With only one year left in college, I thought I had hiked all around western North Carolina. But there was one view I hadn’t seen: the aptly named Paradise Falls. Located in the Nantahala National Forest, Paradise Falls is a natural wonder. Three tiers tall, this waterfall is tucked into a tight chasm of massive […]
Mass incarceration from a federal and state perspective
May 20, 2014 by
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 […]
Celebrate Earth Day like a local
April 27, 2014 by
Smell of funnel cake and sounds of bluegrass mixed with jazz and fiddle filled up downtown Sylva, Saturday, April 26, to celebrate the Greening up the Mountains Festival . “It started out as an Earth Day festival, and this is the 17th one. It’s always the fourth Saturday in April,” said Paige Roberson, Sylva town […]
Hunting the mourning dove
November 4, 2013 by
The story was updated December 2, 2013 with a multimedia at the end of the story. The sun had shifted from directly above to directly over the trees on the opposite side of the blown down corn field, leaving no space for shade except the slat right behind the trees we were standing under. We […]
A thrill of a ride
June 10, 2013 by
“It’s the most addictive drug on the planet. You can’t just quit.” Brian Arrowood is an addict. In just five years, he has sacrificed family events, holidays, birthdays, relationships, and job opportunities to get his fix. He routinely risks life and limb just to get his high. “It’s that adrenaline rush man, it’s always something […]
Tax season brings class war mentality to WNC, translates to moral war between citizens
March 17, 2013 by
Lower income individuals and families in WNC are receiving more of a tax return this year than last year as President Obama’s plan to pull the middle class out from below the poverty line begins to take shape. The U.S. Census Bureau released data in 2011 that stated nearly one out of every five mountain […]
