From avlwatchdog.org
Asheville potable water is back, city boil water notice lifted • Asheville Watchdog
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After 54 days without potable water, City of Asheville water customers once again can consume water directly from their taps. At the daily Helene briefing Monday, Asheville Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler announced that the city is lifting the boil water notice, as weekend...
6h ago
From avlwatchdog.org
Asheville could have drinkable water by middle of next week, city says • Asheville Watchdog
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Asheville residents could have drinkable water by next week, nearly two months after the city’s primary water system was catastrophically damaged by Tropical Storm Helene. The system is on the verge of being fully restored to drinkable water, possibly as early as Nov. 20, Asheville Water...
on Fri, 8PM
From avlwatchdog.org
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Preparations, cleanup and repairs from Tropical Storm Helene are costing local governments in Buncombe County tens of millions of dollars with many more months to go in the recovery effort. The City of Asheville has spent or dedicated more than $21.7 million so far, the majority on contracts...
on Thu, 1PM
From avlwatchdog.org
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A third round of in-reservoir turbidity treatment started Wednesday at the North Fork Reservoir, as a crucial measurement on the path toward potable water continues to drop. Water Resources Department spokesperson Clay Chandler said at Wednesday’s daily Helene briefing that the turbidity...
on Wed, 10PM
From avlwatchdog.org
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Drive along the French Broad River from Asheville to Marshall, or even farther, and you’ll quickly notice a recurring sight among the ubiquitous debris clogging the river banks: white plastic piping. Varying in diameter and usually about 10 feet in length, the pipes are stuck in downed trees,...
on Tue, 9PM
From avlwatchdog.org
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Local homeowners who lost their homes or sustained serious damage in Helene’s floodwaters can begin applying next week to a federal program that may buy the home outright, or pay to have it elevated or rebuilt at a higher level. Steve McGugan, the state of North Carolina’s Hazard Mitigations...
on Nov 9
From avlwatchdog.org
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Asheville’s North Fork Reservoir will get another turbidity-reducing mineral treatment next week, as the lake’s murkiness continues to decline. At Friday’s daily Tropical Storm Helene briefing, Asheville Water Resources spokesperson Clay Chandler said the key turbidity level dropped again since...
on Nov 8
From avlwatchdog.org
Report: About 40% of Buncombe trees were damaged or downed by Helene • Asheville Watchdog
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Tropical Storm Helene damaged or destroyed as much as 40 percent of the trees in Buncombe County, not counting the tree cover in Asheville, appraisers for the North Carolina Forest Service concluded in a new assessment of timberlands released Thursday. In all, nearly 822,000 acres of...
on Nov 7
From avlwatchdog.org
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As the murkiness of North Fork Reservoir continues to improve — some residents noticed clearer tap water over the weekend — the City of Asheville is pursuing a filtration plan from the Army Corps of Engineers that could be in place by the end of the month. “Some good news is Water Resources now has […]
on Nov 4
From avlwatchdog.org
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Buncombe County could be two-thirds of the way toward finishing its contribution to the 2024 elections if the turnout after Election Day remains as it was in 2020 when 78 percent of the state’s voters participated. When the early-voting period closed at 5 p.m. Saturday, a record 53 percent of...
on Nov 4
From avlwatchdog.org
Asheville’s water turbidity improves but potable service likely still weeks out • Asheville Watchdog
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Asheville water customers are likely weeks away from potable water, despite water-stilling curtains placed in North Fork Reservoir, an ongoing second coagulation treatment and an improvement in turbidity. Asheville Water Resources spokesperson Clay Chandler gave an update on the water system...
on Oct 31
From avlwatchdog.org
FEMA aid in North Carolina tops $190 million • Asheville Watchdog
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency has doled out more than $190 million in individual assistance to North Carolina for Tropical Storm Helene with more than one-third going to Buncombe County. Data provided by FEMA to Asheville Watchdog as of Tuesday morning shows 47,948 applicants in...
on Oct 29
From avlwatchdog.org
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Asheville Watchdog is bringing you the stories behind the staggering loss of life from Helene, the children, parents, grandparents, multiple generations of a single family, all gone in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the mountains of western North Carolina. This is the third...
on Oct 29
From avlwatchdog.org
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Asheville Water Resources faces “a really big week” in its effort to reduce the murkiness in its North Fork Reservoir, department spokesperson Clay Chandler said Monday. Chandler said at the daily Buncombe County Helene briefing that a type of in-lake filtration system — three layers of...
on Oct 28
From avlwatchdog.org
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved and paid more than $63 million to residents of Buncombe County in housing and financial assistance for Tropical Storm Helene. FEMA had paid a total of nearly $174 million in North Carolina as of Oct. 26, one month into the disaster recovery,...
on Oct 27
From avlwatchdog.org
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Dozens of powerful, fast-moving landslides carved deep scars into the hills and valleys around Buncombe County amid the fury of Tropical Storm Helene, sweeping away lives, destroying or damaging buildings and roadways, and dumping vast amounts of soil, rocks, and organic matter into rivers and...
