Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Charu and her mukluks
Cherub Charu dresses in needlessly warm clothing a lot. Have you noticed? Last night, she was standing in the dark downtown somewhere for a report on something, and all I could concentrate on was her down vest, covered by a giant parka, wrapped in a woolen scarf. Then there was that electric blue chinchilla thing on her head.
I’m sure she was wearing a pair of mukluks, too.
Charu, check with Cueveas. It was like 60 degrees the other night, not minus 60.
Home invasion mystery
Tuesday night at 11, WLOS did a story that’s actually got the community talking. According to police, four masked men have broken into a couple of nice houses in North Asheville around the Manor, threatened people at gunpoint and taken their money.
The men entered through unlocked windows. With one couple, they held the husband, allegedly at gunpoint, and drove the wife to an ATM and forced her to get them a bunch of cash.
One note on this: we understand why this is a story. It’s unusual to have this sort of crime go down at a posh North Asheville villa. But this shit happens every night in Hillcrest or Deaverview or Pisgah View. Why isn’t that reported with as much urgency and drama? Maybe cause the folks in the projects are poor and the big-house folks are rich? Ya think?
Riding the sex offender train
Listening to WLOSers report every angle under the sun about sex offenders is getting old. But there they were Tuesday, doing a story about a local woman who was going to start her own web site to track sex offenders who don’t have to be registered because they committed their crimes before the law requiring registration took effect. I think it was Russ Bowen who did the report.
According to this vigilante, once you’ve committed your crime and paid your price, you must still wear the Scarlet Letter, no matter what. She was basically saying these people should burn in hell. Give me a break.
Coyote ugly
Mary Jugliquor had a dumb and sick report about a coyote that was killed, then tied to a fence a la Matthew Shepard or something.
Here’s why it was sick: the WLOSers teased the story with lots of footage of the dead animal, flies buzzing around its eyes, tied to the fence, with Jugliquor in the foreground all serious. Then she starts her report with a warning: “this story contains some disturbing video.” Well no shit, you just showed it to me like three times already.
Here’s why it was dumb: So she does the report, and the farmer who owns the land where the coyote was strung up won’t talk on camera, and all the rednecks she interviews don’t know who done it, but yeah, them coyotes is all over. Referring to the decaying dog splayed out, she asks one neighbor, “Do you think that’s gross?”
No lie.
Then Jugliquor finally gets around to telling us that the farm owner had a permit to shoot and kill coyotes, but they need to keep the animal until a game warden comes by to check it.
Before we forget
At least Larry “the Bluntman” Blunt knows how to correct himself on air. WLOSers make mistakes on air, but rarely, if ever, correct themselves or their reports right then and there. Not the Bluntman. He knows when he’s made a mistake, and he’s not ashamed to admit it.
Last week, Larry introduced a Bob Cobweb “outdoors” report about Lake Jocassee. Only Larrry prounounced it *Jock*asee. So the report aired, then Larry came back and admitted his error, saying he should have known better. Indeed, he should. He’s worked in this area before and damn well should know that it’s pronounced Joe*cass*eee.
Larry, we appreciate that. Keep up the good work.
