Mark Barrett
@markbarrettwnc.bsky.social
Freelance journalist just outside Asheville, N.C. Interests include local, state and national politics and government; housing and urban development; hiking; environment and just about anything to do with western North Carolina. Also @markbarrettact on X
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...
Disaster expert discusses the role physical markers can play in WNC’s recovery – Mountain Xpress
mountainx.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:11 PM
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...
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...
Extra Scrutiny of FEMA Aid to States Has Created a $17 Billion Bottleneck
www.nytimes.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:49 PM
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...
Drew Reisinger’s innovative approach to bureaucracy – Mountain Xpress
mountainx.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:46 PM
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...
Reposted by Mark Barrett
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...
www.bpr.org/helene-recov...
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...
www.bpr.org
December 15, 2025 at 4:04 PM
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...
www.bpr.org/helene-recov...
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...
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 ...
nclocal.org
December 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
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
President Trump has reportedly chosen a new #FEMA head. #ncpol #avlnews #avlgov (Gift article.) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/c...
A Proponent of Election Conspiracy Theories Will Take a Top Role at FEMA
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
President Trump has reportedly chosen a new #FEMA head. #ncpol #avlnews #avlgov (Gift article.) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/c...
A Proponent of Election Conspiracy Theories Will Take a Top Role at FEMA
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
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
Asheville City Council names DK Wesley as new city manager
Asheville City Council has appointed DK Wesley as its new city manager, effective Jan. 12. She is one of Buncombe's assistant county managers.
www.citizen-times.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:26 PM
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...
Asheville Museum of History names 5 finalists for Thomas Wolfe award
The Asheville Museum of History announced its five finalists for the 2025 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Awards.
www.citizen-times.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Books to add to your reading list if you're interested in #WNC www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...
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...
Will anything break the cycle of problems at Mission Hospital? – Mountain Xpress
mountainx.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:23 PM
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...
Agendas / Minutes
frenchbroadrivermpo.org
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
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...
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/
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...
insideclimatenews.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:27 PM
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
November 19, 2025 at 6:15 PM
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
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...
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...
www.wral.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:10 PM
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...
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
wapo.st/4nYPtDa
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
wapo.st
November 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM
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
wapo.st/4nYPtDa
Reposted by Mark Barrett
NC’s Helene recovery avoided shutdown pitfalls, but local governments remain strained #ncpol
ncnewsline.com/2025/11/14/n...
ncnewsline.com/2025/11/14/n...
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.
ncnewsline.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:34 PM
NC’s Helene recovery avoided shutdown pitfalls, but local governments remain strained #ncpol
ncnewsline.com/2025/11/14/n...
ncnewsline.com/2025/11/14/n...
Reposted by Mark Barrett
“We have learned that Asheville may be a targeted city.”
November 14, 2025 at 11:31 PM
“We have learned that Asheville may be a targeted city.”
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.
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.
www.politico.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:58 PM
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.
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...
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.
www.politico.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:50 PM
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...
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...
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.
apnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM
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.
November 9, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Big Falls on the Thompson River (Transylvania County, N.C.) looked good on Saturday.
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...
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.
ncnewsline.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
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
November 5, 2025 at 1:29 PM
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...
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...
buncombecounty.bsky.social
buncombecounty.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 3:04 PM
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...
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...