What a difference a couple of years makes. In 2002, concerns about traffic congestion threatened to derail a massive, highly controversial east Asheville development project. Toward the end of a 14-hour public hearing and Council debate that played out before a standing-room-only crowd that overflowed into three adjacent rooms, however, the developer volunteered to scale … Read more
My daddy played poker on a stump in the woodsBack when the world was grayBefore black and white went and chose up sidesAnd gave a little bit of both their way The only blood that’s any cleanerIs the blood that’s blue or greenerWithout either you just get meanerAnd the blood you gave gives you away. … Read more
• 1955: Sam Phillips introduces the world to Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash through his Memphis-based Sun Records, “and the money came in sacks.” (from “Carl Perkins’ Cadillac,” The Dirty South) • 1962: One of “The Three Great Alabama Icons,” George Wallace, wins his first term as governor in a landslide victory. “He’s … Read more
“I’m so glad I don’t have to choose …” sighs longtime Asheville Symphony fan Robyn Leslie. Like most of the Symphony’s audience, she’s been on the fence for a while — about whom to select for next conductor. With the departure of the beloved Robert Hart Baker, who recently completed a 22-season tenure with the … Read more
Syprian Harvey’s Web site — you’ll find a link for it at www.ashevilleart.net — is not a place for the faint of heart. The site opens with an old photograph of Appalachian Hall, referred to as Asheville Asylum. It may be clear to an Asheville resident that the asylum and attendant story are fictions — … Read more
Views Willie Nelson, Thursday, Nov. 4; Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Willie for President? Believe it or not, a stellar, post-election performance from the unwavering, lovable outlaw made a staunch case for the merits of a Willie Nelson White House. In our increasingly divided modern America, nobody’s better suited than Willie to transcend the gargantuan chasms splitting … Read more
“This isn’t just chips and dips,” announces Stephanie Smith of local PR firm The Brite Agency. She’s talking about the highly social, heavily hors d’oeuvres-ed and ostentatiously French-themed Nouveau Night, a popular local event that attracts light drinkers in droves. “Since Asheville is known as the Paris of the South, we go all out for … Read more
“I guarantee, no matter how liberal or how conservative [someone is], I can find probably at least five or six issues that person will agree with us on.” — Jennifer Rudinger, executive director, ACLU of North Carolina Jennifer Rudinger is eating hot biscuits at the home of a friend in the beautiful Reems Creek Valley, … Read more
“Our orders were, ‘Don’t worry about where [Brian Medford] goes,’ even if he came in at 1 a.m. We were told, ‘Don’t worry about what’s in his locker.’” — Capt. Don Fraser, former jail annex supervisor (now retired) The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department’s hiring of Brian K. Medford, the sheriff’s son, four years ago appears … Read more
