Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:

Question: Even with all the recent — and deserved — hurrahs with the opening of the new gates at Asheville Regional Airport, the airport has been suspiciously quiet about how long it intends to have the pickup for Uber and Lyft (and taxis) in a distant, remote parking area. Do they ever plan to bring it closer to the terminal again? Or is this a permanent move? It doesn’t seem very hospitable for area residents and visitors to our fair community. I’ve even seen people walking from the terminal all the way to the south remote lot rather than waiting for the shuttle bus.

My answer: Sure, this is not ideal, but it does fit well with the airport’s new marketing slogan: “AVL: Get your 10,000 steps in with us before you fly!”

Real answer: The airport did indeed mark a major milestone in late June with the opening of its new North Concourse and TSA security check point. Construction on the new concourse officially broke ground on August 11, 2023, and the $400 million project, called “AVL Forward,” has remained on time and on budget, according to the airport’s website, flyavl.com.

The new facility will be 150 percent larger than the old one. 

The airport had 2.2 million passengers in 2024, “marking the second consecutive year over 2 million passengers traveled through the Airport,” according to the flyavl.com page about the terminal project. “In the last decade, AVL has seen record-breaking passenger traffic in most of the years, and from 2013 to 2023, nearly tripled its nonstop destinations from 10 to 27.”

So yes, the airport is booming. And with that comes some growing pains, as we’ve mentioned before regarding complaints about cell phone lots and other issues.

“Asheville Regional Airport understands that during this time of construction there have been and will continue to be pinch points in our passenger journey,” Asheville Regional Airport spokesperson Angi Daus said via email. “AVL is grateful to the community for their understanding and patience during this time.”

Now, regarding the rideshare situation. The parking lot is a good haul from the terminal, well to the south and even beyond the Marathon Station on Airport Road.

“The current rideshare and taxi pick up area is an example of a temporary solution to a much needed passenger service,” Daus said. “Although we recognize it is not ideal, this location will remain during the entirety of the construction process unless a more ideal location becomes available.”

Daus said “space constraints, public parking demands, and the support of safe and efficient traffic flow in front of the terminal” are the factors in play here.

“This temporary location will change,” Daus said. “However, the timeline and details of that change is dependent on a wide range of variables.”

The airport will send out updates on its social media channels and the flyavl.com website.

The entire AVL Forward project is slated to finish in about two and a half years.

“Looking ahead, the next milestone will come at the end of August when the rental car check-in counters move out of temporary trailers and into the Legacy Terminal’s ticket lobby,” the airport website noted. “This move will clear the way for the continued expansion of baggage claim and the construction of a new rental car lobby adjacent to baggage claim.”

Question: There has been a streetlight down on Kimberly Avenue, close to the stop sign at Griffing Boulevard, since Helene hit in September. It’s been lying there peacefully on its side for about nine months. Can you work your usual magic? Or let me know the person in the city responsible for getting it back up on its feet?

My answer: First of all, lying peacefully on one’s side for nine months sounds strangely enticing to me at this point in my life.

Real answer: “The City of Asheville was made aware of this damaged light pole through the Asheville App recently,” city spokesperson Jessica Hughes told me July 10. “Duke Energy maintains this light pole, so our staff sent the information to Duke, who generated a work order to fix it.”

Duke Energy told the city’s traffic engineer that “additional work is required that will extend beyond the normal five-day repair time, and a temporary light pole will be installed in the near future until a matching pole can be installed,” Hughes added.

One of our photographers swung by this intersection Thursday morning, and it looks like that temporary pole is up, so at least some magic is happening here.

Duke Energy spokesperson Logan Stewart said the city’s account is accurate.

“We are currently working to integrate new smart technology that — when fully operational — will notify us when lights are out,” Stewart said. “Until then, we rely on the public to help notify us when they see streetlights out as we have historically done.

Most times these lights do get fixed more quickly.

