Healthy house, healthy planet An arts-and-crafts bungalow in Black Mountain is the first house to be certified under the North Carolina HealthyBuilt Homes Program. Launched in 2003 by the North Carolina Solar Center (located on N.C. State University’s campus) in collaboration with the State Energy Office and the N.C. Department of Administration, the program’s purpose […]

After the fire In the early morning hours of Dec. 15, James Cassels and his family — his wife, Brenda, and their three children, Derrick, 13, Ashley, 12, and Amber, 10 — lost everything they owned when a fire destroyed the house they’d lived in for 14 years. The Cassels were alerted to the danger […]

Prayer breakfast honors King Asheville’s Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Weekend will mark its 24th year with a four-day celebration Jan. 14-17. As in past years, the highlight will be the annual prayer breakfast at the Grove Park Inn on Saturday. The breakfast gala typically draws some 1,100 community members; this year’s theme is “Securing […]

Asheville gears up for disaster relief The devastation wrought by the recent earthquake and tsunamis in southern Asia is epic, and local relief agencies are scrambling to respond — both to the disasters themselves and to the outpouring of support by area residents. The Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is accepting inquiries […]

Studying up on Hollywood “We are in the motion-picture business at Western Carolina University,” declares Jack Sholder, professor of digital motion pictures and video at the university. WCU has had a popular film-studies minor for years, but the university plans to expand its curriculum next fall to include a new major in the Communications Department […]

Deadline, relief meeting ahead Friday, Dec. 17, is the deadline for Western North Carolinians to register for federal assistance in recovering from hurricanes Frances and Ivan. Registration is required for anyone who suffered damage from the storms to be considered for assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those affected by the storms who […]

Buncombe high school develops organic-farming career program Buncombe Community School East is the county’s alternative high school for at-risk students. For a few years, the Swannanoa school has offered an organic gardening class as an elective — a basic course in how to grow a garden organically and why organics are a good option. Instructor […]

Republicans join paper chase The Buncombe County Republican Party has teamed up with what would seem to be some unlikely bedfellows in calling for a voter-verifiable paper record of ballots cast using electronic voting machines. In a Nov. 17 press release, the party’s local headquarters said: “Voters should be able to be confident that the […]

SBA seeks outstanding small businesses The U.S. Small Business Administration wants your help. The agency is seeking nominations of exceptional small businesses and small-business supporters for its annual awards program. The SBA district office in Charlotte will select the 2005 North Carolina winners, who will then attend the SBA national celebration in Washington, D.C., April […]

Calling all brainiacs If you harbor a secret belief that you have what it takes to be a contestant on Jeopardy! — or even bump all-time Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings (who’s won $2,355,001 to date) from his winning streak — here’s your chance to find out. The Jeopardy! Brain Bus is set to roll into […]

Put that PC to sleep A personal computer seems so clean. No gas-guzzling engine spins its hard drive; no trees need to die to produce its paperless documents — just plug it in and play in the stream of electrons. But when the source of those streams is a coal-fired electric power plant, your computer […]

Out of the fryer and into the fuel tank Biodiesel is coming of age in Asheville, and the Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall is hosting a benefit (Sunday, Nov. 7, starting at 7 p.m.) to help move things along. Once the province of small demonstration projects at Warren Wilson College and other campuses, or […]

Trail mixer If you’re like a lot of single people, the idea of trying to meet others singles at a bar rates right up there with a trip to the dentist or trying to give a 140-pound Irish wolfhound a bath. Sharon Frazier, founder of Mountains to Climb (an outdoor-adventure company that takes visitors on […]

The politics of news Asheville-based television station WLOS has confirmed that it will air a controversial documentary about Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry as ordered by Sinclair Broadcast Group — which counts WLOS among the 62 television stations it owns, operates or provides services to nationwide. Sinclair has ordered all its stations to pre-empt regular […]

The letter of the law Video-poker machines in Buncombe County appear to be out of compliance with state law. In recent visits to eight local establishments that have such machines, Xpress did not find any that seemed to satisfy the letter of the law. The most frequently encountered violation was placing the machines out of […]

Fine food friends When the servers and kitchen staff at Trevi and Rezaz found themselves unexpectedly jobless after the recent flood put Biltmore Village under water, members of the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association stepped forward to help. An all-day fund-raiser at 18 local eateries on Sept. 22 raised more than $12,000 for the embattled employees. […]

Water Authority takes stock after floods Repairs to the area drinking-water-supply system will cost about $1.25 million, according to estimates presented Sept. 21 to the Regional Water Authority of Asheville, Buncombe and Henderson, at the group’s first meeting since flooding from Hurricane Frances left most of the Authority’s customers without water for several days. The […]

Those buildings weren’t empty The floodwaters of Hurricane Frances inundated 201 businesses and one residence and caused some $80 million in damages in Asheville, estimates Terry Summey, Asheville’s Director of Building Safety. Other communities suffered as well, most notably the nearby mill town of Canton where the raging Pigeon River destroyed dozens of homes and […]

Boil Water Advisory lifted for Regional Water Authority customers Sep 22 Potable water served by the Regional Water Authority of Asheville, Buncombe and Henderson Counties system has been restored to near capacity. Samples collected from multiple locations within the system have been analyzed in a state-certified laboratory and found to be free of coliform bacteria. […]