POLITICS
With the 2024 elections less than a year away, candidates prepare to battle for the region’s congressional seat
The 2024 campaign to represent Western North Carolina in Congress is taking shape as Asheville state Rep. Caleb Rudow became the first Democrat to announce plans to challenge incumbent Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards in the state’s 11th Congressional District. At stake could be control of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority while dealing with self-inflicted internal turmoil. The swing of a handful of seats could determine the outcome and shape national policy for years. Although the 12-day filing period to register officially for the campaign didn’t open until today, Rudow declared his candidacy Tuesday at…
Keep readingThe Overlook with Matt Peiken interviews Watchdog editor about Mission and HCA

Local journalist Matt Peiken of the podcast The Overlook recently interviewed Asheville Watchdog executive editor Peter Lewis about his opinion piece “Is There Anything We Can Do About Mission and HCA?” Listen here:
HEALTHCARE
Mission changes patient transfer process following Watchdog report on nurses’ complaints
Mission Hospital has updated how some patients are transferred from its emergency department to other areas of the hospital following two years of nurses’ complaints to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and an Asheville Watchdog investigation. Mission has instructed nurses to call colleagues – a process known as called report or called hand-off – when transferring patients who have been in the emergency department for at least 12 hours, according to an internal document obtained by The Watchdog. The procedure, which will move the hospital toward conforming with industry best practices, will improve patient safety, the…
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MORE FROM THE WATCHDOG
Opinion: If you’ve lived here long enough, you’ve seen tourism’s impacts — the good, bad, and ugly
Like a lot of transplants, I was a tourist before moving here. My wife and I moved here in 1995 for my job with the…
Answer Man: Are Asheville noise violators actually charged? Duke Energy’s local solar farm on track?
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: Asheville Downtown in the past three years has become unbearably LOUD. The city…
Posse Comitatus: Sheriff group’s concept seen as threat by many legal experts
Richard Mack, the founder and leader of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), contends that sheriffs have an authority established in England centuries…
Founder of far-right sheriffs group touts recent honor from Chuck Edwards
Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff and longtime hero to far-right anti-government activists, could barely contain his delight at receiving a rare honor from Republican…
Mission-affiliated doctors rebut physicians’ public condemnation
More than 80 Mission-affiliated physicians and health care workers have signed a letter rebutting a group of 50 doctors who recently publicly condemned HCA Healthcare…
Answer Man: Giant development coming off Brevard Road? Palatial Waffle House in the works in the Biltmore area?
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: On Brevard Road, just before the Buncombe County/Henderson County line and near Arden…
State AG threatens litigation over Mission cancer, emergency care
The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office sent notice Tuesday to Dogwood Health Trust that HCA Healthcare has violated the asset purchase agreement regarding cancer and…
Answer Man: Stump dump grinding machines cost how much? Duke Energy ‘rider adjustments’ bill confusion?
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: I was recently driving down Riverside Drive where there is a very large…
Tourism tax money buys massages, $250 shirts, dinners costing thousands
It’s a sweet deal: free trips to Asheville, complimentary facials, spa treatments and massages, and dinners costing up to $4,100 at the most sought-after restaurants.…
Opinion: Is there anything we can do about Mission and HCA?
So, what can we do? That’s the question we at Asheville Watchdog hear most often about the apparent decline of the once-proud Mission Health System,…
North Carolina AG sends investigative demand for 41 sets of documents from HCA and Mission Hospital
The North Carolina Department of Justice has demanded HCA Healthcare hand over 41 sets of documents related to medical care at Asheville’s Mission Hospital as…
Former Mission chief of staff: ‘I truly felt like it was a moral injury’ to work for hospital
Dr. Michael Frisch once held one of the most prominent positions at Asheville’s Mission Hospital, but today he gives the campus a wide berth. “I…
Answer Man: Small 5G cell towers coming to a neighborhood near you?
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: What is the status of the plan to put more cell towers in…
Answer Man: New life for the old Bywater bar? Broadway Public Safety Station still doesn’t have an opening date?
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: Hey John, wanna be my “Answer Man?” Wassup with the old Bywater —…
Asheville tourism became a $3 billion-a-year behemoth, but at what cost?
Turn on the television, open a magazine, or browse online in the Southeast, Washington, D.C., Denver, or beyond, and you’re likely to see an ad…