A public hearing will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 19 in the Ferguson Auditorium of AB-Tech Community College, 340 Victoria Road in Asheville.
Author: Asheville Watchdog
Showing 1-21 of 113 results
Homes bought by NCDOT for I-26 Connector becoming havens for drug users
Residents of East West Asheville say vacant homes now owned by the NCDOT to make way for the upcoming I-26 Connector project have become havens for drug users and people experiencing homelessness, the Asheville Watchdog reports.
Possibility of Mission nurses’ strike rises as labor contract expires
Mission Hospital and the Mission Nurses United union didn’t reach a deal on a new labor deal by midnight July 3, the expiration date for the current contract, increasing the possibility of a strike. Nurses told Asheville Watchdog that they and the hospital remain far apart on key issues, including compensation and retention.
PFAS – forever chemicals linked to serious health issues – found above safe levels at Buncombe, Henderson mobile home parks
Residents of five mobile home parks in Buncombe and Henderson counties rely on water systems that exceed the limit of PFAS compounds, known as forever chemicals, putting them at greater risk of cancer and other illnesses, Asheville Watchdog reports.
Help Asheville Bears closes after spending $2 million calling attention to injured animals
The grassroots nonprofit grew out of one family’s crusade following the 2019 discovery of a bear they’d named Peaches that was suddenly missing a limb.
Mission nurses call for management to address workplace violence
Nurses at HCA Healthcare-owned Mission Hospital face a steady stream of assaults and violence in their workplace and say management needs to do more to prevent their physical injuries and emotional trauma, according to reporting by Asheville Watchdog.
UNCA chancellor proposes four academic programs for elimination, one for reduction
UNC Asheville plans to phase out its Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Drama, Philosophy and Religious Studies programs.
14 UNCA academic programs highlighted for potential reductions, elimination
An outside consultant recommended the University of North Carolina Asheville examine 14 of its 35 academic programs for potential course reductions or program eliminations.
Salvage Station concert venue to close, making way for I-26 Connector project
The venue, which opened in 2016, has hosted dozens of live shows through the years and boasts indoor and outdoor stages, all a stone’s throw from the French Broad River.
Mission’s urology services loses physicians; Asheville Urological Associates gives up privileges there
Mission Hospital faces an exodus of urologists, and five physicians from a local urology group refuse to practice at the HCA Healthcare-owned hospital, potentially reducing the number of specialists in the system to two by summer.
UNCA applies institutional neutrality to Gaza protests, social justice displays
“Institutional neutrality promotes the open exchange of ideas and avoids inhibiting scholarship, creativity, and expression,” UNCA Chancellor Kimberly van Noort wrote in a public update to students and faculty earlier this month. “Compromising this position carries great risks.”
Buncombe child care providers face financial crisis when state grants evaporate in June
Buncombe currently has 95 child care facilities serving children up to age five, and advocates worry some will close or reduce services when the grants run out.
NCDOT awards $1.1 billion contract for main I-26 Connector sections
After nearly four decades of planning and discussions, the N.C. Department of Transportation has a contractor for the two main sections of the Interstate 26 Connector.
As NCDOT buys land for I-26 Connector, negotiation can pay off for property owners
After 35 years of talking, planning, designing and redesigning, the Interstate 26 Connector project is finally underway, and the N.C. Department of Transportation or its contractors are buying land to accommodate the north-to-south downtown bypass.
HCA hands itself a clean bill of health for Mission sale agreement
The 13-page report, filed April 30, runs counter to allegations made by Josh Stein in his 2023 lawsuit against HCA.
Asheville, Buncombe become ‘epicenters’ of hemp, the accidental industry bigger than marijuana
Asheville and Buncombe County are among the “epicenters” of hemp nationally, said Rod Kight, an Asheville lawyer who advises cannabis businesses.
Three years after county, city discrimination ordinances, no complaint has led to finding, penalty
Both the city and county ordinances make it illegal for employers and business owners to discriminate based on any “difference in treatment based on race, natural hair or hairstyles, ethnicity, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, marital or familial status, pregnancy, veteran status, religious belief or non-belief, age, or disability.”
Staff reductions contributed to Mission’s soaring profits after HCA sale, draft report says
A 12-page working draft report out of Wake Forest University titled “Mission Hospital’s Financial Performance Under HCA” collates information from federal data, HCA’s own projections, and other studies to show how the Asheville hospital has prospered since the $1.5 billion purchase five years ago.
Buncombe County seeks to join N.C. Attorney General’s HCA lawsuit
Buncombe County filed a motion to intervene in N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein’s lawsuit against HCA Healthcare and Mission Health. The county seeks more than $3 million in damages from HCA and Mission.
Former Sheriff Van Duncan passes write-in threshold to secure ballot spot for chair of Buncombe County Board of Commissioners
Duncan, 59, and his team gathered the signatures in 40 days, well ahead of the March 5 deadline, mostly by sending almost 40,000 mailers to unaffiliated or Republican voters in Buncombe who’ve voted in the past three elections.
Bids for main parts of I-26 Connector project come in hundreds of millions of dollars above projected cost
The bids were for the two main sections of the project, which the NCDOT calls Section B and Section D. These sections will involve new bridges over the French Broad River and new sections of interstate to connect Interstate 26 above and below Asheville, as well as improvements to Riverside Drive.