Growing downtown: The George Washington Carver Edible Park, maintained by the Bountiful Cities Project. photos by Rebecca Bowe Darcel Eddins reaches up into the sun-speckled branch of a low-hanging tree and plucks off two ripened, juicy yellow fruits. “These are called shiro plums,” she explains. “Would you like to try one?” It’s an offer that’s […]

A seat at the table Despite any differences they may have, the seven sitting members of the Buncombe County Board of Education all have one thing in common: None are students in Buncombe County Schools. 15-year-old Adam King aims to remedy that situation. Since February, he’s been stirring up local interest in adding a student […]

Sofas without borders For travelers whose movements are forever bound to a shoestring budget, nothing quite says “home” like a futon, a couch, or, God help them, a loveseat — however exotic the destination. Answering the need for a cheaper way of seeing the world, a loose network of travelers numbering 70,000 (and growing) was […]

Finding Neverland Imagine: You’re not from here, but you’ve come in search of something. Maybe you’re a well-heeled yuppie or senior citizen from out of state who has read about our fair Asheville wants to hunt antiques. Or, perhaps you’re a bohemian who’s tired of Taos and in search of a new vortex — or […]

Farm women speak The Sustainable Agriculture Program at Warren Wilson College will host Cynthia Vagnetti, who will present her film, Voices of American Farm Women at the school and at Malaprop’s Bookstore and Cafe. The work is a narrative documentary of Upper Midwest farm women who are forging new local-food systems based on biodiverse farming […]

Changing the world one bumper sticker at a time In a world that can seem unfriendly at times, or even downright threatening, reminders to be kind to one another can’t hurt. That’s the idea behind a kindness-bumper-sticker contest that asks folks to come up with a slogan of eight words or less. “When you’re sitting […]

Readers Xpress themselves Amid all the sound and fury over the supposed “war against Christmas,” at least one local newspaper is willing to ask, in good faith, “What does the holiday season mean to you?” This was the question posed to applicants of the 2005 Mountain Xpress Holiday Guide Cover Contest. The response was a […]

Campaign Calendar • Sept. 8 fish fry (Thu): Asheville City Council candidate Keith Thomson is holding a free, open-invitation catfish-fry dinner, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at the Randolph Learning Center (90 Montford Ave., next to the new Asheville Chamber of Commerce). Contact info@keithforasheville.org for more information. • Sept. 12 town hall meeting (Mon): City Council […]

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 […]

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 […]

No progress reported at regional water forum At last week’s public forum on regional water issues, Asheville Mayor Charles Worley and Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chairman Nathan Ramsey took pains to downplay the animosity that has characterized the public exchanges between the two entities of late. But those protestations did little to convince those […]