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Four Seasons Politics

Apodaca proposes referendum on HB2

Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics

McGrady explains missed vote on HB2

State Rep. Chuck McGrady is not ready to commit to upholding or opposing HB2, the state law that bars government from establishing or mandating transgender bathroom accommodation and makes other changes governing LGBT protections in North Carolina.   Read Story »

Flat Rock Four Seasons Politics

LIGHTNING EDITORIAL: Rail tankers not subject to zoning

Watco, the shortline freight hauler that operates here as Blue Ridge Southern Railroad, is just doing what a smart business does. Other railroad companies suddenly found themselves with tankers sidelined by a glut of crude oil and natural gas. Blue Ridge has rail tracks it’s not using. Supply and demand strikes again. As the Hendersonville Lightning reported last week, the ominous-looking black tankers showed up on the rail line between Highland Lake Road in Flat Rock and Mine Gap Road last month. Residents of Highland Lake Village, an upscale mostly retirement neighborhood in Flat Rock, don’t like looking at the cars. The LP gas warning labels make them nervous.Ginger Brown is a resident Highland Lake Village and a Flat Rock Village Council member. Her neighbors assumed she could do something about the rail cars. Not so much. First, that section of tracks is not within the village boundaries. Brown contacted the railroad company’s local marketing director.“I called her twice last week and kind of complained a little bit,” Brown said. “She called me Friday and said some of those tankers had been called back into service. She said she couldn’t promise that they wouldn’t come back and bring friends. But they’re still there. She said they will be leaving this week. She said they might go this weekend.”Brown said she was appreciative that Blue Ridge Railroad pulled the tankers from the Highland Park Road area this week.In an interview last week, Blue Ridge Railroad’s marketing director, Brigid Rich, described the tankers as “empty residue cars” that contain no volatile chemicals or gas.“It could be an in-and-out kind of thing,” she said of the duration. The railroad company can use the tracks for this purpose, she said, even though the line has been out of service since 2002.Councilwoman Brown also mentioned plans to contact Henderson County to see what elected officials could do. Little to nothing. Turns out the tankers in storage are yet another example of a disruptive land-use beyond the reach of local zoning regulations, like the proposed Duke Energy transmission line last summer and the current natural gas line construction.“That’s their property,” County Manager Steve Wyatt said when the Lightning asked about the stored tankers. “It’s a railroad. It’s commerce.”It’s encouraging that Watco’s local managers, by all evidence, are open about what the business is doing and responsive to neighbors’ concerns. Watco is, after all, the company that has to come to the table if the Ecusta Trail is ever going to happen. Plenty of people would gladly accept a few months of storage on the Saluda-bound line in exchange for negotiations on the Hendersonville-to-Brevard line.Residents who have researched the current state of the oil and gas industry learned that surplus tankers are increasingly common as drilling and fracking has slowed. The oil market is like the weather in our mountains. If you don’t like it, wait a little a while and it will change.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Crowd rallies against HB2

Nearly 200 people gathered at the Historic Courthouse downtown Friday afternoon in a spirited protest against HB2, the state law on sexual-orientation discrimination that has sharply divided North Carolina voters and provoked vocal national opposition.The Rev. Jim McKinley, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Hendersonville, urged the protesters to set aside the “language of opposition” and focus on how they can change things by showing up and making their voices heard.“I want to think the sponsors of House Bill 2 for all they’ve done to awaken our awareness of transgender concerns and LGBT rights in North Carolina,” McKinley said. Sponsored by the Campaign for Southern Equality and theHenderson County chapter of the NAACP, the rally aimed to stoke opposition to HB2 but also to explain its broader implications. Organizers handed out copies of the bill in an effort to show that it was broader than just a "bathroom bill" affecting transgender men and women. “We want to give the community a chance to protest against this bill, which is about discrimination against many people including the GLBT community,” PFLAG chapter president Jerry Miller said in advance of the protest. “Prohibiting people from using the bathroom of the gender to which they identify is just one small part. To name a few others — it prohibits communities from passing ordinances which affect wages, and other working issues.”The most personal appeal came from Archer Faust, a transgender male.“There was a lot more to it that I was very angry about,” he said of the bill. “The whole bathroom issue was just the first page or two. There are more sections covering employment and public employees. I was very upset to learn that now that HB2 had passed it was considered a religious freedom bill.”“They’re using fear of trans people and I’m upset that they’re using that,” he told the crowd of 175 people. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re just people, right?”The crowd cheered and applauded.He called on the audience and other speakers to send a message: “We won’t tolerate hatred. We won’t tolerate it in Henderson County or anywhere else.”“Repeal that law,” the crowd chanted as the next speaker, Rabbi Phil Bentley, came to the lectern.Bentley read a letter he said “rabbis all over the state” had signed opposing what it called “state-sponsored discrimination.”“We will not stand idly by as the North Carolina Legislature weakens the legal protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters,” Bentley said. “Our prayers are with the thousands of North Carolinians whose humanity is under attack. We stand with them and against those who would strip them of their legal guarantees under the law.”“I just got back from a family event in New York,” Bently told the crowd. “North Carolina has become a national joke.”The most personal appeal came from Archer Faust, a transgender male.“There was a lot more to it that I was very angry about,” he said. “The whole bathroom issue was just the first page or two. There are more sections covering employment and public employees. I was very upset to learn that now that HB2 had passed it was considered a religious freedom bill.”“They’re using fear of trans people and I’m upset that they’re using that,” he added. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re just people, right?”The crowd cheered and applauded.     Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

LGBT organization to protest HB2 at Historic Courthouse

The Flat Rock-Hendersonville Chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) will hold a rally protesting HB2 at 5 p.m. Friday at the Historic Courthouse.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

HB-2 delivers first public blow to local tourism

HB2, the controversial North Carolina law that withholds state anti-discrimination protections from gay, lesbian and transgender people, has cost the Henderson County tourism economy its first publicly announced loss.   Read Story »

Mills River Four Seasons Politics

Mills River police department would cost $700,000 a year

MILLS RIVER — A full police department with a chief and six officers would cost Mills River $1.5 million over the first three years and $700,000 a year when fully staffed, a consultant told the Mills River Town Council Thursday night. Based on Mills River’s tax base, an annual budget that size would require a tax increase of roughly 7 cents a year, or more than triple the current rate of 2.25 cents per $100 valuation.   Read Story »

Hendersonville Four Seasons Politics

'Dirty Dancing' remake to spend $16 million here

The production team for a television remake of Dirty Dancing will bring up to 1,225 temporary jobs to the Hendersonville area and spend $16 million over the next 45 days, a state Commerce Department spokeswoman confirmed.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

County attorney recognized for open government response

Henderson County Attorney Russ Burrell won an award from the North Carolina Open Government Coalition for his quick and accommodating response to public records requests.   Read Story »

Henderson County Four Seasons Politics

Edwards wins nomination for state Senate seat

Hendersonville businessman Chuck Edwards surged to victory in the Republican primary for the 48th state Senate District on Tuesday, turning back a spirited but underfunded challenge from Tea Party favorite Lisa Carpenter Baldwin.   Read Story »

Four Seasons Politics Archive