Category: News

Now more than ever, politicians will not save us and communities must organize and defend ourselves. From the Blade collective, here’s some honesty Above: Anti-racist graffiti on the Vance monument in June. A more honest statement than any campaign ad. Special to the Blade. Editor’s…

More disconnected from the public than ever, Asheville city council tries to fill a vacant seat as they pretend nothing will ever change Above: Asheville city hall. File photo by Max Cooper Facing more public distrust than ever, Asheville City Council has ripped free the…

On Aug. 9 a Blade journalist was dragged out of their car, attacked and arrested by Asheville police. This is their story Above: The author, just after their release from jail, showing some of their injuries Back in June, with anti-racist protests growing in strength,…

Committees and empty words are not reparations. Black Asheville needs land, resources, power and the defunding of the police Above: part of the 1937 map that redlined Asheville. All but one of the areas marked in red are Black neighborhoods, tagged in the ensuing decades…

Local government’s usual tactics fail to contain public outrage, as their meetings are hit with an unprecedented number of locals are fed up with their violence and hollow excuses Above: An Asheville police vehicle in front of a wall with graffiti neatly summing up the…

The stories of Ashevillians are being ignored. In working to survive, trying to get a COVID-19 test and seeing their communities in danger they all show a very different reality of the pandemic from the breathless coverage of tourism barons and economic forecasts Above: Asheville…

After months of workers warning about unsafe conditions and union-busting, No Evil Foods workers face a possible COVID-19 outbreak Above: A workplace announcement from No Evil Foods management about suspected cases of COVID-19 Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, workers at No Evil Foods…

The risks of COVID-19 are real, and it’s time to stop downplaying them. Here’s a glimpse at what we’re actually facing — and some ways you can help keep your community safe Above: A sign for the SoCon basketball tournament, which city government decided to…

Council candidate Sage Turner bills herself as a progressive reformer, but her real record is mired in terrible worker treatment, shady hotel deals and pushing relentlessly for more cops and gentrification Above: Turner tending her hives, photo from the French Broad Co-op’s public relations material.…

The Blade asks about cutting the police department, funding transit, reining in hotels and more as we take aim at the candidates running in the Asheville City Council primary Above: City Hall under renovation. Photo by Bill Rhodes Yes, Asheville, we are once again asked…