AltWeeklies Wire
Resurrecting Western North Carolina's Oldest African-American Cemeterynew
A revitalized volunteer push is underway to rescue Western North Carolina’s oldest known African-American cemetery from the ravages of neglect and obscurity. The effort includes a new website that features an interactive map of the cemetery and a digital guide to each of its graves.
Mountain Xpress |
Jake Frankel |
09-04-2014 |
Race & Class
Are Tiny Homes the Next Big Thing?new
The blogosphere is abuzz these days with romantic visions of picturesque miniature dwellings. And a growing number of local advocates say the “tiny home movement” could help achieve a wealth of positive outcomes, from environmental efficiencies to enhanced affordability. Amid the swelling interest, however, many hurdles remain.
Mountain Xpress |
Jake Frankel |
07-15-2014 |
Housing & Development
Breaking the Code: Gender Stereotypes Hinder Women in Tech Fieldsnew
In 2011, women held 57 percent of all professional positions in the country but only 25 percent of technology jobs, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. Does the Asheville, N.C. area buck the trend, and why should it matter?
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
11-07-2013 |
Tech
Rampant Poaching Threatens Ginseng's Survivalnew
With wild ginseng root fetching upward of $800 a pound, untold numbers of poachers have taken to local forests, overwhelming meager law enforcement resources and leaving the plant's survival in doubt.
Mountain Xpress |
Jake Frankel |
09-04-2013 |
Environment
Tags: North Carolina
Collateral Damage: Veterans Wrestle with the Aftermath of Warnew
Despite having no military base nearby, nearly 20,000 veterans call Buncombe County home — giving it the sixth-largest veteran population in North Carolina.
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
08-21-2013 |
War
How Asheville, N.C. got an in-town Chick-fil-A drive-thrunew
Chick-fil-A will open half a mile from downtown Asheville, a progressive city with a nationally recognized local food scene. Since 2005, the property where Chick-fil-A will open has entangled residents in a debate about what Asheville should look like in the future.
Mountain Xpress |
Emily Patrick |
08-14-2013 |
Housing & Development
Is There a Doctor in the Hills?new
The challenging road to health care in rural Western North Carolina extends beyond the curves of country back roads. Whether it's dealing with the current physician shortage or wrestling with social and economic barriers, local providers and patients share their challenges and plans to address rural health-care needs.
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
05-02-2013 |
Health
Bought & Sold: Forgotten Documents Highlight Slave Historynew
Tucked away on dusty courthouse shelves across the South, long-forgotten documents record the names of countless African-Americans whose forced labor was a cornerstone of the region's economy.
Mountain Xpress |
Jake Frankel |
04-16-2013 |
Race & Class
Truth Citizens: Media Literacy in the Digital Agenew
How do you teach someone what is a trusted news source, and on whose shoulders does that responsibility rest?
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
03-20-2013 |
Media
Obama Emphasizes Manufacturing, Middle-Class in Asheville, N.C.new
Less than 24 hours after he delivered the State of the Union address, President Barack Obama delivered a speech to Linamar Corp. in Asheville, N.C., where he emphasized the importance of manufacturing jobs in relation to building a stronger middle-class.
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
02-14-2013 |
Economy
Tags: Barack Obama, Linamar Corporation
Vital signs: Taking Buncombe County’s pulsenew
In less than 10 minutes, a doctor or nurse can get a read on a patient’s overall health and well-being just by checking a few key indicators: pulse, blood pressure, temperature and respiration rate. But how do you assess an entire community’s vital signs? And if you don’t, how will you know what the biggest problems are and how best to allocate scarce resources? This story provides a checkup on Buncombe County and how health is a community issue.
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
01-30-2013 |
Health
Historic Asheville churches confront religion's changing rolenew
At a time when growing numbers of Americans have abandoned traditional religion, Asheville residents still fill the pews in Church Street's three historic sanctuaries every Sunday.
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
12-26-2012 |
Religion
Hospitals Facing Financial Pressures to Mergenew
How the story of hospital mergers, affiliations and consolidations has become a common tale across the state and the country.
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
10-18-2012 |
Health
Not my problem: Local agencies powerless to address sewage leaksnew
Three agencies deal with local sewage issues in Asheville, N.C.: MSD, the Asheville office of the state's Division of Water Quality and the Buncombe County Health Department. And not one of them is necessarily empowered to either repair the kind of problem Vickie Bradley encountered or force a solution.
Mountain Xpress |
Caitlin Byrd |
08-30-2012 |
Environment
Unprecedented: Sitel workers mount historic union organizing drivenew
North Carolina is the least unionized state in the country — only 2.9 percent of its 3.6 million workers carry union cards — and WNC, many labor officials say, is the state’s least unionized region. But some Sitel employees are trying to form a union.
Mountain Xpress |
David Forbes |
08-06-2012 |
Business & Labor
