Swings in supply and demand, a shortage of truckers and other issues create challenges for companies supplying the lumber industry in North Carolina.
Author: Xpress Contributor
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I accuse: Channeling Emile Zola in today’s Asheville
“I am certain the French author would take no offense at a less talented voice borrowing his ‘J’Acuse’ model. What better way to challenge a home community that is similarly darkened by discounted vanities, harms and pretense?”
From CPP: HCA takeover reframing primary care in WNC, could threaten regional hospitals
HCA Healthcare’s acquisition of Asheville-based Mission Health has driven a shakeup among physicians going to work elsewhere.
From CPP: Communities struggle with meth outside spotlight of opioid crisis
Increase in methamphetamine use in Western North Carolina affects the region’s “misery index,” even if the death rate is lower than that of opioids.
From CPP: Will telehealth continue filling gaps in WNC?
Patients and providers pivoted to online appointments during pandemic lockdowns. Some in Western North Carolina want the option to extend permanently.
Asheville needs less shouting, more listening
“Each segment of the community is yelling at the elected officials to promote its particular point of view, but there’s no structure for helping us all listen to one another across differences, en route to achieving mutually agreeable solutions.”
From CPP: State cracks down on mining operations
A McDowell County neighbor’s concerns about the impact of mining operations and questions from Carolina Public Press drew the attention of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
From NC Health News: Tackling NC’s rural provider shortage, one residency slot at a time
As Bryan Hodge, director of rural initiatives at the Asheville-based Mountain Area Health Education Center sees it, rural communities often lack the staff and financial resources to establish and sustain residency programs.
A better solution for Charlotte Street
“Can we allow for growth and address our affordable housing needs while also combating climate change and maintaining the character of our neighborhoods?”
Conservation proposal protects Buncombe’s future
“The funds would be used to help farmers and others in the county place their grasslands and forests under conservation easements to preserve them for future generations.”
Patients, staff challenge quality of care at Mission Hospital under HCA management
Since investor-owned HCA Healthcare bought nonprofit Mission Health System in 2019, stories are increasingly common of long waits in the emergency room, unsanitary conditions, broken or missing equipment, patients having to lie in their own urine and feces, doctors leaving because of pay disputes and nurses weeping in the hallways because of stress and chronic understaffing.
101 Charlotte St. deftly balances conflicting priorities
“Asheville is changing, and since affordable housing is already in short supply, every neighborhood has a responsibility to accept its share of new, denser residential projects, despite the inevitable protests by vocal citizen groups.”
Buncombe commissioners must rein in the TDA
“Other cities have used their occupancy taxes to direct millions to infrastructure and social programs while still supporting vibrant tourism industries. Why can’t we?”
Please don’t trample Heller’s blazing star (and other rare treasures)
“Help us make a difference with some of our rarest species by joining thousands of visitors in the simple act of staying on trails and heeding any ‘area closed’ signs.”
From CPP: Parts of Western NC see vaccine demand drop to a ‘trickle’
Several Western NC counties seeing recent surge in COVID-19 cases even as willing pool of vaccine recipients dries up.
From Asheville Watchdog: Profits are up at HCA, ratings are down at Mission
HCA Healthcare, which owns and operates Mission Hospital in Asheville, reported this month that it made $1.4 billion in profits for the first three months of 2021, more than double the amount for the same period last year.
Smith Mill Works companies envision a resilient future Asheville
Smith Mill Works is a sprawling, formerly abandoned greenhouse complex in West Asheville. The property’s revitalization began with in 2014 with the involvement of Michael Klatt. Now home to a diverse array of resilient businesses, the facility provides insight and inspiration toward a sustainable future for Asheville and the region.
From Asheville Watchdog: Can Asheville become more than beer and bears?
Asheville could prosper, believes Mack Pearsall, by monetizing a unique yet little-known asset: Its federal archive of climate and weather data — the largest such collection among all the nations on Earth — curated by a local talent bank that includes several Nobel laureates and scores of climate scientists.
From NC Health News: Illness turned housing instability into homelessness for one western NC couple
At 4.61 percent in 2016, North Carolina ranked 5th in the nation in its eviction rate, almost twice as high as the national eviction rate of 2.34 percent that year. Franklin resident Donna, and her partner, C., are two of the many Western North Carolina renters impacted by eviction.
From NC Health News: Behind needle exchange bill, a spat between Asheville site and its new neighbors
Proposed state legislation filed in response to a years-long feud between an Asheville neighborhood and a local needle exchange could threaten syringe exchanges across North Carolina.
From CPP: Haywood County seeks to build jail, grassroots group seeks to stop it
County officials say new jail is an issue of simple math. Opponents say money is better spent elsewhere.