# Dan DeWitt — RSS Amplifier Everything Dan DeWitt publishes, via the RSS Amplifier directory. Page: Feed: --- ## [In-depth story on the stunning extent and lasting impact of urban renewal in Asheville](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/in-depth-story-on-the-stunning-extent) _2025-10-26 · Brevard NewsBeat_ How did the city become a place where ambitious young Black people want to leave? A lot of it has to do with the ravages of urban renewal. ## [New Investigative Story about FEMA and an Inquiry about Interest in Asheville Watchdog](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/new-investigative-story-about-fema) _2025-07-30 · Brevard NewsBeat_ How many of you NewsBeat subscribers would like to receive free news alerts from Asheville Watchdog? ## [First Watchdog Story: What We Should Learn from Cycling Tragedy](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/first-watchdog-story-what-we-should) _2025-07-15 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Though the deaths of two young cyclists in a head-on collision with a dump truck on July 1 highlights the reputation of the city as a dangerous and uninviting place to ride, despite marketing itself as a marketing paradise. ## [Why is Interstate 40 such a Mess? Because it Never Should Have Been Built There](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/why-is-interstate-40-such-a-mess) _2025-07-14 · Brevard NewsBeat_ The geography of I-40 along the Pigeon River helps creates serious landslides, including the one resulting in a long-term closure after Tropical Storm Helene. The risk was known from the start. ## [Nutrition, Hospital Funding in Jeopardy as State Faces "Big, Beautiful" Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/nutrition-hospital-funding-in-jeopardy) _2025-07-11 · Brevard NewsBeat_ When I took the job with Asheville Watchdog last week, I promised to let you know when it posted major stories relevant to Transylvania. ## [I'm Taking a New Job, but Budget Shows the Need to Keep an Eye on Transylvania](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/im-taking-a-new-job-but-budget-shows) _2025-07-03 · Brevard NewsBeat_ As excited as I am about my new post with Asheville Watchdog, an outstanding and inspired effort to revive local journalism, I worry about leaving my old one. ## [Helene, FEMA and the Long Wait for Home Fixes](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/helene-fema-and-the-long-wait-for) _2025-07-01 · Brevard NewsBeat_ The good news: The total number of flood-damaged homes that need to be rebuilt, elevated or demolished is less than it might have been. The bad news: it's going to take a long time. ## [Bigger Budget Not "Socialism," just Necessary, Commissioners Say](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/bigger-budget-not-socialism-just) _2025-06-20 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Most County Commissioners support a proposed budget funded by the first property tax increase in recent years and a bigger increase in the county's fire assessment. ## [More Housing on Steep Slopes: City Wants It, Neighbors Don’t](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/more-housing-on-steep-slopes-city) _2025-06-06 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Changes to Brevard’s law on developing steep hillsides will allow both an affordable project and greater density in the biggest residential developments planned in the city in recent years. ## [Opinion: Larry Chapman and Blurred Line between Patriotism and Militarism](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/opinion-larry-chapman-and-blurred) _2025-05-29 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Let's honor soldiers and sailors, especially, of course, the ones who died in battle, while being aware that exalting their service above others' can lead to undemocratic and tragic results. ## [Chovy's Blog: Agentic Coding (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/ibwHH4hshswT) _2025-05-29 · **Sponsored**_ Personal posts on agentic coding, moshcode CLI, and security findings. ## [Market-Based Reassessment Means Higher Taxes for Residents, Big Cuts for Big Businesses](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/market-based-reassessment-means-higher) _2025-05-23 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Transylvania County’s recent property reappraisal was conducted by the books, but in Brevard is leading to “unfair” tax burden on low-income residents, officials said. ## [Clarification in Column About River Clearance](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/clarification-in-column-about-river) _2025-05-16 · Brevard NewsBeat_ I got things turned around in one section of the story. ## [Opinion: When it Comes to Clearing Storm Debris Clearance, Less is Better](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/opinion-when-it-comes-to-clearing) _2025-05-16 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Federal taxpayers could pay as much $66 million for removing debris from county rivers. Let’s think about trying to save money — and river habitat. ## [Opinion: Unlock SAFE. Nonprofit Needs to Open up to Restore Credibility. And I’ll Help](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/opinion-unlock-safe-nonprofit-needs) _2025-05-10 · Brevard NewsBeat_ The domestic violence organization has made a good first step, hiring a new executive director. Now it needs to show it's serious about getting past its history of dysfunction. ## [Excess Debris Removal in County Rivers Created “Ecological Crisis,” Critics Say, and Could Cost as much as $66 Million](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/excess-debris-removal-in-county-rivers) _2025-05-02 · Brevard NewsBeat_ The clearance of rivers choked with deadfall from Helene is needed to protect bridges and prevent future flooding. But critics decry its bloated costs and habitat destruction. ## [Community "Hero" Ora Wells' Latest Mission, Preventing Alzheimer's](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/community-hero-ora-wells-latest-mission) _2025-04-21 · Brevard NewsBeat_ The beloved retired pediatrician looks back on the rewards of his long career and talks about using his Alzheimer's diagnosis to spread the word about the preventative benefits of diet and exercise. ## [Masters Golf and the Argument for Keeping Some Things as They Are](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/masters-golf-and-the-argument-for) _2025-04-16 · Brevard NewsBeat_ A highly satisfying weekend of watching televised sports got me thinking about the value of tradition. ## [The Fight Against the "Very Real" Threat of the Record-Breaking Table Rock Fire](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/the-fight-against-the-very-real-threat) _2025-04-10 · Brevard NewsBeat_ The largest fire in Upstate South Carolina history also burned more than 500 acres in Transylvania County. If not for a shift in the weather and the work of fire crews, it could have been a lot worse. ## [“Transformative?” Not so much. New Pisgah Health Leader Talks Scaled-Back Plans](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/transformative-not-so-much-new-pisgah) _2025-04-03 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Previous spending and ongoing financial burdens have left Pisgah Health Foundation imagining a role much changed from when it was flush with the proceeds of the Mission Health sale. ## [Crush Every Threat in Real Time (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/t5GVCdwE4De6) _2025-04-03 · **Sponsored**_ One agent for real-time detection, exposure tracking, and active defense. ## [Flames Slow and Protection Efforts Advance, Officials Say, While Urging Caution](https://brevardnewsbeat.substack.com/p/flames-slow-and-protection-efforts) _2025-03-29 · Brevard NewsBeat_ Better weather helped slow the spread of the Table Rock Fire and allowed crews to bolster defenses, but “we’re not out of the woods yet,” a fire chief warned.