WEBSTER –– For the past year and a half, Jackson County fly fishing guide Alex Bell has been taking returning combat veterans out on the water for free. But Bell has a larger aim than looking for fish…
Author: Webmaster
Showing 3172-3192 of 9872 results
Elitist Bastards: Review Angry in 2.5D
In this week’s Elitist Bastards Go To The Movies podcast, Mountain Xpress film critics Ken Hanke and Justin Souther review: Hall Pass, Casino Jack, Rabbit Hole and Drive Angry 3D. The Bastards also discuss The Old Dark House (1932), this week’s Thursday Horror Picture Show, and Casino Royale (1966), next week’s Asheville Film Society screening. The duo also consider the potential merits of upcoming releases The Adjustment Bureau, Beastly, Rango and Take Me Home Tonight.
Downtown Heroes: ADA recognizes those who helped revitalize Asheville’s central district
About 20 years ago, when a group of residents, business owners, local-government staff and elected officials were trying to revive a largely derelict downtown Asheville, “It was discouraging when we saw things printed in the newspaper like, ‘All they’re doing is moving the chairs around on the deck of the Titanic.’” That’s how Tops for Shoes co-owner Bob Carr, speaking at a Feb. 28 Asheville Downtown Association celebration, described the early days of the revitalization effort.
The profiler
The descriptions of fan qualities and quirks are intended to be a playful take on what's unique about all of us. The world would be a better place if everyone went out to see more live music The Suspect: Atom Smash This five-man hard rock band spent 2009 unsigned and touring like crazy, performing more […]
The Gospel According to Jerry
Editor’s note: Asheville native Jerry Sternberg has been observing, pondering and commenting on the local scene for many years. Since 1994, “The Gospel According to Jerry” has graced Xpress’ opinion pages. Local historian, Socratic gadfly, community conscience and standup comic rolled into one, Sternberg encapsulates and preserves key pieces of his hometown’s diverse and remarkable […]
Green thumb
Savvy farmers, growers and enthusiasts have already bought their seeds and are preparing their fields and flower beds. Here at Xpress, green thumbs are awakening too: In the coming weeks and months, we’ll provide a growers’ mix of garden news. Here are a few early notes. Composting Bonanza Have questions about composting? On Saturday, March […]
Flu who?
Flu season hit Buncombe County early and hard this year, with Mission Hospitals repeatedly warning all but immediate family members not to visit hospital patients and the county Health Department seeing an increase in flu cases. “The current season is most closely comparable to the 2007-08 season,” staffer Sue Ellen Morrison explains. “We are seeing […]
Annexation is rural robbery
In the Feb. 16 Xpress article “Hard Rocks, Few Places,” David Forbes [says] that Asheville should have used involuntary annexation as a greater source of income as it brings in significant new revenue. Picking pockets is also a source of revenue. Involuntary annexation is essentially the same thing. Asheville’s budget problems are the result of […]
Fight for freedom without and within
When I first read the letter “Channeling Your Inner Revolutionary” [Feb. 9 Xpress], I wondered if Norman Plombe has external rules in his home, his house, or with his children. I suspect there must be some. Most rules are made to help life run more smoothly. Structures in their best design are aimed at increasing […]
Is Asheville ready for the fiscal flood?
In 2004, Hurricane Frances hit Asheville and caused significant flooding and widespread damage. Frances caused nearly $200 million worth of destruction in Western North Carolina. In 2011 there is worse weather headed our way, and it isn’t driven by warm waters in the Atlantic, but [by] an unsustainable burden of debt created by the N.C. […]
There’s something (or someone) new at the French Broad Food Co-op
The French Broad Food Co-op has a new general manager, Bobby Sullivan. In my opinion, he is the best thing to happen to our store in a long time. If you have stopped shopping at FBFC, come back. I think you will find better energy and lots of positive changes happening. If you have never […]
Weekly Asheville Disclaimer Page: 03/02/11
• Asheville equality
• Friday cult
• Kyle’s Memory Tips
• Briefs
Council passes equality resolution, 5-1 ***UPDATED WITH VIDEO***
At the end of a nearly six-hour meeting, Asheville City Council passed a “equality” resolution that includes domestic-partnership registry, employment non-discrimination policy, anti-bullying ordinance and an endorsement of civil marriage. In other actions, Council continued its public hearing on Ingles’ request for exemptions in its plan to build a new store on Smoky Park Highway. 
photo by Jerry Nelson
Self portrait with food stamps
Since the mid 1990’s, Asheville’s reputation as a haven for artists has swelled — it’s a funky city in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains that teems with creative types and crafty kinfolk. The New York Times last year touted Asheville as an “Artists’ utopia” (in the first of two articles from the international […]
Local Spin
When he's not hunting down ghosts around town, it sounds like our favorite local tour guide/paranormal investigator Joshua P. Warren, is busy hunting down MP3s. But his music taste may surprise you (Insane Clown Posse?!). Check out his answers below, and be sure to swing by his bizarre new "Free Museum" — located in the […]
The Profiler
I love movies almost as much as music, so I decided to make this week’s Profiler a Special Oscar Edition. The Suspect: The Old 97’s The Old 97’s stand alongside the Jayhawks and Whiskeytown as early pioneers of the alternative country genre; frontman Rhett Miller and Bassist Murray Hammond met in Dallas in the late […]
Snow days again?
Up until the recent respite, it had been a pretty rough winter, with too many snow days for local schoolchildren. It’s time for the Asheville City Schools to stop feeding local paranoia about wintry weather and, instead, support a normal educational routine. This ridiculous pattern of on-and-off schooling is hard on kids and parents alike. […]
Welcome to trout town
Want to show off for your dinner-party guests? Ask them, “For what farm product is Western North Carolina one of the top six producers in the United States?” It’s likely they’ll respond “apples.” Let out an exasperated sigh when you shake your head no. “It’s trout,” you’ll say, adding that North Carolina is the second […]
Consider your responsibilities along with your rights
Rugged individualists like Normon Plombe have long been gnashing their teeth about the nanny government that makes them wear bicycle helmets and seat belts and vaccinate their kids [“Channel Your Inner American Revolutionary,” Feb. 9 Xpress]. That's the same government that tries to keep the Tennessee Valley Authority's coal dust out of the air you […]
The high school dropout rate is down — don’t stop now!
I was pleased to read about the advances that Buncombe County has made in increasing high-school graduation rates [“Making the Grade,” Feb. 9, Xpress]. Thanks for covering this important story. Most children in our community attend public schools. The success and well-being of our entire community hinge on the quality of our public schools and […]
Greetings, N.C. League of Municipalities
I live in Asheville, and I have a couple of questions for the North Carolina League of Municipalities. The N.C. League website states, "we believe that a complete stop on all city-initiated annexations across the state is not a necessary or appropriate way to address annexation." When you say "city-initiated annexations," are you really referring […]