Mahaffey kicks off mayoral campaign

People of Asheville join in a parade to celebrate the
official beginning of Mickey Mahaffey’s mayoral
campaign. Photo by Cherie Pitre

By Wendy Hounsel

Asheville, North Carolina, July 6— About 70 community members joined activist Mickey Mahaffey last Friday in a parade to celebrate the official kickoff of his grassroots campaign for mayor. The group met at Aston Park and, accompanied by music, puppets, banners, and song, marched through downtown Asheville past Pritchard Park.

The parade stopped briefly at Pack Square, where supporters held up signs to passing cars revealing a myriad of community concerns. “More and Better Bike Paths,” read one, while others stated simply, “Diversity,” “Earth,” and “Equality.” The parade then proceeded past City Hall to the voter registration headquarters on College St., where Mahaffey officially signed up as a mayoral candidate, handed in a stack of voter registration forms completed by supporters, and looked on as several citizens registered to vote in person, some for the first time ever.

For Beth Trigg, an activist working on Mahaffey’s campaign, voter registration is an issue at the forefront of the race. “We’ve registered many people who’ve never voted before, because they’ve felt disenfranchised,” she explained. She mentioned a 58 year old man, who, never having voted in his life, had registered just moments before so that he could vote for Mahaffey. After the “travesty” of the last presidential election, Trigg said, she feels it’s important to help people reclaim the power of the vote.

As for Mahaffey, he is concerned with this issue and many more. As an advocate for the homeless who spends a great deal of his time outside, Mahaffey is extremely concerned with air quality and it’s attendant issues, including transportation, green space within the city, business and development. “Asheville needs to be an example of environmental responsibility,” he said. “Dirty air in our region is bad for people’s health, bad for our ecosystems, and threatens the economic well-being of our region. We need to do everything we can on a city level to promote clean air — from planting trees to decreasing auto traffic.” As mayor, Mahaffey said he would work toward better public transit and more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly streets in an effort to decrease traffic. He feels it necessary to re-prioritize current budget spending to favor such issues as clean air and drinking water, community planned growth that is socially and environmentally responsible, and a fair wage for city employees. It’s also important to him that everyone be represented in decision making. “I believe our greatest asset is our diversity,” he said, lamenting the lack of representation for people of color, poor and working class people, women, and elders in city government. As a city leader, Mahaffey said he would prioritize correcting this disparity.

Mahaffey’s dedication to such issues and to the people affected by them is evident in his push for “participatory democracy,” in which community members join together in a concrete way to find solutions to the problems which affect them. It’s also evident in his willingness to hold meetings in any home, church, or community center to discuss issues with citizens. To his supporters, Mahaffey exudes sincerity, and his tireless actions of behalf of the environment and of marginalized communities speaks for itself.

Lynn Johnson, when asked why she attended the parade to support Mahaffey, commented, “I guess the crux of why I’m here is that I want more love in my life, more human connection… If we take care of the people, the earth will take care of herself.” In his run for mayor, Mahaffey said he is attempting to fulfill a similar vision — that of taking care of the earth and her people, at the same time.

Local activists to enter prison

By Brendan Conley

Asheville, North Carolina, July 11— Two western North Carolina activists convicted of trespassing on a military base will begin six-month sentences in federal prison on Tuesday, July 17.

The activists, Clare Hanrahan of Asheville and Jon Hunt of Boone, were arrested on November 19, 2000 at Fort Benning, Georgia, for their protest against the US Army School of the Americas (SOA), now renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). The two joined with hundreds of others in a symbolic funeral procession onto the base to commemorate Latin American citizens who have been killed by SOA graduates. On May 22, 2001, they and 24 others were convicted of trespassing. Hanrahan and Hunt posted bond and agreed to self-surrender when ordered to report to prison.

“I’ve got to challenge the system,” said Hunt. “I can’t stay quiet when I know there is so much inequality and our system just feeds it. We must challenge it. If we don’t challenge it, it will kill us.” Hunt was ordered to report to Beckley Prison Camp in Beaver, West Virginia by July 17.

“I’m going to cross that threshold with an open heart,” said Hanrahan. “I am remembering what this is about -- it’s about the people in Central America who have been struggling for so long. This is one small thing that I can do to keep this issue in the public debate.”

