Art for the people

About two years ago, Molly Must suddenly realized what was missing from Lexington Avenue—not on the street itself or in its shops, but under the Interstate 240 bridge. Gateway dreams: Preliminary design for part of the Lexington overpass mural. It wasn’t covered in murals. “This town has such a strong local arts culture, and there’s […]

Signed off

The Aug. 15 arrest of Jonas Phillips on charges of obstructing a sidewalk has local activists up in arms. Phillips was taken into custody after displaying a 5-by-1-foot sign reading “IMPEACH BUSH/CHENEY” on the Haywood Road/Interstate 240 overpass. Freeway blogging: Jonas Phillips holds another sign on the Flint Street overpass, several days after his arrest. […]

Group to push for Citizens’ Police Review Board

A diverse group of citizens, concerned about several recent incidents involving law enforcement and activists, has decided to push for a citizens’ review board on the Asheville Police Department, as well as increased pressure on city, county and state officials to protect civil rights and more of a citizen presence at demonstrations throughout the city. […]

“Things I can’t talk about”: Deputy in flag case not demoted, suspended or fired

Records released by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 14 show that Deputy Brian Scarborough, who came under fire for his handling of the controversial flag-desecration arrests of a West Asheville couple (see “Flag Fight,” Aug. 1 Xpress) has not been demoted, suspended, transferred or fired. Keeping mum: Sheriff Van Duncan has invoked public-records […]

Duncan refuses to release flag investigat­ion results

Invoking state public-records law, Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan, refused to release the results of an internal investigation into the July 25 arrest of activists Deborah and Mark Kuhn on flag-desecration charges. But Hugh Stevens, counsel for the North Carolina Press Association, has sharply disagreed with Duncan’s interpretation of the law. The Kuhns, meanwhile, are […]

Petition succeeds, next city elections nonpartisa­n

A petition to force a referendum on the Asheville City Council’s June decision to switch to partisan elections has succeeded by a narrow margin. On July 31, the Buncombe County Board of Elections announced that it had validated 5,022 petition signatures—just over the 5,000 required. Petition driver: Let Asheville Vote organizer Charlie Hume exults after […]