Category: News

A budget, housing and monuments take center stage at the last Council meeting before the summer break, with more on the horizon Above: Asheville City Council member Gwen Wisler. File photo by Max Cooper. The spring and early summer are typically a big time for…

The Burton Street community faces down I-26 as the controversial interstate plans advance and criticisms about local and state government arise Above: The sign for Burton Street’s community center. Photo by Emily Foley. The Interstate 26 connector project has stirred debate for nearly 20 years…

While Council is set to pass a budget tonight, it will still be months before it’s clear if all city workers will actually get a living wage Above: the description of a U.S. Cellular Center job from the city of Asheville’s website last year, paying…

The public weighs in on the budget’s ‘moving parts’ while Council gets an earful, wrangles over numbers and disagrees on a few key points Above: Mayor Esther Manheimer during the June 9 budget hearing. Photo by Max Cooper. As the Blade (and some of the…

Local government’s biggest — and most underrated — public hearing of the year happens tomorrow. Inside the city’s $154 million budget, from tax hikes to living wage, why it matters and what it means Above: City Hall under renovation, photo by Bill Rhodes. It’s easy,…

The city budget rolls out, with uncertainty over a living wage increase, a survey reveals mixed opinions on the city’s performance and Council divides with developers over housing incentives Above: Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell, file photo by Max Cooper The summer is often the…

Behind the controversial definition of ‘workforce housing’ and the larger debate over local government’s power to solve Asheville’s housing crunch Above: The site of the future RAD Lofts development in September, with dissenting graffiti painted on its sign. “Workforce housing” is back in the city…

Federal statistics puncture myths about Asheville’s wages, which are staying stagnant, rising slowly or even declining in key sectors as the cost of living sharply increases Above: The skyline of downtown Asheville. Photo by Max Cooper. Every May, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics releases…

The city manager tries to put the brake on living wage increases, Council wrestles with short-term rentals and a split vote on a new development as local government heads into a tense summer Above: City manager Gary Jackson, file photo by Max Cooper As summer…

[IMPORTANT: additional evidence and research has revealed that the figure identified as Isaac Dickson in this piece was instead Roosevelt bodyguard Frank Tyree. For more on this correction, see here.] Recently found images of legendary African-American leader Isaac Dickson with Theodore Roosevelt shed new light…