In the wake of an investigation by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department, the unknown administrator of a satirical Twitter avatar of Buncombe County GOP chairman Chad Nesbitt has announced he will no longer tweet from the account. On the left, is the real Chad Nesbitt. On the right, is an image from the fake @chadnesbitt’s Twitter account.
Author: Jake Frankel
Showing 2731-2751 of 2885 results
The Beat: Mind your (former) p’s and tweets
Local candidates and political parties have been bringing out the big guns in the final days leading up to the Nov. 2 election. The biggest of all (although it should be noted that he's lost a lot of weight in recent years) was former President Bill Clinton, who came to Asheville to stump for Congressman […]
Ears to the street and eyes to the sky
As half of hip-hop super-duo Outkast, Big Boi established himself as one the dopest emcees in history. Teaming up with childhood homey Andre 3000, the pair pioneered an eccentric Dirty South-meets-G-Funk style that earned them massive critical and commercial success throughout the '90s and early 2000s. But with the sometimes-overshadowing Andre taking a musical sabbatical […]
Stealing our ears
Thievery Corporation harvests diverse strains of music from around the world and rolls them into genre-defying down-tempo tunes that are sure to get Moogfest goers' heads nodding and hips swiveling. Made up of potent production duo Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, the self-described pioneers of "revolutionary outernational sounds" are coming to Asheville on the heels […]
Buncombe County Commissioners: Build it and they will come? ***Live Twitter Coverage***
At its Oct. 26 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will consider proposals to provide economic incentives for a workforce housing project, allocate education lottery funds to help pay the salaries of county teachers, and repeal “Historic Landmark” designations from a pair of burned buildings.
The Beat: Mind your (former) P’s and tweets
A look at what’s been making headlines in politics this week: Clinton comes to town; the Chads come to blows.
Buncombe GOP: Sweep out the Democrats
The Buncombe County GOP recently released a video that urges voters to “sweep out the Democrats.” The video features chairman Chad Nesbitt driving a street-sweeper truck covered with local Republican candidate campaign signs and honking his horn at Democrats gathered for an early voting rally.
Buncombe GOP chairman Chad Nesbitt questioned by Secret Service over satirical Twitter account
Will the real Chad Nesbitt please stand up? Buncombe County GOP chairman Chad Nesbitt was reportedly interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service last night ahead of today’s Oct. 21 visit by President Bill Clinton. According to a press release sent out by the local party, the interview was prompted by concerns over statements made via a satirical Twitter handle that bears his name. On the left, is the real Chad Nesbitt. On the right, is an image from the fake Chad Nesbitt’s Twitter account.
“The Daily Show” co-founder delivers her “State of the Union” ***PODCAST***
This podcast was culled from a recent phone conversation between Xpress reporter Jake Frankel and Lizz Winstead, who co-created The Daily Show and is coming to town this weekend for a stand-up comedy performance and writing workshop. In the interview, Winstead talks about her Asheville events, the role of The Daily Show in popular political and media culture, what she thinks will happen in the upcoming midterm elections and much more.
Waking Up America
"One thing to remember in what seems like a big overwhelming sea of 'The world's going to hell in a handcart,' is that, if you can still laugh at the hypocrisy, you have hope," says Lizz Winstead, who co-created The Daily Show in 1996 as a satirical response to the growing absurdity of 24/7 cable-news […]
Class action
Rep. Patsy Keever and her Republican Challenger, Mark Crawford. Photo by Michael Muller Republican challenger Mark Crawford says he and Democratic incumbent Patsy Keever are "diametrically opposed" on the political spectrum, but both stress the need to beef up the educational system and bring in jobs. Crawford — a substitute teacher and soccer coach for […]
The Beat: Falling leaves and masquerades in the meadow
Leaf-peeping season is peaking throughout much of the Western North Carolina. And the spectacular natural phenomenon is well covered by local and national media outlets alike, from ongoing features in the Asheville Citizen-Times to a call from Mountain Xpress for reader photos, like this one submitted by Brian Deas and Larry McCallen.
More Strychnine and soda pop: The full interview with Mad Tea Party, new video
Maybe you saw excerpts of Whitney Shroyer’s interview with Mad Tea Party in the Oct. 13 print edition of Xpress? Well, here’s the whole conversation. Also, the duo released a rad new music video today that features footage from last weekend’s Zombie Walk. It’s fitting footage considering the band’s new Halloween-themed EP, Rock ‘N Roll Ghoul. The self-described “uke-abilly” group plays Stella Blue on Oct. 15.
Star of Buncombe
Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan, a Democrat, is fighting off a challenge from Republican Dickie Green. A self-proclaimed “conservative constitutionalist” who's been endorsed by the local tea party, Green has waged an aggressive campaign to cast the incumbent as fiscally irresponsible, citing an $8.5 million increase in the office's budget under Duncan. "That's unacceptable in […]
MoveOn Asheville: Corporate spending in NC Senate election is out of control
About 40 concerned citizens gathered at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville this afternoon, Oct. 12, to demonstrate against what they see as the negative impact of corporate and right-wing front groups on elections in North Carolina. The event was organized by the local chapter of the progressive MoveOn.Org Political Action Committee and featured speeches by Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell, Local Edge Radio hostess Lesley Groetsch and MoveOn N.C. Regional Coordinator Randy Bernard. Photo by Jerry Nelson
Getting high: Hiking the Black Mountain Crest Trail
It’s been a beautiful weekend to get outside and enjoy the Western North Carolina mountains. These photos were taken on a recent hiking trip along the Black Mountain Crest Trail, which winds its way northward from Mount Mitchell along one of the highest ridges in the Appalachians. In addition to Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 feet), the 12 mile trail ascends Mount Craig (6,663 feet), Cattail Peak (6,675 feet) and Big Tom (6,580 feet) before dropping down to Bowlen’s Creek in Burnsville.
Live Twitter-based coverage of the Board of Commissioners Meeting
Follow Xpress staff reporter Jake Frankel’s live coverage of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners meeting tonight via Twitter at @jakefrankel or through the hashtag #avlgov. They will consider competing plans to revise the rules that govern development on steep slopes.
The Beat: Playing chicken politics?
News roundup: Buncombe County’s political parties continued to butt heads last week in the run-up to the Nov. 2 election.
TEDxNextGenerationAsheville video goes viral
In this video, 11-year-old Birke Baehr talks about “What’s Wrong With Our Food System” at the Aug. 28 TEDxNextGenerationAsheville multimedia conference at the Orange Peel in downtown Asheville. Since the video was posted to YouTube on Sept. 23, it’s already racked up over 77,450 views.
Transit study urges regional approach
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Sept. 21 meeting Board supports Craggy wilderness designation Grant funds sought to help low-income homeowners make repairs Two conflicting trends — increasing urbanization and wilderness preservation — were evident during the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ Sept. 21 meeting. A report underscoring the need for a more extensive mass-transit system […]
Former foes contend again
The race for Buncombe County’s 49th District state Senate seat pits Republican challenger RL Clark against longtime incumbent Martin Nesbitt. To unseat the powerful Democrat, who was elected Senate majority leader in 2009 after serving 11 terms in the state House and five years in the Senate, Clark is hoping to harness what he believes […]