Asheville City Council

Council OKs Pack Square Park changes, budget Zoning approved for affordable apartments in West Asheville A-B Tech students to build Oakley Resource Center Council member Carl Mumpower has never been one to hold back. As one of two Republicans on Council—and the self-proclaimed lone conservative at the table—Mumpower is often the most vocal City Council […]

Xpress 2.0

Things move fast in the Internet age. Here at Mountain Xpress, for example, we’ve been adding new bells and whistles to our Web site at such a rapid rate that it’s probably a good time to take stock of our online offerings and share some highlights. In addition to all our regular news and arts […]

How the caged chicken clucks

Instead of a chicken in every pot, some determined Asheville residents would like backyard chickens allowed at every home that wants them—and can keep their coops clean. “We’re advocating for responsible and informed [chicken] ownership,” says Cathy Williams of Asheville City Chickens. No place like home: Urban-chicken advocates emphasize the need to ban noisy roosters […]

I-26 constructi­on delayed a year; Design Center says it was shut out of decision

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has decided to push back construction of the Interstate 26 connector by one year—until 2014—the agency announced April 15. The DOT wants to further study the highway’s impacts on the area and try to reduce one of the project’s most controversial features: its effect on the Burton Street neighborhood. […]

State to pursue deal with CTS on contaminat­ed site; activists angered

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources have proposed a voluntary company cleanup deal on the contaminated former CTS of Asheville site. Local activists have attacked the move, saying it will delay any action and ultimately leave taxpayers paying for the cleanup. Toxic: The former CTS of Asheville site is heavily contaminated. CTS and […]

Dining Out for Life

Dining Out for Life Western North Carolina AIDS Project will hold its popular “Dining Out for Life” fundraiser on Thursday, April 30. Despite the tough economic times, more than 90 restaurants in Asheville, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, Weaverville, Brevard, Saluda and Waynesville have stepped up to participate in the event, which is the AIDS organization’s biggest […]

Ursula

The New York Times reported earlier this year that an average of one gallery closes in New York City every week. In the same article the Times profiled out-of-gallery artists who are hanging their work in clothing boutiques and (gasp) cafes—as if this is some kind of new phenomenon due to the recession. In Asheville […]

Spork

It is April, so the rains-it-pours deluge of world-class CD release shows shouldn’t be entirely surprising. In the next nine days, Asheville will get down for three-count-‘em-three brand-new records from three of the town’s fave bands. stephaniesid celebrates the release of Warm People at the Grey Eagle on Saturday, April 25. Up first, indie-pop noir […]

Records are forever

Inspired by the resilience of a record and the warm sound of analog, people are still carving their music onto vinyl. Staying power: “I prefer the sound of records, and the size of records,” says Jesse McSwain, who runs Family Night. Photos by Jonathan Welch. “Records are forever,” says Jesse McSwain, who runs Family Night, […]

Young and on the way

“Two years is nothing,” musician Jessica Lea Mayfield tells Xpress. She’s projecting how much time it will take before touring is easier and more affordable, before her fan base fills out the theaters she prefers over noisy bars, before she’s hand-picking her openers. Sacred and profane: Mayfield has a sweet voice, an ace band and […]

Street cred

In the beginning the name Now You See Them was the inside joke of a band that never intended to be a band. As in “Now you see them, now you don’t.” As in, they rarely played in the same town twice. The irony is, these days Now You See Them is oft-seen on Asheville’s […]

Outdoors: Moving on up

Rumbling Bald Mountain features cliffs of metamorphic gneiss rock with beautiful marbled faces and exceptional botanical diversity. Located 30 miles east of Asheville in Chimney Rock State Park, it draws hikers, sightseers and climbers. Its overhanging boulders, “splitter” cracks and technical face climbs make it a favored destination for local climbers. The bald is also […]

The Dirt: Local horticultu­rist stands up for predatory plants

Hollywood has degraded the fascinating Venus flytrap, turning it into a silly monster. Consider the bloodsucking Audrey II in the macabre 1986 musical Little Shop of Horrors. Or Cleopatra, the prey-strangling pet of Addams Family matriarch Morticia. Sticking around: This sundew lies in wait for its insect prey. Upon landing, the hapless bugs find themselves […]

Asheville’­s status quo should go

I think it would be a great time for Ashevilleans (or Ashevaliens) to reflect on the condition of our society. It’s obvious, being in Asheville for any period of time, that the people here get along with each other on a deeper level than other places in the South. The feeling of “being here for […]

Park it in the park

We are now assured that Pack Square Park (with reduced water features due to post-Katrina plywood prices—but with the $450,000 Veterans’ Memorial “rock”) will, when finished, supposedly last 100 years or more. And it yet needs $1.5 million of the $2 million maintenance endowment to keep it going. But with the salary of the executive […]