In June, Ruth Pike-Elliot gave birth to her son, Ollie. She and her wife, Bren, have worked hard to stay safe while celebrating the life of their newborn son with family and friends.
Tag: COVID Conversations
Showing 1-19 of 19 results
Local equity consultants open up about their work
From breweries to clothing lines, businesses are clamoring to address internal biases and racism in the workplace. As inquiries pour in, local equity consultants Marisol Jiménez and Tamiko Ambrose Murray are busier than ever.
Kalesha Ruth opens car dealership during pandemic
Asheville native Kalesha Ruth returns to the mountains to start her own used car dealership specializing in low down payments. To her knowledge, she’s the first Black women to own a car dealership in Western North Carolina.
Tom Elmore marks 70 years with 700 miles
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.
Letter: How welcoming is Asheville to people of less means?
“I couldn’t help wondering how our ‘native’ population, of all races, who are struggling with gentrification, unaffordable housing, nonliving wages and income inequality might be feeling when they hear that story.”
Letter: Keep community in mind when publishing articles
“Parvin’s article is not relevant to most people’s experience living in Asheville at this time.”
Letter: Now that you’re here, it’s time to help out
“Asheville residents struggle to buy houses here because of stagnant wages, under- and unemployment, and ballooning home prices due to folks from other places buying homes ‘sight unseen.'”
Why we moved to Asheville in the middle of the pandemic
Roy Parvin is the author of two books of fiction and more recently a funny yoga book, Yoga for the Inflexible Male. In this short piece, he describes his recent long-distance move to Asheville during the coronavirus pandemic.
Deaf educator teaches, learns remotely during pandemic
Desiree Delbert, who works as an American Sign Language teacher at Asheville’s Franklin School of Innovation, normally runs her classroom with lots of student-to-student conversation and feedback — an experience that proved hard to replicate online.
Teen spreads joy, awareness with free bouquets
Mary Wells Letson has been giving away free flower bouquets from a stand on Kimberly Avenue since June 1. The arrangements also include a flyer that highlights the work of social justice organizations the teen supports.
Gloria Pincu reflects on her battle with COVID-19
East Asheville resident Gloria Pincu lost her husband, Daniel, to COVID-19 while she also battled the disease. As she slowly regains her strength, Pincu is struggling to make sense of everything that’s happened since the pandemic began in March.
Clearer but busier days for Mount Mitchell Superintendent Kevin Bischof
Kevin Bischof is in high demand. Now in his 13th year as a ranger with the North Carolina State Parks, he’s transitioning from serving as superintendent of Mount Mitchell State Park to assuming the same role at Grandfather Mountain State Park. But COVID-19 is delaying the hiring of his replacement, so he’s juggling both jobs.
Aisha Adams on doing the work during a pandemic
Entrepreneur Aisha Adams urges community to broaden its efforts to promote equity beyond recent outrage and protests focused on police killings of black people. “I didn’t see people up in arms that the tourism fund didn’t include people of color,” she notes.
J Hackett on wounds old and new
J Hackett spoke with Xpress on June 2 about his experiences as a black community leader during the coronavirus pandemic and, now, the protests and grief experienced locally in response to George Floyd’s death on May 25 at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Local server reflects on changes in restaurant industry
The work didn’t stop for server Horus Runako when Wicked Weed was forced to stop in-person dining. After spending the last two months helping with delivery food and beer orders, he — along with most customers — is excited to return to the restaurant setting.
Author Beth Berry teases out the myths around motherhood
In her recently released debut book, Motherwhelmed: Challenging Norms, Untangling Truths, and Restoring Our Worth to the World, Berry — mother of four daughters, ages 12, 15, 19 and 25 — examines the stressful state of modern motherhood and how an unsupportive culture keeps mothers from thriving.
Hispanic family tests positive for COVID-19
No one ever plans on getting sick, says Lucy Ortiz, a mother of six in Henderson County. Four members of her family have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, including her 17-month-old son.
Local resident documents COVID-19
Local resident Nicora Gangi is on a mission to photograph the impact of COVID-19 on the city’s urban landscape and residents.
Pandemic left graduating high school seniors no time to say goodbye
Eligh Ros, a dual-enrollment 12th grader at Martin L. Nesbitt Jr. Discovery Academy, is on track to graduate as part of the class of 2020 with both a high school diploma and some college credit from A-B Tech. Early this spring, he was busy with classes and multiple club activities, his sights set on studying computer science or engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York in the fall, when he suddenly found his life upended by Gov. Roy Cooper’s March 14 executive order to close schools.
