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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People in North Carolina who lost their homes during Hurricane Helene are still waiting for FEMA to step in and help. State officials say the agency is stalling applications for relief.
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The community bookstore and co-op hopes a new solar battery will help it serve as a disaster relief hub in the future -
If property owners commit to keeping units affordable for ten years, the state will pay for Helene-related repairs. -
The grants, which were previously canceled by FEMA, support more than 60 infrastructure projects across the state. -
Over the last few months, state officials have raised concerns about FEMA’s response time and its commitment to moving the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program program forward. The agency has not awarded money for any home buyouts yet. -
The city is hosting an open house on Wednesday and opened a survey that runs through Dec. 19. -
The Asheville manufacturer aims to double its production — again — over the next three years -
Her nonprofit “Racing to Feed America” provides hot meals, turkeys and fellowship at the Southside Community Center. -
The music venue is slated to open at the former site of the Asheville Waste Paper Company. -
At the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, 'Trolls: A Field Study,' by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, features giant, whimsical, upcycled trolls.
