Morgan Sykes

New York

writer + / reporting: disability community, transit, trash tv, the south, etc / frmrly @thecut @nymag @oxfordamerican / hire me: [email protected]

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Articles

Education advocates displeased with county budget, despite commissioners avoiding further cuts to schools

3 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Morgan Sykes

Although dozens of residents asked the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners to increase education funding at its June 3 meeting, the board voted, 5-2, for the post-Tropical Storm Helene status quo. One speaker was so passionate about funding education, she refused to give up the microphone and was escorted out.
Animal House: The WNC Nature Center celebrates its centennial

3 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith |Brionna Dallara |Morgan Sykes |Greg Parlier

- by Brionna DallaraAsheville City Council heard little from the public regarding a proposed property tax increase at a May 27 public hearing on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-26. Instead, the… - by Morgan SykesThe proposed budget forecasts a net lodging tax revenue of $32.5 million.
May 30, 2025 - Mountain Xpress

4 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Brent Brown |Justin McGuire |Morgan Sykes |Chloe Lieberman

Regional tastes Categories Humor, Opinion Foster care system in Western North Carolina struggles with shortages, instability Western North Carolina’s foster care system faces severe challenges, including a shortage of licensed foster families, an overwhelmed family court system and limited housing options and educational opportunities for those who age out of the system. Categories Local Government, News Tags Black Mountain Home for Children, dss, foster care, Foster Care Month, Jackson...
Tourism Development Authority proposes slimmer budget

4 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Morgan Sykes

It’s budget season, and the forecast for Asheville’s tourism recovery is mixed. During the May 28 meeting of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, Jennifer Kass-Green, vice president of culture and business affairs, presented the proposed BCTDA fiscal year 2025-26 budget, which begins Monday, July 1.
Looking for Home: Foster youths face uncertain futures in WNC

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Edwin Arnaudin |Kay West |Morgan Sykes

Western North Carolina’s foster care system struggles with a shortage of foster families, overwhelmed courts and limited resources for aging-out youths. Additionally, high turnover at the Department of Social Services worsens the problem, making the region one of the hardest in the state for foster kids to find stability.
Residents raise concerns over the proposed county budget

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Morgan Sykes

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners got an earful May 20 as more than two dozen residents either asked for more education funding or for the commission to hold off on a tax hike. Commissioners are considering a proposed $624 million operation budget, including a $435 million general fund for fiscal year 2025-26 that relies on a 6% property tax rate hike of 3.26 cents per $100 of appraised value that will cost owners $130.40 more per year for a property valued at $400,000.
Local author aims to illustrate a topic many leave unexplored

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Morgan Sykes

Local author aims to illustrate a topic many leave unexplored DIRE EFFECTS: “Only 22% of elementary schools in the entire country are teaching puberty,” says local author Julia Considine Pierce. Not learning the basics, she warns, can have dire effects. Photo courtesy of Pierce Julia Considine Pierce is more scared of Appalachian black bears than anything in the Sahara Desert.
When a Tree Falls: Artists craft beauty from Helene’s downed trees

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith |Kay West |Morgan Sykes |Brent Brown

When a Tree Falls: Artists craft beauty from Helene’s downed trees Volume / Issue Cover Design Credit: Scott Southwick Cover Photography Credit: Caleb Johnson In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene, Liisa Andreassen founded Echoes of the Forest, a nonprofit that transforms fallen trees into public art to memorialize nature and support community healing in the region. The project brings together local artists and woodworkers to create sculptures and installations from salvaged wood....
County commissioners presented with possible tax increase

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Morgan Sykes

County commissioners presented with possible tax increase SOUR NOTES: Franklin Keel, music teacher at Asheville High School, pleads for his job as Curt Euler, right interim county attorney, looks on. Photo by Brooke Randle The county budget proposed May 6 in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene did not please a lot of people.