Hanrahan was ordered to report to Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia by July 17. Hanrahan said there will be an informal solidarity gathering for her in Pritchard Park on Monday, July 16 at 9am. Hanrahan will be accompanied by Asheville resident Charlie Thomas; Thomas served a two-year prison term for resisting the draft during the Vietnam war.

The WHISC is a US Army training camp for Latin American military personnel. The school (under its former name of School of the Americas) has drawn protest for its role in the bloody civil wars of Latin America. Graduates of the school have been found responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in the region, including rape, torture, and massacres of civilians.

“We must ask why these courageous people are going to prison for six months for nonviolent protest while graduates of the SOA continue to torture and murder with impunity in Latin America,” the SOA Watch organization said in a statement. The organization urges concerned citizens to ask their Members of Congress to support HR 1810, a bill to close WHISC. Congress is also scheduled to vote on July 17 on expanding Plan Colombia into the Andean Initiative. According to SOA Watch, expanding military aid to South America will increase war and violence.

SOA Watch activists, including Asheville resident Melissa Fridlin, are in Colombia now with a Witness for Peace human rights delegation. When they return, they plan to carry out a nonviolent direct action at the gates of Fort Benning on July 18.

Most of the other activists convicted on May 22 received orders to report to various federal prisons on July 17. In addition to their prison sentences, Hanrahan and Hunt were ordered to pay a $500 fine. Kathryn Temple of Asheville is also one of the “SOA 26” convicted on May 22. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years probation and a $500 fine.

Hunt said he sees his prison time as an opportunity. “We’ll build the movement in there as well,” he said.

Hunt can receive mail at this address: Jon Hunt, #90277-020, FCI Beckley Camp, PO Box 350, Beaver, WV 25813. Hanrahan can receive mail at this address: Clare Hanrahan, #90285-020, Box A, FPC, Alderson, WV 24910. WNC SOA Watch is seeking donations for their ongoing work.

For more information: WNC SOA Watch: 828-277-0758; national SOA Watch: www.soaw.org

No charges for cop who shot wrong man in Chapel Hill

By Beth Velliquette

Hillsborough, North Carolina, June 25— After hearing the testimony of two SBI agents Monday, an Orange County grand jury decided not to indict a US deputy marshal for shooting an innocent Hispanic man in a Chapel Hill restaurant parking lot in March.

“It means the case is closed,” Orange-Chatham District Attorney Carl Fox said. “It doesn’t absolve him of civil liability, but it certainly absolves him of criminal liability.”

The incident took place March 12 in the parking lot of La Hacienda Restaurant after dark. Deputy Marshal Christopher William Sweeney and two other officers were waiting near the restaurant on Chapel Hill Boulevard because they had received information that a fugitive in a federal drug conspiracy case would arrive at the restaurant between 8:15 and 9pm.

During that time period, a Hispanic man, his wife and two children drove into the parking lot to pick up some photographs that a restaurant employee had taken of them at a family celebration.

Using unmarked cars, Sweeney and the other officers surrounded the Hispanic man’s Jeep Cherokee, which allegedly matched the description of the drug suspect’s vehicle, and blocked him in. Then they approached the car with guns drawn. Claiming that the Hispanic man appeared to be reaching for something, Sweeney shot and hit the man in the leg.

The driver of the Jeep Cherokee was not the drug fugitive and did not have a weapon in his vehicle.

“He made no movement whatsoever that made the marshal fear for his life,” said Jay Ferguson, the victim’s attorney.

Ferguson said his client, who does not speak English very well, has been waiting for the grand jury’s decision.

“I respect the grand jury’s decision, although I’m disappointed,” Ferguson said. “He went to the restaurant just like any other night, did absolutely nothing wrong. He’s a hardworking family man, and he ends up getting shot.”

Although his client lost his day in criminal court, it won’t be the end of the case, Ferguson said.

“My client will get his day in court,” he said. “It just won’t be this court. . All he wants out of this is justice.”

