Laura Hackett
Helene Recovery ReporterLaura Hackett is an Edward R. Murrow award-winning reporter for Blue Ridge Public Radio. She joined the newsroom in 2023 as a Government Reporter and in 2025 moved into a new role as BPR's Helene Recovery Reporter. Before entering the world of public radio, she wrote for Mountain Xpress, AVLtoday and the Asheville Citizen-Times. She has a degree in creative writing from Florida Southern College, and in 2023, she completed the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY's Product Immersion for Small Newsrooms program.
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The state launched the $175 million program last year as a way to help people who have remained cut off from public roadways since Hurricane Helene. -
15 city council candidates made appeals to voters at Wednesday’s candidate forum mostly focusing on transit, affordable housing and safer streets. -
In this latest release, the lion’s share went to North Carolina Emergency Management for the shower stations, water distribution and other emergency services deployed during Helene. -
Residents are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. -
Heavy snow and ice is expected to affect a large portion of the South and Northeast this weekend. In North Carolina, officials are preparing for icy roads and potential power outages.
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As the storm forecast evolves, local utilities and governments are preparing for possible outages and other infrastructure challenges. -
Six months after the deaths of local cyclists Lennie Antonelli and Jacob Hill, the community is working to channel their grief into advocacy. -
After months of uncertainty over the fate of hundreds of homes, FEMA greenlit a small batch of properties for acquisition in Buncombe and Henderson County. -
DK Wesley says Helene recovery, affordable housing and infrastructure are a few of her top priorities. -
The town expects the wave to officially open this summer and is hoping for a boom in new tourist dollars.
