Mark Barrett

Mission Hospital again placed in immediate jeopardy, CEO tells employees • Asheville Watchdog For the third time in less than two years, Mission Hospital faces sanctions that could result in it losing crucial federal funding, CEO Greg Lowe told employees in a letter Thursday night. The letter,...

Mission Hospital in #Asheville again placed in immediate jeopardy by state regulators, CEO tells employees. #avlnews #ncpol #nchealth avlwatchdog.org/mission-hosp...

Communities often backslide on measures to avoid flood damage, disaster expert says. He suggests tough standards and markers showing how high #Helene floodwaters got to reduce construction in vulnerable areas. My story: mountainx.com/disaster-exp...

Extra Scrutiny of FEMA Aid to States Has Created a $17 Billion Bottleneck

This story may help explain complaints about delivery of #Helene aid, although it does not reference the storm specifically. Gift article. #ncpol #avlnews #FEMA www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/c...

Drew Reisinger was 27, unemployed and with little relevant experience when he defeated #Buncombe County's old guard Democrats to become register of deeds. His peers named him register of the year recently. #ncpol #avlgov #avlnews mountainx.com/news/local-g...

For Helene survivors, a stalled federal buyout program could spell financial trouble Over the last few months, state officials have raised concerns about FEMA’s response time and its commitment to moving the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program program forward. The agency has not awarded m...

More than a year after Helene, hundreds of residents are still trying to figure out what to do with their damaged homes. FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program offers a chance to sell or rehab those properties — but appears to be stalled.

www.bpr.org/helene-recov...

UPDATED: Asheville Vice Mayor claimed tax break for Georgia residence Editor’s note: This post was updated to include information about Mosley’s voting record and voting residency requirements. Public records show that for at least seven years, while registered to vote ...

Daniel Walton broke this story for @nclocal.bsky.social It also includes info on Mosley voting in North Carolina and Georgia. #avlnews #avlgov #ncpol nclocal.org/2025/12/11/a...

I should have said: He'll be head of FEMA's Office of Response and Recovery, its largest division, not the entire agency. #FEMA #ncpol #avlnews #avlgov

A Proponent of Election Conspiracy Theories Will Take a Top Role at FEMA

President Trump has reportedly chosen a new #FEMA head. #ncpol #avlnews #avlgov (Gift article.) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/c...

A Buncombe County official will be the next #Asheville city manager. www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l... #avlnews #avlgov #ncpol

Books to add to your reading list if you're interested in #WNC www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

In a Reversal, FEMA Won’t Reinstate Suspended Workers

More #FEMA news. #ncpol #WNC #Asheville www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/c...

Will anything break the cycle of problems at Mission Hospital in #Asheville? Neither hospital owners nor its critics are going away. Competition may help, but for now is caught up in the Certificate of Need process. #ncpol #nchealth #avlnews Here's my in-depth look: mountainx.com/will-anythin...

Local elected officials in the greater #Asheville area will discuss this afternoon whether to endorse adding toll lanes or something similar on I-40 in Haywood and western #Buncombe County as a way to get funding for widening. frenchbroadrivermpo.org/agendas-minu...

N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency So Poorly Managed That State Auditor Couldn’t Determine Full Extent of Waste - Inside Climate News The story of the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency’s disaster response efforts was itself ”a disaster.”  That’s what State Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican, concluded in a scathing 506...

According to the state auditor, this state government relief effort after hurricanes Matthew and Florence was a disaster all by itself. Lots of political implications here, but even more for ordinary folks affected. #ncpol insideclimatenews.org/news/19112025/rebuildnc-was-a-disaster-auditor-says/

Several local organizations and the Southern Conference said today they've agreed that the Socon basketball championships will be played in #Asheville through 2035. #avlnews

NC Bar rebukes GOP push to publicize employees’ political affiliations Republican operatives want to know the political parties and campaign contributions of state regulators who oversee lawyers in North Carolina. The State Bar said it doesn’t know that information and w...

Here's a strange story that may get little notice amid all the understandable crush of news about immigration raids: #ncpol www.wral.com/news/state/n...

