UPDATE: Buncombe County Commission­ers PASS public vote on AB-Tech tax hike

At this evening’s Jan. 18 meeting, the Buncombe County County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to put a one-quarter-of-1-cent sales-tax increase on the ballot to help fund $129 million in building improvements at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. The measure is now set to go up for a public vote on Election Day, Nov. 8.

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler Jan. 19-25: No Strings Attached on the Way Back

So, are there two or three movies opening this week? Well, that’s still not clear—thanks to the Monday holiday. In other words, what I know at this point is that No Strings Attached and The Way Back are opening, and The Company Men either is or it isn’t. I’m not in the least sure that anyone cares that much. All in all, this simply doesn’t look like a week designed to set the box office ablaze.

Cranky Hanke’s Screening Room: A Brief, Informal Look at Censorship

About a week ago a friend of mine argued that Hammer horror movies were considered adult fare and were “rated accordingly,” which I knew was demonstrably wrong—at least in America for the first 11 years of the studio’s heyday. Yesterday my mother forwarded me one of those annoying e-mails extolling how “great” things used to be that asserted that movies didn’t used to need ratings because they were made by “responsible people” who made sure they were suitable for “everyone.” I knew that was pretty much banana oil. These two things—along with various bouts of balderdash I’ve heard over the years—prompted me to offer this column in an attempt to set a few things straight.