News in brief: NCDOT to host public meeting on I-40 interchange in Black Mountain

IMPACT SCHOLARSHIPS ANNOUNCED: Students graduating from a Henderson or Transylvania county public, private or home school in the 2018-19 academic year are eligible to apply for one of 500 new $1,000 scholarships to Blue Ridge Community College. High school seniors with plans to attend BRCC in fall 2019 should visit blueridge.edu/scholarships to apply. Photo of May 2018 BRCC graduates by Edward Maglott

Asheville Police Department releases new data sets

A word to the data lovers among us: The Asheville Police Department has released citizen complaint and emergency call data online through the city’s open data portal (avl.mx/5gr).

Beginning with Jan. 1, 2018, the complaint data set includes the date, disposition and status of each citizen complaint, as well as the nature of the allegation. The emergency call data set includes the incident number, call time, block-level address, nature of the call and its disposition. The data will be updated quarterly.

Also available on the data portal are APD traffic stop reports, crime statistics and other information.

Weigh in on proposed I-40 interchange in Black Mountain

According to a press release from the N.C. Department of Transportation, the department seeks input on a proposed project to “convert the bridge on [Interstate 40] over Blue Ridge Road into an interchange, widen Blue Ridge Road from just south of the new interchange to U.S. [Highway] 70, create a roundabout at the intersection of N.C. [Highway] 9 and Blue Ridge Road and replace the bridge over Swannanoa River.”

A public meeting 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, at Lakeview Clubhouse at Lake Tomahawk Park, 401 Laurel Circle, Black Mountain, will provide residents with information about three design options and an opportunity to give input on the project plans.

The project is expected to begin in fiscal year 2019, with construction kicking off two years later. A project cost estimate has not yet been established.

Contact Division 13 Project Engineer Michael Clark at mgclark@ncdot.gov or 828-251-6171, or by mail at 55 Orange St., Asheville, N.C .28801 for more information or to submit comments.

Asheville ranks 20th on list of retirement locations

While the majority of the 2,000 people surveyed for Provision Living’s recent retirement study said they’d prefer to retire to a beach locale, Asheville nonetheless ranked No. 20 on the list of top retirement spots. Miami topped the chart, with San Diego grabbing the second-place position and Denver in third. View all the results here.

Over half the survey respondents said they will work part time in retirement, while 68 percent said they plan to volunteer. Without Social Security, 39 percent of respondents said, they won’t have the financial security to retire.

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About Virginia Daffron
Managing editor, lover of mountains, native of WNC. Follow me @virginiadaffron

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