A single tablespoon of garden soil contains billions of bacteria, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. That’s right: billions. Furthermore, research conducted in the last two decades has revealed that bacteria inhabit every stratum of rock as deep as drills have penetrated. These hypersuccessful, single-celled beings are critically involved in all other life on earth: The … Read more
Panhandling is about more than homelessness. … The homeless make up only a very small percentage of the people panhandling on our downtown streets. I was both encouraged and disheartened by the recent feature article “Homesick: the Many Faces of Homelessness in Asheville” (Aug. 2 Xpress). On the one hand, it was gratifying to see … Read more
Bartram’s should take a walk No doubt the Buncombe County Planning Board has the growth interests of the community at heart, but they have, in my opinion, made a judgment error in granting Town Mountain Road access to the Bartram’s Walk developer. Town Mountain Road is a two-lane [one for each direction] route that snakes … Read more
Welcome back, Margaret Writer Margaret W. Worley (1858-1923) roamed North Carolina’s mountains with a pen in one pocket and a squirrel in another. The squirrel became the star of a children’s book she wrote in 1904 called Little Mitchell: The Story of a Mountain Squirrel. The pen she used to write The Carolina Mountains, a … Read more
“Everybody up here is not in favor of this development. … It is frustrating to be up here and find we can do nothing.” — Commissioner David Young A packed place: More than 100 residents voiced opposition to the Bartram’s Walk development at the Aug. 15 Board of Commissioners meeting. Upward of 100 irate residents … Read more
Bill Holbrook of Haywood County’s Bethel community checks his crop of bell peppers. Photos by Kent Priestley The Sandy Mush community, 20 miles northwest of Asheville, is the sort of place that would make a real-estate broker’s hands sweat and twitch. A broad, creek-lined valley floor nudges up against the Newfound Mountains, whose cloak of … Read more
“Right now it’s not an overwhelming problem.” — Police Chief William Hogan on crimes committed by illegal immigrants Despite a less-than-warm reception last month, Council member Carl Mumpower once again urged his colleagues to beef up policing of illegal immigrants in Asheville and the people who employ them. But at the Aug. 16 work session, … Read more
Here’s a complete list of the workshops and other special programs at the expo. One-hour presentations are included in the ticket price; intensive half-day workshops have a separate admission charge (see below). For times and locations, consult the S.E.E. scheduled presentations at: www.seeexpo.com/schedule.html. One-hour presentations “ALL PERSPECTIVES”: FAIR AND BALANCEDJoin the Energy at the Crossroads … Read more
If you think cruising around in a gas-guzzling Hummer represents real American values, then you might be surprised by the motto for the sixth annual Southern Energy & Environment Expo: “The Power of Patriotism — Sustainable Living for a Strong America.” But to Ned Ryan Doyle, the S.E.E. Expo’s jovial and energetic father, there’s an … Read more
Drama in real life: If your young’uns’ fingers are sore from all that Xbox action, send ’em down to the river for some real-time survival training. Asheville-based Wolf Creek Adventures, Inc. is offering a one-day course in river safety and rescue on Sept. 9 at the Ledges River Park on the French Broad River. The … Read more
