The Hero’s Journey: Comic artist spotlights local champions
Volume
27
/ Issue 30
Cover Design Credit:
Scott SouthwickCover Photography Credit:
Merlin Strivelli
Local comic artist Merlin Strivelli has been honing his illustration and storytelling skills at Open Hearts Art Center since 2005. His Asheville-based OHAC Justice series features local landmarks and superheroes based on staff members at the arts nonprofit.
arts
Creatives in the Crowd: Merlin Strivelli’s comic books feature local heroes
The local artist's OHAC Justice comic book series takes place in Asheville and features superheroes based on staff members at Open Hearts Art Center.Around town: Black History Month celebrations, live theater, virtual concerts and more
Rise Up: A Celebration of African American History and Culture returns for a second consecutive year with a virtual twist. Also: Asheville Wisdom Exchange launches; The Magnetic Theatre celebrates its…food
Commercial kitchens help food entrepreneurs realize their visions
Blue Ridge Food Ventures is the largest facility in the region offering rented kitchen, production and storage space. But several others have launched in recent years to help meet the…living
State launches inaugural bird atlas
The first such effort of its kind in North Carolina, the atlas will break the state into 937 sections of 10 square miles — covering roughly a fifth of its…movies
Ria Young pays homage to Shiloh’s history in debut documentary
Asheville-based memoirist and playwright Ria Young adds “filmmaker” to her resume with a documentary short on her native Shiloh community.news
Health roundup: Top hospitals, NC children’s health outcomes worsen
Three Western North Carolina hospitals were named among the best in the country in Healthgrades’ 2021 America’s Best Hospitals. The 2021 Child Health Report Card shows the state failing in…WNC has more job openings than unemployed workers. Why?
As of December 2020, there were 21,391 unique job postings in Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania counties. But many of the available jobs require higher levels of education or…Mary Othella Burnette writes of growing up Black in WNC
Born in Black Mountain in 1931, Mary Othella Burnette recounts her youth in her debut memoir, Lige of the Black Walnut Tree: Growing Up Black in Southern Appalachia.Biz Briefs: Over half of Asheville workers employed by small businesses
A report by construction industry website Construction Coverage found that 52% of Asheville workers — roughly 90,000 people — are employed by a small business. Plus, local business openings and…School employees eligible for COVID-19 vaccines as ACS plans return
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners directed health staff to set aside 975 vaccine doses per week — half of the weekly 1,950 doses that North Carolina has been sending…ACS staff, board give few answers on $90K consulting contract
Signed by Asheville City Schools Superintendent Gene Freeman on Feb. 5, the agreement with Raleigh-based Forthright Advising drew the concern of Asheville City Board of Education member Joyce Brown during…opinion
Letter: Cawthorn and the fight mindset
"When he talks of opposing 'the far left’s schemes,' I wonder, is this a reference to constituents like me who support Medicare for All and Democratic Socialist institutions like public…Letter: Additions to obelisk could tell a story
"Displaying chains and manacles on the sides of the monument would be a similar thought-provoker. To explain the sight would be to consider our local history of slavery and convict…Letter: Vaccine allocation dooms Buncombe’s seniors
"On Feb. 16, Buncombe County commissioners decided that political considerations were more important than science-based plans for COVID-19 vaccinations."Letter: Show you care by wearing a mask
"My dear friend, who works as a nurse and has been testing patients for COVID outside in all kinds of weather since March, lost her beloved father to COVID."Letter: A five-letter word for reconciliation
"My proposal is to rename the shaft of stone on Pack Square as Peace Monument."Letter: School board should be independent of Asheville City Schools
"This really needs to be in the regulations of the Asheville City Council: 'Only applicants independent of the school system will be considered for the positions of school board.'"Refuse and refusal