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.
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.
SUMMARY: Wegovy, a popular weight loss medication by Novo Nordisk, will soon be available via telehealth companies such as Hims and Hers, LifeMD, and Ro, marking a significant shift in accessibility. The drug, provided in injectable pen form, will be offered at around $600, including 24/7 clinician support and nutritional guidance. This collaboration aims to make Wegovy more affordable and accessible, especially for those without insurance. Following FDA restrictions on compounded GLP-1 drugs, telehealth providers and drug makers are now cooperating to simplify treatment. Competitors like Eli Lilly sell alternatives less conveniently. Wegovy’s use may expand to chronic disease patients.
Consumers looking to start the popular weight loss drug Wegovy but lacking insurance coverage will soon have a new option. Wegovy will soon be available to telehealth companies for a reduced price.
