About The Team

Barks

UPDATE TO “CAWTHORN’S FIRST 2 MONTHS IN OFFICE”

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.

Cawthorn last week introduced two original pieces of legislation. One would provide tax credits for small businesses that are required to train employees in safety measures to deal with the COVID-19 virus. The other would permanently abolish Daylight Savings Time.

Our story March 5 also noted that Cawthorn frequently voted with, and co-sponsored bills by, his far-right Republican allies, including Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Chip Roy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and fellow North Carolinian, Ted Budd.

In two recent votes Cawthorn split from his far-right group. He voted in favor of a House resolution condemning the violent right-wing military coup in Myannmar — the coup leaders claimed “voter fraud” justified their seizing power — and also in favor of awarding medals to Congressional police who tried to stop violent Trump supporters from invading the U.S. Capitol. — Peter Lewis

MISSION-HCA HEALTHCARE PUBLIC MEETING APRIL 7th

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 by Mission Health. The webinar will be Wednesday, April 7^th at 5:30 p.m. (Eastern).

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

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

DESPITE COVID HOTSPOT,

SCHOOL BOARD MEETS IN PERSON

Despite four active cases of COVID-19 at the Asheville City Schools Central Office, ACS supervisors meeting Tuesday March 16 required anyone wishing to comment on plans to close Asheville Primary School to appear in person at the Central Office meeting room. Although the meeting was streamed online, anyone wishing to address the board had to appear in person.

CAWTHORN: LEFTIES WANT TO TAKE ALL YOUR GUNS! Writing in the Heritage Foundation’s The Daily Signal, U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (SPQR-NC) writes “Make no mistake, the left wants to take your guns, and trample your constitutional rights.” Western North Carolina’s rookie congressman has made unrestricted gun ownership a key focus of his term in office.

PLAY BALL! ASHEVILLE TOURISTS

Now an affiliate of the cheating Houston Astros, the hometown Asheville Tourists announced that they plan to play a 120-game schedule in 2021, including 60 home games at McCormick Field. The home opener is May 5 against the Brooklyn Cyclones, a farm club of the hated Mets.

THE FIRST BEAR SIGHTING OF SPRING

It was the first trash day after Pi Day (3.14). Although the adolescent black bear that sprinted through our yard was alone, neighbors said they saw a mama with three cubs heading for a local birdfeeder. Yes, I’m trying to fill space here.

Asheville attracts highly accomplished people of all backgrounds, including award-winning journalists from some of the world’s leading news organizations. The editors and reporters currently guiding our news reports include:

Sally Kestin, managing editor, reporter
Former investigative reporter at The Sarasota Herald-Tribune, The Tampa Tribune and The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and recipient of numerous national journalism awards, including the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She was a 2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist in investigative reporting.Email: skestin@avlwatchdog.org

Bob Gremillion, publisher
Former executive vice president, Tribune Publishing Company, overseeing The Baltimore Sun, The Hartford Courant, The Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, and other newspapers; publisher, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel; winner, National Conference for Community & Justice Silver Medallion and Urban League Diversity Champion; founder and CEO ChicagoLand Television News (owned by Chicago Tribune). Email: bgremillion@avlwatchdog.org

Tom Fiedler, reporter
Dean emeritus and journalism professor at Boston University’s College of Communication; former executive editor of The Miami Herald; trustee of TheConversation.com/us; co-founder New England Center for Investigative Reporting; former president New England First Amendment Coalition; award-winning investigative and political reporter during three decades at The Miami Herald including a shared Pulitzer Prize in 1991. Email: tfiedler@avlwatchdog.org

Peter Lewis, reporter
Former senior writer and editor, The New York Times; managing editor of The Bay Citizen in San Francisco; senior editor Fortune magazine; and John S. Knight Fellow and Hearst Visiting Professional in Residence at Stanford University, where he taught journalism. Email: plewis@avlwatchdog.org

Barbara Durr, reporter
Former correspondent for The Financial Times of London and a former editor for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Barbara was also a senior manager in two international nonprofits, CARE and Oxfam. Email: bdurr@avlwatchdog.org

Gail Meadows, editor
Former editor and columnist for The Miami Herald. Email: editor@avlwatchdog.org

William Robertson, editor
Former writer and editor at The Miami Herald; as the newspaper’s book editor, he was twice a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his writing on literary subjects. Email: editor@avlwatchdog.org

Pat Barcas, photographer
Former reporter, editor, and photographer at several small newspapers no one has ever heard of in the Chicago suburbs and southeastern Wisconsin.

John Maines, database editor
Former database editor at The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. His journalism career spanned more than four decades. He is the recipient of numerous state and national awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes, for Public Service in 2013 and 2019. Email: editor@avlwatchdog.org

As funding permits, Asheville Watchdog hopes to hire additional reporters and news interns to expand areas of coverage. A listing of current volunteer opportunities can be found here.