The public in Western North Carolina is about to have more access to the courts than ever before, assuming all goes to plan. 

Cherokee is moving one step closer to full adult recreational cannabis use.

The newest advance will come July 4 when the Great Smoky Cannabis Company will be allowed to legally sell marijuana to adults over the age of 21 who are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or any other federally recognized tribe. 

Following a heated exchange with another county commissioner during a closed session, Swain County Commissioner David Loftis was expelled from the board’s June 18 meeting. 

Old Edwards Inn — the historic Highlands landmark and premier worldwide travel destination — has been sold, but little is expected to change at the level that residents, visitors or even employees will notice. 

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Census results have been finalized for the first time in over two decades. 

As the July 1 budget deadline for Child Care Stabilization grants approaches, it appears the Republican-led North Carolina House and Senate are struggling to agree on how to spend the $30 billion or so taxpayer dollars slated for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Less than six months after her death at just over two years old, Charlotte Joy Norris is posthumously receiving an award for her courage in the face of a dire situation she wasn’t even old enough to understand.

Last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians welcomed Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to the exhibit hall at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino to speak to a delegation of members from tribes across the United States as part of the National Conference of American Indians mid-year retreat. 

About nine months after members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians voted overwhelmingly to legalize the sale of marijuana and other cannabis products for adults over the age of 21, Tribal Council made it official during its June 6 meeting.

A lawsuit filed against Kituwah LLC that was initially dismissed is heading back to court after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the tribally owned corporation waived its sovereign immunity.

When my wife told me she’d signed me up for a fly-fishing class, I probably let out an audible groan. I almost didn’t go — hell, Friday is usually my day to stay home and write. Why infringe on that?

In the hours following the announcement that Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill property in Canton may have a new owner in the coming months, news came and fast and furious.

After pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault in federal court last August, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council Member Rep. Bo Crowe — who represents Wolfetown — has been sentenced to two years’ probation for an incident that occurred in January 2023.

True freedom isn’t attainable without economic freedom. This was the central theme of the 2024 North Carolina Community Action Association’s annual convention held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino last week.

Adults may soon be able to purchase marijuana for recreational use from Cherokee’s new dispensary. 

At a work session last week, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian’s Tribal Council discussed several questions they had regarding a potential ordinance that would legalize sales of cannabis to any adult with a valid ID.

Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the shuttered papermill in Canton, has been working to clean up two separate seeps leaking toxic substances into the Pigeon River under an administrative order of consent (AOC) with the Environmental Protection Agency. 

There have been a lot of questions regarding the future of Western North Carolina’s judges over the last year or so, but the final piece may have just fallen into place. 

Western North Carolina courts were saddled with a sizable backlog of cases following the shutdowns related to the COVID pandemic, and while much of the overload has abated, especially in Haywood and Jackson counties, there have still been problems. 

One of the four nonprofit partners of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Smokies Life, now has a new home — The Great Smokies Welcome Center — a space to call its own that after recent rounds of renovations feels perfectly tailored to the organization’s mission. 

Great Smokies Mountain National Park has seen new changes in recent years, from soaring record attendance placing it head and shoulders above the field for the most visited national park to a first-of-its-kind parking tag program designed to generate revenue while also protecting visitors and natural resources that has generated the ire of some surrounding communities. 

Summer camp. Memories of the great outdoors, new friends, fun adventures. But around Misfit Mountain in Haywood County, the rescue’s Summer Camp Program means something entirely different, and that vital service may have just saved Frankie Scott’s life, if not his dog, Koda’s. 

The path to cannabis legalization on the Qualla Boundary has been riddled with roadblocks, some of which the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians painstakingly navigated around, some of which it has bulldozed. 

The Stoner’s Ball is coming to Haywood County, but it may not be quite what people think. 

Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed a new Superior Court judge in Western North Carolina. 

Swain County now knows who will appear on the November General Election Ballot for county commissioner. 

The Museum of the Cherokee People has opened a new attraction focused on the sovereignty of the Eastern Band. 

Former Cherokee Indian Police Department Chief Josh Taylor has now made it clear that he stands behind a push from at least one tribal council member to dissolve the Cherokee Police Commission. 

Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill in Canton has been hit with its fifth-straight notice of an environmental violation following the failure of a quarterly discharge toxicity test. 

The owner of Long House Funeral Home, himself facing decades in prison, has hired a convicted felon to be funeral home’s director. 

Canton is paying homage to some of this nation’s most vital founding documents through the installation of Charters of Freedom settings at the town’s museum next to the former town hall building. 

A lawsuit filed last month in a Washington, D.C., federal court alleges the U.S. Forest Service’s practice of setting “timber targets” puts the climate at risk, undermines the Biden administration’s climate goals and violates federal law. 

Once Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton paper mill shut down for good, people wondered how the Pigeon River and the aquatic life it supports would change. 

Macon County attorney Virginia Hornsby will be a district court judge at the end of the year.

Incumbent Kenneth Parton and newcomer Tanner Lawson have won the Swain County Commission Republican primary.

Attorneys in Western North Carolina now know who will likely hold the farthest west superior court seat. 

When Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina legal community off guard and set in motion a process with little precedent.

For the first time in almost two decades, Western North Carolina is getting a new district court judge, and with no one from any other parties running the contest will be decided by the March 5 Republican Primary. 

At a time when natural foods and medicines are becoming more prevalent, the popularity of honey has soared to record levels. 

Two seats are open on the Swain County Board of Commissioners in 2024, and while three Republicans squaring off in the Primary Election are probably treating this like a General Election since no Democrats filed, one unaffiliated candidate is trying to muster enough support to appear on the November General Election ballot. 

Haywood County hadn’t logged a coronavirus-related death in the better part of a year. But since Dec. 19, 2023, it has seen five.  

At a time when emergency services agencies across the country are facing a dire staffing shortage, here in Western North Carolina, Southwestern Community College has revamped an innovative program that can take a bite out of the problem here at home. 

Challenges and trauma impact people in different ways. For Haywood County native J.J. Singleton, who has battled cancer for about nine years now, it presented an opportunity for personal growth, growth he feels would have never otherwise been possible. 

Most people don’t contribute to the world over a lifetime what Charlotte Joy Norris did in just two short years.   

The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has been ordered by a judge to provide dash and body cam footage to a man who claims his Fourth Amendment rights may have been violated. 

The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office has been ordered by a judge to provide dash and body cam footage to a man who claims his Fourth Amendment rights may have been violated.

The disloyalty card is here and it’s, in a sense, exactly what it sounds like. 

The holiday season is among the toughest times in the animal rescue world. Adopting pets isn’t always front of mind for people, and harsh weather can create a sense of urgency when rehoming furry friends. 

As technology evolves, every entity and industry finds new and innovative ways to use those advances to improve their operations.

It’s a great time to be a Catamount basketball fan, certainly the best in a while.