Community News

 

RALEIGH, NC – March 4, 2025 – More than one year ago, on December 1, 2023, North Carolina officially became the 40^th state to expand Medicaid, the federal program for health insurance for low-resource individuals. A state Medicaid expansion (ME) bill was passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Roy Cooper in March_. ME was in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and left to each state to decide in a subsequent Supreme Court ruling. ME increases health care access to eligible North Carolinians ages 19-64 and their families by relaxing the program’s strict eligibility requirements.

The latest update of the NC Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard was on March 4^th. There have been almost 640 thousand people in North Carolina who have been enrolled since the law took effect including more than 15.5 thousand residents of Buncombe County. It was estimated that 600 thousand North Carolinians were eligible for ME, with 15.5 thousand from Buncombe County. The state had predicted that it would take 2 years (24 months) to achieve their enrollment. After only 15 months of accepting applications, the state and Buncombe County have already exceeded their estimates to enrolling eligible persons.

North Carolina has been thrust into the national spotlight through the passing and implementation of Medicaid expansion. Its success was due to the strong grassroots support by many organizations and the efforts of Governor Cooper and both houses of the General Assembly.

It has been estimated that expanding Medicaid will bring the state 8 billion federal dollars annually, almost 2 billion dollars to support behavioral health, public safety, and rural health care, and 2 billion dollars for starting the program in 2023.

In an interview with North Carolina Health News, Governor Cooper, who spearheaded expanding Medicaid in North Carolina, said, “When I ran for governor, one of my top priorities was creating a North Carolina where people were healthier and could get the care that they need to have lives of purpose and abundance.” He added, “We knew that Medicaid expansion was an important way of making that happen, because there were a lot of hardworking people in North Carolina who were making too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough money to qualify for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.”

There are many ways to apply for NC Medicaid for eligible persons. Those who have not yet applied should visit Medicaid.nc.gov to see if they qualify. Buncombe County residents can apply for Medicaid online and at any time at ePASS.NC.gov. Applications can be done in-person at the HHS Building on 40 Coxe Avenue, by calling 828-250-5500, or by mail.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

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ASHEVILLE, NC – March 12, 2025 – The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on March 1^st shows:  

• Less than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina, representing 1% of all visits, a moderate decrease since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID, flu and RSV outbreaks. For the week ending on March 1^st, the COVID-19 wastewater viral activity level for the state is moderate. The Buncombe & Henderson counties COVID wastewater data for the week ending on February 26^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a yellow level representing the 3^rd highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 40^th and 60^th percentile relative to the past peak level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has increased from the previous week, at 10% to 99%, the 2^nd highest level of 3 groups for a positive rate of change.

During the week ending on March 1^st, viral activity levels in the North Carolina wastewater were moderate for influenza A and very low for RSV, and viral activity levels in the Buncombe County wastewater were moderate for influenza A, and low for RSV.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on February 22^nd (16 days ago) indicates that levels are either high or very high in 40 of 47 continental states (with Vermont not reporting). The Mountain West and northern plains states have moderate levels. North Carolina is at a high level.

The CDC reports that the weekly percent of positive tests for RSV for the week ending on March 1^st is below 5% for Region 4 (which are the states in the southeast U.S. including North Carolina).

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on March 1^st shows:

• Less than 12% of all emergency room patients had symptoms of a respiratory viral illness, about a 20% decrease from last week.
• Influenza-like symptoms represented about 40% of these patients
• There were about 2 thousand hospital admissions from the emergency department in North Carolina for people who had a diagnosis, or symptoms, of respiratory viral infection, a 7% decrease since last week. More patients were admitted with the flu than any other respiratory disease.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

UNITED STATES – February 19, 2025 – A vaccine for pancreatic cancer! What a breakthrough for the treatment one of the most devastating cancers where fewer than 13% of people live more than five years after diagnosis. The cancer is very advanced by the time someone has any symptoms. It has spread much earlier than most cancers by the time the diagnosis is made. There are very few effective treatments. Surgery is indicated only about 20% of the time due to the quick spread of this cancer. There is no routine screening test for cancer of the pancreas.

