Category: News

Locals gather to mark the end of slavery in Asheville and educate about oft-forgotten history at a site that’s still the topic of debate and controversy today Above: local activist and poet DeWayne Barton speaks at the From Slavery to Freedom teach-in and event. Photo by…

Council moves forward with ‘minor’ fee changes — and ending the downtown fare free bus zone — sparking a debate about transparency Above: a sign on South French Broad Avenue noting the boundary of the city’s fare free bus zone. Asheville City Council’s April 14…

Whooping cough is making a local comeback. More on this once-defeated disease, why it’s returning and how our society’s frayed Above: The Bortedella pertussis bacteria that causes whooping cough, image from the Center for Disease Control Whooping cough is an easy disease to ignore. With…

The historian and UNCA professor on African-Americans in WNC, facing the reality of American tragedy and the importance of power and democracy in public spaces Above: Darin Waters speaking at a Martin Luther King Day event at Kenilworth Presbyterian. Photo by Max Cooper. From informing…

Hoping for gridlock, mulling a whitewater park, diagnosing the police department’s woes and more as Asheville City Council tackles a bevy of reports Above: City Manager Gary Jackson, file photo by Max Cooper. As the March 24 Asheville City Council meeting drew near, word emerged…

A look at the Blade’s attempts to get public records from the city, what happened to them, and how long they took Above: City Hall by moonlight, photo by Max Cooper As part of a recent Sunshine Week collaboration with the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Blade looked…

Behind the numbers, criticisms, praise and efforts to reform how Asheville accesses public information about its own government and its records Above: Workers on scaffolding outside City Hall during recent renovations. Photo by Bill Rhodes. Every year Sunshine Week, which ended Saturday, marks a time…

Asheville’s food service workers mobilize to demand better conditions, protection for their rights and a share of a booming industry Above: The image of the Asheville Sustainable Restaurant Workforce, designed by Jessi Steelman. On the cold, blustery afternoon of Feb. 23 about 15 people gathered…

An e-cigarette ban, delayed public hearings, repairing the Vance Monument and background checks for school board members in an unusually short Asheville City Council meeting Above: Council member Jan Davis, file photo by Max Cooper. “Short” is a relative term when it comes to Asheville…

Council gives controversial Craggy subdivision the go-ahead, some gentry throw a fit about ‘undesirables’ and the police buy more surveillance equipment Above: City-County Plaza, with the Buncombe County Courthouse and City Hall on the snowy morning of Feb. 24 In the morning hours before Asheville…