Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: I’m just wondering what is going to happen to the badly damaged MANNA FoodBank location on Swannanoa River Road. I pass by it almost every day, and all that’s been done is a chain link fence has been put up around the property.
My answer: Honestly, a chain-link fence is a lot more than what’s happened at some other damaged properties since Helene.
Real answer: MANNA’s former location at 627 Swannanoa River Road was a total loss, as I noted in a story in late March. Mary Nesbitt, MANNA’s chief development officer, said the nonprofit experienced $28 million in losses, a conservative estimate, as its two buildings, and everything inside, were completely destroyed.
MANNA did salvage its truck fleet by moving it ahead of the storm. The nonprofit, which serves 16 counties in western North Carolina, has relocated to a former FedEx facility in Mills River, a building that suits its needs well but requires a renovation to add freezer space.
The Swannanoa River Road location, which sat just yards from the river, had about 50,000 square feet of warehouse space in two buildings, with about 40 percent dedicated to refrigerated or frozen foods.
MANNA FoodBank’s two warehouse and operations buildings along Swannanoa River Road were destroyed by Tropical Storm Helene on Sept. 27. Fortunately, the nonprofit had a line on a location in Mills River and was able to continue operations. // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
“MANNA has been working diligently for months to move through the approval process toward demolition and debris removal for our Swannanoa River Road properties,” Nesbitt told me last week via email. “Based on information that we received (April 22), we are hopeful that the demolition and debris removal will be approved and will be taking place in the near future.”
MANNA is “encouraged that there is movement in the approval process,” she said.
Mary Nesbitt, MANNA’s chief development officer. // Watchdog photo by Starr Sariego
Buncombe County property tax records show the 4.78 acre parcel that the two buildings sit on off Swannanoa River Road has an appraised tax value of $515,300. That’s for the land only, as the buildings are goners.
On Oct. 11, a city planning department employee made a note on the city’s permitting site about the property and several others along Swannanoa River Road. It states: “This is an FYI, the following addresses are structures located in the floodway that I will need very detailed information for as they may have to be removed due to substantial damage.”
Nesbitt said MANNA is sort of in “uncharted waters” as it waits to see what government regulations say about future uses of the property and what it can or cannot do with it.
“The answer is that we do not yet know what ‘allowable uses’ will be determined for the site,” Nesbitt said. “Once we have that information, we would like to sell, if that is possible.”
Developer Rusty Pulliam (who’s not affiliated with the site) said, in general, locations along the Swannanoa River that flooded badly can remain commercially viable. Pulliam, principal and CEO of Pulliam Properties, an Asheville-based commercial development company, said businesses that have moveable equipment or operations, such as a construction equipment rental company, would make the most sense along the river.
“I think a lot of people are learning with the technology that’s available now, you can sit on your couch and watch the Weather Channel each night, and it can pretty much tell you right on the money how much rain you’re gonna get,” Pulliam said. “So when they’ll call for these big storms, people can load up their product real quick and get it out of a building.”
Reusing or rebuilding structures is probably going to take longer than people think, though, Pulliam said, because property owners still have to navigate flood insurance payouts, bank loans and governmental regulations.
A reader asks if Charlotte Douglas International Airport has any plans to install a tram system to help passengers navigate the distances between its five concourses. // Photo provided by Charlotte
Question: So the one thing you did not touch on in the story of your recent travels was the fact that Charlotte Douglas International Airport does not seem to have any kind of light rail or shuttle system to facilitate passengers getting from one end of the airport to the other. They now have four or five terminals at Charlotte, and you are expected to walk everywhere. So fire off a question to Charlotte: Where is the tram to take you from terminal A or terminal One (whichever they call it) all the way to terminal four or terminal D without trying to kill yourself running? The small commuter planes like what we have here in Asheville go into the first terminal, and the big jets that go cross country go into the third or fourth terminal, so anybody traveling cross country from Asheville connecting through Charlotte has got to make this epic trek through the airport.
My answer: I’m still wheezing from my very unathletic trot/waddle across CLT.
Real answer: I did indeed “fire off” this question to the airport’s media relations team, and they offered a point of clarification first.
“CLT has one terminal with five connected concourses that have a high volume of connecting passenger traffic for customers flying on American Airlines,” the media relations team said, referring to concourses A through E. “In order to help customers traverse the terminal, there are over 125 elevators, escalators and moving walkways that assist customers making connections.”
Allow me a moment for a mini-rant here: If you get on the moving walkways, please keep walking, instead of just standing there enjoying the moving view. Generally, the tubby, profusely sweating person (me) behind you is running late for a connecting flight and using the magical walkway to speed things up.
But back to the lack of a tram or subway.
“Due to the layout of the terminal, it would be very difficult and costly to add a tram system to move customers to the different concourses,” the CLT media team said. “We are always looking for new opportunities to make our customers’ journey easier and will continue to look for ways to make improvements.”
