System change, not climate change, say conference participan­ts

If we want a future for our grandchildren, what changes must our society make in the next few years? What can we do as individuals and as a community? Asheville was one of 15 cities across the country chosen by Rainforest Action Network for a Climate Leadership Summit, held on Oct. 25-26 at Lenoir-Rhyne University. […]

Mandates and precedents­: Around 100 gather for update on water system fight

About 100 people gathered tonight for a forum updating locals on the dispute over the fate of the city’s water system from local government and activists. Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said the public has given city leaders a clear mandate to continue its lawsuit and fight to preserve local control of the water system against state legislation seeking to seize it and turn it over to a regional authority.

Group to rally for ‘transport­ation with representa­tion,’ unveil plan on Jan. 14

This coming Tuesday, Jan. 14, a group of transit riders and citizens will assemble in Pack Square to call for an overhaul of the city’s system that “prioritizes the needs of the people who use public transit out of necessity.” The group has a 19-point plan to improve transit services and make the management of the system more representative of its ridership.

Community gathers to watch CTS contaminat­ion report, call for accountabi­lity

Residents of the Mills Gap Road area, who live near the contaminated former CTS of Asheville site will hold a viewing of WLOS’ hour-long investigative report on the issue this afternoon. The residents, many active for years in bringing attention to the problem, will renew their call for accountability from the Environmental Protection Agency and a full clean-up.

From the vaults: a 2007 look at Yelton, Asheville’­s local far-right

With Don Yelton’s controversial remarks on the Daily Show making national news, here’s some context about local right-wing activism. In 2007, Xpress profiled the Carolina Stompers, a local hardline conservative activist group including Yelton and then-future Buncombe GOP Chair Chad Nesbitt, known for flamboyant tactics and its promises to “stomp” liberalism.

On the ground: Street medics and the 2013 Walk for our Grandchild­ren

This past summer, Asheville resident Patricia Johnson participated in the 2013 Walk for Our Grandchildren — a 100-mile protest march that aimed to draw attention to fossil fuels and the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. Johnson writes about what it was like to be a “street medic” for the walk, in which many area residents trekked from outside Camp David to the White House.

The Green Scene

Asheville and environs are used to gathering national acclaim: America’s favorite highway. Top 10 greatest places to live. Best place to retire. Home of a world-famous ecovillage? Earthy all around: A gathering at Earthaven Ecovillage in Black Mountain. Courtesy Joshua Canter According to Joshua Canter, co-leader of the Asheville Communities Network and a consultant and […]

Asheville activists arrested at Cliffside power plant

As the sky grew light on the morning of April 1, a half-dozen activists locked themselves to the heavy earth-moving equipment parked at the Cliffside power plant construction site in Rutherford County. At least three Asheville residents joined others from across the state to protest Duke Energy’s recently permitted, 800-megawatt coal-fired facility. The 20 or […]