A man committed suicide by jumping off the Smokey Park Bridge this week. Should Xpress have published his name?
Innsbruck Mall: Take an Xpress tour and give us your thoughts
In early July, we heard that World Magazine, a Christian publication, was moving from its longtime location at Innsbruck Mall on Tunnel Road near downtown Asheville. Readers (and tweeters) subsequently asked whether the mall might be closing. Assigned to look into it, I decided to first take a tour.
Who you callin’ quirky, hipster?
Sometimes you just can’t take another fluffy and out-of-touch Asheville travel piece.
Early summer scenics
Scenic summertime photos around Western North Carolina.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
City holding phone book recycling program through August 18 …. Who uses them anymore?
According to a post from this past Wednesday on the city of Asheville’s blog, the city is partnering with AT&T and Curbside Management for a phone-book recycling drive at each of Asheville’s 11 community centers. The drive is also a contest between the centers to see who can recycle the most phone books. All of that sounds great. How many outdated phone books are out there just waiting for the day when some bored soul throws them out after deciding on a whim to do a little spring cleaning? In 2011, who really uses phone books anymore?
The blueberries are here: Early season fruit
On a hot muggy Saturday, I headed into Sandy Mush to pick blueberries at the Longbranch Environmental Education Center — a mountainside community whose residents might be mowing their grass, tending to American Chestnut saplings or composing letters to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
photos by Margaret Williams
Citizens Hardware Do It Best at 310 Weaverville Highway to close August 31
Xpress has confirmed that the Citizens Hardware Do It Best store on 310 Weaverville Highway will close its doors on August 31. The store’s owner says that details on the closing will be coming later in the month. Citizens Hardware was established in Asheville in 1941.
The dividing line: On Raleigh’s rules and local rancor
Standing in that room, surrounded by angry local government officials, I realized that the dividing line — or lack thereof — between state and local power would remain an issue for years to come. It still is.
Redistricting: By-the-number breakdown
The proposed 11th Congressional District, which includes the city of Asheville, would lose almost 9,000 registered Democrats and gain more than 26,000 Republicans, according to stats released on the North Carolina General Assembly website.
Rep. Shuler reportedly considering athletic director job at UT Knoxville
Tony Basilio, host of the The Edge radio program on WVLZ radio in Knoxville, TN, is reporting that Western North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler is considering taking a job as the athletic director of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he gained national attention as a top quarterback in the early 1990s. What do you think? Does this seem like a job that Rep. Shuler would potentially leave his congressional seat for?
Buncombe commissioners set to buy vacant Volvo plant for $7 million; but should they?
With the economy in the doldrums and real estate market in the pits, this might a great time to pick up a bargain. But for a new industrial plant? And is real estate investment the proper role of our county government?
Is North Carolina at risk? Apple’s data center reportedly uses protomatter quantum computers UPDATED
Apple Computer is using protomatter to run quantum computers at its North Carolina data center? “While many ethical scientists may consider proto-matter too dangerous and unstable to use, it can be very helpful at solving certain problems when it’s stable,” says former Apple employee Joe Moreno, who says experimental work is happening at the Hickory data center.
Springtime scenics in the Blue Ridge
Photographs of spring along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
VegHeads Drive-Thru is open
Quick thoughts from the first day of business
—Photo by Jonathan Welch
HATCH Photography: An intern’s view of light and darkness
Xpress intern Forrest McDonald attended a HATCH photography show. Here are a few of his photos of the event, and a short reflection on the experience.
Jerry Nelson’s Morning View: Sandy Mush
Local photographer Jerry Nelson joined a recent SouthWings flight over Western North Carolina and took this shot of the Sandy Mush community in Buncombe County. The area was suggested as a possible repository for nuclear waste 30 years ago, and more recently, with the recent closure of Yucca Mountain out west, some local residents are asking, “Is Sandy Mush back on the table for discussion?”
Street food beat: the new hot dog king?
Hardcastle Handmade Hot Dogs have hit downtown
—Photos by Mackensy Lunsford
Sunday’s lone flute
Lee Pate, Asheville Resident, practices his flute playing under the Interstate 240 Overpass on North Lexington at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, March 20. Pate says the acoustics caused by the concrete help him to hear the notes clearer. I don’t know about that. But there is something hauntingly beautiful about flute sounds in the wee morning hours on a deserted street.
photo by Jerry Nelson
Random musings about the Asheville food scene
As more and more great food comes to Asheville — and our local chefs continue to explore what’s available to them — it’s hard not to get excited. Here are a few observations from the weekend.
Warren Wilson College River Trail
Photographs made on the Warren Wilson College River Trail along the Swannanoa River.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
Quick Bites: Food news to go in very tiny portions.
A few culinary notes gathered from wandering around downtown Asheville on a pretty day.