Politics

THE LIGHTNING TOP 10 STORIES OF 2014

By Bill Moss, Published: December 31, 2014

The big stories of 2014 are  likely to have a long-term impact.

Our Top 10 stories of 2014 in politics, business and civic affairs recognize the people, achievements and events that are the most likely to have a long-term impact. As we look back on the year as it comes to an end, we are looking forward, too. The stories we chose for our Top 10 made news in 2014 and they're also stories to watch in 2015 and beyond. Here's the countdown, starting with No. 10 and ending with the No. 1 story of 2014.

10. Balance of Power

Rooted in the 2013 city election, the change in the balance of power on the City Council had consequences throughout 2014. The political shift turned the City Council into a more business friendly governing body, ushered in a more collegial relationship with the Board of Commissioners and gave the city access, through newly elected Councilman Jeff Miller, to a powerful network of politicians and business owners.

9. Ecusta Trail

No, there's no pavement on the ground yet. But if the Hendersonville-to-Brevard greenway does happen, 2014 will be remembered as the year when "no" became "maybe." When Norfolk-Southern sold the track to short line operator Watco, a Kansas company, trail advocates for the first time confronted a door cracked wide enough for conversation. It's a start. Leaders in Hendersonville, Laurel Park and Flat Rock plus the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce have all endorsed the 19-mile path. And while county commissioners are hardly its leading cheerleaders, the election result here heartened trail supporters. Candidates who favored it (or were positive leaners) won. The vocal skeptics lost.

8. Seventh Avenue-Grey Hosiery Mill

As with the Ecusta Trail, 2014 brought more promise and hope than hammers and nails. Still, the City Council made important decisions on both the Historic Seventh Avenue District and the city-owned mill, which turns 100 years old in 2015. The council pulled the Seventh Avenue advisory board under the dome of City Hall, which means the panel will have more influence and more money. Led by City Manager John Connet and prodded by longtime Seventh Avenue advocate Steve Caraker, the council sharpened its focus on urban renewal. And, after years of studies and half-hearted courtship of developers, the council turned the mill over to an investment partnership and Preservation North Carolina to see if they could make a go at a loft development.

7. Flat Rock Playhouse

2014 will mark the year the Marini era ended and the Bryant era began. Vincent Marina's tenure at the State Theatre of North Carolina brought Broadway-like quality but also New York-style expense and a pushback by some theater patrons over his play selection and production dazzle. Only the fourth artistic director in the theater's 62-year-history, Lisa K. Bryant takes the stage with a strong Vagabond connection, proven education bona fides and deeper roots in town. She lives on Main Street. What more can you ask?

6. HAC gets a Mulligan

Struck down by a zoning decision last May, the Housing Assistance Corp. ends the year pushing a new proposal to provide affordable housing for working families. The Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 against the zoning the housing agency needed for its proposed Rosebay development, a 64-unit apartment complex on Pisgah Drive just west of Laurel Park. Now the HAC is asking for the approval from the city of Hendersonville for Oklawaha Village, an 84-unit development of homes and apartments on North Main Street north of Mud Creek.

5. Election '14

A sheriff's race usually sucks all the oxygen out of the room and this year's spectacle was no exception. The appointed incumbent, a veteran lawman and political neophyte, won the Republican primary and general election by large margins. Running as a reformer, Sheriff Charlie McDonald drew criticism for not reforming the patronage culture he publicly renounced. Deputies he sacked said he made personnel decisions based on politics, not job performance. Although the fireworks were quieter, contests for the Board of Commissioners and state Legislature were in many ways more consequential. Voters sent Sen. Tom Apodaca back to Raleigh for a seventh term and Rep. Chuck McGrady for a third. In turning out three-term incumbent Larry Young in favor of civil engineer Bill Lapsley, Henderson County voters padded a majority that has been friendlier to Pardee Hospital, the Flat Rock Playhouse, public schools, affordable housing and park development.

No. 4. Hospital Wars

Capitalizing on the Wingate-BRCC deal, Pardee Hospital leaders claimed the ground floor to create a 30,000-square-foot cancer center. Coming after its advance into the North Henderson market in partnership with Mission Health, Pardee clearly sees a medical frontier beyond the hill at Justus and Sixth. No piker at expansion, Park Ridge Health opened a four-story medical facility on Long Shoals Road and staked a marker on Hendersonville's busiest gateway. The Adventist Health System affiliate plans "a significant outpatient medical campus" at the old Four Seasons Cinema site on Seventh Avenue.

3. Bearcat Dynasty

HHS celebrated its third straight state championship and 12th overall.Mary O. Goebel, Molly Pyles, Bailey Hunter, Hailey Cook, Cassie Born. While the names on the jerseys change, the MVP and state championship trophies just keep stacking up. Hendersonville High School's volleyball program is the most dominant in state high school athletics history. The Bearcats won their third straight state championship in 2014 and 12th overall, more than any other school by far. When it comes to prep sports, another big story was Tanis Baldwin, the East Henderson High School cross country and track star who owns five state championships.

2. The Unlikely Marriage

A few years ago, a partnership of the Hendersonville City Council and Board of Commissioners might have been unthinkable. Last April, those two bodies plus Wingate University, Blue Ridge Community College and Pardee Hospital announced a five-party agreement to build a joint medical education center on the hospital campus. Called a "game changer," home run and "massive undertaking and collaboration," the project was made possible when the city agreed to buy and clear an acre of land, Pardee donated property for parking and Henderson County committed to financing construction. By the time a planning team was done, the building had grown to 97,000 square feet. The intangibles may be even bigger. If the erstwhile rivals can set aside egos and mistrust on this project, who knows what other greater good they can achieve together?

1. Brews Almighty

Like several others in the Top 10, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was not a new story in 2014. It announced the decision to open its plant here in 2012. But the speed with which it has ramped up and the numbers of visitors it's already drawn were big news in 2014. After pushing the plant to full production within a few months of its startup, Sierra Nevada execs are already planning to increase output by two-thirds. Even that is not the biggest impact. The Disneyland of craft breweries, Sierra Nevada in 2015 will open its Tasting Room and Pub and indoor entertainment space. An outdoor amphitheater, beer camp, trails and boat docks are not far behind. Besides bringing 200 jobs to the market, Sierra Nevada is having a big and positive influence on the region's environmental mindset, its commitment to recreation, its appreciation for sustainability, even its view of affordable housing. It's no exaggeration to say that Sierra Nevada is the most significant new industry since General Electric opened its plant here in 1953.