on Oct 27
From avlwatchdog.org
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The head of the Federal Emergency Management Administration is expressing concern that “lies” spread by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and others about the federal response to Tropical Storm Helene will discourage victims in western North Carolina from seeking assistance. In an...
on Oct 22
From avlwatchdog.org
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The floodwaters rose so fast at Thanh Bui’s house the morning of Sept. 27, she had to swim to safety. Bui, 55, and her 30-year-old son, Quintin Ho, had been up much of the night, monitoring the howling winds and rainfall of Tropical Storm Helene. Ho periodically checked the yard of their home on...
on Oct 22
From avlwatchdog.org
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Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: Several readers have asked about the debris site that was proposed for a park near the Deaverview public housing neighborhood in West Asheville. Questions include: What will be processed there? And how can...
on Oct 22
From avlwatchdog.org
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The City of Asheville has restored non-potable, heavily chlorinated water to about 95 percent of users, but its main source of water, North Fork Reservoir, remains stubbornly murky 26 days after Tropical Storm Helene. At the Buncombe County daily storm briefing Monday, Asheville Water Resources...
on Oct 21
From avlwatchdog.org
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Some documents age better than others. And some? They make you cringe – a lot. Take this June 2016 news release from the City of Asheville. The headline alone has to make anyone in western North Carolina shudder: “100 years after the Flood of 1916, the City of Asheville is ready for the next one.” […]
on Oct 21
From avlwatchdog.org
The lives we lost: Helene took entire families, couples, children • Asheville Watchdog
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They perished under the most harrowing circumstances: entire families swept away by raging floodwaters, couples tossed out of their homes or crushed as the land underneath gave way, people battling diseases unable to access the treatments that kept them alive. The devastating, heartbreaking...
on Oct 19
From avlwatchdog.org
Water flowing to more areas of Asheville, but sediment remains a challenge • Asheville Watchdog
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The water is flowing again in parts of Asheville’s water system, 19 days after Tropical Storm Helene destroyed main distribution lines from the North Fork Reservoir, but it is not potable and not likely to be anytime soon. At the Monday daily briefing, Asheville Assistant City Manager Ben Woody...
on Oct 17
From avlwatchdog.org
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No, Hurricane Helene was not somehow orchestrated by people who can control the weather, FEMA is not out of money because it diverted $1 billion to illegal immigrants, and federal assistance is not limited to $750 for each storm victim. These are just a few of the numerous false rumors...
on Oct 8
From avlwatchdog.org
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Nearly 70 percent of western North Carolina’s cell phone towers and equipment are out of service, leaving hundreds of thousands with limited or no cell phone signal, according to federal communications data. Almost all of the towers withstood the damaging winds from Hurricane Helene, but fiber...
on Oct 1
From avlwatchdog.org
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While no one can predict the weather with 100 percent certainty, here’s a reliable forecast: As the climate warms, Asheville and western North Carolina will endure more frequent and intense rain events, and likely more flooding. Much of the area isn’t ready for what’s in store for it. By one...
on Sep 29
From avlwatchdog.org
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The legendary Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, the longest continuously serving speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, coined a phrase relevant to politicians from school boards to the White House: “All politics is local.” This week most of us will be watching and thinking about the impact of...
on Sep 11
From avlwatchdog.org
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Asheville Watchdog hosted a special free public event on Thursday, Sept. 5. Watchdog political reporter Tom Fiedler interviewed former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron at A-B Tech in front of an audience. Baron and Fiedler discussed Bezos’s purchase of The Post, the institution’s...
on Sep 11
From avlwatchdog.org
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The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission recently euthanized four bears, including two cubs, after the animals broke into two homes in Swannanoa, ransacking one and causing extensive damage. Ashley Hobbs, a special projects biologist with the commission, said the incident began Saturday,...
on Aug 28
From avlwatchdog.org
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Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: Completion of the new Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over I-26 is nearing. The existing bridge will be demolished before the new road work below it can be completed. How will the demolition be done? And what is the...
on Aug 9
From avlwatchdog.org
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Generally speaking, I’m in favor of wealth. I’ve never been particularly talented in amassing it, but I don’t have a problem with folks who bust their humps, do the work and build companies and wealth in the process. But sometimes you read a news story and just say to yourself, “What in the hell do […]
on Aug 1
From avlwatchdog.org
‘They must leave': Coalition begins push for HCA to relinquish Mission • Asheville Watchdog
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A broad coalition of western North Carolina doctors, patient advocates, clergy members, a state senator and others are calling on HCA Healthcare to give up the Mission Health network, decrying the level of care it has provided since its $1.5 billion purchase in 2019. The five years since the...
on Jul 25
From avlwatchdog.org
Buncombe can’t join Josh Stein's lawsuit against HCA and Mission, judge rules • Asheville Watchdog
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Buncombe County cannot join the North Carolina attorney general’s lawsuit against HCA Healthcare and Mission Health because its claims aren’t closely tied to the purchase agreement made when the hospital company bought the hospital system five years ago, a judge ruled this week. Buncombe filed a...
