An Aug. 12 letter from the City of Asheville's Planning and Development Department to developer Stewart Coleman indicates that his application on file for the seven-story Parkside Condominium project was canceled by his plans for a new tavern. Earlier that month, Coleman had thrown a new twist into the contentious two-year-old Parkside story by announcing […]
Year: 2009
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Campaign Calendar
Thursday, Sept. 17: Early voting began for the primary election (Asheville only). For details, contact Buncombe County Election Services at 250-4200, or visit www.buncombecounty.org/governing/depts/election. Wednesday, Sept. 30: Meet and Greet with Asheville City Council write-in candidate Robin Cape, 5-8 p.m., Battery Park Book Exchange, 1 Battle Square. Thursday, Oct. 1: The South Asheville Rotary Club […]
Bailey defends vote on undocumented immigrant students
On Sept. 17, the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges voted 20-1 to allow undocumented immigrants to attend the state's community colleges. Two of those "yes" votes came from local board members: K. Ray Bailey, a Buncombe County commissioner and former president of A-B Tech, and G. Gordon Greenwood, CEO of Asheville Bank. Both have […]
Duncan working with feds on immigration, rolling out new drug efforts
The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office is pursuing better coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify fugitives, says Sheriff Van Duncan. The office is also stepping up its drug-seizure efforts. "We used to have a lot of problems identifying prisoners because the FBI's fingerprint systems and ICE's system didn't 'talk' to each other," Duncan […]
The Green Scene
Leave it to an energetic teen to inform us there's a catch to those energy-saving, compact-fluorescent light bulbs many of us have switched to: CFLs contain about 5 milligrams of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, says Reynolds High junior Jovahnna "Jojo" Graves. "That's about equal to the tip of your ballpoint pen, and it's in vapor […]
Plastic with purpose
At first glance, the world of Taiyo la Paix's paintings is a bubble gum dream of carnival rides, palm trees and beautiful people in rock-star clothing. In fact, la Paix has been criticized for overindulging the fluffy fantasy. The many faces of Papillia / with additional illustration by Nathanael Roney "I actually think about heavy […]
"Let’s just see what happens when it counts"
If anyone had asked drummer Steve Gorman, back in 2002, if he'd ever tour with The Black Crowes again, the answer would have been a resounding no. "I quit," he tells Xpress. "I said for sure I'm not coming back. We were completely burnt out and exhausted." Now, a reunion and two albums later (just-released […]
"Get out the plow, get out there and do it"
Malcolm Holcombe has a clear sense of the bigger picture. Critics sing his praises, his peers hold him in the highest esteem (Steve Earle called him "the best musician I ever threw out of my recording studio"), and he plays to adoring fans across the United States and Europe. But Holcombe is surprisingly quick to […]
Spork
Hoss Haley's new fountain at Pack Square Park is pretty fan-damn-tastic, and Asheville's latest art and craft fair will be staged around it and the recently completed Vance Monument area of the park. Art in the Park will complement the recently-renovated Vance Monument areas of the Pack Square Park, including artist Hoss Haley's brilliant fountain. […]
Junker’s Blues
"One man's trash is another man's treasure." It's a cliché I hear all the time, when I'm "in the field" junking, or when I'm trying to tell some new acquaintance about my odd method of making an income. Illustration by Nathanael Roney. I'm here to tell you that it isn't true. Take it from a […]
Sound Track
• Take2 by WillBmusic The inspiration of singer/songwriter Will Baker, Take2 is one of those totally DIY projects. Baker performs all the instruments on this collection of 14 mellow, languidly groovy tracks (exception: "The Hill" is a collaboration with songwriter Jon Oakley). "Beautiful Moment" has a fluid feel from the jazzy cymbal taps to the […]
The motorcycle community needs a tuneup
Motorcycles are fine: Their riders simply need to obey the law. No one has an inherent right to generate unnecessary noise pollution. Driving on America's roads and highways is a community privilege, and producing harmful public noise is always illegal, as enumerated in a vast array of local, state and federal laws (i.e. Asheville noise […]
Hiding assets
Hopping along
Cowzilla may be the only local hops lover who didn't make an appearance at the inaugural Hops Farm Tour. The huge feral cow, christened Cowzilla by Julie Jensen, co-owner of Echo View at Landfair Farm in Weaverville, may have been intimidated by the more than 100 growers, home brewers and beer lovers who converged on […]
Outdoors: Snap judgments
In between talk of apertures and shutter speeds, biodiversity photographer Kevin FitzPatrick drops an astounding fact: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, celebrating its 75th birthday this year, harbors an estimated 100,000 undiscovered plant and animal species. Through his work with the Discover Life in America program, FitzPatrick has helped document some of the 6,339 […]
The Dirt: A room with a natural view
My grandmother "Nana" had a room with a view: A scarlet oak was perfectly framed by her window at the assisted-living home. Nana had moved there when she was 83, leaving behind the Canton abode where she had lived for more than 50 years. I visited her often, but I'm ashamed to admit, I went […]
Obama for the nation; Bothwell for Asheville
In 2008, heartened by Barack Obama's hopeful vision for our nation, his authenticity and the grassroots nature of his campaign, my wife Shonnie and I worked diligently for him in Asheville Precinct 3 during the North Carolina primary. I was then hired as an Obama field organizer for the presidential campaign, and the challenging and […]
Bothwell’s got the skills: whether it’s fixing the water system or a leaky faucet
Elections for City Council and for mayor are right around the corner; early voting for the primary has already started! Cecil Bothwell gets my vote. He is not your typical politician in that he is humble, he listens and he is beholden to no one. That means he owes nobody any favors and can devote […]
Gordon Smith brings the right mix of joy and competence
We have a wealth of highly qualified candidates running in this year's City Council election. I strongly endorse Gordon Smith because he is a man of integrity, whose love for our community is matched only by his understanding of the issues that impact our city. I've known Gordon since 2005. He tackles new projects with […]
Cecil stands for green solutions and smart transportation policy
I'm writing to encourage folks to vote for Cecil Bothwell for City Council. I've watched Cecil organize for this election by using resources wisely. I know he is for green energy, green building and improving transportation in Asheville. Cecil has followed the issues, has a lot to contribute and will be an asset. Thank you. […]
Domestic-partner benefits, annexation and why I’m for Bothwell and Smith
I'm quite bothered by candidate Terry Bellamy's implication that the city of Asheville might not have the ability to grant domestic-partner benefits under North Carolina law. If this is the case, then the city should respond by canceling all family benefits and paying employees additional cash (retaining the same budget limits). Not only would such […]