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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

Mission sale: Good for WNC, or just HCA?

By Peter H. Lewis (October 22, 2020)

Mission sale: Good for WNC, or just HCA?

Years from now, the decision in 2018 by the directors of Mission Health to sell to HCA Healthcare might be seen as a brilliant strategic maneuver, one that guaranteed affordable, high-quality healthcare... READ MORE

Attack by Madison Cawthorn’s schoolmates goes viral

By Tom Fiedler (October 21, 2020)

Attack by Madison Cawthorn’s schoolmates goes viral

A scathing public letter signed by more than 150 of Madison Cawthorn’s former schoolmates at Patrick Henry College alleges that the Republican candidate engaged in “sexually predatory behavior,” vandalism and lying as... READ MORE

A Done Deal: How Mission Health Wooed HCA

By Peter H. Lewis (October 19, 2020)

A Done Deal: How Mission Health Wooed HCA

The news stunned Asheville and Western North Carolina, where Mission Health System Inc. was the area’s largest employer, its main healthcare provider, and a long-time source of civic pride. Seemingly out of... READ MORE

Equity Advocates Resign Amid Racial Reckoning

By Sally Kestin (October 1, 2020)

Equity Advocates Resign Amid Racial Reckoning

The CEO of the YWCA of Asheville has quit, becoming the second Black woman in a month to leave a high-profile job with a mission of improving racial equity in the city.... READ MORE

Cawthorn video hits Davis’ record as Guantanamo prosecutor

By Tom Fiedler (September 22, 2020)

In the western North Carolina congressional campaign already notable for its bare-knuckled ferocity, GOP candidate Madison Cawthorn’s latest attack video against Democrat Morris (Moe) Davis stands out: TERRORIST DEFENDER, the video proclaims... READ MORE

Tweet Storm: Candidate Attacks with Expletives, Vulgarity

By Sally Kestin and Peter H. Lewis (September 12, 2020)

Tweet Storm: Candidate Attacks with Expletives, Vulgarity

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic images and expletives, reflecting the verbatim language used by the candidate. Moe Davis has urged Democrats to stomp on the necks of certain Republicans, called Donald... READ MORE

Debate Fact-Checker: Zingers, Jabs and Lies

By Sally Kestin and Peter H. Lewis (September 8, 2020)

Debate Fact-Checker: Zingers, Jabs and Lies

In their first public face-off, the candidates vying for the increasingly competitive 11th district congressional seat, Republican Madison Cawthorn and Democrat Moe Davis, touted their differences on just about all issues and... READ MORE

From Military Prosecutor to Congressional Candidate

By Tom Fiedler (September 4, 2020)

From Military Prosecutor to Congressional Candidate

Updated For Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, a career military lawyer, the assignment he won in 2005 could solidify his opportunity to become a general. The North Carolina native – and now... READ MORE

Cawthorn Mingles With Far-Right Fringe

By Sally Kestin, Tom Fiedler and Peter H. Lewis (August 25, 2020)

Cawthorn Mingles With Far-Right Fringe

Conservative congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn, scheduled to speak Wednesday at the GOP national convention, traveled to Texas last month to visit a private border wall and echoed discredited child sex trafficking claims... READ MORE

Candidate’s claim creates false impression

By Tom Fiedler (August 11, 2020)

Candidate’s claim creates false impression

The narrative created by Republican congressional-candidate Madison Cawthorn paints a picture of a bright, young man headed to the U.S. Naval Academy until he was severely injured in an auto crash. “Madison... READ MORE

What We’re Reading

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.