Jessica Wakeman

Asheville, New York

independent journalist in Asheville, NC | creampuff in a knife fight | jessica dot wakeman at gmail dot com | signal: jessicawakeman.80

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Articles

Q&A with Matt Calabria Director of the Governor’s Recovery Office for WNC

2 weeks ago | averyjournal.com | Jessica Wakeman

The following is a Q&A between the NC Local News Workshop and Matt Calabria, Director, Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC)NC Local: It's been eight months since Western North Carolina experienced Hurricane Helene. Are you satisfied with where the recovery efforts are at the moment? One of the universal truths for this work is that we will never be able to move as fast as we would like, and as fast as Western North Carolinians deserve.
Yancey County Library Embroiled In Fight Over LGBTQ Book Bans

3 weeks ago | theassemblync.com | Jessica Wakeman

Yancey County, population 18,000, is aggressively charming. Cows and horses dot the hills that flank the main road of Burnsville, the county seat. A church, a few shops, a coffee house, and an inn surround the town green. Atop a hill a few blocks north of downtown, the front porch of the Yancey County Public Library is scattered with rocking chairs. The library’s small staff know their regulars by name, as well as their reading interests and favorite authors.
County pools are open

3 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Jessica Wakeman

Buncombe County pools opened during Memorial Day weekend. Cane Creek, Hominy Valley, North Buncombe, Erwin and Owen Community pools are open Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sundays, 1-6 p.m.After Asheville City and Buncombe County schools let out Tuesday, June 10, pools will be open Mondays-Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. On Thursdays and Fridays, Cane Creek, Erwin and Hominy Valley pools will be open from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m.Pool entry is $4 per person.
Helene recovery funds lag as WNC faces $54 billion gap

1 month ago | averyjournal.com | Jessica Wakeman

WNC — Funding to rebuild in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene is severely lagging, according to new data released by North Carolina’s Office of State Budget Management (OSBM).
Helene recovery funds lag as WNC faces $54 billion gap

1 month ago | wataugademocrat.com | Jessica Wakeman

WNC - Funding to rebuild in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene is severely lagging, according to new data released by North Carolina's Office of State Budget Management (OSBM).
UNCA students publish alternative zine in response to the current political climate

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Jessica Wakeman

The pamphlets are the size of an open hand, brightly colored and eye-catching. But whether The Red Banner, an eight-page zine published by the Student Vanguard for Liberation at UNC Asheville, will catch readers’ attention remains to be seen. “UNCA says it’s an institution of shared governance, and that just isn’t true,” Amity Martino, a junior and the general secretary of the Vanguard, tells Xpress.
Helene recovery funds lag as WNC faces $54 billion gap

1 month ago | bpr.org | Jessica Wakeman

Funding to rebuild in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene is severely lagging, according to new data released by North Carolina’s Office of State Budget Management (OSBM).
Workshop invites community members to confront trauma through the creative process

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Jessica Wakeman

Workshop invites community members to confront trauma through the creative process HANDS ON: Multimedia artist Kate Stockman co-leads Trauma Recovery Art Process, an art workshop at Hendersonville Parks and Recreation, alongside a trauma recovery coach. Stockman encourages participants to express themselves through collage. Photo by Jessica Wakeman Healing can come from work we do with a therapist, a spiritual leader or a higher power.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards Accused of Hitting Man At Rotary Event

1 month ago | theassemblync.com | Jessica Wakeman

This story is co-published with Talking Points Memo. A regional Rotary conference in Asheville on Saturday night appears to have ended with a confrontation between Western North Carolina’s U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards and an unknown man, with witnesses attesting that the congressman struck the attendee.
Rep. Chuck Edwards Accused Of Hitting Man At Rotary Club Event

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Jessica Wakeman

This article was co-published by TPM and The Assembly, which publishes deep reporting on power and place in North Carolina. Update: On Tuesday morning, the Asheville Police Department released a statement about the incident. “After reviewing the findings and consulting with the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office, it was mutually determined that no criminal charges against any party involved in the incident will be initiated,” the department said.