Try this on for size

Several high-profile downtown buildings and proposed projects wouldn’t meet the standards spelled out in the draft Downtown Master Plan, a city planner told members of the Downtown Commission and the Downtown Master Plan Advisory Committee. In a Feb. 5 presentation, Urban Planner Alan Glines reviewed a short list of downtown structures’ level of conformity to […]

The Green Scene

Elevated arsenic levels have been found in a preliminary sampling of water and sediment collected downstream from Progress Energy’s Skyland power plant and coal-ash pond. A water sample taken from an unnamed French Broad River tributary nearby contained arsenic at slightly above the permissible level for surface waters—and seven times higher than the U.S. Environmental […]

Pet sounds

“You never know with a song,” muses Toby Leaman, bassist for Philadelphia-based Dr. Dog. “You could have a great song and it just might not ever work, recorded. And you could have a song that you don’t feel great about, and all of a sudden it’s just kickin’.” Who let the dog out? Philly’s Dr. […]

Art from the heart

The Madison County town of Marshall holds sentimental value to Eric Legge. Zuma Coffee shop downtown was the last place Eric and his father, folk-art sculptor Joe Legge, shared a cup of coffee before the elder Legge died in January. Eric and Joe were close, spending a decade working together in Dillard, Ga., before Eric […]

A curious blend of Bacharach, countrypol­itan and just enough rock

Valentine’s Day—the Hallmark holiday best known for chocolates, roses and trying to make “I love you” not sound like canned applause. One go-to tradition is the personalized mix-disc, songs culled specifically for you and yours because of their various PG-, R- and X-rated associations. And any worthwhile mix should probably include Lambchop, which plays the […]

Edgy Mama

I’m fairly crafty and enjoy big, messy kid art projects (in someone else’s house). However, for that craftiest of kid holidays, Valentine’s Day, I asked local kids’ craft expert Jean Van’t Hul for ideas. Jean’s an edgy mama of a 3-year-old girl I found through her rocking blog, www.artfulparent.wordpress.com. She ran a toddler art group […]

The Biz

Speed-Networking For Creative Pros This Thursday, Feb. 12: Asheville HATCHfest, a multidisciplinary arts festival that will come to the city in April, will host an event Thursday, Feb. 12, that’s geared toward both raising funds for the festival and connecting creative professionals—on the quick. “Speed Networking for Creative Professionals” takes place at Mobilia (43 Haywood […]

An avian valentine

I was a young yuppie with my first house, two young children and a third on the way. Of course, in the early ‘60s, no one used the word “yuppie.” But that’s what I was I believed in dressing well, acquiring all the material possessions I could and climbing the social ladder. Years later, the […]

The missing faces of evangelica­ls

Evangelicalism, as Scott Lessing stated, is “truly a wide and disparate movement made up of people from varied and diverse backgrounds.” But I wish his photo essay, “The Many Faces of Evangelicals” [Jan. 28 Xpress] reflected that a bit better. The two-page spread gave us stock imagery of white, clean-cut, contempo-Baptist, sloganized, mall-church Christianity. The […]

Should local government bail out Biltmore Square Mall?

The headline in the front section of the Asheville Citizen-Times on Jan. 11, “Buncombe County Officials Seeking New Offices,” should raise concerns with every citizen/taxpayer of Buncombe County. Please consider the following: 1. The current owners of Biltmore Square Mall paid around $20 million three years ago and are now asking $37 million (a 76-percent […]

Not in my alt weekly

My eyes! My eyes! I read publications like yours to escape the Jesus nuts, so imagine my disappointment when I saw your recent cover! Ugh! Don’t these individuals have enough forums to spread their ridiculous message? What’s next? An article claiming that Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen? Come on, Mountain Xpress! — Jennifer […]

Phishing for answers

Despite the severe weather, local Phish fans started lining up outside of the Civic Center on Wednesday afternoon [Jan. 28]. I arrived that evening, just after midnight, after getting a phone call that people were already in line. Those who arrived earliest had already called the Asheville Police Department to find out what rules needed […]