The Asheville Blade

@avlblade.bsky.social

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Sharp journalism, analysis and perspectives without fear. Leftist news co-op based in Asheville. Read our work at: https://ashevilleblade.com Support us and subscribe at: https://patreon.com/AvlBlade Background photo by Max Cooper

A Stop sign spray painted to say "Stop ICE"
Screenshot of a BPR facebook post detailing Asheville assistant city manager Ben Woody's usage of "ai" in crafting housing policy.
A segment of the Asheville city manager's contract specifying she gets a $265,000 a year salary
Asheville Blade graphic with a shot of the city skyline and the words "Covid wave Alert - WAVE ENDS - Asheville exits its mildest winter wave yet. Locals can help prevent another one from happening
An Asheville Blade graphic with the words "Terrorizing more homeless people isn't going to bring the tourists back" over an image of city hall
Water rate chart for Asheville, showing big business continuing to pay absurdly low water rates.
Shot of Asheville election results showing Drew Ball, Maggie Ullman, Jeffrey Burroughs, Keith Young on S. Antanette Mosley and Sheneika Smith in the top six spots.
Graphic with an image of David Moritz and Jared Wheatley in line for a 2024 Trump rally, with the words "Two city council candidates have record of far-right bigotry" followed bythe subhed: "David Moritz and Jared Wheatley are running for office, hiding an extensive history of racism and Islamophobia
Screenshot of Asheville Police Dept press release with the words "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APD News Release-Officer Arrested, Charged with Assault on Female
Screenshot of Asheville city hall budget outlook presentation, noting budget gap and proposing austerity "We will need to consider a mix of revenue increases (property taxes and fees) and budget cuts (service reductions) to balance the budget."
View of part of downtown Asheville, near Lexington Ave, covered in snow
NWS graphic showing .25-.5 inches of ice accumulation in most of Asheville/Buncombe, warning of power outages and hazardous travel.
An NWS map of the WNC/upstate SC area, showing projected ice totals. They're .25-.5 around Asheville, meaning hazardous travel and the threat of power outages
The words "Defund the Police" painted in giant letters in front of city hall
Asheville Blade COVID WAVE ALERT graphic, with the words "Post-Holiday Spike" in larged red print and below that "After lull, wave resumes So should precautions
An Asheville Blade covid risk graph with "Substantial Risk" highlighted, meaning to avoid crowded indoor spaces, wear an N95 in indoor public spaces and review covid precautions with those close to you.
An Asheville Blade graphic with a black background, a red microphone and the words "A Word About Our City" in larger text, "The Blade's radio essays in collaboration with Asheville Community News on Asheville FM"
An Asheville Blade graphic with a red background, a stiletto point and white text reading "Help the Blade Survive in 2026"
An Asheville Blade graphic with a black background and the word FACTS at the top in white, red-trimmed letters. The latest round of FEMA Helene relief funds are on the way. Asheville city hall's claimed the largest single portion — $7.7 million — for... Renovating the golf course That's right, $7.7 million not for housing or rental aid or direct cash to still-struggling locals. But for a golf course that only a tiny fraction of peoole here will ever use. This is Asheville.
A special virtual meeting will be held by the Asheville City Council on Friday, December 5, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. The purpose of the special meeting will be to conduct a closed session and consider the appointment of public officers. City Council will immediately go into closed session and adjourn the closed session at 9:30 a.m. At 9:30 a.m. City Council will then return to open session to (1) consider the appointment of an interim City Manager effective December 6, 2025, to serve until such time as the full time City Manager begins employment; and (2) appoint a new City Manager effective January 12, 2026. Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute § 143-318.13 this will be a virtual meeting which the public can access by any of the following means found at
An Asheville Blade covid wave alert graphic with the word "Reprieve" in large letters, then "For the second time this year, Asheville exits a covid wave. But with holidays looming, risks could rise again."
A graph showing local covid rates based on virus in wastewater data, with rates recently dropping well into Substantial territory.
A Blade graphic with the words "Asheville is still a disaster zone" in large black print over the photo of a ruined building. In smaller print, "As the official Helene remembrances fade, we're left in a city still marked by disaster. Many are manmade. This is the start of the Blade's series on the crisis after the crisis.
An Asheville Blade graph showing covid rates declining to HIGH levels.
A. Downtown Activation Strategies Presentation Open Streets Mini-Grants (no Council action required) Central Business District Food Trucks Pilot (no Council action required) Ordinance amending Section 10-88 (Noise Regulations) regarding increasing the event days of a Level 3 sound exceedance permit from 30 to 50 event days for a pilot program period with a sunset date of December 31, 2026. Ordinance amending Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances to establish a downtown event-based Social District Pilot Program for specified special events taking place in the South Slope during calendar year 2026.
