I recently lost my wallet on a bike ride from West Asheville to Montford. With only a few days until I was leaving town on a long trip to New York, it was extra stressful. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from the police telling me they had it! Someone found my wallet […]
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Seeing is (dis)believing
Just in case you don’t remember: The left lane is for faster traffic; do not pull into the left lane to slow down. Honestly, I have never, ever seen anything like the poor driving standards that occur here in Asheville. Come on folks, you read the rule book and for some reason you passed the […]
Signs of the times
Sadly, for the second time my “Obama 08” sign was stolen from my yard. As I contemplated who and why, I could only conclude it was [taken by] someone who was unaware of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This amendment was so completely and powerfully stated, it only required one […]
At what price?
A small group of people in the Swannanoa Valley are proposing to form an incorporated township. But after listening to their reasoning, I’ve heard nothing to justify this. I have a personal reason for opposing incorporation. I came to the Swannanoa Valley in 1958 to work at Kearfott in Black Mountain. In 1959, I bought […]
Make cannabis, not war
I’m writing about Ervin Dargan’s thoughtful letter, “Let States Decide on Medical Cannabis” [Xpress, July 16]. Marijuana is the linchpin of our so-called war on drugs. Remove marijuana from the equation and the whole drug war will collapse. The so-called war on drugs is a huge industry and huge bureaucracy. Victory in the drug war […]
There’s still time to get yours
It is not too late to file a return to claim an economic-stimulus payment. The IRS urges people to file by Oct. 15 to ensure they receive a payment prior to year’s end. Keep in mind that it can take up to eight weeks for the IRS to process the return and issue the payment. […]
Presidential forums: Consider the real issues
Eventually we will have presidential candidate forums. Hopefully the network newspersons will rise above the trivial in their queries. Here are a few nontrivial questions to ask John McCain and Barack Obama. · Global climate change is a scientifically well-established fact. A key cause is our heavy use of fossil fuels, especially coal and oil. […]
Correction: Former Buncombe sheriff’s lieutenant remains under house arrest
An article in this week’s Xpress, “Medford, Deputies May Be Sentenced in August,” contained errors.
Harrison video-gambling plea deal
In this plea deal, former Buncombe County Sheriff’s Deputy John “Johnny” Harrison agrees to plea guilty to an extortion charge and agrees to testify in the government’s case against former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford. Click here to download a PDF file of the document. In this Aug. 4, 2008, document, the attorney representing Harrison […]
Garden Journal
Hay day: North Carolina State University’s Mountain Research Station in Waynesville will host a Hay Field Day on Tuesday, Aug. 12, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until 4 p.m. The program will include mowing, tedding, raking and baling demonstrations, lectures on the use of legumes as a replacement for nitrogen fertilization, renovation and soil-sampling […]
A house divided: Ashevilleans debate the Master Plan
Nobody said it was going to be easy. The closer Asheville gets to producing a Downtown Master Plan, the devil gets more and more embedded in the details. When completed, the plan will govern everything from building heights to parking strategies to the types of businesses allowed downtown. So it’s really no surprise that the […]
Eye on the storm
To Heather Maloy, creating choreography for a dance is a process uniquely individual to each piece. Sometimes an idea for choreography strikes first, followed by a search for an accompanying music track. In this case, inspiration for the company’s new work, Hurricane & other forces of nature came when Maloy was listening to a Godspeed […]
Outdoors: Farther afield
Last fall, I spent about two weeks in Jefferson, N.C., completing a commercial-restoration project for the company I work for. Being in such lovely rural country, I decided to find a campground with showers instead of opting for the kind of extended-stay hotel facility I normally inhabit when working in urban areas. River walk: New […]
Hole in the head or hole in the roof?
One definition of insanity is to execute the same process repeatedly and expect a different result. Consultants have expanded this notion with a corollary that warns that insanity also includes executing the process with the same people and tools and expecting different results. On July 22, I saw two, if not three of these elements […]
Letter from the editors
Dear readers, This month we say goodbye to some key staffers and hello to new (and returning) ones. A&E Editor Steve Shanafelt is passing the torch to Rebecca Sulock. On the arts-and-entertainment front, we’re bidding adieu to A&E Editor Steve Shanafelt, who’s held the post for the past year. Shanafelt’s relationship with Xpress stretches back […]
“Local” was the hit of the party
I volunteered this year at the Buy Haywood booth during Asheville’s huge street festival, Bele Chere. Buy Haywood is a program funded by the Golden Leaf Foundation and sponsored by the Haywood County Economic Development Commission and the Southwestern N.C. Resource and Conservation Development Association. The program’s purpose is to develop a well-known brand name […]
Bele Chere demonstrations may be dangerous
I was very disturbed by the demonstrations at the recent Bele Chere festival and the images being displayed—in poor taste—concerning hot-button issues like abortion, alcohol and gay rights. The images were certainly not [appropriate] for the eyes of children. But I would further argue that such demonstrations pose a serious safety issue for those attending […]
Razor burn, moles and other STDs
Adolescents today face unprecedented challenges. Although I gratefully enjoy the innocence of my young boys, who are just now entering the public-school system, my work makes me painfully aware of the challenges our teens must confront. My time on staff at the Buncombe County Health Center’s STD and family-planning clinics, as well as my current […]
Violence and slurs don’t belong at festival
Along with other Asheville citizens and visitors I have spoken with, I am outraged about the events that took place at Bele Chere 2008. The propaganda that was displayed during a family festival was absolutely disgusting and dangerous for people passing by Pritchard Park. I am a firm believer in freedom of speech, but I […]
The green(wash)ing of Bele Chere
Unlike many locals, I choose not to flee to the hills when Bele Chere comes around each year. We took the bull head-on this year and went for not one but two days. I have incredible appreciation for all the work that goes into making the festival happen. As I heard whispers and claims about […]
Wells, springs in need of protection
I live off Old Fort Road in the Spring Mountain community. My home is a log cabin built in the early 1890s from trees on the property. My water source is the original spring above the cabin. It is a gravity-flow water system from the spring down to the reservoir down to the cabin—no pumps […]