In a recent article published in Nature, researchers from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City performed a phase 1 trial on 16 patients with pancreatic cancer that was treatable with surgery. A novel approach to treatment included the standard regimen of surgery, chemotherapy and an immunotherapy drug with the addition of a personalized mRNA vaccine based on the genetic make-up specific to the person’s tumor. Patients were followed for an average of 4 years. One-half of the patients had a longer recurrence-free survival time compared to patients who did not respond. These responders produced specialized white blood cells to fight the cancer. The median increase in survival time was more than 1 year. The study showed that the addition of the vaccine was safe and effective.

The vaccine teaches the body’s immune system to produce large numbers of specialized white blood cells to recognize, destroy and prevent the spread of cancer cells. These ‘killer’ white blood cells were not present before administration of the vaccine and were found to be present for up to 3 years after vaccination.

Precision medicine is a new non-traditional health care approach that uses a person’s unique genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors for a personalized prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. It is also known as “personalized medicine”. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration says that “the goal of precision medicine is to target the right treatments to the right patients at the right time.” Knowing a tumor’s genetic make-up may allow physicians to choose specific treatments that may extend a person’s life, improve their chances of survival and reduce the risk of side-effects from treatment.

The results of this study are encouraging, although it is an early trial. Larger trials are planned. Similar vaccines are being tested for treating people with melanoma, a deadly skin cancer, and the increasingly prevalent colorectal cancer.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – February 26, 2025 – The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on February 15^th shows:  

• Less than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups, unchanged from last week.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina, representing a little more than 1% of all visits, a moderate decrease since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID, flu and RSV outbreaks. For the week ending on February 15^th, the COVID-19 wastewater viral activity level for the state is high. The Buncombe & Henderson counties COVID wastewater data for the week ending on February 12^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 4^th highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 60^th and 80^th percentile relative to the past peak level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has decreased from the previous week, at -99% to -10%, the largest level of 2 groups for a negative rate of change.

During the week ending on February 15^th, viral activity levels in the North Carolina wastewater were high for influenza A and low for RSV, and viral activity levels in the Buncombe County wastewater were moderate for influenza A, and very low for RSV.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on February 15^th indicates that levels are either high or very high in 42 of 47 continental states (with Vermont not reporting). The Mountain West region has moderate levels. North Carolina is at a very high level.

The CDC reports that the weekly percent of positive tests for RSV for the week ending on February 15^th is below 5% for Region 4 (which are the states in the southeast U.S. including North Carolina). It had peaked to more than 15% around Christmas.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on February 15^th shows:

• 17% of all emergency room patients had symptoms of a respiratory viral illness, a 20% decrease from last week.
• Influenza-like symptoms represented more than one-half of these patients
• There were more than 25 hundred hospital admissions from the emergency department in North Carolina for people who had a diagnosis, or symptoms, of respiratory viral infection, a 24% decrease since last week. More patients were admitted with the flu than other respiratory disease.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

By: Kevin Eddings

For the past few years, the Trump Administration has targeted marginalized communities with comments on the legitimacy of their citizenship. Prominent examples are former President Obama and former Vice President Harris. Since starting his second term in January, Trump and his administration have tried to undo birthright citizenship, and they have accused DEI legislation for not being in the country’s best interest.

Asheville FM News Hour correspondent, K.P. Whaley, attended a protest downtown in Pack Square, against the possible deportation of immigrants within the current Trump Administration. On the February 12th. edition of the Asheville FM News Hour, religion and community were two of the many things highlighted within the issue of immigration.

Corn, a granddaughter to two immigrant grandfathers, was one of the many protesters in Pack Square expressing why this protest is important. “I am making sure we are fighting for a better America as a whole,” Corn said. “This isn’t only for Latinos. This is for everybody. Our country needs help.”

Over 300 people showed up for the protest, from all walks of life. Corn shared that it is very important to see the intersection of people who come to support. “It’s important because it is what makes up this country. We got to fight for our country. We gotta make sure we get what we need. We are all humans first, we are not robots or just things you can throw to the side.”

When asked what she would say to critics who say that protests are fruitless, Corn had this to say.

