Should paddling be allowed on the upper Chattooga River? Ben Van Camp of American Whitewater thinks so. He’s eagerly awaiting the U.S. Forest Service boating-impact study on the headwaters of the Chattooga. Van Camp was a panelist at an April 17 seminar held at UNCA and sponsored by the Mountain Sports Festival. The panel, moderated […]
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Salon of the progressive
In 1863, Napoleon allowed the infuriated artists turned down by his Hanging Committee—they hung paintings, not people—to display their work in a separate exhibition. IlaSahai Prouty, “Spoon” from the series Little Man, 2006-2007, plaster and mixed media, 10 X 4 X 12 inches. The Salon des Refusés—Salon of the Rejected—wasn’t of uniform greatness. But it […]
Golden oldie
Though it barely registers above a whisper, M. Ward’s voice can grab you like a shout. On the Portland-bred singer/songwriter’s fifth album, Post-War, that voice counts off the stuttering stop-start pulse of “Poison Cup,” almost begging the song to start. But once the notes commence, the music falls backward in time—to the thin, scratchy tremolo […]
Searching for Art Loeb
It is proposed that a scenic foot trail to be known as the “Arthur J. Loeb Trail” be established in the Pisgah Ranger District of the National Forest in N.C. beginning at U.S. Highway 276 and 64 immediately south … to the summit of Cold Mountain (elevation 6,030 feet) in the Shining Rock Wild Area. […]
Armenian genocide needs better explanation
On March 26, I attended a class given by Ahmad Amara entitled “The Middle East: Early 20th Century to the Present,” [presented] through the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement. After the instructor reviewed the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the Young Turks, one of the students asked about the Armenian genocide. Mr. Amara […]
Keep Asheville a sight to behold
I have been following the development of Asheville’s proposed Steep Slope Ordinance, which is within days of being considered by the Asheville Planning and Zoning Commission and then City Council. Many people worked hard to craft this ordinance, but as a resident who loves Cisco Mountain and the incredible variety of plants, trees and animals […]
From mental-health potholes to sinkholes
Secretary of Health and Human Services Carmen Hooker Odom was appointed by Gov. Mike Easley when his first term began, then re-appointed in 2004. In a conversation I had with Sen. Martin Nesbitt, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health Reform, he indicated various ways this appointee “would not listen,” which I took to […]
One man’s cure for Carl’s drug war
Into the breach once more goes the mighty Mumpower. A gathering of vicious dope fiends at RatDog wreaked havoc [with the] souls of America’s incipient middle-aged. With the heroic help of APD’s finest, our vigilant citizen was instrumental in the arrest of 0.529 percent of the audience—not for charging the stage and assaulting the drummer […]
Is Shuler just a Democratic myth?
I think you were overly kind to Heath Schuler in your assessment of his first 100 days [“Shuler’s First 100 Days,” April 11]. While I did vote for him, I did so only because the other option was even less appealing. To begin, I think Schuler is incredibly misleading and dishonest when he labels himself […]
To license or not to license
Regarding “May I See Your Degree” [April 18 Letters], the basis of my concern about licensure requirements for all complementary and health-care practitioners is the stated intent on the first page of the Naturopathic Physician Licensing Act currently in the N.C. House and Senate: “The General Assembly concludes that licensure is in the current interest […]
UNCA could use a healthier plan
UNCA is now in the final stages of design and development of the proposed North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness. Supported by a grant from the N.C. Legislature, plans include a fitness center, lab space for research and classrooms for the burgeoning Health and Wellness Promotion [Program]. While these [features] appropriately address the goals […]
Unwanted guests spur development
Some people say that Asheville is a great place to live. I am not disagreeing with that statement, but I would like to discuss with you the growing population of unwanted guests who are not only depleting this wonderful town of its wondrous small-town feel, but as also not even living in the houses they […]
Are trailers trash?
Q: Why is a Buncombe County divorce like a tornado? A: Somebody’s apt to lose a trailer. Housing for the masses: Nearly one third of private homes in Buncombe County are mobiles. photos by Cecil Bothwell Big winds aside, the old joke (substitute your semi-rural county of choice) is truer here than many might suspect: […]
Art in America is “banal,” “sad,” “paralyzed” and worse!
British art critic Derek Guthrie has come out of hiding. Back in America after a 12-year absence, he’s appalled at what he sees. Ahead of his April 21 appearance at WCU, Guthrie had some salty revelations to offer Xpress art reviewer Connie Bostic.
2-1-1 referral specialists
2-1-1 referral specialists answer your questions around the clock. United Way’s 2-1-1 of WNC is a free, 24/7, community-service information line serving Buncombe, Henderson and Transylvania counties. People can call 2-1-1 from a land line, or 252-HELP from a cell phone, to find out where to get or give help in the community. The 2-1-1 […]
Not your average summer camp
For most folks, the term “summer camp” triggers memories of sunny canoe trips, popsicle-stick-and-paint crafts and “Kumbaya” around the campfire. At the North Carolina Arboretum, however, summer camp amounts to much more. School’s in for summer: An orienteering group gets wild at last year’s Discovery Camps for Youth, which are hosted by the North Carolina […]
Gimme land, lots of land
Spring is landscape season. And while landscapes have sometimes been maligned as the province of the uninspired, the precariousness of our landscape makes it a serious topic for serious artists. Lee Morgan, “Wisteria House” I still mourn the fat, spotted pony on a grassy hillside near the spot where Highway 74A starts. His pasture was […]
Gallery Gossip
• An artist has a lot of work to do if he or she responds to an invitation to submit a proposal for a work of art. First comes the idea, then a letter of intent, and then a detailed explanation of the proposal and its relevance. One’s résumé must be updated, and slides or […]
Pedaling toward the revolution
Sitting cross-legged on a grimy concrete floor, Luap Devlin-Garnatt tinkers with the bicycle wheel in his lap. His small workspace is part of a former glass factory in one of the seedier sections of Asheville’s River District, sandwiched between the railroad and the French Broad. Surrounding Devlin-Garnatt are bins overflowing with reflectors, derailleurs, saddles and […]
Mum’s word: Civic Center drug scene minimal
What you get when you mix 6,600 jam-band fans, 250 paper masks of City Council member Carl Mumpower, police K-9 units and two weeks of pre-show hype about drug use in the Asheville Civic Center? Apparently, you get good, clean fun. That was gist of Mumpower’s conclusion after he attended last Friday night’s Widespread Panic […]
The 5 percent rule
Vice President Dick Cheney has his “1 percent rule”; after a recent experience, I formulated my own “5 percent rule.” But while Cheney’s rule pertains to security threats, mine concerns questionable plants in the garden. courtesy Edmund Taylor Questionable plants are those that, for various reasons, aren’t reliable. They may be less hardy, particularly tricky […]