I wish that I could have felt sorry for most of the protagonists in the July 6 Xpress article “Stymied.” I’m afraid I couldn’t. As an immigrant myself, who has spent a lot of money and time and endured a lot of frustration with the antiquated, complicated and convoluted U.S. immigration system, I can’t feel […]
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Relayed with magical imagery
In Rosanne Cash’s memoir, Composed, she writes, “Someone once told me to perform to the six percent of the audience who are poets.” I happen to be a poet. Though I’ve not had the privilege of seeing her in concert, while reading her New York Times-bestselling book, I felt as if she were telling tales […]
Let’s get some straight thinking into immigration
I used to be a bleeding-heart liberal, but it's issues like illegal immigration that have helped me to get over that. My grandparents and my mother were immigrants, but they were legal. Probably most immigrants to this country have been legal until fairly recently. Why are we making an exception for one particular group of […]
Whiskey and wimmen’
T-Model Ford swears he’s gonna live to be 110. God told him so in a dream. Of course, when he’ll hit that age no one knows for sure, because no one knows exactly how old the rakish bluesman is now, not even Ford himself. (He’s anywhere from 85 to 91, depending on who you ask […]
Keep Buncombe County together
The proposed legislative redistricting plan for the state of North Carolina would split Buncombe County into two parts: the eastern segment (including the city of Asheville) would join the 10th District while the western part of the county would remain in the 11th District with the other mountain counties. Splitting the Buncombe County electorate would […]
Living art
During the medieval and renaissance eras in France, actors were employed by royalty to dress as mythological characters and pose during parties while ladies and lords of luxury cavorted around them. These were the first documented “living statues,” and their counterparts can be found on street corners and parks of popular tourist destinations like Barcelona, […]
Eliada’s historic dairy barn gets a new life
For more than a century, the dairy barn at Eliada Homes, the foster care nonprofit in Asheville, has stood as a landmark on the campus. Now, after a renovation into a modern fitness and recreation center, it will open its doors to the public July 25 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Following Eliada's founding by Dr. Lucius […]
Study hard, N.C. Legislature
Under the Republican majority in the N.C. House and Senate, we have gone from an F-rated, ineffective state Legislature to a B-rated, well-run Legislature. As a lifelong conservative Republican who understands conservative values must come before party affiliation, I wish I could rate the Republican majority with an A, but cannot due to a few […]
Downtown Asheville depends on us
Reports of the Downtown Market closing have been greatly exaggerated. A plucky group of 25 artists, craftspeople and antique dealers have banded together to keep the central core of the market open until First Bank or the successful bidder acquires the building later this month. The building did not go dark on July 1 as […]
The Beat: The Asheville City Council race is on
Nine candidates — including two incumbents — will vie for three Asheville City Council seats. As of the July 15 filing deadline, the candidates are: Council members Jan Davis and Bill Russell, Greenway Commission member (and former chair) Marc Hunt, libertarian activist Tim Peck, Haw Creek Community Association President Chris Pelly, engineer (and active Republican) […]
It’s time to regulate scooters
It’s time we regulated motorized scooters. I mean really make them a non-gray area transportation means. I want to see them regulated in a way that their role on the roads becomes clear to everyone, and [scooter operators] become responsible for their actions. As a bicyclist I have dealt with young teenager riders who have […]
“Aliens” among us
There must be “aliens” among us. I see them daily in the Asheville area, running red lights and never using turn signals. I have experienced several near misses by these folks. And apparently, there are more alien drivers in Asheville than in the Chicago area, where I drove accident- and ticket-free for 37 years. I […]
Weekly Picks
A-B Tech's Institute for Climate Education invites the community to "An Insider's Look: What You Need to Know About Climate," with Mark Brooks of the State Climate Office of North Carolina, on Wednesday, July 20 at 7 p.m. Held at Ferguson Auditorium on the school's Asheville campus. Info: http://bit.ly/pbvOnV. All are welcome to learn about […]
Striking back
Every once in awhile, the perfect volunteer for a particular job shows up just when you need her. Such was the case with Corinne Duncan. RiverLink relies on a host of dedicated volunteers, but Duncan, who studied environmental science and rangeland ecology at Oregon State University, is a plant ecologist who knows how to eradicate […]
Driving the narrow way
Folks driving down Hillside Street seem utterly confused about who has the right of way when parked cars make it impossible for both cars to pass. Many neighborhood roads in Asheville are quite narrow indeed! The "general" rule of the road is, if you need to cross the center of the road to pass a […]
Unless he’s having a picnic, keep Jesus out of city parks
I saw a giant group of Christians swinging big Jesus flags and singing Jesus songs in front of the courthouse and city hall in Pack Square Park [recently]. This is inappropriate and should be stopped, unless other religious groups are also allowed — or encouraged — to worship in front of our symbols of governance. […]
Let me tell you about Junior Achievement
Today I had the pleasure of volunteering at a wonderful community service and fundraising event put on by The Rotary Club of Madison County. The event was the Hot Doggett 100 bicycle tour of Madison County. There were two rides: a 100-mile ride and The Devil's Fork Metric, a 100-kilometer ride. The amount of coordination […]
Weekly Asheville Disclaimer Page: 07/20/11
•Mexican drug cartel
significantly weakened,
according to schwagginess
of local man’s bag
• Plan to raise tax revenues
dropped after politicians
witness public’s reaction to
Netflix price-hike
• Texas, distracted,
accidentally executes
innocent passer-by
out of habit
Whiskey and wimmen’
T-Model Ford’s swears he’s gonna live to be 110. God told him so in dream.
OPINION: Gay is the new local: LGBT culture part of Asheville’s unique identity
Both of us are Southern and queer: From our perspective, there isn’t a better place for Southern LGBT folks than Asheville.
Elitist Bastards: Female empowerment through chess versus a gorilla who craves TGI Fridays
In this week’s Elitist Bastards Go to the Movies podcast, reviewers Ken Hanke and Justin Souther discuss Horrible Bosses, Queen to Play and Zookeeper.