“Generally, when we need to repair an underground cable for a streetlight, it takes approximately 10 additional business days, and if we have to totally replace it, up to 20 additional business days,” Stewart said Thursday. “We are currently working with the City of Asheville on a potential plan to improve the lights and poles along Kimberly Avenue, and as part of that we have ordered a specific type of permanent pole to replace the damaged pole mentioned (above). That pole is currently in transit and we should have it installed in about a week or two.”

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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/.

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Original article

The post Will ride share parking at the airport remain so far from the terminal? Light pole has been down in north Asheville since Helene? • Asheville Watchdog appeared first on avlwatchdog.org

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

This content from Asheville Watchdog presents local civic concerns and infrastructure updates in a neutral, humorous, and service-oriented tone. The column primarily focuses on practical issues — airport construction inconveniences, rideshare logistics, and streetlight repairs — and includes responses from official sources without introducing ideological framing or partisan commentary. While the writing includes light satire and personal voice, it does not promote political viewpoints or policies, nor does it critique government or corporate entities in a way that reflects partisan bias. The content aims to inform and entertain rather than persuade, maintaining a balanced and apolitical tone throughout.

SUMMARY: On July 2, 2025, the U.S. House approved legislation to cancel $9 billion in previously authorized spending on public broadcasting and foreign aid, marking only the second time in over 30 years Congress approved a presidential rescissions request. The 216-213 mostly party-line vote sends the bill to President Donald Trump for signature. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will lose $1.1 billion in funding for NPR, PBS, and local stations. The bill also cuts $8 billion in foreign aid but protects HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and maternal health programs. This follows Senate approval with some adjustments and reflects the White House’s push to focus spending on American interests.

Read the full article

The post US House votes to yank funding for NPR, PBS, foreign aid, sending bill to Trump’s desk appeared first on ncnewsline.com

by Sarah Michels, Carolina Public Press
July 17, 2025

North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes is setting off on a mission to correct 103,000 North Carolinians’ voting records from which some information is missing. 

He maintains that the process, dubbed the Registration Repair Project, will not remove any eligible voters from the state’s voter rolls. 

According to the state elections board, 103,270 North Carolina registered voters have records that lack either their driver’s license number, the last four digits of their Social Security number or an indication that they have neither. 

[Subscribe for FREE to Carolina Public Press’ alerts and weekend roundup newsletters]

Last year, this missing information became the stuff of headlines, lawsuits and the high-profile election protest of Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, who lost his bid for state Supreme Court to the incumbent justice, Democrat Allison Riggs, by 734 votes. 

In April, the North Carolina Supreme Court declined to remove ballots from the count based on missing identification numbers; they said the state elections board, not voters, was responsible for a faulty voter registration form that didn’t make it abundantly clear that this information was required. 

While Griffin lost, the issue he raised remains salient for a newly Republican elections board and the U.S. Department of Justice, which promptly sued the state board over alleged violations of the federal Help America Vote Act’s voter registration provisions.

Thursday, Hayes told reporters that a process he unveiled in late June to gather these missing identification numbers had begun in earnest.

“We must put this issue behind us so we can focus our attention squarely on preparations for accurate and secure municipal elections this fall,” he said. 

The plan to collect missing information

There are two groups of voters under Hayes’ plan. 

The first group includes registered voters who have never provided a driver’s license, the last four digits of their Social Security number or an affirmation that they lack both. The state elections board has asked county election boards to check their records for these numbers, in case they were provided but not correctly entered into the voting system. 

In early August, the state elections board will send letters to the remaining voters in this group requesting the missing information. If affected voters do not comply, they will vote provisionally in future elections. The elections board will create a flag on these voters’ records for poll workers. 

The second group includes registered voters whose records do not show that they’ve provided an identification number, but have shown additional documentation at the polls proving their identity and eligibility under HAVA. These voters may vote a regular ballot. 

