UNCA students up in arms over counselor’­s dismissal: Walkouts, rallies planned

Some UNCA students say that recent “restructuring” of the university staff has led to the termination of a counselor who’s relied on and trusted. Maggie Weshner, a 28-year employee at the Asheville campus, recently received a two-week notice after administrators decided to eliminate her job — director of the UNCA counseling center.

Tatamount to treason? Franklin GOP slams Susan Fisher, other state legislator­s over “torture flights

As Xpress noted in this week’s Buzzworm news briefs, a North Carolina-based air-transport company, Aero Contractors, is under scrutiny for its alleged role in the CIA’s so-called “torture flights,” wherein terrorist suspects are kidnapped and secretly shuttled off to be interrogated in other countries. On Jan. 18, 22 state legislators wrote N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper asking that he direct the SBI to investigate Aero for “alleged involvement in a conspiracy to support the kidnap and torture of individuals.”

Mumpower and APD clash — on the streets and via e-mail

By now, the nighttime roamings of Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower to observe drug dealers – and his staunch criticism of law enforcement’s performance in fighting drugs – are becoming familiar fodder for conversation around town. And while it may be easy to paint a picture of interdepartmental clashes and conflict between city leaders […]

Small Bites

What’s good for business may be good for your belly. On Thursday, Jan. 25, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce will hold the first “Chow Down with the Chamber,” a fund-raiser to support the chamber’s many local programs. On that day, participating restaurants (see a list at www.ashevillechamber.org) will donate 10 percent of their profits […]

Food for thought: Blogging Asheville’­s grocery stores

Western North Carolina has no shortage of tourist draws. There’s the scenery, the outdoor adventure, the cultural events etc. But how about the grocery stores? That’s right, grocery stores. A Charlotte-based blogger publishes Grocerying: A collection of grocery store photos and information. A new post there casts a hungry glance at Asheville’s grocery scene. – […]

Tar Heeled and feathered

If you leave early and arrive late, you can drive across North Carolina in a single day. The online trip-tracker Mapquest calculates the west-to-east distance “from Murphy to Manteo” — from the mountains to the sea (or vice versa) — as 560 miles, or roughly 10 hours by car. If you took Mapquest’s route and […]

What was he thinking?

Maryanne Vollers: “You can’t read this guy’s mind,” she says of Rudolph — but her investigation turned up signs of what drove the serial bomber. Western North Carolina’s most notorious terrorist may be submerged in solitary confinement in a “supermax” penitentiary, but that didn’t stop Eric Rudolph from making the national news again recently. In […]

Rudolph on Rudolph

Since Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty in April 2005 and was given two life sentences without parole, the serial bomber has issued his side of the story — or parts of it, anyway — to various correspondents, family members, media outlets and the public at large. Below are excerpts from Rudolph’s writings on why he did […]