Why you should sign up for an Asheville Citizen Times subscription? Let me count the ways

Karen Chávez, Asheville Citizen Times
·5 min read
Sign up for a new Citizen Times subscription during our Presidents Day Sale for big savings.
Sign up for a new Citizen Times subscription during our Presidents Day Sale for big savings.

Every day, Asheville Citizen Times journalists work hard to ensure our readers know what's happening in our beautiful mountain community – as we have been for more than 150 years. We help you find the latest in food and dining news, track your favorite high school sports teams or understand the latest city and county government proposals and decisions.

We work to connect you with news and information that informs, empowers and inspires our community and its residents to live their best lives.

It takes time and money to deliver the stories that connect us, and those that hold public officials accountable. Subscribers help pay for that work.

More:Police bodycams, walking kids to school: Citizen Times stories with impact in 2022

If you're already a subscriber, thank you! If you haven't joined the thousands across the mountains supporting our work, please consider a subscription today as we kick off a two-week Presidents Day sale. Visit citizentimes.com/subscribe to see our latest offers.

Here are just some examples of what your Citizen Times subscription gets you:

Enterprising subscriber-only stories

We have certain stories at citizentimes.com marked as “subscriber only.” Often these pieces are the result of weeks- and months-long reporting and investigations by our staff. Or they are exclusives, whether from court trials, lawsuits or other reporting for which we have the inside scoop. Here are some examples:

Rental assistance
Rental assistance

  • Rental assistance: Months of investigating found one of the area’s largest landlords, Hawthorne Residential Partners, stopped taking third-party rental assistance. After this story ran, the company said it was a “mistake” and will start taking payments again to allow people to stay in their homes.

  • Busing myth: We get to the bottom of the ever-present myth that Asheville’s homeless population is growing because other cities and organizations are busing them in.

  • HCA Healthcare/Mission lawsuit: There are actually many lawsuits pending against the largest healthcare provider and owner of hospitals in Western North Carolina. We keep on top of them all.

Mission nurses participated in a country-wide event hosted by their union, National Nurses United, to demand that hospital employers put patients first above profit motives January 27, 2021 in Asheville.
Mission nurses participated in a country-wide event hosted by their union, National Nurses United, to demand that hospital employers put patients first above profit motives January 27, 2021 in Asheville.

More:Mission Health’s 2022, fraught with resistance, was shaped by these 10 groups, people

More:In ‘nightmare’ birth lawsuit, Mission, HCA claim they didn’t employ C-section physicians

  • Woodfin Police bodycam: We followed the case of a Navy veteran who said he was assaulted by police officers. And we won release of officers' bodycam footage.

  • Airbnb owner lawsuits: We stay on top of convicted West Asheville business owner Shawn Johnson's many run-ins with the law and even local celebrities.

  • Latest in food and dining: Food writer Tiana Kennell has all the inside scoops on restaurant news.

More:2 West Asheville eateries closed for renovation, will reopen with sparkling new look

Our daily, local news coverage

Most of our resources are spent reporting stories that keep you informed about what’s happening in our local communities on a daily basis — everything from public safety and education to growth and development, local government and court proceedings, happy news like the in-person return of the Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast, photos and videos and the latest in food and dining.

Your subscription allows us to continue this important, local work.

Scenes from the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace March and Rally from St. James AME Church to Pack Square Park in Asheville January 16, 2023.
Scenes from the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace March and Rally from St. James AME Church to Pack Square Park in Asheville January 16, 2023.

More:Green Sage Café workers rally to unionize after restaurant owner objects

More:Ex-Asheville man charged with sexual assaults in Los Angeles; police seek more victims

More:New 'major' subdivisions coming to Arden, Swannanoa

More:'Big win' for open meetings: City Council does away with regular 'check-in' meetings

More:Food News: Tastee Diner gets 'America's Best' nod, Celtic Festival menu, Chestnut brunch

More:Superintendent search: Asheville school board selects firm, $30K cost with July 1 goal

High school sports

High school sports remain a big part of life across Western North Carolina, and the Citizen-Times' sports staff brings you all the latest news and standout performances, while also honoring the names of the past. From this year's buzzer beater between Asheville city rivals to looking at the area's most recent state champions, we have it covered.

More:Longtime Erwin statistician Gene McClure honored with press box dedication and scholarship

More:Max McDowell's 'surreal' buzzer-beater lifts Roberson basketball past Asheville High

More:Here are WNC's 20 most recent basketball state champions (boys, girls, NCHSAA, NCISAA)

Roberson's Max McDowell shoots the ball at Reynolds February 8, 2022.
Roberson's Max McDowell shoots the ball at Reynolds February 8, 2022.

Daily e-newsletter with top stories

To keep our subscribers better informed, we email you the top five articles of each day — your "Daily Briefing" e-newsletter — complete with photos and article summaries chosen by our local team. Subscribers can click through to full articles directly from the email or skim the headlines for better daily knowledge of the community.

The daily e-edition

All subscribers have access to the Asheville Citizen Times e-edition, a digital version of our printed newspaper that allows you to turn pages and zoom in on stories. Designed seven days a week, it also comes with bonus content in the form of special sections and national news.

Access to other USA TODAY NETWORK products

The Citizen Times is a part of the USA TODAY Network, a group of more than 200 news sites located across the state and nation, including Hendersonville Times-News, Greenville (S.C.) News and Nashville Tennessean — plus the flagship USA TODAY and companion websites.

That means if you're a subscriber, you can:

  • Read USA TODAY and any other paper in our network with your e-edition.

  • Get access to exclusive interviews and analysis with the new Sports Plus website.

  • Play crosswords and other games hosted by USA TODAY.

Help support our efforts to make our community better with your subscription dollars. Please visit citizentimes.com/subscribe and become a local news subscriber today.

This is the opinion of Karen Chávez, Interim Executive Editor for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Tips, comments, questions? Call 828-236-8980, email, KChavez@CitizenTimes.com or follow on Twitter @KarenChavezACT.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Best reasons to purchase Citizen Times digital subscription