I have been hearing about the legislature voting to allow lots of digital billboards on the interstate highway. I am a ninth-grade student, 15 years old, and I have seen some of these signs and I don't like them. They are dangerous for anyone trying to read them while they are driving. Many people are […]
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“Let us suddenly / proclaim spring”
We received nearly 300 poems for the 2011 Mountain Xpress Poetry Prize. If every poet submitted the maximum two poems, that means there are at least 150 poets in Asheville — not insignificant for a city our size. The poetry prize is a celebration of poets and, more so, of poetry itself, specifically poetry in […]
Local Spin
OK, so Bouchons's owner (and Asheville's favorite French ex-pat) Michel Baudouin might not be the greatest music lover. But man, has he served some of music's greatest. "It was totally by accident," Baudouin writes about waiting on Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards. "I worked in a small bistro [in Paris], and time to time, […]
Chicken Scratch at Izzy’s
Michael Traister’s photos span a six-year period and document the lush life, graffitied walls and miscellaneous paraphernalia found in Carolina Lane and Chicken Alley of downtown Asheville.
Local Matters: City Council faces fees and APD scandal, bats face white nose syndrome
In this week’s Local Matters podcast, Xpress News Editor Margaret Williams talks to news reporter David Forbes about the recent controversy-packed Asheville City Council meeting, and with environmental reporter Susan Andrew about a sickness that threatens the WNC bat population.
Review of One Flea Spare
It’s the 1660s and the silly Restoration has been interrupted by the Plague. A wealthy London family is sealed up in their house by the authorities because their servants have died laden with “tokens” of the scourge, and the nailing up of the windows and the guarding of the doors of afflicted households were all they knew to slow the mysterious progress of the disease.
WNC Wellness review: NC Senate Bill 31 and battlefield accupuncture
In this week’s WNC Wellness review: NC Senate Bill 31 amended to exempt alternate practitioners; Meditation found to kill pain; Whooping cough still spreading in Asheville; US Army using battlefield acupuncture; & more
Hope fading for WNC Media Center
A week after appeals to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners for more funding went unmatched, the WNC Media Center continues to drift towards closing its doors April 30.
Elitist Bastards: Bastards from Mars
In this week’s Elitist Bastards Go To The Movies podcast, Mountain Xpress film critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther discuss current releases Arthur, Hanna, Soul Surfer, Your Highness and The Conspirator.
It takes a village
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month — a chance for the Buncombe County Department of Social Services to educate area residents about how each of us can help support a safe, healthy and thriving community. Protecting our children requires a strong commitment by residents who, individually and collectively, care enough to report their concerns: […]
“Mountain Shame,” indeed
After reading “Mountain Shame,” Jake Frankel's account of the labor unrest and possible union organization of The Marion Manufacturing Company on October 2, 1929, my interest was piqued about that fateful day [March 30 Xpress]. In my research into this event, I learned that there were elements of this tragedy that Mr. Frankel did not […]
Let your community garden grow
Reems Creek Nursery offers a variety of workshops and presentations throughout the growing season, and next up is the Home Orchards seminar. The Saturday, April 16, session is all about creating your own edible landscape. It will focus on home-orchard basics, such as choosing your fruit trees, siting and planting your trees, and a bit […]
Are you ready to HATCH your creative career?
This weekend, Asheville will host an eclectic liberal arts festival known as HATCH. Downtown galleries, studios and amphitheatres will be converted into HATCH venues for workshops and networking engagements. The HATCH festival combines the creative disciplines of music, architecture, art, fashion, photography and journalism. HATCH’s unique format allows up-and-comers to interact with industry professionals through […]
Bears, bills and health rankings
An April 4 report on the NaturalNews Network claimed that legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly was about to "criminalize naturopaths, homeopaths, herablists, midwives, aromatherapists as felons." But the bill (SB 31), amended and passed today by the House, simply changes the current penalty level for people who "misrepresent themselves as licensed physicians," according […]
What is all the hurry about?
Recently I read several “road rage” letters in the Mountain Xpress. I agree with “Road Rage Recipes” by Glen Resse in the March 30 issue. I was a Buncombe County special deputy for 20 years. During that time, I attended several criminal justice classes. The first thing that is taught is the definition of the […]
Capitalists strike back?
Nathan Strong is obviously a dyed-in-the-wool communist, so nothing I say is going to change his mind, but for the people who might be swayed I thought I should respond to his letter [“Green Capitalism Still Sucks,” March 30 Xpress]. What he forgets is that most people work simply and purely for the money they […]
A tree grows in Asheville — make it an appropriate species
About the tree removals in downtown Asheville recently: While I understand that it is painful to lose trees, especially when they appear to be fine and healthy, people should not be so hasty to condemn the city for removing them. I love trees too, but Bradford pears are notorious for having exceedingly poor structure with […]
Thank you, City Council, for expanding living wage
I commend the Asheville City Council members who voted to phase in an extension of the living-wage ordinance to include contract workers. In a society dominated by big business, work conditions and wages are declining almost as quickly as the income gap is growing. Major systemic changes will have to occur before anything close to […]
The Profiler
The Suspect: Danielson Frontman Daniel Smith has performed in a 9-foot fruit-bearing tree costume, a nurse’s uniform and in a somber Bible-salesman suit as the leader of this indie-pop gospel group from New Jersey. He just released his first album in five years, The Best of Gloucester County, where he gets a little help from […]
Asheville Just Economics is just not economical
Just Economics has been campaigning for an increase in minimum wage. Just Ecomics calls this increase a living wage. They have successfully pushed their policy into local law. Now contractors for our city must also pay their employees a living wage of $11.35 an hour (without benefits). The policy advocacy on their website states, “It […]
Let’s have a no-nuke future
Proposed legislation promoting 200 new U.S. nuclear reactors is foolhardy. Construction costs will continue to escalate, exceeding $10 billion each before any could be operational 10 years hence; $2 trillion for completion would become the largest energy boondoggle in U.S. history. Furthermore, despite claims it's "clean,” dirty fossil fuel is expended, deadly radioactive waste created […]