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On Monday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas responded to delays in getting water into the Asheville, NC area by stating that the impacts of Hurricane Helene were underestimated and “We are still in search-and-rescue mode in certain communities. There are local communities that are better equipped and better managed because of experience.” Co-host Ailsa Chang asked, “Well, was access an issue when it came to supplying water there? Because Buncombe County, where Asheville is, says they put in a request for water before the storm, but they hadn’t received anything until this morning.” She...

There will be no more federal aid for the victims of Hurricane Helene, Joe Biden has said. Standing on the tarmac as he prepared to board Air Force One, the President spoke to reporters and said the federal government has done everything it can to help. After giving a largely incoherent response when asked if he had anything to say to the victims, Biden was asked if the federal government could provide further resources. “No,” he said. “We’ve pre-planned a significant amount of it even though they didn’t ask for it yet.” Users took to social media to express their...

The death toll from catastrophic flooding in the Asheville area of western North Carolina more than tripled on Monday to 35 — as survivors in remote mountain towns described seeing the bodies of victims stuck in trees. Nationwide, there have been 120 fatalities from Hurricane Helene, which has cut a path of death and destruction across the Southeast since making landfall last Thursday. The rains smashed the mountains of Buncombe County, which contains Asheville, washing away whole communities in floodwaters and mudslides. Roadways were buried or washed away, leaving victims cut off from rescue crews. “There were bodies in trees....

Ashville, North Carolina, was exceptionally battered by Hurricane Helene. Joe Biden has authorized FEMA funds for the flood-stricken regions that the hurricane hit, and he and Kamala both issued generic “we’re so sad” statements. But that’s it. Indeed, the whole Democrat establishment is missing. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that the land underwater is in Republican territory. And what does it say to America that we have an administration that cares for only those Americans who give it their votes? First, in case you missed it, here’s some footage showing the devastation just in...

President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, will deliver remarks on the economic hardships created by the Harris-Biden Administration in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. ET.Tune into RSBN for all-day LIVE coverage starting at 11:00 a.m. ET. Please note the start time is subject to change.

Is it ‘over’ for Asheville? S.C. tourist stabbed in back with hypodermic needle by homeless panhandler after refusing to give him money, police report states Sunday, 07 July 2024 21:10 From Staff Reports A homeless man is facing an assault charge after a male South Carolina tourist was stabbed in the back with a hypodermic needle about 6:30 p.m. May 31 while walking on the 30 block of Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville with his wife and two young children, Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on June 18. Julien Bryan McArthur – described as “homeless” – is accused...

After two women were robbed and threatened at gunpoint, in separate incidents, while walking alone in West Asheville’s Carrier Park, the Asheville Police Department has noted that, based on its investigation, it is seeking “the three main suspects,” who “are described as black juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported June 25. The attacks occurred about 24 hours apart on June 18 and June 19. “One woman had her vehicle stolen and the other was struck in the head with a gun,” News 13 noted. “The woman who was hit suffered a...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Huntersville Police and Concord Police said they are still investigating the cases and can’t yet say if the women arrested in Asheville are connected to a string of baseball bat thefts in the Charlotte area. According to the Asheville Police Department, the women were apprehended after a recent theft at D-BAT located in the 1200 block of Hendersonville Road around 2:23 p.m. Sunday. Officers said the three women tried to run away from the scene but were held by staff. All three, Veronica Constantin, 41, Alexandra Lonescu, 31, and Jennifer Antonesco, 21, have been...

Cities coast-to-coast grappling with broken-down e-buses that cannot be fixed .. Between the federal government, states and municipalities, untold billions in taxpayer dollars have been spent adding electric buses to transit fleets across the U.S. in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. However, cities from coast-to-coast are grappling with broken-down e-buses that cannot be fixed, are too expensive to fix, or they have scrapped their electric fleets altogether. Officials in Asheville, North Carolina, recently expressed frustration that three of the five e-buses the city purchased for millions in 2018 are now sitting idle due to a combination of software issues,...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The city of Asheville's purchase of five electric buses in 2018 has turned into a multi-million-dollar loss. The buses have been broken or unable to run because of software and/or mechanical issues, making them an expensive and disappointing purchase, according to city maintenance and transportation staff. ... Currently, three of the five buses are idled, with one that has had a broken double door since July. “We haven’t been able to get new doors,” Asheville's interim transportation director Jessica Morriss said. “There's no third party that makes a door. We'd have to get custom-made doors.” Each of...

A North Carolina man viciously attacked a family’s dog, stabbing it repeatedly until it died in an unprovoked attack while its owner was playing pickleball, officials said. James Wesley Henry, 43, was arrested for the killing of the mixed-breed pooch named Beignet at an Asheville park Monday afternoon and charged with felony cruelty to animals, Asheville police said. Henry allegedly walked up to the helpless 11-year-old pup, grabbed it by the throat and slashed it with a knife over and over again, cops said. “The guy killed the dog with a knife, basically eviscerating it,” Asheville Police Capt. Michael Lamb...

