Soaring construction costs hammer affordable housing

April 22, 2021Read more

One of the city’s more interesting experiments on affordable housing is dead. Paul D’Angelo, the Director of Community Development for Asheville, told the city’s Housing and Community Development Committee meeting this… READ MORE

One of the city’s more interesting experiments on affordable housing is dead.

Paul D’Angelo, the Director of Community Development for Asheville, told the city’s Housing and Community Development Committee meeting this week that far higher constructions costs have nixed the project. Construction costs have risen more than 15% in the last year, and as a result the developer cannot go forward with the units as previously priced.

The proposal in West Asheville would have provided one of the few opportunities for the city to address home ownership for lower income residents. It would have built 11 single family homes at $275,000, and 12 condos, six of them one-bedrooms at $199,00 and six two-bedrooms at $239,000.

A $1.1 million loan that was approved for the developer from the City’s Housing Trust Fund will now be returned to the fund. — Barbara Durr

HCA-Mission monitor invites public comments

April 19, 2021Read more

Gibbins Advisors, the independent monitor approved by Attorney General Josh Stein to make sure HCA Healthcare adheres to the conditions he placed on its 2019 purchase of Asheville-based Mission Health System, says… READ MORE

“The Independent Monitor for Mission Health System encourages comments from the community,” a spokesman wrote to The Watchdog. “The Independent Monitor catalogs all commentary to assist it in its monitoring work. Commentary is also passed along to HCA to be addressed. Respondents can choose to submit information anonymously or include their contact information so that HCA may follow up directly. The contact form is available at https://www.independentmonitormhs.com/contact or you can email the Independent Monitor at independentmonitor@gibbinsadvisors.com.”

Readers are also invited to follow the activity of the Independent Monitor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/independent-monitor-for-mission-health-system/ — Peter H. Lewis

Cawthorn raises nearly $1M for re-election campaign

April 18, 2021Read more

Scores of American corporations vowed after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to withhold political contributions from the 147 House and Senate Republicans, including western North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who voted against certifying Electoral College results from states won by Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. For the most part they have kept their checkbooks closed, according to a Watchdog review of the latest Federal Elections Commission reports.

As a candidate, Cawthorn received donations of $1,000 to $5,000 each from the political action committees of more than a dozen major U.S. corporations, led by Home Depot, SunTrust Banks, and United Parcel Service (UPS). Others included Aflac, Altria Group, AT&T, Cigna, Duke Energy, ExxonMobil, Kirby Corporation, Lowe’s, Reynolds American, and Universal Technical Institute.

But in the three months following his actions to overturn the election, none of those corporate PACS has sent him money, the FEC data show. Cawthorn for NC, the congressman’s re-election committee, reported $943,837 in contributions during the first quarter of 2021, all but about $100,000 from individual donors. The rest came mainly from the Take Back the House 2022 Republican political action committee, the records show. — Peter H. Lewis

Update to “Cawthorn’s First 2 Months in Office”

April 12, 2021Read more

Subtitled “Under Attack, He Moves (Far) Right,” our story noted that Rep. Madison Cawthorn had not introduced any original legislation after 60 days in office. Since our story appeared on March 5,… READ MORE

Subtitled “Under Attack, He Moves (Far) Right,” our story noted that Rep. Madison Cawthorn had not introduced any original legislation after 60 days in office.

Since our story appeared on March 5, Rep. Cawthorn has introduced nine original pieces of legislation. The first was a resolution “Commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the fall of Kronstadt [Russia], which took place on March 18, 1921.” It attracted no co-sponsors. Another of the first-term Republican congressman’s bills would permanently abolish Daylight Savings Time.

Rep. Cawthorn also introduced what he called the “Donument Act” to honor former President Donald Trump by establishing a “Southern Border Wall National Monument.” The bill, which has no co-sponsors, would give federal protection to the 400 miles of border wall built during Trump’s term along the 1,933-mile-long border with Mexico, endowing it with the same protected status as the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, and Mount Rushmore.

