Late last year a new parking garage was completed at Asheville Regional Airport. Ongoing runway work has also been happening, but in the coming years something bigger could be in the works - an expansion of the terminal. AshVegas.com has been looking at what's been going on at the airport in recent months. Jason Sandford of AshVegas joined BPR's Matt Bush in studio to discuss where the airport could be headed in future years - as the number of passengers going in and out of the facility has

It’s a new year, and for many people, that means new fitness goals. BPR’s Jeremy Loeb checked in at the local YMCA to see how things were going.

The Joint Select Committee on Judicial Reform and Redistricting met again Monday to discuss changes to the courts. Possible changes include redistricting for judges and a "merit-selection" process that could bypass voters altogether. Democrats argue Republicans are trying to rig the courts in their favor after seeing a number of decisions go against them. Republicans say the changes are long overdue. BPR recorded the meeting in full.

With a polarizing President in the White House and gerrymandered districts in the courthouse, disillusionment with the two-party system in American politics seems to be at an all time high. A recently passed North Carolina law will make it easier for third parties to get on the ballot this year – but only if a partisan fight between Republicans and Democrats in Raleigh gets resolved. Democrats, Libertarians Republicans. Currently, those are the only choices available to North Carolina voters in

Asheville City schools Superintendent Dr. Denise Patterson says she’s learned a lot during her first six months on the job – not just about the school system but the city itself. Dr. Patterson said she’d spend her first months in the job studying and listening. What’s she found she says is this – students in the school system have just as many social and emotional needs as they have academic needs. "There's the piece where they are being taken care of with their behavior. Are there plans in

Leaders for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are moving forward with a voter referendum on whether to allow expanded alcohol sales on the Qualla Boundary. When it might happen is still unclear. Smoky Mountain News reporter Holly Kays joined BPR’s Matt Bush to discuss the latest, as well as the history of the ban on alcohol sales in Cherokee - which had been totally dry until 2009, when alcohol sales were finally permitted at the Harrah's Casino there, which first opened in 1997.

Updated Thursday 4pm A highly anticipated judiciary committee meeting was held Thursday afternoon. For nearly 3 hours, Senate and House lawmakers discussed various merit selection proposals as well as new district maps for judges. Democrats were skeptical of the GOP plans, especially considering the number of maps drawn for legislative and Congressional members that heavily favored Republicans.

Updated Wednsday 6pm The North Carolina Senate adjourned Wednesday after confirming several of Governor Roy Cooper and House leader Tim Moore's appointees to various boards and commissions. Senator Phil Berger said the Senate will re-convene Friday at 9:30am for a "skeletal session." In the meantime, a committee looking at changes to the judiciary will meet Thursday at 1pm. And what happens in that committee was what was on the minds of most people who came to the legislature Wednesday.

There will be no wind chill advisory overnight Saturday into Sunday morning for Western North Carolina, but bitterly cold temperatures are hanging around. Because of the continued cold snap, the city of Asheville has extended a ‘Code Purple’ alert through January 10th. That means homeless shelters will extend hours and allow more people to stay at them. Outside Homeward Bound’s AHOPE Day Center on North Ann Street in Asheville the winds are howling in sub-20 degree temperatures. Inside it’s

Asheville’s Southside neighborhood is believed to have the highest unemployment rate in the city. Another effort to reverse that is getting underway at a church in that community. ‘Urban Renewal’ was a push by governments at all levels during the middle part of the last century to ‘revitalize’ parts of cities considered to be in decay. For Asheville’s Southside neighborhood, urban renewal arrived about 50 years ago – and it’s still felt today according to Reverend James Grant, the pastor of the