Future of Asheville panel: How to keep it unique?
Oscar Wilde satire ‘Earnest’ shimmers — See REVIEW, Pg. B1
— See STORY, Pg. A9
Bothwell leaves Democrats? — See STORY, Pg. A6
LLE I V HE AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER
August 2016
Vol. 12, No. 9
An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE
Refugee resettlement in Asheville? From Staff Reports
Western North Carolina is being considered as a resettlement site for refugees by the International Rescue Committee, a global aid and humanitarian organization. IRC representatives met on June 29 with local residents at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville to discuss the feasibility of relocating about 150 people
fleeing persecution in their home countries to the Asheville region. If plans move forward, the first household could arrive as early as next spring, J.D. McCrary, executive director of the IRC office in Atlanta, told the gathering of more than 50 people. Other refugees would then arrive over the ensuing 12 months, he said. The majority of refugees now being resettled domestically are Congolese, Bhuta-
nese, Burmese, Afgani and Iraqi, although there are likely to be more Syrians in the near future, McCrary said. In response, an Asheville Tea Party newsletter dated July 8 contended that the IRC “is salivating to place at least 150 Syrian refugees in our community.” The ATP later held a meeting to discuss member concerns and to involve them “to stop refugee placement in our area.”
The ATP noted that “if we get an Office of Refugee Resettlement within 50 miles of our (Asheville) community, contractors, like churches and non-profits, can begin the process” of resettlement. “Asheville is the target for such an office. This is where we are!” The ATP also called the program “expensive, secretive, risky and unfair.” See REFUGEE, Page A13
7 white protesters arrested during Black Lives Matter’s sit-in inside APD
See x, Page Ax
Photo courtesy of WLOS-TV
Black Lives Matters protesters hold up a banner, stating that “Black Asheville Matters,” in front of the Asheville Police Department in downtown Asheville in late July.
Stray it forward
Q: I’m a single guy who started a “friends with benefits” thing two months ago with an unhappily married female co-worker. We’ve since developed feelings for each other and started talking about a future. I’m
The Advice Goddess Amy Alkon
worried because people always say, “If she cheated with you, she’ll cheat on you.” And
From Staff Reports Asheville police arrested and handcuffed seven protesters — all of whom were white — who refused to abandon a sit-in for Black Lives Matter at the Asheville Police Department downtown on July 22 afternoon. In the aftermath, a racial justice group made up of nonprofits, advocacy groups and other entities will help set city police use-of-force policies, Mayor Esther Manhaimer and City Councilman Cecil Bothwell, chair of council’s Public Safety Committee, said in an unscheduled announcement at the end of council’s July 26 meeting. The announcement was made after several citizens spoke during the meeting’s public comment session, including some involved with the local Black Lives Matter movement, who contended that race relations need improvement in Asheville, particularly with policing. “We as a council are struggling,” Manheimer said. “We hear the community. We want to be responsive. We want to be thoughtful. And we are looking for a way to constructively move forward. I;m hopeful that we will be able to bring many more voices to the process.” The sit-in was staged as a protest against the July 2 fatal shooting of a black man by a white police officer. On the morning of July 22, the protesters had placed a Black Lives Matter banner on the APD building and had stayed in the front and foyer area of the station until about 3 that afternoon, when the arrests occurred. Beginning that morning, police warned protesters three separate times that they could be charged if they remained on site, according to Capt. Stony Gonce. See SIT-IN, Page A13
because she’s unhappy with her husband, does that mean she’ll eventually be unhappy with me and see it as reason to cheat? — Hesitant A: There are many people who cross ethical lines at work, but most of them just do it by taking home Post-its or a stapler. Okay, sure, have a FWB thing, but with a married co-worker? What happened -- too
overworked to swipe right on Tinder? And as for why your co-worker started outsourcing her sex life, there’s an assumption that people cheat because they’re in crappy marriages or relationships. And maybe her marriage is unhappy. But infidelity researcher Shirley Glass found that even people in happy, loving marriages can end up cheating. See ADVICE GODDESS, Page A12