Jim Oliver, founder and owner of AvL Technologies, has died. Oliver began his career at Lockheed as a designer of antenna positioners and stabilizers for US Air Force satellites. In the early 1990s, he engineered a design for satellite positioners that were light enough and to be mounted on vans.

Brian Canipelli, chef/owner of Cucina 24 restaurant in downtown Asheville, died suddenly on Thursday. Canipelli moved to Asheville in 2003 and was a James Beard Award nominee in 2016. He was in his mid-40s. The local food community is in shock, and our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Word on the street: a karaoke trend that’s new to me, referred to as striptease karaoke or porn star karaoke, has popped up in a couple of bars in Asheville. I don’t think it’s topless dancing, but it’s close.

Sovereign Remedies, a downtown Asheville cocktail bar known for cocktails using fresh, local ingredients, is under new ownership and will reopen soon.

Billy Strings fans on the streets of Asheville in advance of Strings’ three-night run at Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville.

The Asheville police department’s patrol staffing is lower than it has been the past five years, according to police Chief Mike Lamb. That’s surprising, considering efforts the city of Asheville and the police department have made to hire new officers. 15 new officers will join the dept this summer.