Code Purple will have nearly 100 beds available for emergency overnight shelter for Asheville’s unhoused population when the temperature is freezing or below. The program will also operate for two additional months in the winter and spring of 2022-23.
Farmers and homesteaders can get their hands dirty all over Western North Carolina. For those with more modest ambitions, there are houseplants. Garden stores, chain stores and even pharmacies sell houseplants nowadays, but it’s also an attractive industry for many small-business owners. The Asheville area is home to several plant shops known for their intimate […]
Buskers are visible ambassadors of Asheville’s artistic community, and some downtown businesses say street performances create a convivial atmosphere. But for others who live and work downtown, amplified sound is a daily cacophony.
On Sept. 13, Buncombe County Health & Human Services issued an alert on social media and to local groups like the Homeless Coalition about a spike in overdoses in the county. “Please be advised, over the last several days there has been a continued spike in probable overdoses in Buncombe County,” the email alert from […]
The reproductive landscape in America vastly changed on June 24 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Dobbs v. Jackson that abortion is not a right under the Constitution.
On June 30, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 762 (the 2022 Farm Bill) with language distinguishing marijuana from hemp, and Governor Roy Cooper signed it. That might have seemed to be the end of the hemp industry’s woes. But local businesses say it would be premature to stop there.
Asheville Regional Airport opened a Mamava Lactation Suite Sept. 2 for travelers and employees who are breastfeeding or pumping. The suite is a free-standing pod and located inside the airport past security. It’s lockable, free to use and contains seating, an electrical outlet and hand sanitizing units. “One of the most requested passenger amenities is […]
Parents of children who attend Asheville High School, the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville and Asheville Middle School tell Xpress the experience of a perimeter lockdown Sept. 1 was rattling, and assessment of that response was mixed.
Sona Merlin has seen a lot during her 21 years in Asheville real estate. But one house in the Peach Knob Meadows neighborhood near Town Mountain Road stands out above the rest due to a bathroom. Why? It included a miniature shower built for a dog. “They used nicer tile than my home shower has!” […]
The goal is that reading with a child will become a routine and will foster a love of reading on its own.
WNC retains abortion access through Planned Parenthood’s Asheville Health Center, the region’s sole provider of the procedure. What is less clear, at least at this moment, is how restrictions on abortion will impact the area’s child welfare system.
Buncombe County is expecting a large increase in its elderly population in the coming decades. The need for more caregivers will increase with the rise of the aging population.
The N.C. Republican Party’s Aug. 17 panel discussion in Hendersonville was billed with the theme of “Family First.”
Childhood is romanticized as the most carefree time of one’s life. But anyone who endured bullying by classmates, or was raised with an alcoholic parent, or struggled to afford basic necessities, knows childhood has never been easy. There is widespread agreement that children’s lives have become more difficult with disruptions to education and family life […]
The 66-page report depicts the landscape for working parents of children younger than 6 in WNC, early childhood education options and the education level and compensation of early childhood education providers.
Three hospital systems — AdventHealth, HCA Healthcare/Mission Health and Novant Health — are jousting for the opportunity to build a facility in Western North Carolina. During an Aug. 12 public hearing at A-B Tech, members of the public got to voice their opinions on who should provide the area’s newest hospital beds. Buncombe, Graham, Madison […]
On July 15, the federal government debuted 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a new, easy-to-remember dialing code that operates differently from National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Asheville and Buncombe County filed a class-action lawsuit against HCA Healthcare and Mission Health on July 27 in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit alleges HCA is attempting to monopolize health care in Western North Carolina. “The Asheville City Council and the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners felt it was necessary to take this step to […]
Uvalde, the deadliest school shooting in a decade, underscored persistent questions about school safety, stricter gun laws and ways to “harden” schools to help keep students and staff safe. In Asheville and Buncombe County, those topics are on the minds of families, law enforcement and school personnel.
North Carolina has 53 cases of monkeypox as of July 29, according to a dashboard on the NCDHHS website. There have been no reported deaths from monkeypox in the U.S.
Representatives from the city and county recognize their respective spending must be intentional in focus and coordinated with each other’s work.