FEMA head resigns. Richardson had been hard to reach during Texas floods. David Richardson resigned Monday after a brief tenure leading the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Richardson had been in the position for about six months. We'll have to wait to see what this may mean for #FEMA response to #Helene in #WNC, #Asheville. #ncpol
wapo.st/4nYPtDa

How NC’s Hurricane Helene recovery dodged shutdown pitfalls • NC Newsline Over 43 days, state leaders rushed to prevent key federal programs from lapsing and ensure that rebuilding in the mountains could continue.

NC’s Helene recovery avoided shutdown pitfalls, but local governments remain strained #ncpol
ncnewsline.com/2025/11/14/n...

“We have learned that Asheville may be a targeted city.”

The Medicaid Program That Saved Money, Turned People’s Health Around — and Got Killed The end of the Healthy Opportunities Pilot in North Carolina is a story of how MAHA might actually be realized — or not — at the state level.

Getting healthy food to people via the HOP program in #WNC resulted in long-term savings to Medicaid, @politico reports, but #ncga halted funding. HOP backers say savings are real but take time. Legislative staff said it was money loser short-term. #ncpol #Asheville #Robbinsville #Brevard.

Supreme Court won’t hear Mark Meadows’ bid to sideline Georgia criminal case Donald Trump's former White House chief of staff had tried to move the case into federal court.

Re: Mark Meadows. I should add that Trump's pardon won't affect charges against Meadows in state court in Georgia and, overall, probably won't have many practical effects. #WNC #avlnews #ncpol www.politico.com/news/2024/11...

Trump pardons Rudy Giuliani and others who backed efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, onetime chief of staff Mark Meadows and others accused of backing the Republican’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Two with #WNC connections are among those Trump pardoned: Former WNC congressman Mark Meadows and Sidney Powell, an attorney who used to have a home in Biltmore Forest. #ncpol #avlnews apnews.com/article/rudy...

Big Falls on the Thompson River (Transylvania County, N.C.) looked good on Saturday.

Do big 2025 wins for Democrats mean a blue wave in North Carolina? • NC Newsline NC Democrats hope electoral successes in 2025 will lead to major victories in next year’s midterm elections. Political experts say it'll still be an uphill battle.

Several of North Carolina's political experts say 2025 results could bode well for Democrats' chances in the state in 2026 -- but also say a lot could happen between now and then. #ncpol ncnewsline.com/2025/11/06/d...

The news story I'd like to read: Were Tuesday's results all about Trump vs. anti-Trump voters, Ds vs. Rs, conservatives vs. progressives or are there policy issues that seemed to move the needle for voters? Or, both? #ncpol

MANNA FoodBank & buncombecounty.bsky.social
work to reduce impact of loss of SNAP food benefits caused by federal gov't shutdown, which affects 29,000 people in county and 90,000 in 16 counties MANNA serves. County libraries accepting food donations. #avlnews #WNC #ncpol www.bpr.org/politics-gov...

President Trump has endorsed the reelection bid of Chuck Edwards in #NC11. Edwards does have opposition in the Republican primary but was already the favorite. #ncpol #WNC www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

N.C. state government says SNAP (aka food stamps) benefits for November will be delayed if the federal government shutdown continues. About 1.4 million households in the state potentially affected. Gov. Stein asks @usdagov.bsky.social to use contingency funds. #ncpol www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-r...

On Air After Helene | Our State Left without power, cell service, or Internet for weeks after Helene, western North Carolinians turned to a reliable source for vital information: radio.

The folks at @blueridgepublic.bsky.social Radio worked hard to serve their community when #Helene hit (and have been recognized with journalism awards as a result). Here's a story about one, Helen Chickering. #avlnews
www.ourstate.com/on-air-after...

Privacy office at @DHSgov finds 102 times over past 4 years when FEMA workers recorded info regarding politics or 2nd Amendment while canvassing disaster areas. 72 instances related to guns. Report does not specify #Helene, #WNC or aid impact: #ncpol content.govdelivery.com/attachments/...