Mark Barrett

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/...

Developer offered $15M road to Mooresville, but lawmakers picked up the bill The money trail for a Mooresville connector road involves a political insider, undisclosed connections and dozens of campaign donations.

According to this story, a developer promised to build a $15M road in Mooresville at no cost to taxpayers. #ncga then appropriated the money out of state funds instead while developer officials were raining contributions on legislators' campaigns. #ncpol www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...

The #Asheville Citizen Times reports that no applications for grants to remove structures in danger of flooding in western NC have been approved since Helene. #avlnews #ncpol #WNC
www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2...

Nearly half of state spending on NC Promise, the program to make college more affordable at four #UNC system schools including Western Carolina U, goes to out-of-state students, Business NC reports. #WCU is the top recipient at expected $39.4M. #WNC #ncga #ncpol #nced mailchi.mp/businessnc/t...

There was discussion at this event in #Asheville about the impact of President Trump's #BigBeautifulBill on people on #Medicaid in particular (3.1 million in NC) and low-income folks in general, plus whether it comports with Christian ethics. #avlnews #ncpol mountainx.com/news/communi...

City of Asheville announces a public-private partnership for the development of an Arts & Entertainment facility - The City of Asheville Asheville takes definitive steps toward realizing a new large-scale arts and entertainment facility.

The city of #Asheville says it and a private company are partnering to do "predevelopment" work for an arts and entertainment center larger than aging Wolfe Auditorium.
Looks like the Buncombe Tourism Development Authority is on board. #avlnews #avlgov More here: www.ashevillenc.gov/news/city-of...

I-40 is still closed near the NC/TN line as of late Thursday morning. This damage does not appear to be nearly as bad as from #Helene and one hopes reopening will be a matter of days or no more than a couple of weeks. Still, the photos are wild. #avlnews #WNC #WNCwx

A Small, Private College Got $40 Million in State Funds for Cybersecurity Training The legislature has invested big dollars at Montreat College, even though public schools have federally accredited cyber programs.

Bypassing the #UNC and community college systems, the #ncga has appropriated $40 million to #Montreat College for cybersecurity education programs. The return so far has been minimal, this story says. www.theassemblync.com/education/hi... #avlnews #ncpol www.theassemblync.com/education/hi...

Musk Targeted FEMA. Disaster-Stricken Communities Are Paying a Price. (Gift Article) A FEMA funding freeze illustrates the extraordinary power of Elon Musk and DOGE, who have made claims of undue benefits for undocumented immigrants and spurred swift action by federal officials.

Elon Musk's concern over FEMA payments to house immigrants (from a separate pot of money) led to halt in #Helene grants to local, state gov'ts & nonprofits, @nytimes.com reports. In #WNC, Warren Wilson College and French Broad EMC are among those affected. #avlnews
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/u...

Trump Officials Take Down List of Federal Properties for Possible Sale (Gift Article) The Trump administration originally identified more than 440 federal properties that could be sold, which included the headquarters of the F.B.I. and Department of Justice.

The list of federal properties for sale that included an #Asheville building that houses weather and climate data workers has been taken down. However, it doesn't appear that that is the end of the effort to sell federal real estate. #avlnews #WNC
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/u...

. @ncdot.bsky.social says the Whitson Avenue bridge in #Swannanoa will reopen Wednesday after being shut down by #Helene. It's a key transportation link in that community in eastern Buncombe County that was hit hard by the storm. #WNC #avlnews

Thanks for pointing this out.
“Modernizing …” and “All That …” are very important books in that field and worth reading. It’s a pleasure to learn about all the other things he did. I met him briefly when he spoke at Campbell Folk School, a brave thing for him to do given his book’s criticism.

The 2,763 individuals and families staying in hotels at #FEMA expense as of Sunday get more time. NC officials from both parties have been pressuring #FEMA on this #Helene program and it appears to have an impact. #avlnews #ncpol #WNC

Struggling to make ends meet: WNC service workers face Helene's fallout Journalist Mark Barrett discusses his Mountain Xpress reporting, highlighting the struggles of Asheville’s service workers in Helene’s aftermath.

Due to #Helene, October was awful for people in tourism-related jobs in #Asheville and #WNC. Now they worry about making it through the winter. Here's my interview on Blue Ridge Public Radio based on my Mountain Xpress story. www.bpr.org/bpr-news/202... #ncpol #avlnews #avlgov

. #Helene vicitims in #WNC can stay in hotels longer, #FEMA says: "Due to continued extreme winter weather, FEMA is extending the Transitional Sheltering Assistance hotel stays until Jan. 14. If someone still needs assistance, please call 800-621-FEMA (3362)." #avlnews #ncpol #avlgov

Service workers ‘moving pennies around’ to pay bills Service industry workers consider options for getting through what is likely to be a lean winter.

ICYMI: With savings already depleted by #Helene 's impact in October, usually a big month for tourism, service workers in the #Asheville area are "moving pennies around" to pay bills and worried about a difficult winter. Some have moved away. mountainx.com/news/service... #avlnews #avlgov #ncpol

Service workers ‘moving pennies around’ to pay bills Service industry workers consider options for getting through what is likely to be a lean winter.

With savings already depleted by #Helene 's impact in October, usually a big month for tourism, service workers in the #Asheville area are "moving pennies around" to pay bills and worried about a difficult winter. Some have already moved away. #avlnews #avlgov #ncpol mountainx.com/news/service...

Breaking; More than 4,000 Amazon workers in Garner, NC will have the opportunity to vote on unionization after the organizing group CAUSE collected authorization cards from at least 30% of RDU1 employees.

The election will last six days in February. Union needs more than half of the votes to win.

Biden commutes death sentence of Buncombe County man to life in prison without parole President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row, including a Buncombe County man sent there in 2001.

One of those whose death sentence was commuted is from the #Asheville area. The case got a lot attention locally when the murder happened, then more when it was discovered that there were legal problems with the way it was investigated. #avlnews #avlgov #ncpol www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

The N.C. Department of Transportation just announced that it will not meet a goal of having two lanes of #I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge in Haywood County open by Jan. 1. DOT says a chunk of asphalt fell, raising questions about the stability of that area. Evaluation to come. #avlnews #Helene #WNC

I'm seeing a lot of comments from people who live on the east side of #Asheville who are happy about the reopening of the U.S. 70/Tunnel Road bridge over the #Swannanoa River. It will make many trips easier for them and should reduce congestion on I-240 in east Asheville and Oakley. #avlnews #avlgov

Impressive yarn bombing of the flatiron sculpture in downtown #Asheville. It's at the corner of Wall Street and Battery Park Avenue. There's more (smaller) down Wall Street.

ICYMI: The #FEMA maps that floodplain rules are based on and people use to gauge the flooding threat to their property are out of date and, critics say, inaccurate. They do not consider climate change or increased development. mountainx.com/news/critics... #avlnews #avlgov #ncpol #Helene #WNC

Critics say outdated flood maps provide an inaccurate picture of future threats FEMA says a quarter of all insurance claims for flood damage occur outside the 100-year floodplain — even though homeowners in those areas aren’t required to buy flood insurance and often don’t.

The #FEMA maps that floodplain rules are based on and
people use to gauge the flooding threat to their property are out of date and, critics say, inaccurate. They do not consider impacts of climate change or increased development. mountainx.com/news/critics... #avlnews #avlgov #ncpol #Helene

Thanks. The post and its source included the jobless rate for the city of Asheville alone followed by the number of jobs lost in the Asheville MSA, which comprises Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties. Mixing the two geographies -- not complaining, just explaining -- is what threw me.

Thanks!