The event includes music by DJ Malinalli and light hors d’oeuvres at 5:30 p.m. followed the unveiling of the work “Rising of the Ancestors” by Harry Rivera, an artist talk by Ponkho Bermejo, a documentary film screening and a panel discussion featuring Rivera, Bermejo and Carmen Ramos-Kennedy.
Today, at least 17 faith communities in Buncombe County and Mars Hill are offering shelter and assistance to immigrants living here without legal papers, according to Melody Pajak of the nonprofit Faith Communities Organizing for Sanctuary.
With apologies to Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a resident of Western North Carolina in possession of little fortune must be in want of affordable housing. In 2018, governments and organizations throughout the area tried to tackle the problem with a range of creative solutions.
BeLoved Asheville is developing its plan to build a community of tiny homes on about an acre of land in East Asheville.
Asheville City Council unanimously approved an expansive new transit master plan on July 24 — a vote that drew applause from citizens sitting in the audience. The plan will increase the number of buses in the fleet to 36 (plus an extra 16 in reserve) and more than double the number of service hours to about 225,000 by 2029.
Code for Asheville delivered a presentation to the public safety committee on March 26 asking the city to make policing data more readily available to the public.
Across the nation and in Western North Carolina, people are being held in jail for days, weeks, even months awaiting trial on misdemeanor charges, because they can’t raise the cash to get out. That, in turn, can lead to job loss and homelessness. Some attorneys now argue that this is tantamount to debtors prison, which is unconstitutional.
Mountainfilm on Tour stops by Highland Brewing Co., BeLoved Asheville hosts a panel discussion on homelessness after a screening of ‘The Florida Project’ at the Grail, and more.
In Western North Carolina, homegrown activists of all stripes are working to effect change among an increasingly divided populace, drawing on historical ideals and using new technologies to spread their messages. Xpress reached out to local activists from across the political spectrum to share their motivations, challenges and techniques.
“Peace = justice = sharing. … But as Amy Cantrell asked me, ‘If we truly believe in peace and not war … what are we willing to risk to bring that about in the world?'”
When activists hired Spanish-language interpreters for the May 23 meeting of Asheville City Council, some community members questioned why local government bodies aren’t already providing interpretation services at all public meetings.