Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies, and the real answers:
Question: I’ve never been inside the UNC Asheville chancellor’s residence, but I’m told that it’s quite large and cost a pretty penny to build. Could you provide some details about the home? How large is it? How much did it cost to build? How much to maintain? How much land razed to build? Could it house some essential workers or be sold or redeveloped? Could it maybe become a museum to forests from long ago? After all, don’t chancellors earn enough to afford their own homes?
My answer: I’m pretty sure the 3,800-acre Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest near Robbinsville is our area’s actual tree museum, or at least a great display of old growth forest that gives an idea of what the area looked like before European settlement. Unless of course it’s already been logged under the new administration’s policies.
Real answer: UNCA spokesperson Brian Hart confirmed that Chancellor Kimberly van Noort does use the official residence, also known as the Pisgah House, as a home, as is required by the University of North Carolina university system. Specifically, he referred me to a section of the UNC policy manual and code titled, “Occupation of Official Residences of the Chancellors and the President.”
It states: “The Board of Governors reaffirms its expectation that the president of the university and the chancellors of each constituent institution will occupy their official residence and that these residences will be used for University business and functions.”
The policy also states, “that it is the policy of the Board of Governors that the president and the chancellors are required to live in their official residences as a condition of employment, except in the case where such a requirement would present a serious hardship; in any such case the president or chancellor must obtain approval from the Board of Governors, except that such approval will not be necessary if the residence is being vacated temporarily while repairs or renovations are being made.”
In June 2024, Asheville Watchdogreported on van Noort’s $300,000 base salary and perks, which include housing in the chancellor’s residence, “membership in a golf club with access to 16 courses in the Southeast, including the Country Club of Asheville, and a $900 monthly car allowance,” according to the article. That story also noted that beginning in 2025, van Noort was eligible for “incentive compensation” of up to 100 percent of her salary.
The university also pays for “utilities, maintenance, housekeeping, and groundskeeping services,” according to van Noort’s appointment letter. For the first four months of 2024, the utilities cost $3,193, then-UNCA spokesman Michael Strysick said.
The university also paid $3,458 for a security system, $13,754 for a heat pump, and $1,991 for “private property signage,” Strysick said last year.
Mountain Xpress noted in a 2014 article that the then-new $2.9 million, 6,333-square-foot chancellor’s residence had just opened and would serve as a residence but also a public space for special events.
“The two-story house replaces UNCA’s former home for its chancellor on Macon Avenue, a house that served that purpose since 1966. The university sold the home in 2007 for $600,000 and used that money, as well as private donations from about 150 people, to build the new structure,” Xpress reported.
Xpress also noted that the new home “sits on 2 acres of a 50-acre parcel of land across W.T. Weaver Boulevard from the main UNCA campus and close to the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station.
Motorists traveling Interstate 26 in southern Buncombe County and in Henderson County will notice new lanes open for driving, including this spot just east of Airport Road, which now features four driving lanes. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
Question: I am wondering why the speed limit in the newly constructed area of I-26 in Henderson County changes frequently between 55 mph and 65 mph within a short period of space. It occurs more frequently going east than it does coming west. Did NCDOT fail to remove the 55 mph signs or have folks improperly uncovered the 65 mph signs too soon?
My answer: I’m pretty sure 55 mph really means 70 to 75 mph to most North Carolina drivers, so let’s not split hairs here.
Real answer: “We are currently addressing the signs,” NCDOT spokesperson David Uchiyama told me Thursday morning. “They may be updated by the time this answer is published!”
Uchiyama said the 55 mph signs in Henderson County “should have all been removed, but a few still remain.”
For the record, the speed limit is 65 mph from exits 44-49, 60 mph from exit 44-40 and 55 mph in the Buncombe County workzone.
As someone who drives I-26 just about every day, I’ve got to say these new lanes that are open are a little slice of heaven. Gives you a feel for how the interstate will flow when the whole project is finished.
NCDOT announced April 9 the opening of the new lanes on the Henderson County portion of the I-26 widening, a separate project from the widening on I-26 in Buncombe County. The news release noted that the Henderson County portion is “functionally complete and in its final pattern with final punch-list remaining.”
The total project, which started in 2019 and includes sections in Buncombe and Henderson, should wrap up next year.
The NCDOT release noted that all of the new lanes on I-26 east heading to South Carolina were opened from Airport Road (Exit 40) to U.S. 64 (Exit 49) on April 5. The stretch includes four lanes of travel from Airport Road to U.S. 25 (Exit 44) and three lanes from there to U.S. 64 (Exit 49).
The punch list includes final grinding of the concrete surface, installation of permanent pavement markings, snow-plowable markers, the addition of rumble strips, finishing of signs and other tasks, according to the release. “Many of them will require overnight closures in certain sections to safely complete the tasks,” the release noted.
New lanes on I-26 west from Hendersonville opened April 10. This stretch has four lanes from U.S. 25 to Airport Road, three lanes from Airport Road to Long Shoals Road, and two lanes through the remaining construction zone up to Brevard Road.
In Buncombe County this week, work crews opened the eastbound stretch of I-26 from Long Shoals Road to Glenn Bridge Road to three lanes, and from the bridge over Glenn Bridge Road to four lanes, where it will connect with the recently opened four-lane section beyond Airport Road, according to the NCDOT release.