So, keep the walking shoes handy.
Asheville Watchdog welcomes thoughtful reader comments on this story, which has been republished on our Facebook page. Please submit your comments 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/.
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 content provided is primarily a factual and neutral report focused on local issues such as the damage to a nonprofit food bank facility and logistical challenges at an airport. The tone is informative without showing an explicit political agenda or leaning. It addresses practical problems and responses from various stakeholders including nonprofit officials, developers, and public relations teams. The absence of charged political language or partisan viewpoints suggests a centrist bias, aiming to present balanced information rather than advocate for a particular political ideology.
SUMMARY: Jim Jenkins, a North Carolina baseball trailblazer and Negro Leagues player, exemplified resilience and excellence both on and off the field. His sons recall his superior skills—hitting, running, and catching—and how he faced challenges due to his skin color. Beyond baseball, Jenkins was a community father, teaching youths fundamentals and helping those in need. He shared a friendship with legend Hank Aaron, often attending Braves games with his family. His legacy endures through his children, who honor not just his athletic achievements but his kindness and humanity, inspiring future generations to carry on his impact.
James “Jim” Jenkins had a profound impact on the game of baseball as a trailblazer known in the Carolinas.
SUMMARY: A scientist reflecting on the politicization of science warns that ideological influence undermines objectivity, breeds mistrust, and hampers public understanding. The FY2026 budget proposal cut NIH funding by about 40%, saving taxpayers $18 billion, but only 1.5% of the total federal budget, while increasing defense spending by 13%. These cuts severely impact states like North Carolina, where science drives $2.4 billion in tax revenue and thousands of jobs. The cuts target indirect costs vital for research infrastructure and diversity efforts, mistakenly seen as ideological rather than essential scientific practices. The author calls for unity to prioritize facts over politics and protect scientific progress for societal and economic health.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-06-15 02:01:00
North Carolina’s U.S. House members voted along party lines on two Republican-backed bills: the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1), which cuts \$1.6 trillion in government spending, and the “Rescissions Act of 2025” (H.R. 4), which eliminates \$9.4 billion from entities like USAID and public broadcasting. Republicans called it a purge of waste, citing spending on drag shows and foreign projects. Democrats criticized the cuts as harmful and symbolic, calling the effort fiscally irresponsible. H.R. 1 passed 215-214; H.R. 4 passed 214-212. No Democrats supported either. A few Republicans broke ranks and voted against their party on each bill.
(The Center Square) – North Carolinians in the U.S. House of Representatives were unwavering of party preference for two bills now awaiting finalization in the Senate.
Republicans who favored them say the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, known also as House Resolution 1, slashed $1.6 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse of government systems. The Rescissions Act of 2025, known also as House Resolution 4, did away with $9.4 billion – less than six-tenths of 1% of the other legislation – in spending by the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Corp. for Public Broadcasting (PBS, NPR), and other entities.
Democrats against them say the Department of Government Efficiency made “heartless budget cuts” and was an “attack on the resources that North Carolinians were promised and that Congress has already appropriated.”
Republicans from North Carolina in favor of both were Reps. Dr. Greg Murphy, Virginia Foxx, Addison McDowell, David Rouzer, Rev. Mark Harris, Richard Hudson, Pat Harrigan, Chuck Edwards, Brad Knott and Tim Moore.
Democrats against were Reps. Don Davis, Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams.
Foxx said the surface was barely skimmed with cuts of “$14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at our southern border; $24,000 for a national spelling bee in Bosnia; $1.5 million to mobilize elderly, lesbian, transgender, nonbinary and intersex people to be involved in the Costa Rica political process; $20,000 for a drag show in Ecuador; and $32,000 for an LGBTQ comic book in Peru.”
Adams said, “While Elon Musk claimed he would cut $1 trillion from the federal government, the recissions package amounts to less than 1% of that. Meanwhile, House Republicans voted just last month to balloon the national debt by $3 trillion in their One Big Ugly Bill. It’s fiscal malpractice, not fiscal responsibility.”
House Resolution 1 passed 215-214 and House Resolution 4 went forward 214-212. Republican Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky were against the One Big Beautiful Bill and Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Michael Turner of Ohio were against the Rescissions Act.
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 straightforward report on the partisan positions and voting outcomes related to two specific bills, highlighting the contrasting views of Republicans and Democrats without using loaded or emotionally charged language. It neutrally conveys the Republicans’ framing of the bills as efforts to cut waste and reduce spending, alongside Democrats’ critique of those cuts as harmful and insufficient fiscal discipline. By providing direct quotes from representatives of both parties and clearly stating voting results, the content maintains factual reporting without promoting a particular ideological stance. The balanced presentation of arguments and absence of editorializing indicate a commitment to neutrality rather than an intentional partisan perspective.
