Legislatur­e heads toward crossover with more than 1,700 bills to pick through

There are only three weeks left before the 2013 session of the N.C. General Assembly hits its crossover deadline of May 16. In general, that means to have a chance at becoming law, bills must have passed a third reading in the house or senate (whichever chamber initiated the bill) and moved to the other chamber by that date. More than 1,700 bills have been introduced since January (1,002 in the House; 725 in the Senate), including the recent arrival of Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposed $49,590,935,190 budget for 2013-14. It’s going to be a busy time.

State tells Western Highlands Network its contract will end in July

On Friday, April 5, the North Carolina Division of Medical Assistance notified the Asheville-based Western Highlands Network that it’s terminating its contract, effective July 31. WHN coordinates mental-health, substance-abuse and developmental-disability services in in Madison, Mitchell, Yancey, Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania, Polk and Rutherford counties.

On second thought: Commission­ers approve discrimina­tion ban, will need additional vote

After hearing more than 40 minutes of public comment on the matter, commissioners voted 4-3 to add language that protects Buncombe County workers from harassment based on sexual orientation to the personnel ordinance. Above, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality Jasmine Beach-Ferrara smiles after speaking in favor of the expansion of the county’s nondiscrimination statement.  (Photo by Caitlin Byrd)

Fryar apologizes for harsh words, calls for A-B Tech trustees to resign

In a letter sent to several local media outlets, Buncombe County Commissioner Mike Fryar apologized for calling A-B Tech President Hank Dunn a “little Hitler” and a “sick little puppy.” But the freshman commissioner continues to lambast the president in the new letter, arguing that Dunn acted outside his job description in a way that “undermines the authority of the full Board of Trustees.” He also calls for trustees who worked with Dunn on the maneuver to resign.