In an announcement today, Superintendent Phil Francis, said that the concerns are growing for the structural integrity of the road just south of the Craggy Garden Visitors Center (Milepost 364.5)
Here’s the article in the Blowing Rocket
Do you know your mortgage ABC’s?
Home purchasers sometimes get into trouble because they are not clued into the sequence of steps involved in financing their purchase. These are qualification, pre-approval, approval, and lock.
Click here to read more
good-bye granite countertops?
During the housing boom, updating a kitchen with high end materials like cherry wood cabinets and a Viking stove was a sure bet to boost a home’s value. Homeowners often recovered about 80% of the cost when the house was later sold.
But with so much more inventory on the market for buyers to choose from, they just aren’t as impressed with the bells and whistles. Now most upscale renovations are returning less than 70% of their cost, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Remodeling magazine.
Here’s the article from CNN
New Middle School for Alleghany county
Supporters of a $7.5 million school-bond package in Alleghany County have been making calls and writing letters that urge voters to back a plan to build the county’s first middle school, saying it would ease crowding.
But opponents are firing back with a campaign against the school bonds, which would require a property-tax rate increase of 9 to 10 cents, about a 20 percent increase in this small, rural county.
The referendum will be Tuesday.
Here’s the WS-Journal Article
New Green Business Plan for Watauga County
In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Watauga County, N.C. is a place of amazing beauty with pristine natural resources and a rich cultural heritage. Preserving and protecting these assets is good for the environment and the local economy. The Watauga Green Business Plan is a voluntary, market‐driven program that educates, certifies and recognizes small businesses that have made a commitment to reduce their environmental impact and help build a sustainable community.
Here’s a link to their website
Real Estate is Local—We’ve Got our own Market
The U.S. Commerce Department reported the sales of new single-family homes declined 2.8 percent in January, though area Realtors say the High Country’s market is “immune to natural trends.”
Read the Article in the Mountain Times
Public hearing set for steep-slopes bill
FROM THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES – The state Environmental Review Commission will hold a second public hearing on a proposed new law for development on steep mountain slopes.
The meeting will take place from 4-7 p.m. Monday in Boone, according to Rep. Ray Rapp, a sponsor of the bill that would require local governments to regulate steep-slope construction.
The meeting is in the county commissioners’ board room in the Watauga County Administration Building, 814 W. King St.