Dec 9, 2024 · By now, this story of locals living in flimsy tents post-Helene has taken on a life of its own. Especially once the frigid temperatures hit last week, the idea of people living in tents in Swannanoa and Fairview, among the hardest hit areas in Buncombe County, really fueled some outrage, both online and among some […]

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Dec 30, 2024 · Editor’s Note: As 2024 comes to a close, Asheville Watchdog staffers take you back and inside their most memorable stories and news events of the year. Helene will go down in history not just for the immense damage it caused but also the lives lost – 43 in Buncombe County alone. That statistic will forever […]

Jan 7, 2025 · Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies, and the real answers: Question: The Asheville Regional Airport Authority has announced the destruction of several general aviation hangars on the south ramp to allegedly make room for commercial planes. No new hangars seem to be mentioned. Does good planning require building replacements before destroying the old? Is […]

Jan 13, 2025 · There’s just no nice way to say this: We’re still looking pretty rough these days. Western North Carolina, I mean. And yes, thanks to Helene. Sure, a blanket of snow over the weekend helped with the aesthetics a bit, but we’ve still got a pretty bad tropical storm hangover. Debris remains everywhere, ranging from piles […]

Oct 22, 2024 · The floodwaters rose so fast at Thanh Bui’s house the morning of Sept. 27, she had to swim to safety. Bui, 55, and her 30-year-old son, Quintin Ho, had been up much of the night, monitoring the howling winds and rainfall of Tropical Storm Helene. Ho periodically checked the yard of their home on Asheville […]

2 days ago · Exclusive Series The lives we lost to Helene. Asheville Watchdog is bringing you the stories behind the staggering loss of life from Helene, the children, parents, grandparents, multiple generations of a single family, all gone in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the mountains of western North Carolina.

Nov 9, 2024 · Local homeowners who lost their homes or sustained serious damage in Helene’s floodwaters can begin applying next week to a federal program that may buy the home outright, or pay to have it elevated or rebuilt at a higher level. Steve McGugan, the state of North Carolina’s Hazard Mitigations section chief, explained at the Buncombe […]

Jan 6, 2025 · In the last two weeks of 2024, Asheville lost three community titans: businessman, local columnist and cowboy-hat wearing amateur historian Jerry Sternberg; funeral home owner and business pioneer Julia Ray, and Leslie Anderson, who played a key role in the revitalization of downtown Asheville.

Nov 10, 2024 · Dixon taught Yellin’s techniques at demonstrations throughout the country and was founder and editor of “the Traditional Metalsmith” and later “The Artist-Blacksmith,” quarterly publications dedicated to traditional methods of fine architectural ironwork.. Dixon received the 2019 Alex Bealer award, the highest honor from the …