In its first meeting since Aug. 16, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners considered and then postponed voting on amendments that would increase the number of public-comment sessions scheduled during regular meetings. The matter will be reconsidered during the board’s upcoming retreat in West Asheville’s Kress Conference Center (at press time, the retreat was scheduled … Read more
On the heels of last month’s postponement, the Asheville City Council once again voted to hold off on a rezoning decision that could allow construction of a large retirement village atop Beaucatcher Mountain. At the Sept. 27 formal session, attorney Craig Justus, representing Brownlyn Associates (which now owns and is seeking to develop the property), … Read more
Gardeners grow through their gardening experiences. Most of us start out with annuals — the miraculous trip from a little envelope of seeds to plants that sprawl halfway across the yard, bearing flowers or fruit, before they finally succumb to frost. Gradually we begin to see the benefit of perennial flowers, in terms of hours … Read more
Farewell, Beanstreets: Beanstreets Coffeehouse Cafe, long an Asheville staple and recipient of numerous awards in the yearly Xpress readers’ poll, has closed. A handwritten note posted on the front door thanks loyal customers for 12 years of business, and then states simply, “We have to go now,” but then hints at the possibility of a … Read more
CD reviews Patrick Fitzsimons, Hoo Daddy: Three Stars Genre(s): Acoustic blues, ragtime You’ll like it if: You prefer albums that showcase the artist and not studio wizardry. Defining song: “Walking Shoes” -The last song — and one of four originals on the 14 cuts — is the savior of the record, propelling it out of … Read more
“For me, everything is kind of political, but in a way, everything isn’t,” announces Brazilian Girls vocalist Sabina Sciubba. She’s just woken from a nap, and — according to bassist Jesse Murphy — sounds a bit like a crusty Italian fisherman. Sciubba (pronounced Shoo-ba) explains that the group’s song “Pussy” is about, well, “exactly what … Read more
Gala, the Russian-born muse who beguiled Salvador Dali, had a knack for cultivating feisty love triangles: Before dallying with Dali and Spanish writer Frederico Garcia Lorca, she spent three years in an intimate marriage-a-trois with French poet Paul Eluard and German painter Max Ernst. Gala had “the libido of an electric eel,” wrote one of … Read more
