Recommendations to build bigger jails in North Carolina often come from the same firms that land jail design contracts, reports Jordan Wilkie of Carolina Public Press. Consultant methods may stack the deck in favor of big investments in jail construction.
For months, the CEO of the Cherokee Indian Hospital has quietly traveled to county commission boards throughout the western part of the state, giving presentations on the benefits of Medicaid expansion. As local leaders throughout the conservative region show support for the policy, will they change the minds of state Republicans?
Originally from North Carolina, Katherine de Vos Devine found herself uprooted at a young age when her father moved the family to New York City for a new job. In many ways, this transplant shaped Devine’s life. “I grew up in a diverse and bohemian apartment building, surrounded by actors, dancers, artists and elderly Ziegfeld […]
A staffing shortage across North Carolina’s prisons led to the temporary closing of a wing at Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women in late August and the relocation of several dozen prisoners and staff. The wing has since been reopened, but it’s unclear if or when the inmates who were transferred out will return.
In classrooms throughout North Carolina and Oklahoma, students are learning about the periodic table of elements or the origins of the Civil War. However, in some classrooms, the lessons are a bit more personal — Cherokee students are learning the history and language of their people. Cherokee speakers have made great efforts to keep their […]
The N.C. Division of Employment Security announced the approval of Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits on Sept. 10. The move follows a federal major disaster declaration Sept. 8 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and White House at the request of Gov. Roy Cooper.
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved nearly $97,000 in new spending from the county’s fund balance to cover nine months of services that had previously been supported by the Governor’s Crime Commission.
Briefly, it seemed like the coronavirus pandemic had turned a corner. “People were starting to feel a little bit optimistic this summer,” says Ariel Shumaker, an Asheville therapist in private practice, about COVID-19. “And now, it’s not feeling optimistic.” Fatigue, sadness, anxiety, rage, fear, exhaustion — these are the emotions area behavioral health professionals report […]
Amid signs reading “My body, my choice, my right” and chants of “We won’t go back!”, supporters of reproductive rights gathered at Pack Square on Sept. 6 as a local response to Senate Bill 8, a ban in Texas on abortions of pregnancies of more than about six weeks. The Speakout for Reproductive Freedom, organized […]
Update, Sept. 6, 2021: This piece was updated to reflect that Natasha Tretheway’s book Native Guard is a collection of poetry. Growing up in Leicester, Erica Abrams Locklear imagined becoming a pediatrician one day. She loved to read, though, and remembers enjoying Southern authors Jill McCorkle and Clyde Edgerton. But Abrams Locklear didn’t become aware […]
At its regular meeting that evening, the Board of Commissioners will invite public input on its application for $750,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“ABCCM knows that people who are houseless or experiencing homelessness are smart, motivated and often courageous persons who want the skills that lead to careers,” the Rev. Scott Rogers, the nonprofit’s executive director, wrote in a statement to Xpress. “They want to earn enough income to rent or buy a home close to their work and school for their children.”
Western North Carolina is grappling with a controversial part of its history: monuments erected in commemoration of Confederate figures. In May, after months of debate and consideration by a specially appointed task force, Asheville began removing the Vance Monument, an obelisk honoring the late Confederate military officer and former Gov. Zebulon Baird Vance. And in […]
While the statistics are bleak and the systemic obstacles are many, local individuals and community-based organizations are pursuing their own approaches to tackling long-standing inequities among students at Asheville City Schools.
To focus resources on larger regional branches, a proposed Library Master Plan would close three existing libraries in Black Mountain, Oakley/South Asheville and Swannanoa. Neighborhood groups in those areas fiercely oppose the changes, as they’ve made clear in recent community listening sessions hosted by the county.
The office finds itself without any permanent staff and has no public process for hiring new employees. The vacancies come after a wave of resignations, as well as public criticism from former employees and elected leaders about a lack of support and accountability for equity work.
Lawsuit alleges Mission Health monopoly Six residents of Western North Carolina filed a class-action lawsuit against HCA Healthcare and Mission Health System on Aug. 10, alleging restraint of trade and unlawful monopolization. The plaintiffs say they have paid higher health insurance premiums, copays and deductibles than have residents of surrounding areas due to Mission’s ability […]
Every Saturday morning, nurse practitioner Amy Beane can be found at the Ebbs Chapel Community Center in Mars Hill. The building is home to the Outland Family Clinic, which opened June 5; it’s where Beane volunteers weekly to provide free health care to anyone in need. “I had someone come in who has not seen […]
Facial feminization surgery and voice lessons for transgender people are now covered by the largest health insurance provider in the state. On July 1, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina updated its policy to recognize these gender-affirming health care procedures as medically necessary. The national nonprofit Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund led […]
A reinstatement of the CDC moratorium and expanded state financial assistance aids tenants struggling to pay rent during the pandemic. Find answers to questions about the programs.
Western North Carolina residents who want to change the health insurance they receive through the Affordable Care Act, or who want to sign up for a plan through the health insurance marketplace, can do so during a special enrollment period ending Sunday, Aug. 15. And local nonprofits urge people to explore their options for potentially […]
