Some UNCA students say that recent “restructuring” of the university staff has led to the termination of a counselor who’s relied on and trusted. Maggie Weshner, a 28-year employee at the Asheville campus, recently received a two-week notice after administrators decided to eliminate her job — director of the UNCA counseling center.
It’s time again for the Academy Awards. Xpress film critic Ken Hanke will offer up his insights on what to expect in a radio program airing Wednesday afternoon.
Some 300 participants attended yesterday’s “State of Black Asheville” conference at UNCA, discussing education, housing, law enforcement and a host of other topics.
This week’s Time magazine puts an Asheville “crisis pregnancy center” in the national spotlight.
The Mountain Xpress multimedia juggernaut is coming to your radio dial. Our writers and editors will be gracing the local airwaves (at least) three times this week, so tune on in:
Big developments in N.C. presidential candidate John Edwards’ blog imbroglio: Both of his campaign employees who became controversial last week for their record of raw blog posts have now reportedly resigned, just days after Edwards said he was keeping the two on staff.
North Carolina homeboy and second-time presidential candidate John Edwards had a hell of week. First came the widely published news of his posh digs near Chapel Hill, which are outfitted with a racquetball court and other ammenities, with subsequent commentaries suggesting that he can no longer claim to be a man of the people.
The Charlotte Observer‘s Jack Betts appears to have the skinny on the state’s recent purchase of Chimney Rock. Meanwhile, librarians at UNC-Chapel Hill cast a loving historical eye on the sale of the scenic landmark.
The Times reports today that “a small but growing number of congregations now recognize that many homeless people will not attend traditional services indoors. So these congregations now go outdoors to bring church to the homeless and anyone else who happens along.”
As Xpress noted in this week’s Buzzworm news briefs, a North Carolina-based air-transport company, Aero Contractors, is under scrutiny for its alleged role in the CIA’s so-called “torture flights,” wherein terrorist suspects are kidnapped and secretly shuttled off to be interrogated in other countries. On Jan. 18, 22 state legislators wrote N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper asking that he direct the SBI to investigate Aero for “alleged involvement in a conspiracy to support the kidnap and torture of individuals.”
The cover story in today’s Mountain Xpress, “Asheville’s Best Wings: A Super Bowl-sized chicken-wing challenge,” has our office phones buzzing and people stopping us in the street to share their opinions. Some don’t like it. Some love it.
By now, the nighttime roamings of Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower to observe drug dealers – and his staunch criticism of law enforcement’s performance in fighting drugs – are becoming familiar fodder for conversation around town. And while it may be easy to paint a picture of interdepartmental clashes and conflict between city leaders […]
What’s good for business may be good for your belly. On Thursday, Jan. 25, the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce will hold the first “Chow Down with the Chamber,” a fund-raiser to support the chamber’s many local programs. On that day, participating restaurants (see a list at www.ashevillechamber.org) will donate 10 percent of their profits […]
Western North Carolina has no shortage of tourist draws. There’s the scenery, the outdoor adventure, the cultural events etc. But how about the grocery stores? That’s right, grocery stores. A Charlotte-based blogger publishes Grocerying: A collection of grocery store photos and information. A new post there casts a hungry glance at Asheville’s grocery scene. – […]
If the recent news accounts of an Asheville couple getting popped for allegedly showing their love on a the balcony of a Myrtle Beach resort hotel didn’t spark your curiosity, then you might want to stop reading this post now. But if you want to know more, thank Web-based documents clearinghouse The Smoking Gun for […]
If you leave early and arrive late, you can drive across North Carolina in a single day. The online trip-tracker Mapquest calculates the west-to-east distance “from Murphy to Manteo” — from the mountains to the sea (or vice versa) — as 560 miles, or roughly 10 hours by car. If you took Mapquest’s route and […]
Maryanne Vollers: “You can’t read this guy’s mind,” she says of Rudolph — but her investigation turned up signs of what drove the serial bomber. Western North Carolina’s most notorious terrorist may be submerged in solitary confinement in a “supermax” penitentiary, but that didn’t stop Eric Rudolph from making the national news again recently. In […]
Since Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty in April 2005 and was given two life sentences without parole, the serial bomber has issued his side of the story — or parts of it, anyway — to various correspondents, family members, media outlets and the public at large. Below are excerpts from Rudolph’s writings on why he did […]
Mackensy Lunsford is sitting on a barstool at the Usual Suspects in Asheville, a fan-like set of paper paint-color samples in her hands. “I’m so excited,” exclaims the woman who has written Mountain Xpress‘s food reviews for the past year and a half. “Look at this one,” she says, pointing out the color she’ll be […]
“I look like a booger! That is good … from what you had to start on.” — Beatrice Pace on Bob Collins’ portrait of her If every picture really does tell a story, then Bob Collins aims to make sure Saluda’s little-known stories wind up in pictures. “The people in this community are amazing,” said […]
Like Americans nationwide, many Western North Carolinians awoke to a different political landscape Nov. 8. As Democrats took control of both houses of Congress, Republicans in WNC lost most of their key battles. Midterm elections are often marked by low voter turnout, but in Buncombe County, at least, Nov. 7, 2006, will be remembered as […]
