AVL Watchdog

AVL Watchdog Non-profit, local news website serving Asheville and Buncombe County. 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. The staff is a mix of paid employees and volunteers. 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 qual

ity 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. At the same time, misinformation is pervasive on social media and even many mainstream news outlets, including deliberate attempts to spread false, biased, or incendiary stories. Asheville Watchdog is committed to truth, verifiable facts, transparency, science, and important context. We do not compete with existing media, but rather try to complement and expand the critical services they provide. Our reporting is offered without charge to Blue Ridge Public Radio, Mountain Xpress, and other local publications. Asheville Watchdog is, for now, a virtual newsroom. For general inquiries, email [email protected].

KFF Health News report: Cops on Ketamine. Though many questions remain about the use of the hallucinogenic drug as part ...
10/11/2025

KFF Health News report: Cops on Ketamine. Though many questions remain about the use of the hallucinogenic drug as part of therapy, some first responders say it helps treat post-traumatic stress and severe depression.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.” ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A few months ago, Waynesville Police Sgt. Paige Shell was about to give up hope of getting better. The daily drip of violence, death, ...

What's the new restaurant coming to the old Musician's Workshop? Read John Boyle's Answer Man to find out. The food shou...
10/10/2025

What's the new restaurant coming to the old Musician's Workshop? Read John Boyle's Answer Man to find out. The food should be pretty good, he writes, based on the track record of the group behind it.

Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: Your coverage of the closing of the institution that was Musician’s Workshop was admirable. I now see a big “Sold” sign in the window and a building permit posted. What’s coming? Perhaps Bojangles decided to...

As a business owner and investor, Congressman Chuck Edwards has demonstrated a talent for making money. But little known...
10/08/2025

As a business owner and investor, Congressman Chuck Edwards has demonstrated a talent for making money. But little known until now is the Republican lawmaker’s talent for making money by running for office – money made off interest from a loan he made to his campaigns in 2022 and 2024. As Tom Fiedler explains in this week's Democracy Watch, candidates routinely fund their campaigns with their own money, but few lend themselves money, because while it's legal, it comes with political risk.

As a business owner and investor, Congressman Chuck Edwards has demonstrated a talent for making money. But little known until now is the Republican lawmaker’s talent for making money by running for office – money made off interest from a loan he made to his campaigns in 2022 and 2024. Edwards, ...

State university developments in Buncombe County no longer have to follow local building or zoning regulations, nor can ...
10/08/2025

State university developments in Buncombe County no longer have to follow local building or zoning regulations, nor can they be subject to any local review, under a new law in effect this week. The provision will loom over UNC Asheville’s plans to develop its so-called Millennial Campus properties, including 45 acres of woods that in recent months have become the subject of some of the most heated debate in the city.

State university developments in Buncombe County no longer have to follow local building or zoning regulations, nor can they be subject to any local review, under a new law in effect this week. The law, part of a regulatory package that went into effect Monday without Gov. Josh Stein’s signature, ...

In today’s Answer Man, John Boyle takes on a question about whether there are plans to build a roundabout at the interse...
10/07/2025

In today’s Answer Man, John Boyle takes on a question about whether there are plans to build a roundabout at the intersection of Hendersonville and Mills Gap roads, which a reader has heard is going to require the adjacent Ingles to move its gas station to make way for the installation. There’s a roundabout coming, John writes, but just not there.

John also explains when Biltmore Village’s ornate metal streetlights, severely damaged by Tropical Storm Helene, will return to the neighborhood.

Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: Is it true that they are replacing the stoplight with a traffic circle at the intersection of Hendersonville Road and Mills Gap? Also, I heard Ingles will be moving the gas station to the other end of the shopping m...

UNC Health and UNC Health Pardee will seek to build a 129-bed hospital in Buncombe County, joining Mission Health, Adven...
10/06/2025

UNC Health and UNC Health Pardee will seek to build a 129-bed hospital in Buncombe County, joining Mission Health, AdventHealth and Novant Health in a state-governed competition over hospital expansion, Asheville Watchdog has learned.

UNC Health and UNC Health Pardee will seek to build a 129-bed hospital in Buncombe County, joining Mission Health, AdventHealth and Novant Health in a state-governed competition over hospital expansion, Asheville Watchdog has learned. “We intend to file a proposal for the project with the state’...

