And help the Vortex doughnuts workers out as you can:

Sadly, it's not just big business that's responsible for Asheville's appallingly low pay and awful working conditions. It is far, far past time to face that fact.

This is also why the automatic veneration of "small, local" business (even long after they've stopped being small or local) is a massive problem here....

This is enraging. It is also far too common, especially here.

What's that? A vaunted local Asheville business just suddenly shut down, fired their workers and stole their pay? Again?

For those outside Asheville, this is Pisgah View, the largest public housing complex in the city, core of a predominantly Black neighborhood.

Surrounded by Flock cameras.

Anger works, though Asheville city hall will definitely try to bring this ramping up of the police state back. #avlgov

Meeting adjourned. Good to see locals mobilized against surveillance and Asheville's wannabe police state.

Things at work in the world besides the will of evil, y'all. #avlgov

Next speaker: city hall needs to ask "how could this be used to harm people." City gov has refused to release audit of Flock cameras, so we don't know who's accessing it. Surveillance can be used against immigrants, abuse survivors, those seeking repoductive, gender affirming care. #avlgov

Notably, during the same time city hall higher-ups have gotten massive raises. The method they use underpays rank and file while resulting in high-level managers getting bloated salaries (city manager makes more than mayor of new york) #avlgov

Next speaker: city hall has failed to keep up with living wage as costs in Asheville have increased, many city employees now making well below living wage. It costs money to underpay workers, deal with turnover. #avlgov

Jess McLean: "poverty is violence." 15% of children in Asheville living in poverty, many in public housing. Parents, caregivers have to figure out what to do because they have to work.

Housing authority cutting back programs while surveillance ramping up. Black neighbors getting surveiled. #avlgov

Next speaker: at least two Flock cameras watch me while I go to work, another two when I come back.

Flock employees have live access to cameras. Gives example of employees watching traffic, private cameras. #avlgov

Conant: APD's record on transparecy is flawed. They promised drone flight logs would be released. They weren't. I requested records on Flock use and was denied. Need to pull back and actually consider how surveillance they used. #avlgov

Patrick Conant: business model for these companies isn't safety, it's data.

They get 24/7 data they can use for teaining "ai."

"APD Flock data is shared with 100+ outside agencies" including those that report it directly to ICE.

Product of city's "hands off" approach to surveillance. #avlgov

Hampton: "It is a choice to collaborate with federal fascism" and council needs to stop doing it. #avlgov

Jen Hampton: "it terrifies me, I hope it terrifies y'all." Council buried this expansion of surveillance.

City hall claims to be collective, "but continues to collaborate with a fascist federal regime." Surveill homeless, bookstores.

"This is about treating the public as the enemy." #avlgov

Vaughn: "you may see this as free money, but it's not, the cost is too high." Can't trust the Trump administration. #avlgov

Vaughn: "absolutely no legal justification" for Flock and similar companies to surveill us and our children. "There is no transparency...there is no need for this in Asheville."

Will enter Asheville into information sharing with ICE, federal agencies, even law enforcement in other states. #avlgov

Vaughn, speaking for a group: Against mass surveillance. Flock's system was hacked this year and they covered it up. Corooration's cameras use "ai" and facial recognition.

"The amount of information these networks gather is deeply disturbing." #avlgov

Curry First: delaying surveillance expansion is a good first step, but need more transparency and communication from city government.

"The immigrant community, justifiably, is terrified." #avlgov

First speaker "been at work since 5 this morning," broadly wants change, especially critical of mayor saying she's not doing enough about city's issues. Hopes Roney does the same if she wins #avlgov

Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley doesn't want neighborhood expectations to be too high as a result of this change. Is the lone 'no' vote. Motion to amend repair and demolition ordinance passes 6-1 #avlgov

Previous commenter was from local realtors association.

Manheimer saying that property demolition is rare, and that there are many steps before that course of action.

Saying that other business owners complain about the buildings that #avlgov wants to threaten to demolish for housing "vagrants."

Next commenter echoes many of previous commenter's points supporting rights of business owners in the face of city hall's regulatory power.

- And not the basic humanity of allowing people to shelter where they want until being able to providing a plethora of better options. #avlgov

Public comment opens. Drew West of CIBO surprisingly objects to the ordinance changes citing undue burden on commercial property owners. This guy is not a supporter of unhoused locals. Far from it. He cites wanting to increase "public safety" [aka police] funding instead of #avlgov regulatory power

Councilmember Maggie Ulmann cites 'public nuisance' properties in neighborhoods that are 'safety hazards to children,' as if a system that produces this much homelessness is somehow safe to children. #avlgov

Staff cites buildings that are "use[d] by vagrants" in NC statute instead of "vagrants" using "safe" living structures that are up to code as if #avlgov actually funds enough of those to meet the diversity of needs.

They don't.

Onto "amending Chapter 4 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Asheville to provide for repair, closing, or demolition of abandoned structures." Changes to target areas where unhoused locals are known to frequent #avlgov

Change would remove word "chalk" from graffiti description.

#Avlgov says nothing about ACLU threatening legal action. Approved unanimously.

Onto new business. First is review of its graffiti ordinance after the ACLU threatened to sue them for disproportionately enforcing the use of sidewalk chalk on public property. An anti-Trump artist was fined, but #avlgov hasn't enforced ordinance against others.