Sales executive Ken Brown says he’ll enter the Republican Primary for North Carolina’s 118th House District, setting up a challenge to incumbent Rep. Mark Pless. 

A relative newcomer to electoral politics but a familiar figure in conservative circles, Brown will campaign on a platform of “servant leadership,” with an emphasis on collaboration, transparency and deference to local governments. 

At odd hours of the day and night, Maggie Valley resident David Crane grabs a cup of coffee, meanders to the basement of his mountain cabin and speaks with the members of the high-level international workgroup he chairs. The aim: Establish a court through which to try Vladimir Putin and others for crimes of aggression against Ukraine. 

Two weeks after the Jackson County Commission floated a possible withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library system, residents showed up to speak at the May 20 commission meeting for more than three and a half hours of public comment, with the majority voicing their opposition to withdrawal. 

To the Editor:

I would like to thank the local author David Joy for speaking out about the removal of the plaque from the Confederate statue outside the Jackson county Library. He spoke for many of us, but being a multi-generational Southern man his words carried more weight. 

Editor's note: The following letter to the editor erroneously claims that the email referenced was sent by Fontana Regional Library board member Leah Gaston. Through its own independent reporting, The Smoky Mountain News  had previously confirmed that Leah's husband, Jim, sent that email from Leah's account. 

To the Editor:

Thank you to Smoky Mountain News staff writer Hannah McLeod for the informative article about the leaked email from a library board member who requested a behind-the-scenes discussion with the Macon County commissioners.

To the Editor:

Democracy thrives on rules that balance power and protect freedom. But recent actions by this new administration are tearing down those "guardrails," putting our democracy in real danger.

The legacies of Western North Carolina’s two previous Republican congressmen, Mark Meadows and Madison Cawthorn, haven’t exactly aged well. 

Several notable things happened during the Town of Canton’s regular board meeting on May 23, but the meeting was perhaps more notable for something that didn’t happen — a closed session. 

As voters ponder the ballot for executive offices within the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians next month, they’ll be looking at a list of familiar names. 

Across the state of North Carolina, the public’s right to know what its elected leaders are doing remains foundational to the principles of open government. But when elected officials— especially those suspected of wrongdoing — are asked for copies of their government-related communications, there’s absolutely no way to ensure that true and accurate records are being provided, and there’s absolutely nothing anyone can do about it.