A road, a bailout, a hotel (again) and a parade of nuts and bolts items mark a Council meeting defined by changing power dynamics Above: Asheville City Council member Julie Mayfield. File photo by Max Cooper. After a ceremony and a brief meeting in December,…

The Airbnb wars take a decisive turn as Council passes a new ban in an attempt to halt a wave of housing losses Above: Asheville City Council member Vijay Kapoor, who asserted that the nearly-citywide ban on whole home/apartment Airbnbs was necessary due to the…

Just before a major Council vote, here’s a look at the issue that’s rocked Asheville, one that remains highly complex and as brutally simple as power, money and displacement Above: part of a map from the 2016 Blade investigation into the city’s clampdown on illegal Airbnb-style…

The story behind a new Council, deep divides, a historic election and the fight over the heart of a city Above: the new Asheville City Council, shortly after its Dec. 5 swearing-in ceremony. Photo by Max Cooper. Ceremonies are revealing things. The one that took…

The Blade depends on reader support. This year, we’ve got gift subscriptions, awesome stuff from lovely local places and more as our way of saying thanks to our readers Welcome back, readers. It’s been a whirlwind of a year for our city and for the…

New Asheville City Council members are sworn in, old ones depart and oaths are administered as the victors of November’s election take their seats Above: Locals gathered as the Dec. 15 swearing-in ceremony began. Photo by Max Cooper. On Dec. 5, after the hardest-fought election…

Power, survival, gender, politics and transitioning in a time of upheaval. The Blade‘s editor tells their story and how they got here. I don’t write much about my personal life in the Blade, but at this point multiple readers have asked me to publish this piece here.…

White supremacy, the failures of Asheville liberalism and one activist’s journey through grassroots organizing during a revealing summer in our city Above: Protesters, including the author, try to pry a plaque lauding Robert E. Lee off a monument in the middle of downtown. Photo by…

A major Airbnb showdown is delayed (until tonight) as new information emerges that the industry is gobbling up more housing than before and the river remains a major battleground in the city’s future Above: a key part of the Oct. 24 presentation on the city’s…

As the most important election in many years nears the finish line, here’s our guide on where the mayoral and Council candidates about some of the key issues facing our city Above: City Hall under renovation. Photo by Bill Rhodes. As we’ve repeatedly emphasized here…