The local daily covered comments from Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and Buncombe County Chair David Gantt at a recent Leadership Asheville Forum. Addressing council’s recent decision to quintuple fines for absentee landlords who rent out homes for less than thirty days, the mayor said:
Airbnb has flown their hootie-hoos down here to come meet with us, and that’s no accident. There’s a lot of business to be had down here.
Gantt spoke about the county’s efforts to stop domestic violence. $2.7 million has been allocated to programs, and a new Family Justice Center is under construction. In 2013, fifteen Buncombites died from domestic violence.
