Rock you like a … (news) The good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise (again), we should finally have this hurricane mess well behind us. That is, at least so long as Jeanne finds some other place to visit. Countless folks in our community have now endured the wrath of back-to-back weather debacles. The […]
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Cartoons
The wild gardener
Like most members of the mint family, Physostegia virginiana (aka Dracocephalum virginianum), sometimes mistakenly called false dragonhead, is best described as a robust grower. It’s native from our northern borders south through Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia. It’s also one of those plants usually described by nurseries as being easy to grow. The scientific name […]
Grassroots voter registration
The deadline for registering to vote is Friday, Oct. 8. Apathy? That’s so September 10. Voting is what’s hot now — so hot that a voter-registration movement has spontaneously erupted locally, if not nationally. In fact, enough grassroots registrars have taken it upon themselves to help their fellow citizens prepare for the Nov. 2 day […]
An insider’s guide to voting
Avoid the rush — vote early: With so much public interest in the upcoming election, voting activists worry that long lines at polling places — not to mention fears about terrorism, however well founded — might discourage some people from voting on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 2). Accordingly, these poll watchers are advising folks to […]
Letters to the editor
Accident prompts gratitude for Asheville I would like to thank the many people who rushed to my aid and the aid of the blocked drivers around 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17, when I was driving north on Merrimon Avenue by Beaver Lake and a tree crashed onto my car. Suddenly, four of my friends […]
First Daughter
Oh, Forest Whitaker, you big, brilliant actor. You who exploded on the screen in Platoon (1986), made yourself a young legend as jazz great Charlie Parker in Bird, engraved yourself forever in my memory as the doomed black British soldier in Crying Game (1992), and then proved you were just as good behind the camera […]
Mr. 3000
Mr. 3000 is peculiar. The film stars comic Bernie Mac, but it’s not very funny — in fact, Mac turns in a solid, yet sedate dramatic performance in his starring debut. Likewise, Mr. 3000 is about how an egocentric smart-mouth develops team spirit, but only a few team players are portrayed. The movie celebrates an […]
Dynamic duo in loner’s clothing
For the past decade, disturbing questions have swirled around Wilco like the insistent entreaties of some couch shrink. And one of them doesn’t ever seem to get resolved: Who exactly are you? Well, no wonder: The band’s albums seem to add up to something like a Dharma vision quest. Is Wilco the group that validated […]
Still coming clean
As part of a genuine Rags-to-spiritual-riches quest, boogie-woogie wuenderkind Abe Reid is back dazzling dancers — just as he did a decade ago fronting Asheville’s then-premier club band, punkish rag ‘n’ roll pioneers the Blue Rags. This Saturday night, the 32-year-old dynamo returns with his funk-rock trio the Spikedrivers (with bassist Korey Dudley and drummer […]
Flat Rock Music Festival facts & acts
The Flat Rock Music Festival happens Friday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 26, at Camp Ton-A-Wandah. Weekend passes include camping, and are $70/advance while supplies last, $80 at the gate. Tickets for youth (ages 11-17) are half-price. Daily tickets cost $30/Friday, $35/Saturday and $20/Sunday for adults ($15/$15/$10 for youth). Children 10 and younger get in […]
The junk journal
Views Great White, Cherokee Survivors Motorcycle Rally, Fair Grounds, Cherokee, N.C.; Friday, Sept. 10 “Like the fearsome, deadly denizen of the deep that shares its name, Great White knows something about survival of the fittest.” Given the band’s recent history, this lead-off sentence to their latest press release is a bit hard to fathom. In […]
Cartoons
Green roof on a green building
Gardening has reached new heights at The North Carolina Arboretum — about 40 feet off the ground, on top of the arboretum’s recently completed Operations Center. The new horticultural venture (and exhibit) is a “green roof” — sometimes known as a vegetated green roof. It’s one of the center’s many features that meet the state’s […]
A foul mess
The fast-rising floodwaters weren’t the only thing that surprised Asheville residents. Many, like Billy Hagen, were shocked to smell and see evidence of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of gallons of fuel and other toxic liquids that spilled into WNC rivers during the massive flooding that occurred as a result of Hurricane Frances. As […]
Asheville City Council
In the wake of massive flooding produced by the remnants of Hurricane Frances, City Manager Jim Westbrook reported at Asheville City Council’s Sept. 14 formal meeting that the city was suspending permit fees for all repairs and reconstruction of flood-damaged buildings. Westbrook also announced that city staffers were working on setting up an office in […]
Letters to the editor
SCV portrayal was one-sided journalism The article by [freelance] writer Jon Elliston [“Between Heritage and Hate,” Aug. 18] was one-sided journalism, poorly written and not well documented. It was an attack on the century-old Sons of Confederate Veterans based on the rantings of outcast SCV member Walter Hilderman of Eutawville, S.C. Hilderman, who has been […]
Memory full. Thank you.
I used to have an answering machine. When it was full, the machine would announce: “Memory full. Thank you.” It wasn’t about the number of calls; it was about capacity. When this machine was full, it was full, and nothing else could get in. I suspect there’s a learning moment here. And it’s not just […]
Precauciones e instrucciones en caso de inundacion
Precauciones en caso de inundacion aconsejadas por la Cruz Roja del Condado Buncombe y la Oficina de Manejo de Emergencias del Condado Henderson: 1. Este preparado para evacuar rapidamente y conserve la calma. 2. Conozca la ruta por la que debe abandonar su hogar en caso de emergencia y no conduzca por vias inundadas. Una […]
Lean, green lodgings
Winston-Salem resident David Brown might seem an unlikely candidate to lead a revolution. But as the director of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art’s HOME House Project, Brown is looking to do just that. “Our overall aim,” he proclaims, “is to establish a new national housing model in terms of design, energy efficiency, environmental consciousness, […]
Events examine innovative, green and affordable housing
The HOME House Project will be on display in the Public Works Building (161 S. Charlotte St. in Asheville) Friday, Sept. 17 through Tuesday, Oct. 26. The opening reception on Sept. 17 (5:30 p.m.) features talks by project director David Brown of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art and D.K. Ruth, co-founder of the Rural […]