HENDERSONVILLE — Several residents held up protest signs — at a City Council meeting with no scheduled public comment session — on April 26, when a plan was proposed “to implement ways to bolster diversity, equality and inclusion within the government and city limits,” Asheville TV station WLOS (News 13) noted. “It’s all about us establishing the baseline for how our organization moves forward and interacts with our community,” City Manager John Connet was quoted as saying by News 13. “Some of our community feel like their voices have not been heard, and we wanted to have a process where...

A North Carolina tourist town plagued by rising crime is resorting to hiring off-duty county sheriff's deputies at an overtime hourly rate to help city police patrol the downtown district. A team of six deputies with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office in western North Carolina are being paid $75 per hour to help their counterparts in the staff-strapped Asheville Police Department (APD) on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to a document reported by local outlet Asheville Watchdog.

Asheville’s recently announced 17.4 percent spike in violent crime for 2022 over the previous year was totally predictable, local Fraternal Order of Police President Rondell Lance told the Daily Planet during an April 8 telephone interview. More specifically, Lance, who is retired after a lengthy career in police work, explained that the city, along with Buncombe County, has fostered an environment where criminals know they can break the law and face little or no consequences for their actions. Asheville’s skyrocketing violent crime last year was driven largely by aggravated assaults, Asheville Police Chief David Zack noted during the city’s March...

Thursday, 13 April 2023 17:25 Twitter From Staff Reports Violent crime jumped in Asheville in 2022, with a 17.4 percent increase from the year before that was propelled mainly by aggravated assaults, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on March 29, citing city police statistics. Specifically, 525 aggravated assault incidents were reported in 2022, compared to 431 cases in 2021 — amounting to a 21.8 percent increase. The latest Asheville crime statistics were unveiled by city Police Chief David Zack during the city’s March 28 Environment and Safety Committee meeting. Contacted on April 8 by the Daily Planet for his interpretation...

City leaders of a North Carolina tourist town that has been plagued with rising violent crime in recent years announced a 60-day initiative last week to improve conditions in its downtown district amid a crisis in police staffing. The City of Asheville said they are taking “targeted steps” to address the rising number of incidents affecting public safety with the initiative slated to begin May 1, according to a news release from city government. “There are complex circumstances contributing to the safety issues that Asheville is currently seeing downtown and it will take a community response to address these complexities,”...

Business owners and workers in a Democrat-run North Carolina tourist town said their downtown district is deteriorating amid rising crime, rampant homelessness and diminishing police. Multiple people who work in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, bemoaned the condition of the city and pinpointed a lack of police presence to its decline, according to an investigation by local outlet Asheville Watchdog. "We really need beat cops, police on bicycles," Rose Garfinkle, who lives and works downtown, told the outlet. "The lack of a police presence is noticeable. Things have taken a turn in the last five years." Violent crime has spiked in...

The focus of the Asheville-Buncombe County Community Reparations Commission — at least for now — is on correcting institutional bias that allegedly is continuing to afflict local African-Americans, and there are no plans to evaluate whether personal responsibility is a factor, according to Dr. Dwight Mullen, chairman of the CRC. “I think that, empiracally, we (the CRC) can demonstrate that African-Americans do not (now) have equal opportunity” in Asheville and surrounding Buncombe County, Mullen told the Daily Planet during a telephone interview on Feb. 8. “We’re starting with (examining) current disparities of policy outcomes” involving institutions operating in Asheville and...

Asheville Police Chief David Zack told Fox News Digital last fall that his department is down 42%.. ... Break-ins in Asheville, North Carolina, saw a 200% monthly surge in January amid a violent crime spike in the Democrat-run tourist town that has hemorrhaged police officers in recent years. The Asheville Police Department, which serves a town of approximately 90,000 people, responded to 41 break-ins throughout 2022 and has already fielded 11 reports of break-ins in 2023 as of Feb. 1.. Chris Faber, whose bar in downtown Asheville was targeted twice last month within a span of a few days, told...

The City of Asheville — apparently illegally — has misapplied public funds, WNC Citizens for Equality, a citizens watchdog group, is contending in a press release sent Nov. 15 to the Asheville Daily Planet. The release was headlined: “City of Asheville Diverts Funds Meant for the Poor to Vice Mayor’s Private Group?” At that point, the text of the release begins, “WNC Citizens for Equality, a local government watchdog organization, is calling foul after the City of Asheville diverted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars earmarked for legal aid for the poor into the hands of a private group associated...