Watauga Democrat

21 hours ago | wataugademocrat.com | Jerry Snow

The Boone 4th of July Parade is being held downtown on Friday starting at 11 a.m. The community is invited to attend the annual gathering. All downtown Boone metered spaces and kiosk lots have free parking all day on Friday, July 4. Parking is also available in the Appalachian State public lots.

1 day ago | wataugademocrat.com | Lisa Mascaro |Kevin Freking |Joey Cappelletti

By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and JOEY CAPPELLETTI - Associated Press The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous night with Vice President JD Vance at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations, and took private meetings off the floor. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed, joining all Democrats. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press.

1 day ago | wataugademocrat.com | Jerry Snow

By Jerry Snow BOONE - The Music and Lives of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen will be featured on Saturday, July 5 starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country (559 W King St.). It stars creators Robbie Schaefer and Danielle Wertz, who will perform cabaret-style. Patrons can expect to hear songs A Case of You, Hallelujah, Big Yellow Taxi and Suzanne, in addition to others.

1 day ago | wataugademocrat.com | Jerry Snow

BOONE - A free screening of the animated film "Shrek" will be shown at Appalachian Theatre of the High Country (559 W King St.) on Thursday, July 3 starting at 6 p.m. and again on Sunday, July 6 (2 p.m.). The showing on Sunday is sensory friendly with the Theatre lights dimmed and the sound turned down. The movie's plot centers around Shrek, an orge whose solitude is "shattered by an invasion of annoying fairy tale characters," according to the movie's description.

2 days ago | wataugademocrat.com | Kenneth Schrupp

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into the University of California system for potential race- and gender-based discrimination in employment. "The University of California's 'UC 2030 Capacity Plan' directs its campuses to hire 'diverse' faculty members to meet race- and sex-based employment quotas," wrote the DOJ. "These initiatives openly measure new hires by their race and sex, which potentially runs afoul of federal law. "