“On behalf of the City of Asheville, I want to thank Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for obligating critical funds to support our community’s recovery from Tropical Storm Helene. We are deeply grateful to our partners at FEMA, the State, as well as Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis, and Congressman Chuck Edwards, for their continued advocacy and support of Asheville.” — Mayor Esther Manheimer
A graphic showing covid virus in wastewater rates on a chart rising above a red line labeled "catastrophic."
A photo of Asheville's river district buried in floodwater, taken on Sept. 27, 2024
An official NOAA map showing a potential storm formation aimed right at NC, circled, with the words "tropical wave could bring impacts to the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia early next week."
A Covid Wave Alert graphic with "Skyrocketing" in red print and "Danger grow as late summer wave hits stride"
A graphic showing sharply rising Asheville area covid rates based on virus in wastewater data, with the red line already above the HIGH risk level
Notice from Asheville city hall: Regular meetings of the following 13 advisory boards will remain suspended until June 30, 2027, unless noticed otherwise: Affordable Housing Advisory Committee African American Heritage Committee Asheville-Buncombe Riverfront Commission Asheville Downtown Commission Audit Committee Community Entertainment Facilities Commission Human Relations Commission Multimodal Transportation Commission Neighborhood Advisory Committee Noise Advisory Board Public Art & Culture Commission Sustainable Advisory Committee Urban Forestry Commission
A gutted building in Biltmore Village peeking out from behind a "It take a village" tourism sign, with "Visit NC" visible, surrounded by overgrown plants.
An image of city council's proposed gutting of the Human Relations Commission, removing the inclusion of "Black and African American; Latino/a or Hispanic; Native Americans and Indigenous People; Asian Americans; members of the LGBTQ+ community; Youth members between the ages of 18 and 25; Individuals who live in public housing; Individuals with a disability or disabled individuals; Individuals who are recognized as community leaders"
An Asheville Blade covid wave alert graphic with "Another wave: risks spike as schools, tourism resume" over a background of infection graphs
Asheville Blade graphic with FACTS at the top and the following text over an image of city hall: Gentrify a city so badly that it turns into one of the least affordable in the country and a hell of a lot of people get kicked out on the street. Restart evictions and deny rental aid right after a massive disaster and a hell of a lot of people get kicked out on the street. It's that simple.
A screenshot from a recent Blue Ridge Public Radio report on the expanded panhandling ban, reading: Each of the newly proposed zones, Aardema said, was a hotspot for both panhandling activity and pedestrian-vehicle collisions. He noted that roughly 30 percent of the city’s pedestrian crashes this year had taken place within 25 feet of a reported panhandling location. Although he did not establish that panhandling had directly caused those crashes, he said the correlations were strong enough for the APD to recommend stricter rules. “There are concerns about the safety of those that are panhandling,” added Campbell. “There is a deep concern also for the business and property owners along these major corridors, and trying to mitigate any type of negative and unfortunate, possibly secondary, impacts on those particular users.”
A destroyed building with an annihilated white car next to it
Screenshot of Asheville city boards turned into rubber stamps under new city hall plan, will only meet on "as needed" basis, including African-American heritage, human relations, environmental committees, arts, transit, housing and more
A screenshot of part of the July 29 Asheville city council agenda, with the item "Proposed structure for Helene Recovery Boards" in the repprt section. Unusually, it has no documents.
Asheville Blade graphic with the word "FACTS" in large letters and a faded image of Asheville city hall in the background and the following text: $250,000 To help community land trust save two properties from gentrification $284,000 City manager's salary, with major raise funded by major tax hike on locals $2.1 million This year's increase in APD budget, funded by major tax hike on locals $27.2 million City hall reserves, just sitting there after Helene, funded by major tax hike on locals Does something seem off here?
A screenshot of a May 23 press release announcing cuts to four bus routes because bus drivers and other workers are badly underpaid
A hand holding a mug with the words "Gentry Tears" in black print on a white background.
