From Staff Reports

ASHEVILE, N.C. —The final data has been colllected for 2025 and it confirms a trend reported by the Asheville Police Department in November (then with 10 months of data collected) that there was a 24 percent drop in citywide violent crime in 2025, compared to 2024.

What’s more, the complete 2025 data gives Asheville the distinction of achieving its lowest homicide count since 2017, Interim Police Chief Jackie Stepp recently announced,

The 10-month data report was provided by then-APD Chief (and Asheville native) Mike Lamb on Nov 2 during his final Asheville City Council subcommittee meeting before his retirement. 

Lamb’s report — based on 10 months of crime data —  projected a 28 percent decrease in violent crime for 2025 as reported in the Dec, 16 edition of the Daily Planet.

As for the final tally showing a 24 percent decrease in citywide violent crime compared to 2024, Stepp, a Hendersonville native, termed it as “no small feat” during the city’s Jan. 29 Public Safety Committee meeting,

“Stepp said there’s no one factor that contributed to the drop,” the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Feb. 2. “It represents a culmination of restaffing, the work of on-the-ground officers, investigators, the strategic use of technology and support from city staff and the community, according to Stepp.”

Stepp told the Public Safety Committee that “this is a slide that not only the police department should be proud of, but really the community as a whole, because public safety takes the work of all of us.”

The ACT added, “Citywide violent crime dropped from 596 reported incidents in 2024 to 453 in 2025, according to APD data. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program considers four offenses as violent: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.”

From Staff Reports

HOT SPRINGS, N.C. — Recent water quality testing by Mountain True following the devastation wreaked upon the area by Tropical Storm Helene indicated the threats are varying — and that the Lower and Upper French Broad River sections were a grade cleaner than  the Middle French Broad, according to Anna Alsobrook, the French Broad riverkeeper, a program run by Mountain True.

Specifically, Alsobrook discussed the group’s most recent report — and the status of the river — in a Jan. 30 address in Pine Hall at Hot Springs. She was hosted by Ike Lassiter and the Friends of the Hot Springs Library.

Her address focused on MountainTrue’s State of Our Rivers Report (released in March 2025), which is performed every two years in conjunction with the state Department of Environmental Quality and nonprofit Environmental Quality Institute.

The Lower French Broad, in which Hot Springs and Marshall are situated, received a “B” grade in the March 2025 water quality report, Alsobrook stated. “The Lower French Broad, around (Madison County) — it steps up a grade. There’s a lot of forest, and water quality improves because there’s more forested areas. This is a good example of watershed impact by urban development.”

She added, “Around Asheville, it becomes a ‘C,’ as it flows north downstream. There are a lot of water quality impacts there,” including urban development, aging infrastructure and higher E. coli concentrations.

The Upper French Broad River also was rated as generally good quality as it passes through Brevard, Alsobrook noted.

Elsewhere in the watershed, the river basin grades included Nolichucky River, “A;” and Pigeon River, “B,” she said.

Regarding a Daily Planet question about the current trend on water quality in the French Broad River, AI Overview stated the following on Feb. 15: “The water quality trend of the French Broad River is currently defined by a ‘post-storm’ recovery following the historic flooding of Tropical Storm Helene in late 2024. While the river has largely returned to its baseline condition, it continues to face chronic issues with E. coli, sediment and urban runoff.”

From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Filming for “A Grand Biltmore Christmas” (the sequel to “A Biltmore Christmas”), starring Rachel Boston and Niall Matter, was scheduled to “wrap” (conclude) on Feb. 2. 

What’s more, the actress Andie MacDowell, a Gaffney, S.C., native and former Asheville resident, “was a late, surprise addition to the cast,” with her involvement announced around late January to early February, just as production was wrapping, AI Overview noted on Feb. 15. She plays Aunt Maysilee, described as “a traditional, somewhat meddling character.”

Another late addition to the cast was  Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander William Riker in “Star Trek” and voiced David Xanatos and other characters in the animated series “Gargoyles.” Frakes will reprise his role from “A Biltmore Christmas” as a Biltmore House tour guide named Winston.

And Chase Pickering, vice president of Biltmore House Guest Experience & Operations, although not an official cast member, made his second consecutive cameo appearance in a Hallmark film about Biltmore.

Pickering “was instrumental in collaborating with Hallmark on their (two) films shot at the estate,” AI Overview stated on Feb. 15. “He worked closely on scripts to ensure the productions captured the authentic Christmas season and history of Biltmore.” He is the great-great-grandson of George and Edith Vanderbilt,who founded the estate.

The production began filming on Jan, 12 and took place at the Biltmore Estate and some locations in Asheville, including the Fine Arts Theatre and Pack’s Tavern.