For those worried about too much attention to tourism, never fear: First, a lovely serene green space, Pack Park, was turned into a cement mine field. With less room for crowds, we fall over concrete obstacles everywhere (the splat you…

BANNER ELK, NC…Travelers now have a comprehensive website that covers lodging, restaurants, events, attractions and things-to-do in Banner Elk. Banner Elk’s Tourism Development Authority unveiled the site – BannerElk.com – on Sept. 18. It replaces a small, outdated site which…

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (October 21, 2015) — Six projects could receive nearly $3.9 million in funding from the Tourism Product Development Fund (TPDF), including $3.1 million for projects owned by the City of Asheville, following approval of recommendations made to the…

Buncombe County currently has 35 districts for fire and emergency services, but only 19 fire departments.(Photo: Joel Burgess jburgess@citizen-times.com) Buncombe County leaders have taken some of the final steps in realigning a confusing “mishmash” of boundaries surrounding the county’s fire…

We offer deals from local businesses, including our popular Dining Deals, where you can save 30 to 50 percent on your next meal. Special for members: Sign up in the Member Center for our Rewards newsletter to get first word…

An early conceptual rendering of the Nouveau Building and Vandre Hotel. Developers want to locate the new businesses in a renovated BBT Building.(Photo: Courtesy photo) ASHEVILLE — Buncombe County leaders Tuesday will again take up an issue relating to the hotel…

Wilma Dykeman, an Asheville native, published her first book “The French Broad” in 1955.(Photo: CITIZEN-TIMES) With the Citizen-Times Book Circle, we are taking a second look at what could be considered the essential texts of Western North Carolina, the fiction…

Last SlideNext Slide Buncombe County Commissioner and candidate for lieutenant governor Holly Jones chats during the VIP mixer.(Photo: Pat Barcas/Citizen-Times) ASHEVILLE — Democrats are tired of a Republican-controlled state legislature they say has decimated education on all levels and not…

ASHEVILLE — Like many of her fellow millennials, Carolyn Stotts found herself beckoned to Western North Carolina for its active lifestyle. The 24-year-old wedding photographer did a summer internship at an Asheville-based magazine in 2011 while a student at UNC…

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