United/div­ided: Occupy Asheville shakes up local protest culture

[Editor’s note: The Occupy movement’s unusual nature makes it hard to generalize about the group’s aims, beliefs and even actions. In developing this story, Xpress spent months talking with a variety of folks both inside and outside the movement. Nonetheless, there are doubtless other participants whose views differ from those presented here.] In Asheville, a […]

Anti-corporate and proud of it

Asheville City Council has adopted a measure denouncing corporate personhood and unlimited political campaign expenditures. Good for them. Despite being wholly symbolic, this adds Asheville to the growing list of cities and municipalities that have come to recognize the obvious. I support what Move to Amend is doing and participate in the Occupy movement. In […]

Council gives Occupy Asheville camp Feb. 17 deadline, supports keeping water system

In a Valentine’s Day meeting, Asheville City Council voted to evict the Occupy Asheville encampment in front of City Hall, one of the last remaining in the country, on Feb. 17. Council also unanimously backed a resolution supporting the city retaining control of the water system in the face of a state study. (Photo by Bill Rhodes)

Asheville City Council preview: the Valentine’­s Day edition

Instead of candlelight dinners, the members of Asheville City Council (and any staff and members of the public who happen to be in attendance) at tonight’s meeting will spend a Valentine’s evening in City Hall. A resolution supporting the city’s control of the water system and ordinances ending the Occupy Asheville encampment top the agenda.

Sunday open thread

Interstate 40 was cleared, Asheville City Council retreated, the downtown Bank of America closed up, the role of religion was fiercely debated at the Buncombe County Board of Education, Shuler bowed out, the city looked at restricting newspaper boxes, Council headed to East Asheville, and a deal over the Occupy Asheville camp remained out of reach. Whew. It was a busy, busy news week in Asheville.

Impasse over Occupy Asheville camp continues

Last night, Occupy Asheville’s coordinating council agreed on a letter asserting its camp in front of City Hall is “a representation of the people’s natural rights.” While not explicitly rejecting a proposal by Asheville City Council to voluntarily decamp, the letter didn’t accept it either, leaving an impasse over the fate of the camp heading into Council’s Feb. 14 meeting.

Silenced by local government

a href=”“If our government is of the people, for the people and by the people, then why is our government taking from the people? Why is our government constantly trying to stop the people from gathering and sharing information? What does our government wish to cover up? Why was the information that exposed the corruption […]

A deal between the city and Occupy Asheville? Maybe.

At the longest Asheville City Council meeting in recent years, the debate over the Occupy Asheville encampment was front and center. Motions both to create a permitting process for the camp and to ban it outright failed narrowly. In the end, Council agreed to put a resolution opposing corporate personhood on the Feb. 14 agenda, alongside a motion to give campers a deadline to leave. But, there will be porta-johns.
(Photo by Bill Rhodes)