Once again, an important request for public records faces lengthy, unexplained delays from the city of Asheville. It’s time for this disturbing pattern to end Above: City Hall, file photo by Max Cooper. Update: The city of Asheville does track records of police complaints in annual internal affairs audits. On Friday,

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

Records requests shine more light on the military surplus‚ from automatic weapons to armored cars, in the hands of local law enforcement. Above: An armored car owned by the Asheville Police Department, photographed in 2008. Photo © Jason Sandford, used with permission. A week ago, I highlighted the Blade’s records requests for

The Asheville Blade and local media are seeking more information on the amount of military equipment in the hands of local law enforcement Above: An armored car owned by the Asheville Police Department, photographed in 2008. Photo © Jason Sandford, used with permission. The unrest in Ferguson, Mo. has raised a