“If you like bluegrass, it’s just like a paradise.” That’s Bluegrass First Class co-founder and producer Milton Harkey’s take on the festival, now in its fourth year at Asheville’s Great Smokies Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. “We wanted something that people could come to [at] this time of year, an indoor event where people could come … Read more
There’s something touching about nine brothers and sisters liking each other enough to record a best-selling CD together — never mind incessantly touring in close quarters and still managing to get along. Far from being just a latter-day Celtic Brady Bunch, however, the four brothers and five sisters that comprise Canada’s Leahy (it’s their last … Read more
Todd Pasternack’s laugh takes on an eerie life of its own. At one point in a recent phone interview, the Ominous Seapods’ newest member lets his rampant guffaw feed on its own energy for a full five minutes before he once again becomes its master — by which time the guitarist has nearly forgotten what … Read more
Lawyers didn’t get an ounce of respect during Council’s Feb. 9 debate on proposed changes to Asheville’s personnel policy. City Human Resources Director Jeff Richardson brought nine amendments to the policy before Council members — such as allowing department heads to grant vacation time to probationary employees (under the old policy, new employees had to … Read more
[This is part one of a two-part series on this year’s City Council retreat.] You could call Asheville City Council’s annual weekend retreat a bonding ritual, of sorts: Council members and city staff sit through 15 hours of reports, charts (and more charts), oft-tangled discussions, and decision-making (or, sometimes, not). Between the meetings, they eat, … Read more