The subject of today's John Boyle opinion column: an analysis of whether Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer's day job with...
10/06/2025

The subject of today's John Boyle opinion column: an analysis of whether Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer's day job with a law firm that represents developers creates conflicts that interfere with her public duties:

As a politician in this town, if you vote yes on a development project, you’re going to catch heat. If you happen to be an attorney who works in that field, and you’re the mayor, you’re really going to catch heat. That’s certainly been the case over the years for Mayor Esther Manheimer, who ...

Since 2023, when Kimberly van Noort became the University of North Carolina Asheville’s interim chancellor — she was sel...
10/05/2025

Since 2023, when Kimberly van Noort became the University of North Carolina Asheville’s interim chancellor — she was selected to fill the role permanently later that year — the university has ricocheted from one conflict to another.

In this special Sunday read, investigative reporter Jack Evans takes a detailed look at van Noort’s background, her vision for the university’s long-term survival and the criticism that has been leveled at her as she brings that vision to life.

The Blue Ridge Room, a parquet-floored hall in the University of North Carolina Asheville’s Highsmith Student Union, can accommodate an audience of nearly 500. On a Wednesday night in April, the room had been arranged to fit a crowd about one-third that size. Later, after a couple dozen people wer...

An AdventHealth presentation to Asheville business leaders about its planned hospital in Buncombe County was followed by...
10/03/2025

An AdventHealth presentation to Asheville business leaders about its planned hospital in Buncombe County was followed by a tense exchange between a company official and Mission Hospital CEO Greg Lowe, who called the plans “grandiose" and questioned the company's ability to provide the level of care needed in the area.

An AdventHealth presentation to Asheville business leaders about its planned hospital in Buncombe County was followed by a tense exchange between a company official and Mission Hospital CEO Greg Lowe, who called the plans “grandiose” and questioned the company’s ability to provide the level of...

The Aster Court development project, slated for Charlotte Street, generated considerable controversy in its early stages...
10/03/2025

The Aster Court development project, slated for Charlotte Street, generated considerable controversy in its early stages as it involved the demolition of a dozen historic homes in the fall of 2022. In today’s Answer Man, John Boyle brings us up to date on where the project stands.

He also returns to one of his favorite topics – turbidity – and takes a drive over the newly opened Blue Ridge Parkway bridge spanning I-26.

Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: Could you give us a status update on the Aster Court development slated for Charlotte Street? Is it still a go? Status of sales to date? Targeted date to break ground? My answer: I feel a mild reader warning is in o...

During Tropical Storm Helene, when western North Carolinians needed to communicate with one another more urgently than e...
10/01/2025

During Tropical Storm Helene, when western North Carolinians needed to communicate with one another more urgently than ever before, the region’s telecommunications systems went dark.

A year later, networks have mostly returned to normal. But there are still vulnerabilities and a need for more robust preparation for a future disaster, experts say.

A year ago, Susan Embler sat trapped in the hills above Swannanoa after Tropical Storm Helene rendered the road to her roughly 20-person community inaccessible. Lacking cell service and WiFi, cut off from the rest of the world, Embler tried in vain to send text messages to her daughter in Utah, who....

In today’s Answer Man, John Boyle takes on two questions regarding roads in the area. First, a reader inquires about dan...
09/30/2025

In today’s Answer Man, John Boyle takes on two questions regarding roads in the area. First, a reader inquires about dangerous conditions at a spot on Pearson Bridge Road. And then John looks into why it’s taken so long to complete a resurfacing project on Baldwin Road and when the work will be completed.

Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers: Question: As a regular reader of Asheville Watchdog, I wanted to bring your attention to a potentially dangerous situation on Pearson Bridge Road. Many of us who work at the Ridge Business Park on Bingham Road use Pearson Bri...

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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to providing Asheville and Buncombe County with news in the public interest. Founded and run by volunteer award-winning journalists and media executives now living here, the Watchdog will provide content that is free and widely accessible. We have no political or private agenda but simply believe that journalism is a public service essential to democracy. Local news matters, and a healthy, strong Asheville depends on well-informed citizens.