Pack Square Plaza has a winding, checkered history. City planners want to center the coming redesign around the stories and concerns of Black residents.
The BPR news team marks the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, and talks in-depth about Western North Carolina politics
Incumbent Republicans will face each other in both state senate district 47 and state house district 113 thanks to redistricting
Nature has been a solace for folks in Western North Carolina long before COVID-19. But during the pandemic, local trails and forests saw record-breaking numbers of visitors who wanted to find a quiet place to safely escape the masked reality of crowded public spaces.
Advocates on the right and left say this year's school board campaigns will be ground zero in America's culture wars. The conservative North Carolina Values Coalition prepared people for that battle this week by holding training sessions for prospective school board candidates in Raleigh and Mooresville. Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the Raleigh-based group, says the issues that have led to heated protests at board meetings are fueling intense interest in running for office. "Parents ar...
UNC Charlotte will start a new program with the goal of helping to predict and fight future pandemics.
Duke Energy says it expects to reduce energy generated by coal to just 5% of its total by 2030 and to eliminate coal entirely by 2035.
A trial court panel will name an outside remapping expert to help them determine whether upcoming replacement redistricting maps comply with partisan limits required by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Oral arguments are scheduled to begin Wednesday at the North Carolina Supreme Court over lawsuit s that will define this year's election in the state - and potentially for the whole decade.
The new Angel Medical Center in Franklin is starting to take shape. BPR took a tour of the construction site. David Sibilio is the superintendent of the project. "This right here is our biggest OR for you guys to see," said Sibilio. Bigger rooms - both for operations and for care - are one of the highlights that Angel's CEO Clint Kendall wants the community to see. "Normal rooms, you have more than enough room right now. It's about the size of a two bedroom room at the current hospital," said Ke...
The pandemic, over 10,000 public comments and more have all had a hand in delaying the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. Here's the latest on the strategic plan that will manage over 1 million acres of national forest in Western North Carolina. James Melonas is the forest supervisor of the National Forests in North Carolina. Here's how he describes how close the plan is to being completed: "So it's kind of like we have the house under contract. We're moving toward closing. We haven't gone to closing...
On January 13th, 2021, Ricky Hurtado made history as the first Latino Democrat to be elected and sworn in to the North Carolina General Assembly. "For many years, I have felt, leading up to this moment," Ricky noted, "que no soy de aqui ni de alla." (I'm neither from here nor there.) As the son of immigrant parents fleeing the civil war in El Salvador, this was more than a political victory. Ricky Hurtado sees it as a watershed moment where he began to understand his Latinidad as a strength. "My...
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Knoxville, Tennessee burned down on New Year's Eve, and investigators have confirmed arson was the cause. The clinic was one of the few near Western North Carolina. Here's how this impacts the region. Molly Rivera is a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood. She says healthcare is connected - even across state lines. "I can't speak to really how many more patients will come to Asheville, but you know healthcare is a system and you know any time you lose a location in ...
The pandemic is showing no sign of letting up in North Carolina. The state set another COVID daily case record with 29,069 new cases on Sunday (1/9). For perspective, BPR's Helen Chickering checked in with North Carolina Health News editor Rose Hoban . (and check out the NC Health News look ahead for health in 2022 here )
It's been four months since Tropical Storm Fred devastated Haywood County - leaving six dead and a long cleanup ahead. BPR takes us to Canton, one of the hardest hit areas, for a look at how the town is doing as the year ends. Caroline Ponton is the curator at the Canton Area Historical Museum in downtown Canton. Five months after the storm the museum still doesn't have power. "This is the basement. The first time I came here everything was decimated," said Ponton . Ponton shows around the bare ...
Virginia-born musician Tony Rice isn't well-known commercially, but his influence on bluegrass guitar is undeniable. While playing with some of the biggest groups of the 1970s Rice helped transform the scene. But his timing and precision later lent itself to other genres.
Nestled on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee is a bald in the Pisgah National Forest called Max Patch. The grassy bald made national headlines last year when a photo made it look like a music festival - not a hiking trail. While the photo portrayed a habitat on the brink of destruction, it might have ended up saving the beloved slice of the Appalachian trail.
