Bye bye, Asheville Savings Bank

According to the manager at our branch, the proxy votes have all been counted and the move to trade Asheville Savings Bank on the stock market has been "unanimously decided.” (How can it be unanimous if we voted against it?) What's so bad about this? Well, the stock market is much less stable than the […]

Radio volunteers deserve praise

I am stunned at the letter Wally Bowen, MAIN’s executive director, sent to nine WPVM-FM volunteers, expecting them to leave the station for a “cooling off” period of six weeks. (I expect that six weeks will expand into eternity, should Mr. Bowen have his way). I understand that the rest of the volunteers’ participation at […]

Shades of the past?

In 2003, an article in The New York Times recounted how Asheville developer Stewart Coleman and his brothers hired an accounting firm [that] promised them “bulletproof” tax shelters. When the IRS rejected the scheme, the Colemans sued the accounting firm. I see similarities in our current situation: The county [commission] gave Coleman a sweetheart deal, […]

Come clean, Xpress

I just heard the astonishing news that Mountain Xpress editors Jeff Fobes and Jon Elliston fired Cecil Bothwell just days after he was voted Asheville’s best local print reporter by the publication’s own readers. There is still some confusion regarding the reasons behind Bothwell’s firing. Cecil said that he was told that his termination was […]

Who’s watching the police?

The Asheville Police Department has itself embroiled in yet another controversy. This time, a Chris Rock comedy routine that gives blacks tips on how to avoid being beaten by police has been circulated within the department. Some officers and higher-ups elected to e-mail the video clip along with their own personal remarks, which were insensitive […]