Campaign Calender • Voter deadlines: To vote in the Oct. 11 primary election, you must be registered by Friday, Sept. 16. Absentee voting by mail for the primary begins Friday, Sept. 9, and ends Monday, Oct. 10. One-stop absentee voting begins Thursday, Sept. 22, and ends Saturday, Oct. 8, at 1 p.m. For further information, […]

Campaign Calender • MOM’s back: The local political action committee Match Our Mountains, which formed in 2003, is back in action for Asheville’s upcoming municipal elections. The group says it will endorse and financially support those candidates deemed most likely to “help strengthen Asheville’s economy and protect our environment.” MOM is a PAC with a […]

The bus stops here For bus drivers working for the Asheville Transit System, the Shiloh route can be a bit confusing of late. It’s not that the streets are narrow or poorly marked — it’s that some folks are hanging out at the bus stop even when they don’t want a ride. According to Barbara […]

High times for Loewer Among Asheville gardening enthusiasts, the names Vance, Patton and Pack are of only passing interest compared to that of The Wild Gardener, Peter Loewer. Known to many locals through his radio and print garden essays (including many years of contributions to Xpress), Loewer enjoys even wider familiarity with an international audience, […]

Batter up! It’s the dog days of August, the weather is hot and the pennant races are hotter. Major League Baseball is in full swing, and here in Western North Carolina, future big leaguers are getting ready to go back to school — and back to the diamond. For hundreds of area kids, the end […]

Media Rubric’s Kubey Robert Kubey, director and founder of the Center for Media Studies at Rutgers University, will deliver a free presentation for parents, teachers and public-health advocates at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 2. “Teaching Media Literacy in the K-12 Classroom” will be offered at the Asheville Middle School on South French Broad Avenue. Kubey […]

Helping those who help the mentally ill While people who suffer from severe mental illness can often obtain treatment through public or private programs, their families may have little or no help in facing the ripple effects of disease. To help fill that gap, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill offers a free, 12-part […]

Hey, where can I get my Mountain Xpress? Readers who are used to picking up a copy of Mountain Xpress at an Ingles supermarket may have discovered recently that the paper is no longer available at some of the chain’s stores. Mountain Xpress can still be found at some Ingles locations (Oteen, Long Shoals Road […]

Make that a Shirley Temple “Parents might tell their kids, ‘If you need a ride, call me,’ and that’s a great message,” says Leslie Kimball of the Century Council. But as far as the not-for-profit organization created to combat drunk driving and underage drinking is concerned, a safe ride for partying teens isn’t enough. “What […]

Keeping rivers cleaner Each year, the Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District receives cost-share allocations from the state for agricultural non-point-source pollution control. These funds are passed on to farmers for conservation measures that decrease the amount of sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, chemicals and other pollutants that enter surface and ground water. Such projects may […]

Rolling like a river If you sit awhile beside a river, or, better still, float down one in a canoe or kayak, you quickly see that the whole is composed of many parts: side currents rolling away from the bank as it meanders, standing waves downstream from unseen boulders, a mix of colors where branches […]

A walk in the garden “Here’s your chance,” exclaims Susan Roderick, Quality Forward director, “to gain admission into secret gardens where you can stroll to your heart’s content and garner inspiration from some of Asheville’s most talented gardeners.” Roderick’s organization will host its 10th annual garden tour in the Kenilworth community on Sunday, June 19, […]

Soiree in the City A new fundraiser for The Health Adventure comes replete with a spectacular view of downtown Asheville (and replaces the health and science museum’s traditional ‘Cork & Flame’ spring benefit). Held at the Biltmore Office Building’s rooftop patio, ‘Soiree in the City’ takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June […]

Go to the head of the class Education is a lot of things to a lot of people: It’s a foot in the door, a chance for self-improvement, a head start on the career path. It’s also expensive. That’s why the Asheville Buncombe Community Relations Council is bringing back the annual Sherrill/Forney Scholarship Gala. Named […]

Social Security’s future Two upcoming public discussions will explore the downside of the Bush administration’s plan to privatize Social Security. The first — a town hall-style meeting to be held Saturday, June 4, at 3 p.m. at the Unity Center — is sponsored by North Carolinians United to Protect Social Security. The nonprofit organization has […]

The Boathouse Restaurant on Lake Julian wants to help build a boathouse on Lake Julian, but this one won’t be for dining. “The Boathouse for a Boathouse” is a charitable event that will benefit the Asheville Rowing Club. All proceeds will be used to construct a boathouse for storage of the club’s racing shells, equipment […]

Deadlines set for business flood-damage loans Area businesses that suffered economic loss in the hurricane-related September floods have until June 30 to file for an economic injury federal loan, and until July 30 to apply for a state loan, according to the Small Business and Technology Development Center of Western Carolina University’s College of Business. […]

Recess for teachers It’s possible that, after a full week of playing itsy-bitsy spider and singing the ABCs, more than a few Early Childhood teachers find themselves needing (if not a juice box and a nap) a serious dose of grown-up talk. The Western Regional Early Childhood Conference offers just that — in a big […]

Kenilworth resident John Cram will once again open his extensive gardens to the public as a fund-raiser for Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance. The event will offer daylight tours of Cram’s impressive collection of plants and outdoor art; in addition, there will be a market featuring plants by local growers, a garden-art sale, live music, refreshments […]

A monumental task Sometime this summer, the long-awaited face-lift of Asheville’s Pack Square and City/County Plaza will begin — a process that will involve massive recontouring of the green space, rerouting of roads, elimination of parking areas and construction of new amenities. A stage, a small visitors’ center and other structures will grace the city’s […]