Former Xpress advertising director Wanda Edney recalls the early years of the newspaper’s growth in WNC.
Road hog: The I-26 Disconnector
“But while small portions of the road do appear to be much-needed transformations, will we now turn away in disgust and denial over what we’re doing to the people, animals and environments that will be most dreadfully affected?”
Home sweet homeless: The Gospel According to Jerry
“I recently sat down with Sheriff Quentin Miller, one of our outstanding public servants and community leaders, who’s proposed a very promising solution to this problem — and it’s sitting right under our noses.”
My Story: You can’t see what lies round the bend
“Realizing that some people might assume I disliked the preacher due to his religious views, I included this sentence in the book’s acknowledgements: ‘I don’t believe in supernatural beings of any stripe, and I happily acknowledge that I could be wrong.’”
Embracing GIMBY — goodness in my backyard
“Like many people living in harmonious communities that are under constant assault, I don’t object to more neighbors per se — as long as the proper roads, sidewalks, tree buffers and infrastructure are in place before the first tree is cut, the first scoop of dirt moved, and as long as horrific decisions aren’t rushed and/or driven by panic or greed.”
The astonishing world of forest fungi
“But for all the botanical diversity these mountains are renowned for, there are roughly twice as many known species of local fungi as there are plants.”
Passing the torch: A Jew in Asheville
“Another watershed moment in the evolution of Jewish social acceptance came in 1992, when the Biltmore Forest Country Club accepted its first Jewish member.”
Let’s make the city’s pop-up parks permanent
“With the city bond proposal and some rigorous assertion of eminent domain, we could fight back against this myopic system and turn all these properties into permanent, beautiful parks — or some other development with big green spaces and little crowding.”
Changing minds: A Jew in Asheville
“I knew he was a member of the Asheville Country Club. So, seizing the moment while we were waiting in the car, I raised the delicate issue of the club’s deliberate exclusion of Jews.”
What happens if UNC dismantles diversity programs?
“In academia, DEI crosses multiple disciplines, and in the real world, as in our classrooms, DEI is about learning to pass the mic.”
Should we just stop building?
“Yet what of that distinguished legacy is reflected in our current and utterly unremarkable boom?”
Pondering waste in its many forms
“The onslaught started a few months ago, when my partner and I joined the City of Asheville’s composting program. The chore of taking our slop bucket to the East Asheville Library branch has been a revelation — of maggots.”
My Story: Paddling upstream in the Amazon (b)rainforest
“I am a modestly successful author of 17 books, only one of which ever generated a steady income. (Hence the modesty.)”
High times in the ’70s: A Jew in Asheville
“For the next 24 hours, we had armed agents guarding the gate and the driveway, and lookouts toting automatic weapons were posted on the roof.”
Why I can’t support the Woodfin de-annexation request
“The decision to begin collecting a stormwater fee was made because, prior to 2019 and 2020, Woodfin had essentially just gotten away with not satisfying the mandatory obligations of its MS4 permit.”
Pulling pandemic weeds as time stretched wide
“Each March since 2020, the ivyleaf speedwell has returned and reminded me of a time of simplicity, anxiety, joy and boredom.”
HCA critics may not realize they’re also shareholders
“Recently, there has been a local movement to buy individual shares of HCA stock and submit a shareholder resolution to address the company’s profit-first business strategy at Mission.”
In defense of challenge: How tackling hard things benefits us all
“So here’s my challenge: Let’s find ways to regularly challenge ourselves in good ways and let’s encourage others around us to do the same.”
The turbulent ’60s: A Jew in Asheville
“Meanwhile, despite the new respect that worldwide Jewry received after the war, antisemitism continued to rear its ugly head in Asheville, as demonstrated by two stories that community members shared with me.”
An Asheville ‘leaver’ checks in
“In fact, much of the ire now being aimed at the TDA — and tourism in general — merely echoes concerns about the tourism of a century ago, and the mismanagement and negligence of city government back then.”
Artist Connie Bostic made her mark on Asheville
“Asheville lost one of its greatest when Connie Bostic died last month. Connie was a creator, and Asheville was her beneficiary.”