Drug commish field trip Asheville’s Pisgah View Apartments public-housing complex is a quiet place in the afternoon when school’s in session. But as members of the Asheville-Buncombe Drug Commission took a short walking tour of the place following their brief Sept. 26 meeting at the complex’s community center, the beautiful autumn day belied the dangers … Read more
“Everyone loves apples: Democrats and Republicans, saints and sinners,” says Tom Brown, a noted heritage-apple hunter based in Clemmons, N.C. If Brown’s right, Western North Carolina must have traditionally observed a veritable love fest every autumn. Not so long ago, Buncombe County and environs were still home to numerous apple orchards. Wilma Penland and Gerri … Read more
There are places on this earth with a value far beyond anything you could ever build on them. No mosquitoes, no ticks and cool, pleasant weather. Apart from the fact that I had to crawl through a rhododendron hell for an hour and spend the day up to my ankles in muck, the trip to … Read more
When you do try to get involved in matters affecting your own neighborhood, you get some sympathetic nods but no relief. These are hard times for citizens, regardless of where your loyalties lie. The amount of information coming at you is overwhelming, time is short, and when you do try to get involved in matters … Read more
Surrendering to peace This past Sept. 11, I participated in a wonderful event in Pritchard Park called Peace on Earth Peace with Earth. It was attended by an estimated 700 people, who were writing a new story for human presence on Earth. It marked and celebrated the work and the life of Gandhi. It was … Read more
Egged on by the torrent of e-mails and phone calls that had gone out to rally the faithful in the preceding days, an overflow crowd of real estate agents, developers and environmental activists showed up for a Sept. 27 public hearing on Buncombe County’s proposed storm-water-control ordinance. The hearing was part of a Buncombe County … Read more
The imminent closing of New Vistas-Mountain Laurel’s doors could leave thousands of local mental-health patients without immediate treatment options. The closure represents the latest fallout from a multiyear, multistage process that began in 2001, when state lawmakers decided to reinvent a flawed but operational health-care safety net that had for years been responsible for ensuring … Read more
Members of Asheville and Buncombe County’s new public-access TV station, URTV, are still smarting from the departure of its general manager, Kurt Mann, last month. Last Thursday afternoon a number of them gave the station’s board of directors a talking-to on the matter, voicing support for Mann and the job he was doing, and calling … Read more
The Asheville City Council narrowly shot down a proposed revision to the Unified Development Ordinance that would have allowed cell towers in high-density residential areas. The new language, said Urban Planner Shannon Tuch, included provisions that the towers be disguised and not be too close to residential buildings. But affordable-housing advocates on Council maintained that … Read more
No reporter is an island: Xpress’ own Cecil Bothwell will be leading some low-impact water tours with the alliterative name “First Fridays at Four on the French Broad,” beginning Oct. 6. The family-friendly forays (sorry, Cecil) depart from the park under the Haywood Road Bridge (on Riverside Drive) and wind up at Woodfin Riverside Park. … Read more
