The standard Fox News fare of BS and partisan slurs over reality apparently targeted #Asheville a week or so ago and I had missed it.
They did manage to talk only to Republicans.
Today, the #AVLWatchdog had a pretty good rejoinder, including the fact that one of the Repubs they had interviewed is not only running for Governor, but also the head of Trump's FEMA, which should be providing funds for the area to recover after Helene:
A great video from the #AVLWatchdog on one of the deaths at Mission Hospital since HCA purchased the system in 2019.
No one is blaming the nurses. This is all down to HCA and their abysmal cost-cutting, leaving untrained, and badly over-loaded staff caring for very sick patients.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DW2bJ0RCXj7/?igsh=MTZhNnd6bXM1a2Q4eA%3D%3D
8,742 likes, 514 comments - avlwatchdog on April 7, 2026: "Investigative reporter Ted Clifford discusses his story about 88-year-old Lucero Sierra whose death was one of two cited in a federal investigative report on Mission Hospital’s most recent Immediate Jeopardy sanction. #avlnews #nonprofitnewsroom #hca".
An excellent #AVLWatchdog article about the challenges our trail system are still facing, almost 18 months after hurricane Helene. The extraordinary work of volunteers is ongoing, as is the hugely increased risks of wildfire and property damage.
Thank you to everyone who does this kind of work anywhere in the world, so others can enjoy the beautiful spaces.
Let’s get this out of the way first: I’m pretty sure my colleague, photojournalist Katie Linsky Shaw, is trying to kill me. Back in November, Katie and I had the bright idea to go paddling on the French Broad River with MountainTrue, whose workers were picking out plastic piping and other debris from the Helene […]
For anyone following the mess at #MissionHospital in #Asheville, apparently CMS is finally getting serious about the recurrent deadly ineptitude and isn't falling for "we'll staff up for a month until this goes away" BS.
Via the #AVLWatchdog
Citing “systemic and recurring patterns of noncompliance found during previous surveys,” the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services harshly informed Mission Hospital CEO Greg Lowe last week that its latest Immediate Jeopardy citation — the third in less than two years — would require “enhanced” remedies for continued participation in the CMS program. Mission […]
The #AVLWatchdog has a story on our country's slide into "irresponsible ignorance" as Buncombe County NC announces 5 cases of #measles.
I am simply without words for how we can do this to ourselves.
I don’t often agree with U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who’s recently been quite vocal in his criticism of some Trump Administration policies. But when Tillis said in a floor speech earlier this month, “I’m sick of stupid,” referring to Trump’s push to take over Greenland, which is owned by Denmark, […]
Want to thank @firefly for pointing out the 3 #measles cases now in #Buncombe County, my area near #Asheville
Falling vaccination rates, lying and stupidity have brought us here, and people are going to be hurt.
From the #AVLWatchdog
https://avlwatchdog.org/measles-spreads-to-buncombe-as-public-health-officials-worry-about-spread-in-the-face-of-declining-vaccination-rates/
A major outbreak of measles in South Carolina has spread to Buncombe County, with public health officials announcing three cases Tuesday and expressing concern that more will follow due to decreased vaccination rates and the highly contagious nature of the disease. The Buncombe cases are confined to three siblings whose family visited Spartanburg County, South […]
The crippling of the #ACA will ultimately affect every American.
An excellent piece from #AVLWatchdog on what it means in the #Asheville area, where not only are premiums almost doubling, but because of HCA/Mission and the lack of competition in our hospital systems, we are also 15% over areas in the state like Raleigh.
Virginia Gilbert was shocked and angry after she learned last week that premiums for her Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance policy will more than double next year, jumping from $930 to $2,042. She was freshly outraged after U.S. senators reached an agreement this week to end the six-week government shutdown without securing an extension of […]
#MissionHospital placed in "immediate jeopardy" for the 3rd time since HCA bought them. This is the harshest sanction that CMS can levy against a healthcare institution.
THREE TIMES.
Via the #AVLWatchdog
This is a developing story and will be updated. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has placed Asheville’s Mission Hospital in immediate jeopardy, the third time since 2019 that the hospital has faced the harshest sanction that can be levied against a healthcare facility. Mission CEO Greg Lowe announced the sanction in a […]
I'm no fan of Davis, but the Dems in NC have got to change something up and fast. What a way to shoot oneself in the foot.
In a grievance-laced midnight Facebook post, Democratic congressional candidate Moe Davis dropped out of the race Saturday, effectively positioning Fairview farmer Jamie Ager as the party’s frontrunner to take on Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards in the 2026 general election in the state’s 11th Congressional District. Davis’s decision came just hours before he, Ager and three […]
Excellent piece from the #AVLWatchdog about #Manna #FoodBank our supplier of groceries to 225 organizations here in #WNC
Cuts to #SNAP & the 2 programs that helped organizations like Manna purchase fresh food from local farmers have cut deeply into their funding, and this is AFTER Helene completely destroyed their warehouse and all of their systems.
They've set up in a new location, & are trying, with community support, to meet the expanding need here for food.
This should be the role of government - to ensure its citizens are not hungry. My local community will not be able to bridge this shortfall.
https://avlwatchdog.org/snap-cuts-may-double-already-soaring-demand-for-food-from-manna/
Amanda Wimbish works full time as a special education teacher at A.C. Reynolds High School and part time delivering meals for Uber Eats. But she is also raising her 12-year-old daughter as a single mother. She has a mortgage to pay and, in pursuit of her master’s degree, she said, “I had to take out […]
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