From Staff Reports 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. —Downtown Asheville business-owners are calling for collaborative safety solutions after the Asheville Police Department fired pepperballs to disperse a large crowd outside nightlife venues on Banks Avenue around 2 a.m. May 17. 

“The incident highlights the need for balanced crowd management and proactive, rather than reactive, policing strategies,” AI Overview opined.

In the aftermath, local business-owners and community stakeholders are proposing several specific safety strategies as follows:

• Proactive police presence: Business-owners, such as Federico Marquez, the co-owner of L.A. Pizza Party on Banks Avenue, advocate for having officers stationed in nightlife corridors earlier in the evening to naturally deter loitering and manage behavior before it escalates.

• City Council action: Stakeholders are planning to connect with local business leaders to bring formal proposals to Asheville City Council for increased, dedicated downtown patrols.

• De-escalation tools: “Law enforcement agencies increasingly view the use of pepperball launchers as an intermediate de-escalation tool,” AI Overview stated.

From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — City Council voted 6-1 on May 12 to accept a $1.14 million federal grant to create a “Real-Time Intelligence Center” for the Asheville Police Department.

Casting the lone negative vote was far-left Councilwoman Kim Roney, who is seeking to unseat Esther Manheimer as mayor in the statewide general election on Nov. 3.

The controversial decision — approved in a heated, late-night meeting despite heavy citizen pushback and vocal opposition — will centralize camera feeds from across the city into a single hub at the APD’s downtown headquarters.

From Staff Reports

WOODFIN, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction is beginning to reduce operations at its Craggy Correctional Center in preparation for a closure later this summer, citing Asheville’s high cost of living as the reason, the NCDAC announced in a May 15 news release.

“The prison’s population of about 250 incarcerated men will gradually transfer out to other state prisons over the next few months,” the release stated.

“The 77 employees at Craggy CC will be offered positions at other NCDAC facilities or work locations in Western North Carolina. The agency does not expect to lay off any employees. 

 “For many years, Asheville’s high cost of living has made it difficult for Craggy CC to recruit and retain employees who cannot afford to live in the county.  

“Since 2019, Craggy CC has closed its minimum-security unit and converted the remainder of the prison from medium to minimum custody, which requires fewer staff.”

Further, the release asserted, “The prison has operated for the past two years with reduced staff at less than half of its full offender population. Despite great efforts, the prison has been able to hire only three correctional officers in the past two years. 

 “Most of the staff commutes in from surrounding areas with lower living costs. There are hundreds of vacancies at other nearby state prisons in Western North Carolina that are available to be filled by Craggy CC staff,” the release concluded.

From Staff Reports

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Actor Bill Murray is headlining the 2026 BMW Charity Pro-Am June 1-7 here, joining as a featured celebrity to boost the tournament’s “real celebrity” revival.

Organizers sought Murray for years, as his “Caddyshack” film fame and love for golf align perfectly with the event, which supports local Upstate nonprofits. 

Murray will play his June 4 round at the Country Club of Spartanburg and then June 5 at The Thornblade Club in Greer.

Also, his Bill Murray and His Blood Brothers Band will play a concert at 9 p.m. June 6 of tournament week at 3’s Golf , 61 Villa Road, Greenville. Also, the iconic KC and the Sunshine Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. June 4 at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, as part of the Pro-Am..