“This is how this country was built,” Corn said. “[Protest] is how we always fought people.” 

Corn shared what the future of these protests will look like and what people might need to know. “Hopefully we will be trying to do more protests, especially on Saturday mornings, but the thing is you don’t need a protest to protest. You can come out here any day of the week and hold up a sign that has some meaning to it and that’s enough.” 

Reverend Sara Wilcox was one of the many protestors attending the rally. Wilcox is co-founder of Land of the Sky United Church of Christ, part of whose mission is to serve as a member of Faith for Justice, committed to provoking justice for black- and brown-bodied people.

“I’m here because youth were coming here today and we don’t trust the adults in the community to keep safe spaces for our kids at this point,” Wilcox said. There are many adults who feel their policies are worth jeopardizing the safety of kids, and that’s something that we are very much against. Our government fails to make new policies that make immigration accessible and possible for folks, and that’s why people end up undocumented.”

Whaley asked Wilcox how she feels about Trump and his administration using Christianity to back their agenda.

“Many of Trump’s policies are actually deeply antithetical to the ways of Christ,” Wilcox said. “It’s an interesting thing to see the Christian right get in bed with someone who’s deeply engaged in policies and politics that seem to be about getting wealthier and taking land from people. It’s harming people, it’s completely out of realm from the ways of Jesus. And it’s not uncommon, that’s how it always happens. Constantine was the first one to get in the way and co-opt the church. And so, empire always collapses the church. It’s idolatrous.”

Listen to the full interview here:

See more photos here

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• This Friday at 7pm join Hendersonville Pride at Hendersonville’s newest line dancing bar! Honeysuckle Holler is the only dedicated country dance bar in Western North Carolina 101 E Allen St. Suite 101, Hendersonville
• This and every Saturday, drag shows starting at 11pm and midnight at O.Henrys. 

• Sunday February 23 at 1:30 PM Gentle Yoga for Queer Folks. This gentle yoga class is centered towards creating an affirming and inclusive space for queer individuals. Located at West Asheville Yoga on Haywood Road. Admission is free.

• Wednesday February 26 from 12 to 2 pm Generation Plus Thrive Lunch and Learn. Located at the Blue Ridge Pride Center. LGBTQIA2S+ elders (55+) are invited to join us for a free lunch and learn. Amorous Gardner will be leading a workshop on Deathcare and Advanced Care Planning in the LGBTQIA2+ community. RSVP at https://www.blueridgepride.org/generation-plus#GenPlusRSVP.

• LGBTQ+ Resource Centers & Community Spaces Hosted by Blue Ridge Pride, Campaign for Southern Equality, and Tranzmission.  
  • Monday Resources can be found at Blue Ridge Pride Resource Center, 2 – 6 PM 1330 Patton Avenue, Suite A Food, baby supplies, hygiene supplies, pet food, cold weather items, apply for direct financial assistance
  • Tuesday resources hosted by Tranzmission Resource Center, 4 – 6 PM – Food pantry, household items, clothing closet, and application for microgrants. Email [email protected] for location
  • Wednesday resources hosted again by Blue Ridge Pride Resource Center, 12 – 4 PM 
  • Thursday resources hosted by Campaign for Southern Equality Supply & Resource Center, 11 AM – 5 PM (Happens once a month, Re-opens 1/23) 20 Oak Street, Asheville (downtown). Each month: Health, hygiene and wellness supplies (including binders, menstrual products, make up); winter clothing; household items; support navigating LBTQ+ friendly resources
  • Friday & Saturday resources hosted again by Tranzmission Resource Center, 4 – 6 PM

Looking ahead:

• Thursday February 27 at 5:30 pm Pitch, please! A speed networking event for queer professionals. Located at New Belgium Brewing on Craven St. This event is presented by WNC Queer Professionals, sponsored by Blue Ridge Pride, and hosted by Drag King Milo mawhile. This event welcomes all professionals, whether you’re a small business owner, artist, a performer, or looking for new opportunities. Admission is free, though registration is required. You can find the registration link on their Facebook event labeled Pitch, Please.-

