Two boys, two worlds

No one knows how many illegal immigrants there are in Western North Carolina. Statewide, the total immigrant population is estimated to be just over 600,000; 50 to 65 percent of them are believed to be here illegally. Perhaps 80 percent of the state’s immigrants are Hispanic. Trailers in disrepair at one migrant camp are rented […]

Public assets, backroom discussion­s

The Asheville Civic Center—groaning under the weight of age-related maintenance needs and multiple studies that have borne little fruit—has seemed to be making progress recently. The city’s current capital-improvements plan budgets $400,000 a year for repairs; an engineer is researching the feasibility of an innovative-but-controversial green roof; and perhaps most importantly, increased revenues have the […]

Grass-roots organizers challenge partisan elections plan for Asheville

The Let Asheville Vote petition-drive organizers commandeered the front corner of a Merrimon Avenue coffee shop June 21 for a noon strategizing session. They had a rally coming up in City/County Plaza in three days, and they were still collecting ideas for speakers, musicians and signs. Leader Charlie Hume, an electrical engineer by trade, was […]