Giant kids’ consignment sale, “Wee Trade,” returns beginning Feb. 16

Cost-conscious moms and dads, mark your calendars: Wee Trade, the gigantic children’s consignment sale, returns to the WNC Agricultural Center for two weekends in February. Shoppers will find baby and children’s clothing and shoes, toys, books, bedding, furniture and equipment, all in excellent condition at bargain prices. Junior’s sizes, too. Many items will be discounted […]

Asheville Mothers of Multiples Rummage Sale is Saturday, Sept. 22

From the Asheville Mothers of Multiples Club: Why pay retail for kids’ clothing, toys, and gear? Come to this enormous rummage sale, and find what you need for your kids this fall — from babies to juniors, you’ll find kids’ clothing and shoes, toys, books, videos, bikes, strollers and other gear, plus housewares, maternity, and […]

Beyond Coal

There’s an ironic juxtaposition of the old and new along Interstate 26 as you approach Asheville, said Bruce Nilles, the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign director. The Progress Energy plant burns coal day and night to provide power to consumers across Western North Carolina, while a short distance away, along I-40 a six-acre solar farm […]

Box Creek Wilderness gets new lease on life after developmen­t plan fizzles

Large areas of untrammeled nature are increasingly hard to come by in North Carolina — especially where the mountains meet the Piedmont, the state’s most urbanized and densely populated region. But every so often, wilderness gets a reprieve. So it is with the Box Creek Wilderness, a 3,300-acre link between the Blue Ridge and the South Mountains just east of Asheville.

Box Creek Wilderness recommended for enhanced protection

From the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina: The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Natural Heritage Program’s (NHP) Advisory Committee has recommended that the State enter into a Registry agreement with the landowner of the privately held 3,300-acre Box Creek Wilderness, a State-designated Significant Natural Heritage Area (SNHA) on the Rutherford-McDowell county line. […]

Universal joint: UNCA teams with Astronomy Club to build new observator­y

All eyes are on the skies: Eyes on the skies: Last month, UNCA announced a plan to partner with the Astronomy Club of Asheville to build a small observatory on the south-facing hillside at the north end of campus, at the end of Nut Hill Road. Key partners in the observatory plan include (from left) UNCA’s Brian Dennison and Judy Beck, and Bernie Arghiere, president of the Astronomy Club of Asheville. (photos by Max Cooper)

Beyond the brownfield­s

Along with the prospect of a new case of the brews, the Asheville site proposed for New Belgium Brewing Co.’s new East Coast facility would get cleaned up: Part of the Craven Street property qualifies for North Carolina’s brownfields program, a federal and state initiative that streamlines the redevelopment of property that may be contaminated. […]

Case dismissed, but it’s not over yet: Small growers vow to fight Monsanto

In her essay on the hazards attending genetic engineering, author Barbara Kingsolver raises the question: “What will it mean for a handful of agribusinesses to control the world’s ever-narrowing seed banks?” Asheville’s Sow True Seed has an idea, and they’re ready to fight back. (Cathryn Zommer shows off Sow True Seed’s “Harvest Goddess” street puppet, above.)