10/3 Update: 4 p.m. State Health officials have released preliminary findings of their investigation into the source of the Legionnaires' outbreak at the Mountain State Fair in Fletcher, September 6-15. 128 cases of the severe lung infection have now been confirmed. One person has died. State Epidemiologist Dr. Zack Moore told reporters during a phone conference that fairgoers who were diagnosed were much more likely to report being in the Davis Event Center - an indoor facility. "The second

The victim of a police beating spoke out for the first time this month about the plea deal the former Asheville officer charged for the incident received. Leaders of the city's African American community are offering up similar mixed reactions to the settlement in the case involving Chris Hickman.

Students in Western North Carolina joined their peers from around the world and skipped school to walk the picket line in what they are calling a Global Climate Strike. Hundreds of young activists marched through downtown Asheville holding signs and chanting "Hey hey! Ho ho! Climate change has got to go!" The group gathered in Pack Square where speakers from local high schools rallied the crowd. Protestors then marched to the Buncombe County Courthouse steps where they held a climate 'die-in'.

In the conversations surrounding the beating of a black man by a former Asheville police officer -- a critical voice has been missing. The victim himself.

An Asheville business program created to support women and communities of color who want to do business with the city just got a makeover. BPR's Helen Chickering has details.

Election officials from across Western North Carolina gathered in Haywood County to be the first to witness public demonstrations of new state-certified voting systems.

Asheville city council is getting closer to taking action to sidestep the North Carolina General Assembly regarding the use of districts for future city council elections. A final decision won't come until next month, but a public hearing to be held next week could be a sign of which way a majority of council members are leaning.

What is Southern Appalachia's place in U.S. history and identity - and in particular - the country's politics? Voting patterns in the region have stayed remarkbly stable in presidential elections in recent decades - certainly in comparison to the rest of the region known as Appalachia - but the region's significance in those races may be a bit overstated.

It was 1957 when Dr. Levern Hamlin Allen headed to what was then called Western Carolina College . Allen remembers the long drive to Cullowhee from her where she was living in Charlotte in those days. "Oh 1957 that was a long time ago. When I look at the pictures of how tiny I was,"says Allen. Allen needed just 9 credit hours to be certified as a special ed teacher in North Carolina since she got her teaching degree in Virginia. She went on to be a speech and language pathologist. She says many

Asheville's new police chief is resigning after less than two months on the job. The city announced this morning in a press release that police chief Chris Bailey is stepping down for 'personal reasons.'