Locals gather in a vigil to protest the Ferguson grand jury decision, continuing segregation and police brutality. Photo by Max Cooper.   Last week, as the holidays and winter started to sink their teeth into our city, hundreds showed up on short notice, gathering around the Vance Monument. Holding signs reading “Black lives matter,” and “I am no demon,” among others, they were protesting the decision by a grand jury not to charge Ferguson, Mo. Police officer Darren Wilson for killing unarmed teenager Mike Brown. While police presence was minimal, and the demonstration remained peaceful, some at the vigil held signs referring to the 2013 shooting of A.J. Marion by an Asheville police officer. Speakers focused on the lack of justice they see, a daily fear for their lives and Asheville’s continuing segregation. Asheville Blade contributor Max Cooper was on hand and brings us powerful photos of the rally and vigil. On the same spot less than a week earlier, about 100 people gathered last week to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, memorializing people killed due to transphobia. Local photographer Ezra Campbell captured some striking images (including one below) of that memorial. Also, local transgender activist and writer Basil Soper called on Asheville to break out of The blind spot the city often has when it comes to the real problems facing its transgender and gender non-confoming population. In this column, he notes that the experiences and problems faced by the city's trans population show an uncomfortable reality: that for those that aren't white or cisgendered, Asheville's far harsher than its reputation for “diversity” would suggest. It's a season of remembrance and change in Asheville, as people mark lives lost and think of the future that might come. As the air turns chill, elections shake out, major officials come and go and all of us try to figure out exactly where all this is heading. Over at the Asheville Blade, we've chronicled some of those changes over the past few weeks. One of those major fields of upheaval has been the police department itself: on Nov. 14 APD Chief William Anderson announced he would retire after months of controversies about issues ranging from radar guns to surveillance of protesters to labor disputes. Anderson, who occupied the job for just over two-and-a-half years, is the second chief to leave amid controversy during the tenure of City Manager Gary Jackson, after Bill Hogan resigned in 2011. But with the focus on the chief's actions, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that the roots of these clashes go far deeper. In Exit the chief, we analyze the disputes, their roots in issues ranging from management to a big gap in pay between the rank-and-file and their commanders and how the APD's fraught history will play a role no matter whom Anderson's replacement will be. While much attention has focused on Anderson's actions and rifts within the police department itself, some in the community have seen major changes in how the APD deals with the rest of the city. Southside Advisory Board Chair Priscilla Ndiaye, who played a role in crafting the new plan to overhaul the department, writes that Cultural change at the APD must continue, and asserts that Anderson's tenure did see some notable improvements in community policing, rehabilitation programs, diversity, and improved interactions with more neighborhoods. City officials are relying on that much-vaunted strategic plan to reform the APD, and this summer the Blade conducted an in-depth analysis of that plan and what it might mean. But many of its proposals — and others important to the future of the city — use the particular jargon beloved by city officials, laden with references to “stakeholders,” “benchmarks” and “best practices.” What the heck does that mean? The Blade has A quick guide to Cityspeak to help citizens understand exactly what the people who govern our city are talking about, the reasons for this particular lingo and the ptifalls and catches to running a city in this way, as a reminder that politics and differing agendas don't disappear even when they're couched in professional jargon. The month kicked off with an election that  saw local results at odd with national trends as Democrats won every countywide office they ran a candidate for, while Republicans made major gains nationally. In the analysis What happened election night, we delve past the basic headlines about winners and losers and into the larger implications of what happened and what led to it. The night closed a major chapter in Asheville's political history, as the entire local house delegation went Democratic, removing Rep. Tim Moffitt —whose clashes with city government have been the biggest local political battle of recent years — and Rep. Nathan Ramsey, who supported much of the same legislation but took a much more genial approach. The county also has a new District Attorney for the first time in 24 years and shifting dynamics on the Buncombe Commissioners were solidified, with more potential conflict to come. Asheville City Council's only meeting this month proved a good deal less suspense-fraught than the recent election, with the public portion only lasting an hour, but as related in Quick hit, this doesn't mean that plenty didn't happen, as Council moved forward on a number of developments and took plenty of criticism over public housing evictions, the ongoing controversies about the leadership of the Asheville Police Department and allowing outside speakers downtown. As the cold sets in, we see a city where changes are happening in everything from the cost of living to government to law enforcement and more. Unlike most news sites, the Asheville Blade doesn't have wealthy backers or advertisers: we provide coverage due to direct support from our readers. As long as you keep supporting us, we'll keep writing.   Until next time, David Forbes Editor, Asheville Blade