Letter: On the edge of brilliance

“And the accent should be on breathtaking, inspirational beauty, on community, on relaxation and wonder. Education may be an ad hoc book club meeting in the open space under a tree, housing in an extremely complementary way could develop well down the line beyond the edge of the park and retail, drawn to the beauty of the space (but not within it), would naturally provide opportunities and fill some needs without defacing the inherent beauty of a gorgeous space.”

Asheville City Council preview: dueling futures

As a renewed push to move the Interstate 26 connector forward continues, Asheville City Council gets its turn on Tuesday, March 25, to consider a joint resolution seeking to make the long-delayed highway overhaul a reality, even as a number of community groups vocally oppose the plan. Council will also consider what to do with vacant property on Haywood Street across from the Basilica of St. Lawrence, another contentious issue.

What happened to Pack Memorial Library?

When did Pack Memorial Library become a daytime shelter for ex-cons and strung-out drug abusers? Surely, a diverse mix is wonderful and an Asheville tradition, but this is nothing like that. There is no mix of children and everyday families and business people there. All I ever see, daily, are downtrodden, strung-out and scary-looking thugs […]

Lost and found

After many years of visiting from New Orleans, we arrived in Asheville in September of 1981, finally ready to make it our home. Once again we were struck by the skeletal remains of a once-vibrant city now barely connected to its illustrious past, except for a mishmash of glorious but unkempt early-20th-century architecture. But even […]