Fighting the BID

City hall and the chamber portray a Business Improvement District as inevitable. But a broad array of locals are fighting…

COVID WAVE Alert — April 30

Sadly, Asheville’s long covid wave continues to hit our communities. Here’s our regular alerts on what’s going on and what…

Stop the BID

Corruption. Harassment. Surveillance. Business Improvement Districts are gentrification on steroids, with a horrific record around the country. Now one is…

Our reporters appeal their unjust convictions

Thanks to Duke Law’s First Amendment Clinic and local attorneys, our journalists are appealing their convictions for doing their jobs…

Good riddance

City Attorney Robin Currin’s far-right legal views have played a key role in halting progressive change. Now she’s resigning. A look at the damage she did, and what might happen next Above: Asheville City Attorney Robin Currin, file photo by Max Cooper The announcement came…

Reform vs. racism

The choice facing Asheville is clear. In fights over NAACP reforms and the annual budget, City Hall is ground zero for the long-brewing fight between pushes for reform and the city’s historic racism, now openly backed and defended by the police chief and law enforcement…

Self-inflicted

Insistence on a controversial police expansion and pay hikes for top-level staff bust a hole in Asheville’s finances and bring social justice proposals to a halt in this year’s hidden city budget fight Above: City Hall by night. Photo by Max Cooper [Editor’s note: While…

Fractures

The District Attorney and Sheriff’s primaries cast an illuminating light on the divides in our area — and some of the fights that lie ahead Above: the map of election results from the Democratic primary between incumbent Todd Williams and challenger Ben Scales. Precincts that…

Sheriff primary guide

The Asheville Blade’s guide to the primary that will shape who’s the county’s top law enforcement officer in a time where local policing’s under increasing scrutiny Buncombe County Sheriff is a key position, one of the most powerful on the ballot. Elected, rather than appointed,…

District Attorney primary guide

The Asheville Blade’s guide to the primary that will determine who’s in charge of one of the most powerful positions on the local ballot — district attorney District Attorney is an incredibly powerful position, perhaps one of the most important on a local ballot. This…

The attack on Johnnie Rush

What you need to know about the police brutality case that’s causing an uproar in Asheville and making national news. What happened, how the problem stretches to the highest levels and how this violence is rooted in our city’s segregation Above: A sign highlighting the…

Fire Hooper

Enough is enough. The Asheville police chief’s awful track record, deceptions and inexcusable inaction mean she must be removed from office. Our city can’t have change while allowing powerful officials to keep their positions no matter what damage they do. Above: Asheville Police Department Chief…

This will happen again

Video of an APD officer brutally assaulting a black man walking home from work shines a harsh light on the reality of our city. But it was enabled by a city that has repeatedly failed to take the depths of racism in its own backyard…

Jackson’s last act

City manager Gary Jackson, the most powerful person in city government, is retiring. How he defined an era of Asheville’s politics — and who bore the brutal cost of his administration Above: Jackson’s name plaque, with him in the background, at the Asheville City Council…

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