However, the elections board will still send them a letter in a second mailing asking for the missing identification number to bolster the state’s voter records. Even so, if they do not oblige, they still will not be at risk of being disenfranchised, NCSBE General Counsel Paul Cox said. 

County election boards have already made progress, and their work will continue as the mailings go out, Hayes said. 

Voters can check to see whether they’re on the list of those with missing information by using the Registration Repair Search Tool. If voters don’t want to wait for the August mailing, they can submit an updated voter registration form using their driver’s license through the online DMV portal or visit their county elections board in person with their driver’s license or Social Security card. 

“We anticipate the number of voters on the list will decrease quickly as word spreads about this important effort,” Hayes said.

The State Board of Elections unanimously approved the plan last month, despite some concerns from Democrat Jeff Carmon about putting up an extra obstacle for voters because of a problem with missing information that the voters didn’t cause. 

“It’s hard to understand starvation if you’ve never felt the pangs of hunger,” Carmon said. “It’s the same situation with voting obstacles. Your perspective of an obstacle may not be the same as someone who’s consistently had their identity and their validity questioned.” 

Nonetheless, Carmon and fellow Democrat board member Siobhan Millen ultimately voted in support of the plan.

Same ballot, different rules 

Normally, when a voter casts a provisional ballot, the county elections board determines whether their ballot counts by the post-election canvass, held nine days after an election. 

Voters may have to provide documentation or information to prove their eligibility to vote in order to be accepted. 

The same process applies to the 103,000 affected voters, with a catch. Their vote may be accepted for federal contests, but not state contests, due to a difference in law. 

According to the DOJ’s interpretation, the National Voter Registration Act requires all provisional votes of “duly registered voters” to count, Cox said. 

But the state elections board has interpreted the state Supreme Court and North Carolina Court of Appeals’ decisions in the Griffin case as requiring a driver’s license, the last four digits of a Social Security number or an affirmation that a voter has neither before accepting their votes in state and local contests. 

Under a recent election law change, county election boards have three days to validate and count or reject provisional ballots. 

But sometimes, mismatches happen during validation due to database trouble with reading hyphenated names or connecting maiden and married names, for example, Cox said. The board has designed a “fail safe” in case this comes up. 

When there’s a mismatch during the validation process, state law allows voters to provide additional documentation — like a driver’s license, bank statement or  government document with a voter’s name and address — to prove their eligibility. 

“A big chunk of these voters will have already shown HAVA ID, and that’s because in the past, when this information was not supplied, the county boards would still require these voters to show that alternative form of HAVA ID when they voted for the first time,” Cox said. 

Poll workers will ask provisional voters to provide this additional documentation so that they can mark it down for later, if validation doesn’t work, he added.  

Democrats threaten countersuit 

Last week, the Democratic National Committee threatened the state board with litigation if they went ahead with their plan regarding those with missing information. 

The letter claimed that the plan would remove eligible voters from the rolls illegally. 

Hayes disagrees. In his view, he’s just following the law. 

“It’s not the fault of the voters,” he said. “But at the same time, we’re required by the law to go back and collect this information, which should have been done at the time, and it certainly should have been done in the intervening time.”

He also clarified that North Carolina’s photo voter ID requirement won’t suffice for the impacted voters. They still have to vote provisionally so that their identification numbers can go through the validation process, he said. 

As for whether his fully fleshed out plan will appease the DNC? 

“We hope so,” Hayes said. 

This article first appeared on Carolina Public Press and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Missing voter information the objection of NC search appeared first on carolinapublicpress.org

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

This article presents a balanced and factual report on North Carolina’s voter registration issue, focusing on the administrative process and legal context without overt editorializing. It includes perspectives from both Republican and Democratic figures, highlights legal rulings and procedural details, and covers concerns from Democrats alongside the state elections board’s explanations. The language is neutral, aiming to inform about the complexities of voter ID requirements and the Registration Repair Project without endorsing a particular political stance or framing the issue through a partisan lens.