• Thursday February 27 from 6  to 8 pm Hope, Joy, and Resistance: A Gathering for LGBTQIA2S+ folks. Located at the Blue Ridge Pride Center. Join us for a space of connection, creativity, and community. Our group is designed to nurture hope, joy, and resistance in the face of daily challenges. RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUVbWzn_B_DIGQr_CyezaA1t2Ec-4NYUV_BOepCOdfYPYLQQ/viewform

• Friday, February 28th, 8-10pm Tina & Her Pony  will play a full band show at Eda’s Hide-a-way 1098 New Stock Rd, Weaverville starting at 8pm for fun, for the love of live music, and for queer community!

much further ahead –

• • Sunday March 2nd The annual Asheville Mardi Gras parade is happening on South Slope in downtown Asheville. More details about the step off location will be announced closer to the date.
  • Song-O Drag Music Bingo is at The Mule at Devil’s Foot on Friday, March 7 starting at 7 pm. Enjoy silly drag-stravaganza with brews and a musical twist on bingo. Reserve your spot on EventBrite.
  • Hold the date for Hendersonville PFLAG Fundraiser on Sunday March 9th because they’re bringing one of our favorite queer bands, Palmyra. This will be a 5:30pm event at Continuum ART in Hendersonville
  • Eyes Up Here Comedy and Modelface Comedy presents AVLGBTQ, a transgender and nonbinary comedy showcase on Thursday, March 13 at 7 pm at LaZoom’s Room Bar and Gorilla. They will have a showcase of hilarious femme comedians from all over the country. Tickets on sale now on Event Brite for $12. You must be 18 or older to attend.

• Thursday, March 13 from 7 to 8 pm. Daddy’s Big Gay Trivia Night at O’Henry’s in Asheville. Join us for Daddy’s Big Gayb Trivia Night. This adult-themed event promises to be a spankin’ good time with hilarious trivia questions, multiple choice, unscrambling words, and more. Whether you’re a trivia master or just looking for a night of laughter and fun, bring your friends, partner, or come solo and join a team.

• Saturday, March 15 from 4 to 7 pm. Kickoff Kiki at Olde London Road English Pub located on Depot Street. Join Q-Hall for Kickoff Kiki, a night of women’s soccer, queer community, and great vibes. Mixer at 4 and game at 5. Admission is free.

• Sunday, March 16 at 11 am St. Paddy’s Day Brunch, a drag show.Times for brunch are 11 am at 1 pm. The location of this event is The Hideaway located on Broadway St. This will be a fundraiser for the Tzedek Social Justice Fund, a fund which redistributes money, resources, and power to support systems change and community healing in Asheville. You can find tickets at www.AshevilleDragBrunch.com

• Friday, March 21, from 8 to 9 pm. Drag Karaoke – Divine’s Karaoke Kiki at Dalton Distillery. Divine’s Karaoke Kiki is singing with a twist, hosted by a comedy drag queen. Enjoy the interaction-packed show as she toasts and roasts the singers.

• Friday, March 28 through March 30 Queer Studies Conference at UNC Asheville. Queer Studies Conference attracts a diverse audience of activists, academics, community members, and artists. More information here: https://www.blueridgepride.org/events/queer-studies-conference 

• Saturday, June 7 from 8 to 10 pm Eyes Up Here Comedy Pride Month Edition. Modelface Comedy presents Eyes Up Here Comedy at Ginger’s Revenge. This is a night featuring all femme comedians and this month we have a special show featuring comedians from Asheville and around the South East and this month we are celebrating Pride Month. Hosted by local favorite Danny Felix. Ages 18+. Doors at 7:30 pm and show at 8 pm. Tickets are $18 and $23 for premium seating (front three rows). Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

• Saturday, June 7 from 12 to 5 Hendersonville Pride Festival

• Sunday, June 22. Comedian Fortune Feimster is making her way on Asheville’s Harrah’s Cherokee stage! You’ve seen her on Netflix’s Is It Cake, her own comedy specials, and in movies like FUBAR, The Standups, and the Mindy Project. Tickets are live now. 

• June 27 to 29 Haywood’s second annual Haywood Pride on Main. If you are interested in volunteering and making a difference, find the Google Form on Haywood Pride on Main Facebook page.

 

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