For Xpress‘ 2004 primary-election coverage, our reporters asked the candidates a number of questions. We used a grid format in our print edition, publishing condensed answers to 10 questions that we thought would be most helpful to voters. Here are the expanded responses from the two candidates vying in the Democratic primary for a shot […]

BC 2004 Sure, Bele Chere is about to turn a venerable 26 — but if you think that means this year’s festival is going to be the same old same old, you better reboot that ol’ gray matter. Here’s the shortlist of some of the new takes on old favorites — and outright firsts — […]

Local film hits LA Many of the cast and crew of the locally-made 35mm feature film Sinkhole were on hand in Los Angeles recently for the film’s world premiere at the Dances With Films festival, a showcase for films with “no names, no politics, no bullsh*t.” It was an awesome experience, says director (and one-time […]

Task force takes aim at downtown problems The Downtown Social Issues Task Force will unveil its revised recommendations for dealing with graffiti, public drunkenness and panhandling at a public meeting on Wednesday June 30 at the Pack Place Forum (4:30-7 p.m.). After a series of presentations explaining its recommendations, the task force will hear public […]

Cooling off the elderly It’s only June and already the temperatures are exceeding 80 degrees on a regular basis. We all feel the heat and humidity, but the elderly are particularly vulnerable to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Fortunately, Operation Fan-Heat Relief is now underway across North Carolina. Managed through the Division of Aging and […]

Step into the past What if you could go back in time and talk to a notable American, someone who had a real influence on our country’s culture and history? What would you say to them? You can get a taste of what that might be like at this year’s Buncombe County Chautauqua, which runs […]

Naked in Asheville Billed as “the world’s largest naked event since the dawn of the textile industry” by its organizers, the World Naked Bike Ride is coming to Asheville. In 25 cities in 10 different countries, naked bike riders are expected to take to the streets on Saturday, June 12 as a “protest [against] oil […]

Friends in deed For more than a quarter-century now, the Land-of-Sky Regional Council has been recognizing organizations and individuals who’ve made a significant contribution to restoring and enhancing the French Broad River. The 28th annual Friends of the River Dinner — part of this year’s French Broad River Month celebration — happens Tuesday, June 8, […]

A community report card An upcoming State of Our Community Meeting, co-hosted by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and VISION, will give area residents a chance to check in with local leaders on how things are going, explains Betz Bigelow, director of the nonprofit Asheville-Buncombe VISION. This free community event takes place Thursday, May […]

Power to the people If the World War III turns out to be an amorphous battle with a tactic labeled “terrorism,” then what might be the fourth? Award-winning filmmakers Richard Rowley and Jacqueline Soohen (Zapatista, Black and Gold, This Is What Democracy Looks Like) have been to the front lines in Argentina, Korea, Iraq, Mexico, […]

TLC for women with cancer As a breast-cancer survivor, Susie Tarantino knows the importance of a little self-pampering. “As women, we tend to focus on everyone else’s needs,” she notes. To help correct this imbalance, Tarantino (who owns the concierge service TLC) and Teresa Bennett (who owns Vanity Flair, a new day spa) have paired […]

The lost canines A lot of folks adopt wolf dogs because they think they’re “cool.” All too often, however, these people aren’t willing or able to give their new pets the special care and training they need. As a result, 50 to 80 percent of wolf dogs born each year will end up dead or […]

Buncombe Dems say no to eight lanes Buncombe County Democrats are taking a stand. The Buncombe County Democratic Party held its annual convention April 17, and besides selecting delegates to the district and state conventions (to be held later this year), the assembly endorsed a series of resolutions, including: support for a $7/hour minimum wage; […]

Help for homeless veterans About one-third of the adult homeless population has served in the armed forces, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. On any given day, says the agency, as many as 250,000 veterans are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point […]

Asheville hears a Who The sneetches and blummers liked Geisel a lotAnd who in the whole ville of Asheville does not?He gave us strange birds and strange cakes in the ovenThe 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins,Green Eggs and Ham, the Grinch and the zummer,Books we all read on the knees of our mummers.Dr. Seuss comes […]

Beacon blaze left mammoth mess It was the biggest fire in Western North Carolina’s history. Now, seven months later, about all that’s left of the Beacon Manufacturing plant in Swannanoa is 57,000 tons of still-smoldering debris. And someone’s got to clean it up. “It’s very difficult to comprehend the absolute scale of destruction we’ve got […]

Putting the party in politics A renewed sense of participatory democracy seems to be running loose in our land. Some trace this resurgence to the halted Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election, while others credit the global antiwar movement that coalesced before the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Internet is surely playing a role […]

Climbing dogs and trampolines The award-winning films from the 2003 Banff Mountain Film Festival — a celebration of outdoor adventuring — feature some unlikely subjects. Front Range Freaks: Biscuit profiles a small Jack Russell terrier with a big appetite for rock climbing. Extreme Tramping — The Lord of the Springs is a mockumentary that follows […]

War and peace One year to the day after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, concerned citizens will take to the streets in cities around the world for a “Global Day of Action for Peace and an End to War and Occupation” on Saturday, March 20. Here in North Carolina, two large marches/rallies are planned, one […]

Xpress: Still desperately seeking new feeding grounds … There’s nothing quite so bleak as the yawning chasm of an empty refrigerator when you don’t feel like cooking. But here at Mountain Xpress, we feel your pain. Each year, Xpress publishes Blue Ridge Flavors, a print guide to dining and summer fun in Western North Carolina. […]