Nurses at Mission Hospital have been calling out dangerous levels of staffing shortages since HCA purchased Mission Health System in 2019. Mission says there is a nationwide nursing shortage. BPR dug into both sides of the story. Since the nurses joined the National Nurses United Union in September 2020 calls about unsafe staffing levels have become louder in the form on community actions, federal and state complaints and more. In October , dozens of nurses gathered outside of Mission Hospital c...
Mayor Joe Slaton spoke with BPR's Lilly Knoepp about his plans to improve tourism, housing and bike access in Hayesville. "We're working on a pedestrian and bike lane, a trail that would connect the assets that we have in town," said Slaton. Slaton ran unopposed to win the position of mayor with just 21 votes - 91 percent of the total votes cast. Sixty-three people voted in the town council election. Hayesville is in Clay County. Slaton was previously on the town council for 5 years. He says he ...
The story of the deed transfer of the Nikwasi Mound in Franklin will now be part of a Smithsonian traveling exhibit. The story of the creation of the Nikwasi Initiative and the transfer of the mounds ownership will be a part of "SPARK! Places of Innovation" traveling museum. Bob McCollum is co-chair of the board for the Nikwasi Initiative, the non-profit that the deed of the Eastern Band of Cherokee sacred site was transferred to. "I think the main thing that I feel right now is pride in our com...
A bipartisan group of Western North Carolina leaders hailed the recently passed federal infrastructure bill as a way to make significant progress on one of the region's most pressing problems - internet access.
12/10 Exciting update! Alisa Hove is advancing to the Jeopardy! semifinals: Heads-up Jeopardy! fans: A college professor from Western North Carolina is putting her skills to the test as a competitor on the brain bending quiz show. BPR's Helen Chickering reports.
Maureen Copelof won the city of Brevard with 47 percent of the vote. She was previously a member of city council for four years. Copelof says that time on city council has given her a deep understanding of the regional issues facing Brevard and its neighbors across Western North Carolina. She tells BPR's Lilly Knoepp that healthcare, housing, development and the environment are all at the top of her list of goals as mayor. The former U.S. Navy captain served for 30 years before retiring to Breva...
The Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday from Mississippi challenging Roe vs. Wade. BPR looks at the level of abortion access currently in Western North Carolina. Planned Parenthood spokesperson Molly Rivera says there isn't access to abortion in the majority of North Carolina. "In North Carolina, 91 percent of counties in our state do not have an abortion provider," said Rivera. The only abortion provider in Western North Carolina is a Planned Parenthood location in Asheville. "And we know that...
Henderson County Republican state senator Chuck Edwards' entry into North Carolina's 14 th Congressional district race is the latest turn in the soap opera that is Western North Carolina's politics.
Patrick Fitzsimmons first took office as mayor of Weaverville in August of 2021. Three months later, he was elected to a full-term representing the town of just over 4,000 people in Buncombe County.
Jack Horton has been involved in local Western North Carolina politics since the 1970s. In November, he ran unopposed to become Franklin's new Mayor. BRP's Lilly Knoepp spoke with Horton about his career and what he hopes to achieve in his new role. Here are some of the highlights of Horton's career in the region: Horton was the first appointed Swain County manager in 1978. He then served as county manager in Macon County from 1985 to 1991 before becoming the first appointed Haywood County manag...
The inaugural cycle of StoryCraft, a partnership between BPR and Asheville Writers In The Schools and Community, used an exploration of the senses as our north star during a series of six youth storytelling workshops at the Grant Center. Our goal was to facilitate a genuine experience of identity exploration at a variety of levels through: Simplicity: making sure their experiences and voices are captured without concerns of format, right or wrong. Emotional engagement of the senses: allowing the...
What happens when you put a microphone and camera in the hands of youth? When you guide them through an exploration of the senses and encourage their creative expression? When you make space for youth and adults to collaborate, using a model that works to disrupt power dynamics and involve young people in shaping the programming? We are pleased to bring you Part 3 of StoryCraft, a youth storytelling initiative from Asheville Writers In The Schools and Community (AWITSC) and Blue Ridge Public Rad...
In the second part of StoryCraft, artist mentors Elizabeth Garland and Micah Mackenzie introduce us to 15-year-old Tori Stinson. During our series of summer storytelling workshops at the Grant Center, Tori used the writing prompt "Who am I?" to examine how dance defines her as a person, how she calls on dance to help her through difficult times. Here's an excerpt: Dance makes me calm. Dance is who I am, I am freestyle dance. Dance is my escape, it's my escape from negative energy and bad things....
