Category: Views

Developers David Moritz and Jared Wheatley are running for Asheville city council seats. But behind their attempts to rebrand as housing advocates lurks an extensive history of open racism and Islamophobia. Locals should know the truth, including about a political status quo far too indulgent…

In a wide-ranging segment with Asheville FM’s Community News, we analyze a mayoral rematch, a crowded city council primary and why it’s important to think beyond campaign season Above: Asheville city hall by night. File photo by Max Cooper The 2026 Asheville city elections are…

Like so many in our city the journalists in the Asheville Blade co-op have faced serious struggles in the aftermath of Helene. We’ve still done incredible work this year. We need your help to keep doing it. Above: Graphic by Matilda Bliss Like many groups…

Over a year after Helene, past all the glossy marketing, this is a city deeply marked by disaster. Beneath the ruins dotting the landscape an even more dire human tragedy is unfolding. The beginning of a Blade series on the crisis after the crisis, and…

Asheville city hall’s budget threatens a massive tax hike to give cops, wealthy bondholders and the city manager more money. It’s blatant extraction from struggling locals to appease the ruling class Above: Asheville city hall. File photo by Max Cooper Editor’s note: On June 10…

On grief, kindness, rage and why we have to fight for the communities we love in the times we face Above: A Helene memorial arch made of woven branches, overlooking the devastation around the rivers. Locals have written their griefs on slips of paper hanging…

A large anti-deportation protest sweeps through downtown, and signals local opposition to escalating fascism Above: Flags and signs held by anti-deportation demonstrators in downtown Monday night, with the light of nearby police cars reflecting on them On the night of Monday, Feb. 3, a large…

Inside the sudden October strike by unpaid lineworkers, the major corporation behind it and how it reveals the exploitation underlying Asheville’s post-Helene ‘recovery’ Above: MasTec line workers on strike in the parking lot of the former Sears, from an Oct. 30 video announcing their strike…

Helene’s aftermath has hit our communities hard. As a community journalism co-op, that means the Blade is struggling too. We need your help to make sure we can continue informing the people of our city Above: Graphic by Matilda Bliss For over a decade the…

Fully-treated water returns amid serious concerns about lead and a dangerous push “back to normal” from city hall. Asheville’s long-neglected water system was smashed by Helene and the resulting crises are still unfolding. What’s going on, what we know and what you can do about…