Last night I attended the Asheville City Council meeting where the highly charged "camping ordinance" was to be discussed. There were many arguments for and against the ordinance. City Council listened patiently while an impassioned audience expressed their views, which did not always fit the discussion at hand. The audience listened restlessly as an ordinance […]
Year: 2011
Showing 85-105 of 4074 results
Ho ho who?
If you’re like us, come this time December, you’re about ready to strangle Bing Crosby. And Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Burl Ives, Brenda Lee, The Beach Boys, U2, John Lennon, The Pogues and Wham. (Especially Wham.) Don’t get us wrong, we love their iconic holiday tunes. They’re classics, and rightfully so. But that doesn’t […]
“Things aren’t innocent anymore”
From the opening notes of New Elements (the sophomore release by local singer/songwriter Darien Crossley, who goes by just her first name on stage), it’s easy to get caught in the spell of sweeping vocals and the complicated poetry. "My shoulder blades burn in early morning. I lay awake, I'm listening to the soft prayer […]
Small Bites: New Year’s bites
Happy almost New Year! 2012 is almost upon us (cue the doomsday soothsayers), and there's quite a bit going on around town. Here are just a few of the many options available to you on the food front. Cúrate tapas bar introduces its first New Year's Eve dinner. Chef Katie Button's special event menu kicks […]
Small Bites: New restaurant on TAP in the RAD
The Asheville Public (or TAP) recently opened in the River Arts District in the former location of the Silver Dollar Restaurant, an Asheville mainstay for quick-and-hot breakfast that opened in the ‘40s and closed earlier this year. The restaurant has undergone quite a transformation from the beloved-by-many greasy spoon that preceded it. Chrome and metal […]
Small Bites: Putting on the Ritz
The historic Ritz Café building at 44 Market St. in downtown Asheville is getting an update. The three-story structure recently housed the now-shuttered Jamaican restaurant, Simma Down, as well as Hole-N-Da-Wall, a still-thriving music club that opened in 2010 on the second floor. When Simma Down shut its doors earlier this fall, Hole-N-Da-Wall owner Lennie […]
Don’t raze the USPS — raise the rates
I don't understand why the U.S. Postal Service is closing down post offices and mail processing centers, costing 100,000 jobs in the process. Why aren't rates being raised? If junk mail rates went up, perhaps decreasing the amount I get each day, I would be willing to pay more for first class mail. A nickel […]
What’s in the works, Wells Fargo?
a href=”“Thank you for publishing a news article about the trees that Wells Fargo cut down on the corner of Patton and Louisiana avenues [“The Beat: One, Two, Three,” Nov. 2 Xpress], and for the amusing cartoon showing a field of tree stumps labeled "Wells Fargo Botanical Garden." Such publicity doubtless intensified Wells Fargo's determination […]
Asheville City Schools need to smarten up on waste
I am a parent of a junior at Asheville High School. I recently attended an Eco Club meeting there to express my concerns over disposable plastic foam trays being used for mealtimes, and to discuss possibilities for their replacement with more sustainable, reusable resin or plastic trays such as those used in many schools and […]
Only the rich are heard when it comes down to taxes
I would like to express my disappointment in WLOS' coverage of Biltmore Lake/Enka Lake annexation story. Why did the residents of Enka Village not get the same coverage? Is it because they do not have the capital that the residents of Biltmore Lake have? For your information, when Enka Village was annexed we fought it […]
A compensation solution for North Carolina Eugenics Board
A recent news article stated that Gov. Bev Perdue is working toward a long overdue compensation package for an estimated 7,600 North Carolinians — women and men — many of whom were poor, undereducated, sick or disabled, who were sterilized by force or coercion under the authorization of the North Carolina Eugenics Board between 1929 […]
Green Scene: The walls fall
With asbestos abatement completed, a Buncombe County contractor began demolishing the former CTS of Asheville plant in south Asheville earlier this month. But while neighbors of the derelict structure have applauded the move as a long-overdue first step in cleaning up the contaminated site, resident Tate MacQueen, who’s played a key role in efforts to […]
Asheville is a unique city (at least it was)
It seems that everything wonderful about Asheville is under attack and being changed without the support — or even input — from the people who live here. Whatever forces are behind this seem determined to make the real Asheville just disappear. Want some examples? How did the scandalous, underhanded renaming of our Civic Center manage […]
Weekly Picks
Enjoy local music and poetry while honoring the season at a winter solstice celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 21 from 7-9 p.m. Transition Hendersonville will host the festivities at Black Bear Cafe, 318 Main St. Info: www.transitionhendersonville.com Need a break from the holidays? The Land of Sky UCC will lead a “blue” holiday service for people […]
Preoccupied
Asheville City Council meeting Dec. 13, 2011 The Aventine apartments pass second reading First Transit contract renewed If new Asheville City Council members Marc Hunt and Chris Pelly expected their first regular meeting to be short and sweet, they were in for a surprise. Occupy Asheville protesters packed the Council chamber Dec. 13, opposing ordinances […]
The Beat: Beer rumors hopping
For weeks, rumors have circulated that high-profile craft brewers Sierra Nevada and New Belgium are considering setting up shop in Western North Carolina to better serve East Coast markets. On Dec. 14, members of the Asheville Brewers Alliance met with Sierra Nevada CEO Ken Grossman and General Manager Brian Grossman at Highland Brewing Co. (Sierra […]
The sticking point
a href=”“Whenever someone asks Michael Harney how he stays out of jail, he knocks on wood. Harney operates the Needle Exchange Program of Asheville, which distributes some 1,500 to 2,000 sterile needles in the community each month. Such harm-reduction programs are illegal in North Carolina, notes Harney, "even though there are all sorts of studies […]
Hit the slopes
What: Conditions aren't the best this early in the season, but after after so many months of going without, schussing down the slopes is a blast. And there's no need to wait for natural snow: Local resorts are equipped with massive snow-making operations that are allowing them to open earlier than ever. So get the […]
The Return of ActionFest with ActionFest 3: “This Time It’s Personal”
Word has finally come that, yes, we’ll be seeing another ActionFest in Asheville in 2012. So those of you who’ve been asking me — and that includes the intrepid soul who last year sat through 13 feature films — can finally stop asking, and now start planning how to spend those three days of high-octane movies in mid-April.
Holiday gas prices up from last year, down from May high
At $3.26 a gallon, the average price of gasoline in Asheville this week is 28 cents higher than it was during the Christmas Holiday period last year, according to a new report by the AAA Carolinas.
Market basket
A going-to-the-store outfit with shawl, ballet flats and bright red lipstick.