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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 Watchdog is a free, local, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization. It was founded in 2020 by veteran professional journalists and media executives living in Asheville, North Carolina. Everyone on staff is a volunteer.

Our mission is to inform and engage the citizens of Asheville and surrounding communities by providing fair, factual, and reliable in-depth news stories about local government, institutions, issues, and people.

We believe that quality journalism in the public interest is essential for a healthy and successful democracy.

We started Asheville Watchdog because local news is in crisis. One-fourth of America’s newspapers have closed in the past 15 years, including 300 in the past two years. More than 1,800 communities nationwide that had local newspapers 15 years ago now have no original reporting. Half of all newsroom jobs vanished since 2008. This means there are fewer reporters to keep watch over state and local government, to dig deep into the issues, and to hold the powerful accountable.

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