Mass incarceration from a federal and state perspective

The United States imprisons more people at a higher rate and for longer periods than any other country in the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are over 225,000 state prisoners that are currently incarcerated for drug-related offenses – a costly result of policies created during the drug war that began […]

Vecinos, Inc. celebrates 10 years of assisting WNC farmworkers

North Carolina is home to about 150,000 farmworkers, among the largest in the country, and yet we hear so little about them. Majority of those workers speak Spanish as their native language. Farmworkers, both in the state and throughout the country, face tough living conditions, discrimination and language-related barriers that often go unnoticed, despite North […]

The Affordable Care Act and student impact

Leslie Boyd has more than enough reason to be spreading information about the Affordable Care Act all across North Carolina. “One of the reasons we’re so avid about [the Affordable Care Act] is because I lost my son from a lack of health care,”  she starts her story. If her son, Mike Danforth, had just […]

Duke Energy and McCrory administration still seeking solution for NC coal ash ponds

The biggest energy provider in North Carolina, Duke Energy, continues to roll in the news for their problems in the ash ponds around N.C. and Governor McCrory is finally responding, as is Duke Energy.  However the response from McCrory is not what the environmental organisations wanted. As Charlotte Observer reported earlier in April, McCrory  calls for […]

Local brew means big business in WNC

Brewing business is seeing a boom in industry, especially in the area of Western North Carolina. Twenty years ago, it was merely a hiccup in the draft market and today, according to The Asheville Citizen Times, it is a multi-million dollar business. The NC Brewers Guild estimates that there are around 100 breweries and brewpubs — […]

Free Comic Book Day at Fandemonium is tomorrow

The twelfth anniversary of Free Comic Book Day is Saturday May 3, 2014 and will be open to everyone who wants to come. You can grab your free comics at Fandemonium Comics and More in Sylva starting at 10 a.m. They will be open until 6 p.m. or whenever all the comics are gone. “Get […]