The pains and pleasures of childhood are highlighted in this month’s column. Bill Brooks reviews Jim the Boy, by Rutherfordton native Tony Earley, and storyteller Marcianne Miller reviews children’s audiobooks — for adults. Quote of the month All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they really happened and after you … Read more
Back when I was 10 years old, my buddy Chris and I went to the library one afternoon to find this fabulous book our substitute teacher had told us about. The problem was, we couldn’t remember the title — only that it had the word “red” in it somewhere. Luckily, Chris found The Red Badge … Read more
Ron Meisner and Billy Malone share similar approaches to making art. Yet the results couldn’t be more different. While both create works that are solipsistic, each also draws inspiration from the distinct world that surrounds him. Meisner grew up in Michigan. During the ’70s, he spent eight years in Asheville, earning a B.F.A. at UNCA. … Read more
Jimmie Dale Gilmore watched the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll while growing up in Lubbock, Texas — but he didn’t throw away his Lefty Frizzell records when he discovered the Beatles. As a matter of course, Gilmore has always sought to augment, rather than diminish, his musical options. “To me it’s always one song at … Read more
Local defenders of alternative medicine mobilized last week to stop a piece of legislation that would have turned some practitioners into potential felons. A physician licensure bill in the N.C. General Assembly contained wording that would have made it a felony to practice medicine without a license. Currently, this violation is classed as a misdemeanor. … Read more
When the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency rises from the ashes of the old WNC Regional Air Pollution Control Agency this month, at least one new person will serve on the agency’s five-member board, which is charged with managing WNC’s deteriorating air quality. Asheville and Buncombe County created the new multigovernmental agency after … Read more
He’s 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 178 pounds, sports a broad smile, and wields a handshake that could crush rock. But don’t even think about trying to return Tsao Chin-hui’s crunch grip. His right hand is attached to a million-dollar arm — a $2.2 million arm, to be exact. At least that’s what the … Read more
Board of Commissioners allocates $109,000 for farmland trust It’s official: The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners has designated $109,000 as seed money for the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. The money comes from the county’s recent sale of land along the Blue Ridge Parkway to the nonprofit Conservation Trust for North Carolina. “Give us a year … Read more
The ashes have barely cooled from the firestorm of criticism sparked by a rezoning request from the developers of Crowell Farms — a proposed large-scale development on the west side of town. This time around, however, Asheville City Council heard little opposition to another such proposed development. On June 27, Council members unanimously agreed to … Read more
Gardeners fret over their charges like nervous mothers: Will it rain enough? Will it rain too much? Will it get too hot? Will there be a late frost? For the volunteers and staff of Mountain Area Gardeners In Communities, however, the worry hinged on another kind of green: money. On Aug. 4, the 18-year-old organization … Read more