“We’re going to turn the border wall into a national monument so Biden can’t touch it!”, Rep. Cawthorn wrote to his followers on Telegram. — Peter H. Lewis

Mission-HCA Healthcare Public Meeting April 7th

April 12, 2021Read more

Gibbins Advisors, the independent monitor hired to oversee HCA’s compliance with terms of the Mission Health System sale, will hold an informational online meeting open to everyone in Western North Carolina served… READ MORE

This will be the first public meeting with the independent monitor since last year’s seven pre-pandemic community meetings. In the webinar, the independent monitor will provide an update on its work, and take questions from the public.

Anyone interested in participating can register at this link.

The presentation will be recorded and posted for viewing after the event on the Independent Monitor’s website. — Peter Lewis

Contract Negotiations Begin For Mission Nurses

April 12, 2021Read more

The National Nurses Union, which in September 2020 won recognition at Mission Hospital for 1,800 Registered Nurses, is in the throes of negotiating its first contract at Mission with HCA. It took four months before negotiations actually started in January, and the NNU isn’t putting a timeline on finishing. While patient and staff safety are prime concerns as the pandemic continues, the NNU says that the nurses want HCA to make real changes at the hospital and to address “a wide range of issues”, including staffing, which many nurses say has been cut to the bone. The NNU has successfully negotiated contracts with 19 other HCA hospitals around the country, though Mission is the first for-profit hospital in North Carolina that the NNU has unionized. — Barbara Durr

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Posts published in “Justice”

Reparations, Six Months Later: So Far, Empty Promises

By Barbara Durr and Peter H. Lewis (February 2, 2021)

Reparations, Six Months Later: So Far, Empty Promises

Six months ago, as part of a reckoning on racial injustice, the City of Asheville and Buncombe County both passed resolutions to consider reparations to the Black community as a way to... READ MORE

Asheville Police calls: Roadmap for Defunding?

By Sally Kestin and John Maines (July 14, 2020)

Asheville Police calls: Roadmap for Defunding?

Of 911 calls and requests for assistance to Asheville Police, less than 1 percent involve a violent crime, an AVL Watchdog analysis of police dispatch data shows. Much of the time, police... READ MORE

‘We’ve proved that we can’ Pandemic speeds criminal justice reforms

By Sally Kestin and Jason Sandford (May 3, 2020)

‘We’ve proved that we can’ Pandemic speeds criminal justice reforms

Coronavirus has led to dramatic changes in crime and justice in Asheville from the courtroom to the cop on the street. Reported crimes are down, police are making fewer arrests and inmates... READ MORE

‘We’ve proved that we can’
Pandemic speeds criminal justice reforms

By Asheville Watchdog (May 3, 2020)

‘We’ve proved that we can’<br> Pandemic speeds criminal justice reforms

Veteran NC lawmaker punished for trying to stop backroom deal (WRAL)

State Rep. Julia Howard (R-Davie County) learned that money is thicker than GOP blood. Citing ethical concerns, the 17-term chair of the North Carolina House Finance Committee tried to stop a bill that would financially benefit dozens of lawmakers, including House Speaker Tim Moore. Moore (R-Cleveland County) stripped Howard of her leadership post and kicked her off the Finance Committee.

NC-11 Congressman Madison Cawthorn marries Cristina Bayardelle (People)

They were legally married in a private civil ceremony in December, and held a religious ceremony in Hendersonville on April 3. “I ran for Congress because Cristina and I didn’t want to raise a family in the America many on the left seek to create,” the newlywed congressman said.

Evanston city council approves funding for reparations to Blacks (NPR)

The Illinois city plans to use the first $10 million from taxes on legal marijuana sales to finance housing assistance for African Americans. Asheville and Buncombe County voted last year to consider reparations but plans are still undefined.

Amid mass shootings nationwide, gun sales soar in North Carolina (Raleigh Observer)

“They talked about more gun laws, and people read into it that ‘I better get my gun now,’” said gun dealer Larry Hyatt. “And then they sent out $1,400 to buy one,” Hyatt said of federal stimulus checks deposited in taxpayer accounts.