Progressive groups in Western North Carolina are pushing back against the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program in six months. BPR’s Davin Eldridge has more… Well over a hundred demonstrators, mostly students, turned out to protest the administration’s decision at Western Carolina University. They made their objections heard next to the college’s so-called Fountain of Wisdom, in the center of campus. The crowds chanted "si se puede". The event was organized by the local chapter

Bookings through Airbnb skyrocketed in the past year in Buncombe County. A study commissioned by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority showed demand for rentals through the site increased 105% in the past year. Hotel room bookings grew only 3% during the same time. The growth in Airbnb demand comes despite its murky legal status in Asheville. Airbnb rentals are legal in "commercial" parts of the city, but illegal in "residential" parts. Whether to expand or contract Airbnb

It used to be going out to the movies was a distinctly American pastime. But movie theater attendance is down to a 19-year low, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. In the mountains of Western North Carolina however, that hasn’t been the case. BPR’s Davin Eldridge explores why…

September will be Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month in North Carolina. Governor Roy Cooper signed the proclamation designating alcohol and drug addiction recovery month at Vaya Health in Asheville. The organization helps connect people with health insurance, including for addiction and recovery, something the governor says is crucial in a state where the opioid crisis is growing. “A lot of people know vaguely of the opioid crisis but they don’t understand the depth of it. That almost

The great American Eclipse is over. For most, it was an amazing experience. But for a Macon county man, the astronomical event was a mile marker on a life changing journey. BPR’s Helen Chickering stumbled upon his story while on an eclipse assignment at Southwestern Community College in Sylva.

In a region where thousands of acres of national forest can easily separate one mountain town from the next, it’s not unusual for some residents to describe it as “the middle of nowhere”. One area brewery is looking to dispel that stigma, with the launch of a new public forum it says will show that there are, in fact, plenty of big things happening in the region. BPR’s Davin Eldridge has more…

North Carolina is home to around 100 monuments to the Confederacy. Governor Roy Cooper says all should come down in the wake of the death of a woman who was counter protesting a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia. But a 2-year-old state law prohibits local governments from removing the monuments without state approval, keeping many of them in place for the time being. BPR’s Matt Bush spoke with Smoky Mountain News reporter Corey Vaillancourt about the Confederate monuments that

Lawmakers are returning to Raleigh this week to vote on new legislative district maps for next year's North Carolina General Assembly elections. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled current districts were illegally gerrymandered using race as the deciding factor in creating them. BPR's Matt Bush spoke with Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper about the new maps and how they will affect the political power structure of the General Assembly - and in particular, whether they

The August 21 st Great American Solar Eclipse was one of the most watched and studied astronomical events in history. Western North Carolina was a great place to do both. BPR’s Helen Chickering spent the day at the Pisgah National Research Institute in Brevard. The former NASA tracking station was in the path of totality and hosted a day of stellar science for the public.

Continuing the conversation with Alfred J. Whitesides, Jr. - Continuing the conversation with Buncombe County Commissioner Alfred J. Whitesides, Jr. Whitesides talks about the role that family ( his own and that of Martin Luther King Jr’s ) played in his life – setting standards of expectation and conduct . He talks about his work with ASCORE during high school in Asheville and his years of study at NCCU – North Carolina Central University - the first public liberal arts institution for African