This stretch of road also has a punch list, including the installation of snow-plowable reflectors, fresh lane markings, and roadside signs. It also will require some night-time closures.
The NCDOT said opening this stretch “allows crews to concentrate on the northern half of I-26 widening in Buncombe County — the stretch from Long Shoals Road to Brevard Road. The northern stretch includes the creation of a new interchange, which was added to plans after the project started, that creates a new exit providing drivers with another route to Brevard Road by the North Carolina Arboretum.”
That exit largely is being built to accommodate the Pratt & Whitney jet engine fan blade plant.
The NCDOT said other tasks on the northern section of the I-26 project “will include completion of new westbound lanes, completion of the new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge and removal of the old bridge. NCDOT officials anticipate completing final operations in late 2026.”
It’s been a long slog, folks, but it’s getting there!
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
SUMMARY: Donald van der Vaart, a former North Carolina environmental secretary and climate skeptic, has been appointed to the North Carolina Utilities Commission by Republican Treasurer Brad Briner. Van der Vaart, who previously supported offshore drilling and fracking, would oversee the state’s transition to renewable energy while regulating utility services. His appointment, which requires approval from the state House and Senate, has drawn opposition from environmental groups. Critics argue that his views contradict clean energy progress. The appointment follows a controversial bill passed by the legislature, granting the treasurer appointment power to the commission.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 14:47:00
(The Center Square) – Called “crypto-friendly legislation” by the leader of the chamber, a proposal on digital assets on Wednesday afternoon passed the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Passage was 71-44 mostly along party lines.
The NC Digital Assets Investments Act, known also as House Bill 92, has investment requirements, caps and management, and clear definitions and standards aimed at making sure only qualified digital assets are included. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, said the state would potentially join more than a dozen others with “crypto-friendly legislation.”
With him in sponsorship are Reps. Stephen Ross, R-Alamance, Mark Brody, R-Union, and Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake.
Nationally last year, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act – known as FIT21 – passed through the U.S. House in May and in September was parked in the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Dan Spuller, cochairman of the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative, said the state has proven a leader on digital asset policy. That includes the Money Transmitters Act of 2016, the North Carolina Regulatory Sandbox Act of 2021, and last year’s No Centrl Bank Digital Currency Pmts to State. The latter was strongly opposed by Gov. Roy Cooper, so much so that passage votes of 109-4 in the House and 39-5 in the Senate slipped back to override votes, respectively, of 73-41 and 27-17.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The article presents a factual report on the passage of the NC Digital Assets Investments Act, highlighting the legislative process, party-line votes, and related legislative measures. It does not adopt a clear ideological stance or frame the legislation in a way that suggests bias. Instead, it provides neutral information on the bill, its sponsors, and relevant background on state legislative activity in digital asset policy. The tone and language remain objective, focusing on legislative facts rather than promoting a particular viewpoint.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-30 11:04:00
(The Center Square) – Hurricane Helene recovery in North Carolina is being impacted by a federal agency with seven consecutive failed audits and the elimination of hundreds of its workers in the state.
Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined a lawsuit on behalf of the state with 23 other states and the District of Columbia against AmeriCorps, known also as the Corporation for National and Community Service. The state’s top prosecutor says eight of 19 AmeriCorps programs and 202 jobs are being lost in the state by the cuts to the federal program.
Jeff Jackson, North Carolina attorney general
NCDOJ.gov
The litigation says responsibility lies with the Department of Government Efficiency established by President Donald Trump.
“These funds – which Congress already appropriated for North Carolina – are creating jobs, cleaning up storm damage, and helping families rebuild,” Jackson said. “AmeriCorps must follow the law so that people in western North Carolina can confidently move forward.”
Jackson, in a release, said 50 of the 750 volunteers terminated on April 15 were in North Carolina. Three programs with 84 people employed were impacted on Friday when AmeriCorps cut federal funds to grant programs that run through the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.
Project MARS was helping in 18 western counties, providing supplies and meals to homebound and stranded families. Clothing, crisis hotlines and school supports were also aided. Project Conserve was in 25 western counties helping with debris removal, tree replanting, storm-system repairs and rain-barrel distribution. Project POWER helped large-scale food donations for more than 10,000 people in the hard-hit counties of Buncombe, Henderson and Madison.
The White House has defended its accountability actions and did so on this move. AmeriCorps has a budget of about $1 billion.
Helene killed 107 in North Carolina and caused an estimated $60 billion damage.
The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said last year AmeriCorps has a legacy of “incompetence and total disregard for taxpayer money.” She was chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, which requested the report showing repeated failed audits and financial management troubles.
“AmeriCorps,” Foxx said, “receives an astounding $1 billion in taxpayer funds every year but hasn’t received a clean audit for the past seven years. As instances of fraud continue, the agency has proven time and time again incapable of reforming itself and should never be given another opportunity to abuse taxpayer dollars.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article presents an ideological stance that leans toward the right, particularly in its portrayal of AmeriCorps, a federal agency, and its financial mismanagement. The language used to describe the agency’s struggles with audits, financial troubles, and alleged incompetence reflects a critical perspective typically associated with conservative viewpoints, especially through the quote from Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx. Additionally, the inclusion of comments from North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and other Democratic officials highlights a contrast in political positions. However, the article itself primarily reports on legal actions and the consequences of funding cuts without pushing a clear partisan agenda, thus maintaining a degree of neutrality in reporting factual details of the case.
