Getting it together

Call him Samuel. It’s not his real name, but the medical challenges he faces are real enough: Severe mental illness, diabetes and a bad back have left him incapable of living independently. Thanks to Medicaid, Samuel had a family doctor, a family-care home to live in and a team of mental health professionals. Yet in […]

Something’­s happening here

Last month, Council member Gordon Smith asked OccupyAsheville to designate representatives who could deal with city officials. OA declined. It was a less in-your-face response than Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper received from Occupy Denver: That group appointed Shelby, a border collie, who duly requested a meeting with the governor. Viewed from the outside, such moves […]

Long as I don’t see it on a ridge top

Dave Erb's recent commentary ["Wind Power or Hot Air?" May 26] suggests that industrial windmills on privately owned ridge tops in our mountains would abuse the public "commons" for private profit, akin to mountaintop-removal coal mining. Negative impacts from wind farms would mainly be limited to visual, but let's not quibble. It's an impact. Mr. […]

When will they ever learn?

News that the city of Asheville is negotiating with the McKibbon Hotel Group to build a seven-story hotel in front of St. Lawrence Basilica is disheartening, to say the least. Was it only three years ago that public outcry helped kill a high-rise parking-deck plan on the same site? We were short of downtown parking […]

A bright idea

It isn’t often that such a painless lifestyle change will go so far in saving money and the environment at the same time. Everybody’s looking for ways to cut costs, and most of us want to do our part to help preserve our beautiful mountain environment for future generations. Yet Asheville-area residents, businesses and local […]

Living through the shadowland

Alderson Women’s Prison in West Virginia was not a well-known institution prior to Martha Stewart’s recent commitment there. But, at one time or another, Alderson has housed Billie Holiday, Squeaky Fromme and generations of political activists convicted of federal offenses. In 2001, one of these was Clare Hanrahan, who served six months there for trespassing […]

Truth or justice?

The Buncombe County Superior Court has decided that it’s time for me to put in an appearance once again. The last time jury duty called, I was treated to a couple of hours of waiting around in a room with stale doughnuts. I hope I’m that lucky again. Because if it goes to the next […]