At about $32.47 million, actual sales taxes through the end of the 2020 fiscal year were still down 3.2% from the budgeted target of more than $33.53 million. But during an April 7 budget work session, Budget Director Jennifer Barnette had projected sales tax revenue at just $30 million due to the impacts of the coronavirus, a decrease of more than 8.9%.
A team of Jackson County researchers found that wastewater collected in rural areas can be used to track COVID-19 outbreaks up to a week before a patient tests positive. Now, they’re hoping to expand the study across the region.
The 2,532 new COVID-19 cases reported Oct. 15 marked the state’s highest one-day increase since the pandemic began in March. With worsening metrics, North Carolina residents need to step up and do their part to slow the viral spread, Gov. Roy Cooper said.
“As a nation, we have survived worse in history, and if we work together, mask, social distance, sanitize and listen to real experts, we will pull through this with far less deaths.”
“As we demonstrate for transformation of police departments, the removal of statues and other symbols of racism, remember that unequal health care delivery to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) is real, with lifelong and generational effects.”
“In order to keep local businesses open, instead of encouraging the myth that COVID-19 is an overhyped virus or hoax, let’s take actions that actually work.”
According to Western Carolina University’s COVID-19 dashboard, 17 students tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 12. Brevard College announced Oct. 10 that all classes would shift to remote learning for the week of Oct. 12 after three COVID-19 cases were confirmed on one athletic team.
“You see, it’s not enough to vote Trump out. We must vote out his enablers in Congress and state governments.”
An octogenarian’s story shows the many obstacles to voting in long-term care facilities in 2020.
Less than a year after Antony Chiang arrived in Asheville to lead the newly formed Dogwood Health Trust, he’s left the foundation — and despite repeated attempts, Xpress has yet to learn why.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,428 new cases of COVID-19 on Oct. 8, the highest count since July 30. Hospitalizations are the highest they’ve been all month, and in Buncombe County, viral spread is somewhat higher.
Elmore rode a variety of routes around Leicester and north Buncombe County, beginning and ending at his own doorstep at Thatchmore Farm in Leicester. “It started off pretty slow — maybe 30 miles a week — and worked up to over 100 miles a week,” he says, noting that he ended the tour with a 100-mile day.
Five staff members at Oakley Elementary School have tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the school district’s first coronavirus cluster. Plus, North Carolina’s COVID-19 metrics are moving in the wrong direction, says Gov. Roy Cooper.
“It’s time to save our entrepreneurs and local business and open up. It’s time to wake up and save Asheville.”
Public comment on a grant application for federal coronavirus relief identified help with rent, mortgage and utility bills as the county’s greatest need. The Board of Commissioners is set to vote on a plan that would direct the aid, which will likely not be available until January, toward that purpose at its regular meeting of Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Stacie Saunders joined the Buncombe County Health Department in August to lead the county’s COVID-19 response. Nearly two months into her role as public health director, she reflects on the pandemic and her plans for the department.
The Rev. Brent La Prince Edwards says that with gatherings now happening virtually, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity for his church to embark on a $571,000 renovation project without displacing worship services and other events.
Under Gov. Roy Cooper’s new executive order, bars, movie theaters, small outdoor entertainment venues, conference centers and amusement parks can operate at 30% of capacity or 100 seated guests, whichever is less.
“I also predict that nurses will earn a higher hourly rate and will be able to work in an environment with higher nurse-to-patient ratios.”
Union leaders expect a struggle with HCA but say Asheville nurses are “ready to engage in that struggle.”
Under the state’s plan B,Davie County Schools and Brevard Academy have taken similar but slightly different approaches to find ways to provide individualized instruction to Exceptional Children, focusing on creative ways to bring them into school buildings safely.
