After lengthy public hearings, Asheville City Council members passed three controversial requests during a long Tuesday evening meeting Dec. 9. They approved apartment plans for Hazel Mill Road in West Asheville and on Thompson Street and Stoner Road near Biltmore Village but postponed a decision for a Fairview Road plan at the developer’s request. They also adopted changes […]
It takes a lot for me to write a letter to the editor, but the cartoon by Brent Brown in the Dec. 3 Mountain Xpress was the last straw in a long line of economic commentary by people who seem to have trouble with the concept of supply and demand. If you missed it, the […]
According to the National Weather Service, the higher elevations of Western North Carolina (especially near the Tennessee border) should expect an inch or two of snow accumulation overnight and into the morning. Residents in the valley areas may see some snow Wednesday morning, but are mainly advised to watch for slick, icy roads. “The combination […]
Asheville’s Resonant Rogues have been hard at work raising funds to record an album at Echo Mountain Studios. The band’s Kickstarter campaign runs through Sunday, Dec. 21. At press time the band was halfway to its goal of $7,500. “Their meaningful lyrics and infectious melodies will catch your ear and move your feet,” says the […]
An 18-foot tree made of nonperishable food items and assorted household products, in a mall decked out in artificial candy canes: It’s as natural a fit as highlighting poverty in a place where commerce reigns and cash registers ring with cheerful abundance. “One of my goals for this season is to draw just a little […]
“Presentiment is that long shadow on the lawn / Indicative that suns go down,” wrote Emily Dickinson. “The notice to the startled grass / That darkness is about to pass.” The 19th-century poet lived in Massachusetts and was a prolific writer, but fewer than a dozen of her poems were published while she was living. […]
Looking to deck the halls, sing a carol, give a gift, take a stroll, see a play, make a craft or pass a wish list on to a man in a red suit? Here’s where to do all of those things. For more ideas, visit the Community Calendar and mountainx.com. • Even if you’re not traveling […]
According to the October County and Area Employment Figures, released Dec. 9 by the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Asheville area shows the fewest unemployment cases for any metropolitan statistical area in the state. Buncombe County’s unemployment rate fell from 4.4 percent in the spring to 4.0 (4.1 when grouped with other counties included […]
Nearly two dozen chameleons, iguanas, frogs, eels, fish and birds make up the central cast of a theatrical exhibition on view through Tuesday, Dec. 23, at Edge of Asheville Gallery & Design Studio. But these are not your average anthropomorphic artworks. Nor are the birds, reptiles and amphibians among the ordinary — or the living. […]
Local bakeries are busy making tempting and festive cookies for the holiday season. Click through for the story followed by several recipes from members of the Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association, as well as a gluten-free recipe for chocolate snowball cookies from a Brevard home baker.
A few of Asheville’s sweet spots will share the national spotlight this week. Nightbell, The Hop and Fairview bakery Ruth and Ranshaw will be featured in an episode of the Cooking Channel program “Unique Sweets,” scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, Dec. 14. A statement from the Cooking Channel sums up the episode, which […]
This Friday, Dec. 12, a most unusual movie opens at The Carolina. It also has a most unusual name — The Babadook — and it has something else: a 98 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (97 positive reviews out of 99). I don’t put much credence in the whole business of review aggregation. For […]
It saddens my heart to know that William Anderson, the first African-American chief of police of Asheville, is retiring. How did we get to this point? In my professional opinion, the city leadership has allowed two police officers to continue to drive a false narrative, week after week, through the news media (WLOS-TV and the Citizen-Times newspaper) […]
In Theaters. Here we have a week of some note — with a certain urgency attached to it. Now, I’ve not seen the two mainstream films that hit town this week, but I have seen the two art titles that are opening at The Carolina and they are choice. However, take a look at when […]
Although Tom Hamilton counted himself among the many men preoccupied with “chicks and partying” during his 20s, the American Babies frontman found himself “digging deeper” for musical and personal inspiration over time. Last year’s resulting effort, a “40-minute existential meltdown” titled Knives and Teeth, addresses heavy topics like mortality, cruelty and frustration, often vacillating between […]
What’s the future of Western North Carolina’s public woodlands, particularly the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests? Public lands biologist Josh Kelly has worked with the Asheville-based nonprofit, WNC Alliance, since 2011, helping determine the answer. And with the U.S. Forest Service updating its plans for Pisgah and Nantahala for the first time in 20 years, the […]
Forget hibernating. Instrumental rockers TAUK are making a full-fledged national tour this winter, and Asheville fans have two chances to catch the band live. TAUK, oft-praised for its ability to infuse songs with emotional cues despite the absence of lyrics, plays New Mountain this week before circling back to Asheville as the supporting act for […]
Yes, it seems pretty quiet right now, and only four movies open this week — including a couple of pretty terrific ones — but do not be deceived. By Christmas Day (that’s Dec. 25 by most calendars) movie theaters will look very little like they do now as concerns what is on the screens. We […]
“Our Hempeh Kickstarter was successfully funded, and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts,” reads a December newsletter from Smiling Hara Tempeh. Some 278 backers raised $25,035 for the local tempeh company, surpassing the original $20,000 target. Backer rewards ship in January, and the Hempeh product is scheduled to line grocery store […]
Asheville chef William Dissen, owner and executive chef at The Market Place, championed states’ rights to enforce genetically modified organism (GMO) food labeling during an activist trip to Capitol Hill earlier this December. Dissen and about two dozen other renowned chefs spoke against the DARK Act (or “Denying Americans the Right to Know”), a proposed bill […]
Though it’s in many ways an informal affair, the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam has been growing in a deliberate fashion. Thanks both to concertgoer demand and the long line of musicians wishing to be involved in this fundraiser event, the festival — now in its 26th year — expanded to two nights a few years […]