on Jul 12
From avlwatchdog.org
Possibility of Mission nurses’ strike rises as labor contract expires • Asheville Watchdog
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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,...
on Jul 3
From avlwatchdog.org
Mission nurses call for management to address workplace violence • Asheville Watchdog
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Choked. Hit. Kicked. Thrown against walls. 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. The violence is so prevalent that nurses...
on Jun 26
From avlwatchdog.org
HCA’s purchase of Mission presented as cautionary tale in draft report • Asheville Watchdog
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Mission Health board members were blindsided by HCA Healthcare’s decision to aggressively cut patient care staff in order to save money following its purchase of the hospital system in 2019, according to a working draft of a study out of Wake Forest University from a leading scholar on health...
on Jun 24
From avlwatchdog.org
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Mission Health facilities in Asheville had more than 450 registered nurse vacancies in mid-October 2023, according to company staffing data obtained by Asheville Watchdog. The deficit occurred during a five-month period marked by 10 instances of federally chronicled patient death and...
on May 8
From avlwatchdog.org
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A congressional commission overseeing taxpayer-funded communication by House members determined Wednesday that there was “substantial reason to believe” that Rep. Chuck Edwards had violated congressional rules by sending newsletters containing inflammatory and unsubstantiated allegations of...
on Apr 25
From avlwatchdog.org
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For years now, I’ve thought the state’s Certificate of Need program is, well, a CON. A CON-con if you will, although I doubt that will catch on as a new dance craze, unless it involves patients in the Mission ER hallways having a dance-off to see who gets treated first. Yes, that’s a terrible joke […]
on Apr 22
From avlwatchdog.org
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Faculty reacted this week with anger and sadness to the abrupt firing of 12 staff at UNC Asheville on Thursday, mixed with worry about what will come next as Chancellor Kimberly van Noort tries to close a $6 million budget gap by June 30. On Thursday morning the university notified the dozen...
on Apr 13
From avlwatchdog.org
CORRECTION • Asheville Watchdog
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[Editor’s Note: This is a correction to a story published by the Asheville Citizen Times. The Citizen Times refused to print the correction, so we’re doing it for them as a public service.] In an article published April 9 (“Asheville Housing Authority passes budget to hire off-duty law...
on Apr 11
From avlwatchdog.org
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Upcoming Events Join Asheville Watchdog the evening of April 17, 2024, as we celebrate our 4th birthday with a free public forum and panel discussion: No News Is Bad News:Why We Need Local Journalism More Than Ever Please join Asheville Watchdog on Wednesday, April 17, as we celebrate our 4th...
on Apr 11
From avlwatchdog.org
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The man charged with stabbing to death a pet dog while its owner played pickleball last summer in north Asheville is not competent to stand trial, a Buncombe County judge has ruled. The gruesome slaying of Beignet, an 11-year-old mixed breed, at Weaver Park last June horrified the community,...
on Apr 4
From avlwatchdog.org
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Buncombe County has proposed to join North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein’s lawsuit against HCA Healthcare and Mission Health, seeking millions of dollars in damages for what it describes as excessive wait times and extra work for its emergency services crews when they transport patients...
on Apr 3
From avlwatchdog.org
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You know, when you’re sitting at the main intersection in downtown Swannanoa, eyeing the convenience stores, smoke shops, and car repair joints, you might not think to yourself: “Man, I bet this is a hotbed of singles action!” But I’m here to tell you that it is. In fact, it’s No. 1 in all the […]
on Mar 25
From avlwatchdog.org
AdventHealth buys 25 acres in Weaverville to build a new hospital • Asheville Watchdog
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AdventHealth has acquired approximately 25 acres of land in Buncombe County, near Weaverville, where — pending a ruling in a court challenge by rival HCA Healthcare — it plans to build a 67-bed acute care hospital to serve Buncombe, Graham, Madison, and Yancey counties. AdventHealth already...
on Mar 22
From avlwatchdog.org
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Asheville’s Mission Hospital has violated the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA), the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told the hospital’s CEO on Thursday, again threatening to withdraw the system’s federal funding, according to a letter obtained by Asheville...
on Mar 15
From avlwatchdog.org
Mission Hospital still at risk of losing federal funding • Asheville Watchdog
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Mission Hospital remains out of compliance with federal regulations in six areas and is still at risk of losing Medicare and Medicaid funding, according to a letter sent to the hospital’s CEO Friday. The most serious finding of immediate jeopardy, meaning the hospital’s conditions threaten...
on Mar 14
From avlwatchdog.org
Development in River Arts District fuels concerns about its future • Asheville Watchdog
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The gritty past of the River Arts District may be giving way to a glossy future. Little more than a decade ago, the district was “a no-man’s land,” in the words of one artist, where painters, potters, and sculptors worked in shabby old warehouses and abandoned factories. Now, it’s a major draw...
on Mar 13
From avlwatchdog.org
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This may already be crystal clear, but the TDA just doesn’t get it. Last fall, we ran a four-part series of stories about the spending habits of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, which has a $40 million budget derived from a 6 percent occupancy tax on hotels, bed and breakfast...
on Mar 2