Asheville Blade graphic with "The extraction budget" in large red letters, with the subhead "City hall pushes a massive tax hike on locals to fund more money for cops, major raises for higher-ups and to appease wealthy investors
Screenshot of part of an announcement from Asheville city hall: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: May 23, 2025 City of Asheville | Communication & Public Engagement Department Contact: Jessica Hughes, Communication Specialist | jhughes@ashevillenc.gov PRESS RELEASE: Four bus routes temporarily impacted due to staff shortages The City of Asheville’s Asheville Rides Transit (ART) service will be temporarily adjusting operations on the following routes beginning May 27, 2025, due to ongoing staffing shortages: Impacted routes WE1 eastbound will be reduced from once every 30 minutes to once an hour at each stop. Updated WE1 schedule is available here. N2 will be cancelled, however, N1 will begin to service the stops along Beaverdam Road between Ingles and Revol Church every 2 hours. N1 may experience slight delays due to this change. Updated Route N1 schedule is available here. W6 and N3 will be reduced from once every 30 minutes to once an hour at each stop. Updated Route W6 schedule is available here. Updated Route N3 schedule is available here.
An Asheville Blade graphic with the words "Wave Over" in large font over an image of the city, and "post-Helene drop in tourism helps end Ashevilles three year covid wave"
Asheville Blade graphic with FACTS at the top and an image of city hall in the background: The budget goes to a public hearing at the May 27 city council meeting. As with so much else after the storm — remember that their first big project was renovating the golf course — city government is set on making already hard-hit locals bear the costs of their corrupt quasi-police state. This is Asheville
Asheville Blade graphic with FACTS at the top and an image of city hall in the background: Nearly a third of the tax hike will go to a new, unspecified payscale for police — the same cops who spent Helene threatening locals for trying to get water — that's way more expensive than before. As usual, high-level staff will rake in massive raises while locals struggle to pay the bills. Firefighters are set to get gouged once again. City hall is refusing to use its millions in cash reserves
Asheville Blade graphic with FACTS at the top and an image of city hall in the background: Due to the impacts of Helene, city hall anticipates a $4.5 million shortfall in their $273 million budget Instead of looking for savings by cutting things like overpaid high-level managers they're gouging locals with a massive, nearly 8% property tax increase. The county's seeking a 6% increase on top of that Landlords will pass this on to tenants through rent hikes.
Asheville Blade graphic with the word FACTS and an image of city hall in the background: Asheville city hall's proposed budget is out, and after the devastation of Helene... They're inflicting a massive 8% tax hike on locals to give more money to cops and high-level officials. The city manager's going to get a nearly $8,000 raise... while your rent goes up in a disaster zone
A lease with the DeWine family businesseasing McCormick field to them for $468,000a year while city/county promise to pour $37.5 million into a wish-list of upgrades that will profit them more.
A USGS earthquake map with a red location star near Maryville, TN and affected areas all the way out to Asheville, SC and northern Georgia
An Asheville Blade graphic with a screenshot of Mayor Esther Manheimer's recent appearance in a p.r. video for notorious healthcare company HCA. The words 'All on the same team' are in larger white print, with the subhead reading "Asheville mayor appears in p.r. spot for union-busting, for-profit healthcare giant HCA"
A photo of the front of the Buncombe County Jail, a horrific block of a building in tan brick
An Asheville Blade graphic designating a High risk level in orange, recommending avoiding crowded indoor spaces, wearing an N95 mask while in indoor public spaces and testing regularly
Larry Crosby, the Foundry Hotel Natalie Dierkes, DMG property management JB McKibbon, McKibbon Hospitality Cheryl Suess, Bear's BBQ Joelle Gali, Dewey Property advisors Ashleigh Hardes, Lexington Glassworks Kyle Samples, LaZoom Tours Eva-Michelle Spicer, Spicer Greene Jewelers Dane Barringer Kevan Frazier Karmen Milhan Susan Griffin Meseret Aitken Gurleen Kaur Melina Arrowood, HCA Health Nex Millen, YMI cultural center Scott Fowler, Brucemont communications Non-voting: Antanette Mosley, city council, Ben Woody, representing city manager, Tim Love, representing county manager
An Asheville Blade graphic with mountains in a red background, and our patreon and paypal links, as in the post text
A blue, damaged unmarked police car with the words "The chief, the crash and the cover-up" in black and "In summer 2023 the APD broke their own rules to cover up a car crash involving then-APD chief David Zack. Current police chief Mike Lamb helped him do it.
Text from an Asheville city council memo for its March 25 meeting using $71,999 in federal grants to expand video surveillance around the city in the form of a "Real Time Intelligence Center"
Screenshot of an Asheville city hall press release PRESS RELEASE: City of Asheville reaches key infrastructure recovery milestone, initiates first storm recovery Request for Qualifications for design team The City of Asheville is taking a significant step forward in its infrastructure recovery efforts by initiating the first in a series of Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for major rebuilding projects. This milestone marks the beginning of a strategic and coordinated approach to restoring and enhancing the city’s infrastructure following recent storm impacts. The first storm recovery RFQ is for repairs to the Municipal Golf Course front 9 holes and will be posted today.