The grand jury’s duty was to listen to the testimony and hold Sweeney to the same standard it would hold anyone else who shoots someone. The fact that Sweeney was a law enforcement officer should not have been a consideration in making the decision, Fox and Ferguson said.

“It’s the same as for any other citizen,” Fox said.

In Orange County, the grand jury returns indictments on nearly every case it hears.

The SBI conducted an investigation of the shooting and turned over its findings to Fox.

“I didn’t feel comfortable, based upon what I read in the report, whether the use of deadly force was justified under the circumstances,” Fox said.

By submitting a bill of indictment to the grand jury members, Fox let them decide whether Sweeney should be put on trial for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. The jury apparently believed there was not enough evidence for Sweeney to be charged, Fox said.

The grand jury consists of 18 people and normally meets once a month and hears testimony from law enforcement officers. The members then vote on whether there is enough evidence from the state for the case to go forward. At least 12 of the grand jury members must vote in favor of the indictment.

In this case, Fox said, the SBI agent who investigated the case testified, along with an SBI expert in ballistics and firearms. The victim did not testify.

Source: The Herald-Sun (NC)

Group works to protect NC endangered species

Statement of Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project

Asheville, North Carolina, July 11-- In accord with a lawsuit settlement with Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project (SABP), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) continues to move forward in protecting the critical habitat of endangered species in North Carolina. FWS has announced the final designation of critical habitat for the Spruce Fir moss spider, a tiny tarantula found only in the mountains of Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. FWS has also proposed critical habitat for the Carolina heelsplitter, a freshwater mussel found in the Piedmont of North and South Carolina.

The Spruce Fir moss spider lives in moss and liverwort matts on rock outcroppings in high-elevation spruce-fir forests. The habitat is very sensitive to humidity, and too much or too little water can devastate the spider’s population. As a result, FWS designated as critical habitat all peaks above 5400 feet in four areas of NC and TN, including areas in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, and Grandfather Mountain. FWS refused to designate critical habitat for areas formerly occupied by the spider, such as Mount Mitchell.

In the final designation, FWS also refused to consider the effects of acid rain on the habitat, placing all the blame on a nonnative invader, the balsam woolly adegid. However, research by Dr. Robert Bruck of NC State Universtiy has proven that acid rain is having a catastrophic effect on spruce-fir forests by killing the trees, which in turn drys out the moss mats the spider depends on. Given the ammunition that the critical habitat designation will provide, SABP plans further action against the polluters responsible for the acid rain.

The Carolina Heelsplitter (along with dozens of other mussels) was formerly a resident of many of the freshwater streams in the Piedmont. However, as these creeks, streams and rivers were dammed, and industrial civilization clogged the waterways with pollution and sediment, the heelsplitter has been pushed to the brink of extinction. Now it is found in only 6 short, widely divergent stream sections. FWS has proposed to designate 92 miles of streams. This additional habitat protection will be helpful for survival, but the segments are not connected to each other. This lack of connectivity will prevent the full recovery of the heelsplitter, and increase the chances that each of the individual populations might be lost.

Convincing FWS of this will be a top priority for SABP. These designations are the result of SABP’s 1999 lawsuit against FWS, which until then had ignored their critical habitat duties under the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit settlement calls for reconsidering their refusal for 4 species. SABP is currently also suing FWS to gain critical habitat protection for 16 species in Tennessee.

Prehistoric village unearthed in Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina, July 9— Arrowheads, shards of pottery and other remains of a prehistoric Indian village have been unearthed on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate.

In four weeks of digging at a site in a corn field, estate curators and archaeologists from Appalachian State University found 30,000 pieces of pottery, stone tools, animal bones, arrowheads and other artifacts.

The area once was home to a group of people known as the Connestee, but historians do not know much about them, said Scott Shumate, assistant director of the university’s archaeological laboratories.

“The vast majority of Connestee is 200 B.C. to 600 A.D.,’’ Shumate said. “These people don’t have a written record so we have to affix a name to them. Whether they’re direct ancestors of the Cherokee, we’re not sure.’’

The site contains a series of clay floors, representative of successive structures built 10 to 20 years apart. The main structure was possibly a teepee-like structure, Shumate said.

The estate was built more than a century ago by George Vanderbilt, a grandson of the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Source: Associated Press