brewing Company. The festival will feature only local beer brewed in Asheville, food and live music. Mark Lyons of Asheville Brews Cruise, the bus service that takes beer lovers around to local breweries for tours, is organizing the festival. He says that just because it's winter, that doesn't mean people stop drinking beer. Usually, beer festivals happen in the warmer months. April and the Hickory Hops is pretty far away, and it is even longer until Asheville's famed Brewgrass Festival in September. In the meantime, beer lovers can put the Winter Warmer on their calendars. Tickets are $35, and it covers the beer, a souvenir glass, and North Carolina barbecue. To get more information on the festival, visit the >Winter Warmer Beer Fest web-site. Labels: asheville, concerts, events
Tuesday, December 25, 2007 Plenty of room for more pets at Asheville's newest dog park Even after receiving good reviews from pet owners, the newest dog park in Asheville still isn't drawing large crowds. On Saturday, December 22nd, not even half of the 140,000 ft.2 Azalea Dog Park was being utilized. Finished last summer, the Park is on Azalea Road by the Swannanoa River. The Park has two fenced-in areas, one for small dogs and the other for larger canines. The Azalea Park is the second dog park in Asheville, with the first being the French Broad River Dog Park, located just off of Amboy Road on Asheville's West side. The Park is open every day between 7:30-8:00am, and closes one hour before dark. All dog owners are to clean up after their pets and keep them on leashes unless they are inside one of the fenced areas. Aggressive animals' owners are urged to retreat from the park with their pets immediately. Even though the number of attendees is not up to the Parks & Recreation Department's expectations, the assistant director of Asheville's Parks and Recreation Department, Debbie Ivester, is not concerned: “Because it's so new, not everybody has heard about it yet,” she said. “We have a few ways to get the word out, and people are going to be picking up on it more and more.” Labels: asheville, attractions
Monday, December 24, 2007 The Basilica of St. Lawrence houses oldest art in AshevilleUnder the great dome of the Basilica of St. Lawrence is the body of the man who built the historic structure as well as some priceless pieces of 17th century art. Filled with works from Germany, Spain, Italy and many other places, much of the church's art is at least a few hundred years old. Asheville is well-known for its art, and the Basilica of St. Lawrence contains some of Asheville's oldest and most spectacular pieces. Spanish architect & Asheville resident Rafael Guastavino, a famed architect/builder commissioned to help construct the Biltmore Estate, built the Basilica along with fellow architect R.S. Smith. Built in the Spanish Renaissance style using a method of design for which he was already famous, Guastavino liked embedding layers of flat tiles in strong mortar to create thin but surprisingly strong, arched vaults. The Basilica of St. Lawrence's dome is purported to be the largest unsupported dome in North America at 82 feet by 58 feet. There are no reinforcing beams in the structure. In the Chapel of Our Lady (to the left of the main altar) stands a painting by the 17th century Italian painter Massimo Stanzione, above the door to the sacristy. "The Visitation" depicts Mary, mother of Jesus, talking with her cousin Elizabeth. Surrounding the sanctuary are stained-glass windows designed by Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, Germany. Labels: asheville, attractions
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