Asheville’s boards and commissions have a lot of power and shape the whole city. But despite increased interest, they remain whiter, wealthier and more male than the city they represent Above: City Hall by night, photo by Max Cooper This is a collaborative project between the Blade and the Asheville Citizen-Times, investigating the make-up and

The city of Asheville is set to pass a $161 million budget. Here’s what’s in it — and just as important — what isn’t It’s that time of year again, as Asheville City Council will, next week, vote to pass an annual budget, specifically $161 million in this case. You

Council gets a first look at the budget, hikes (some) fees, checks up on short-term rentals and tries to take a swing at (eventually) solving West Asheville’s parking crunch Above: Asheville City Council member Gordon Smith. File photo by Max Cooper. By the time Asheville City Council settled in for

Body cameras, public housing, the fate of a public square and no action on LGBT protections as Council swings back from the end of winter Above: Mayor Esther Manheimer. File photo by Max Cooper. February was an unusually light month for Asheville City Council. So many items from what would

Over its two-day retreat, Asheville City Council set some goals, split on affordable housing, clashed with staff and set the stage for some interesting times ahead Above: the goals of Council members and staff during part of their annual retreat Every year, Asheville City Council has a retreat. Despite the

A divided Council decides on a ‘McKibbon standard’ for new hotels, approving an overhaul of one of downtown’s most notorious buildings Above: Council member Gordon Smith. File photo by Max Cooper. After the hibernation of the holidays, city politics sprang back to life again on Jan. 12 as Asheville City Council

Ashevillians speak out on what what they’re willing to take at Council’s last meeting of the year, and a time of conflict draws closer Above: Asheville City Council member Julie Mayfield. File photo by Max Cooper. When the new Asheville City Council first met on Dec. 1, it was a

A fight over development in Shiloh, a new pact with the chamber and new terms for a major Block project in a packed Council meeting Above: Council member Gordon Smith. File photo by Max Cooper. Welcome back, readers. My apologies for the delay. The venerable, held-together-with-tape charger for our laptop

In the weeks between two citywide elections, local government still continued on with some important steps. Here’s what happened over at City Council Above: Mayor Esther Manheimer. File photo by Max Cooper. Asheville elections are interesting beasts. There’s a long primary season, with candidates usually declaring in the first half

Airbnb cues up the lobbyists to push Asheville City Council as the fight over short-term rentals continues, local government considers new rules and the tech giant turns its attention to our city Short-term rentals are, to put it mildly, a controversial topic here. With the explosion of sites like Airbnb