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 into the number of open

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 dedicated to informing the public

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 at the West Asheville Public

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 City Council meetings. A lot’s

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 City Council’s Feb. 24 meeting,

As a major land battle is delayed, Council turns its attention to local organizing, a contentious consent agenda and several reports Above: Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer. File photo by Max Cooper. Asheville City Council’s Feb. 10 meeting began with the first appearance in the halls of city government of a new

The State of Black Asheville, Dwight Mullen and the call for consequences for this city’s institutions — and their failures Above: UNCA professor Dwight Mullen, speaking at a Martin Luther King Day event at Kenilworth Presbyterian. Photo by Max Cooper “It would be considered a state of emergency if you

It’s not just Asheville. In a region where abject poverty and mansions rub shoulders, about 10,000 households rely on housing assistance to survive Above: the numbers of public housing units and housing vouchers in each county in WNC. Chart courtesy of Carolina Public Press As many of our readers know,

Concerns, fears, mutual applause and setting the stage  for the biggest political fight Asheville’s seen in a long time, all at this year’s Council retreat Above: Council members’ notes, on the banquet room wall, about what accomplishments they’re proud of. This past Friday, Asheville City Council, several ranks of city

About 140 city employees make less than a living wage. More on that issue, and how Council’s now considering a raise Above: the job description for a U.S. Cellular Center worker in “specialized unskilled work.” The job, like many others at the center, pays below a living wage. Just over