Alternative 3, a plan for the future I-26 connector backed by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and some Buncombe County commissioners, would demolish about 25 houses in the predominantly African-American Burton Street neighborhood, leaving 13 others nearby facing a sound wall.
The Interstate 26 Connector project has been in the works for nearly two decades. State Department of Transportation officials say they plan to announce their decision the the preferred route for the highway project in fall 2009. The connector project will create a new highway crossing the French Broad River, widen Interstate 240 in West […]
Buncombe County officials are studying everything from leasing mall space to building a new building to fill an urgent need for more office and courtroom space.
I wrote a sweet missive to 2008 around this time last year, but neither sweetness nor good intentions made much difference to 2008. She turned out to be a difficult, depressing diva, and I’m looking forward to kicking her heiney to the curb on Dec. 31.
UNC Asheville announced Wednesday that it has acquired 10 acres of tree-studded land at the intersection of W.T. Weaver Boulevard and Merrimon Avenue that might one day serve as an eco-village for students and faculty.
Here we are at the end of another year (which, you’ll agree, beats not getting to the end of another year). That means here I am with my seventh or eighth (I’ve lost track) Best of/Worst of lists, while my cohort in cinema Justin Souther offers up his second such list. This also means that […]
If it hasn’t already, that much-marked 2008 calendar of yours is about to become obsolete. But you can make plans and set schedules for 2009 in style, thanks to several local groups and artists whose calendars focus on various aspects of life in Western North Carolina. Below are several local ways to save the date […]
Mountain Xpress employees will see an across-the-board pay cut of 5 to 10 percent effective Jan. 1, owner and publisher Jeff Fobes announced Dec. 19. The Asheville-based weekly has seen a recent decline in both classified and retail advertising, Fobes said. The corresponding decline in revenue, which is likely to extend into 2009, has forced […]
A technicality forced the Buncombe County commissioners to postpone a meeting on their preferred route for the much-disputed Interstate 26 Connector. On Dec. 16, the commissioners narrowly voted to delay endorsing one of the four potential routes for connector, as requested by the state Department of Transportation. The controversial project has been in the works […]
Responding to complaints about predatory towing in downtown Asheville, Asheville police parked a decoy car off Lexington Avenue as bait on the night of Saturday, Dec. 20, then reeled in their catch. Police charged two men, 25-year-old Trevor Kyle Ballinger and 32-year-old Leonard Tobias Best of All-Safe Towing & Recovery, with obtaining property under false […]
Dr. Betty Young announced Dec. 23 that she will resign as president of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Hired in 2007, Young was inaugurated in May 2008. Her resignation followed a six-and-a-half-hour closed-door meeting with the college’s board of trustees the day before, which came on the heels of another closed-door session last month. Personnel issues […]
Jordy Williams and Kristin Pandolfi contra dancing. photo by M.-J. Taylor Looking for a different way to ring in the New Year? Join the Old Farmers Ball for a Harlequin Masquerade Contra Dance starting at 8 p.m. this New Year’s Eve. The dance will be held at the Fairview Community Center, which will be transformed […]
Maybe you didn’t feel the earth move recently, but the animals did. On Dec. 18, seismologists recorded at least two small earthquakes in Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Both quakes registered magnitudes less than 3, which means very little serious shakin’ went on (few humans even notice quakes below 2.5). One Xpress forum contributor, […]
It was a very good year for new music in WNC, and by the time you read this, WNCW will have the results of its Best 100 Albums of 2009. Malcolm Holcombe The year started strong with the sophomore release from local singer/songwriter/bearded fashionite/erstwhile Band of Horses bandmate Tyler Ramsey. Ramsey’s long contributed to other […]
Once, when Asheville-based musician Andy Pond passed through customs into the Montego Bay airport, a member of the Mento band (which greets tourists) noticed his banjo case. “Going to Jamaica with a musical instrument makes people treat you differently,” Pond says. He suddenly found himself picking along with the band, welcoming fellow tourists—including the cast […]
At most indie rock shows you witness them: wearing specs and tight pants, swilling PBR, playing drums on their thighs, feet planted. But maybe not this indie show. “Of Montreal wants people to dance,” says Brian Poole (otherwise known as The Late BP Helium). Of Montreal’s shows, once quieter, have evolved into hip-shaking theatrics. “We […]
What can you say about 2008? Plenty. The past year provided no shortage of notable quotes, fueled by the struggles and successes that made headlines week by week in Mountain Xpress and every day at mountainx.com. Consider just a smattering of the hot topics that filled our Web and print pages: the 30th annual Bele […]
• What’s hot & What’s not
When I was in fourth grade, my father gave me my first fly rod: a 9.5 foot, 7-weight Wright & McGill split bamboo. Along with this came a reed creel and a pair of hip boots. I don’t remember my initial reaction to the rod or creel, but I was head over heels with the […]
Straight to the top: A family taking in a meal—and the superb views—at Top of the Square. Photo by Bob Lindsey, courtesy N.C. Collection, Pack Memorial Library Cold Appetizers Chesapeake Bay Oysters or Clams on the half shell (in season) … $1.50 Prosciutto and Melon (in season) … $1.25 Shrimp Cocktail Supreme … $1.50 Alaskan […]
