Keep writing, I’m reloading courtesy Pack Memorial Library For most contemporary readers, the biggest affront posed by Thomas Wolfe’s 1930 novel, Look Homeward, Angel, is its length. Back in the day, however, Wolfe’s less-than-charitable treatment of his parents, siblings and townspeople in the book provoked anger and indignation. “How could he?” was an oft-heard wail … Read more
The price of a parade: The city of Asheville charged the organizers of this May 1 rally $1,500 in fees — a sum challenged in a new federal lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union is going head to head with the city of Asheville in a dispute over parade permit fees. The ACLU maintains that … Read more
Grab your clippers!: Trim water sprouts on trees now while the plant energy is moving into the roots. Come springtime, sap and energy rise back up into the plant, and trimming may actually encourage water-sprout growth. Mums the word: The North Carolina Chrysanthemum Society hosts its annual show at the North Carolina Arboretum on Saturday … Read more
Some of our Asheville neighbors are paying more than three times as much for their water-and-sewer service as other city residents. If that weren’t enough of a disadvantage, those neighbors live in a mobile-home park, many are surviving on minimum-wage jobs, and others are disabled seniors. When a proposed Wal-Mart project threatened to displace the … Read more
One potato, two potato, new potato, purple potato? When we lived in Florida, organic produce wasn’t really on my radar. Occasionally I would notice an organic item or two in the produce section while shopping. Here in Western North Carolina, organic products are ubiquitous — local grocery stores carry organic cleaning agents, organic dog treats … Read more
Bump-and-grind traffic’s not so calming Jerry Sternberg is so right about traffic-calming devices. They make me mad too! [“Round and Round We Go,” Oct. 11 Commentary]. In addition to the points he mentioned — public streets belong to everyone, requests for such devices are random — there are a few more problems with traffic humps … Read more
Walking the walk: WNCAP Educator Michael Harney, in the foreground; counter-clockwise are Women and Youth Coordinator Emmaleigh Argonauta and volunteers Mike Fann, Mark Jones, Allison Elliott and Terry Sferlazza. photo by Jonathan Welch A quarter-century ago, an unnamed disease began afflicting gay men in urban centers such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. … Read more
“Money doesn’t come from a magic bucket. It comes from people’s pockets.” — Council member Carl Mumpower The consent agenda is supposed to be a list of noncontroversial items that can be dispensed with via a single vote at the beginning of an Asheville City Council meeting. But on Oct. 10, discussion of the consent … Read more
Dueling memos: American Whitewater plans to appeal a federal judge’s decision to throw out a lawsuit the Cullowhee-based group brought against the U.S. Forest Service last year, which sought to open the upper Chattooga River to boating. In 1985 the USFS banned watercraft from the river’s 21-mile headwaters, making it the only river with a … Read more
photo by Cecil Bothwell Dusk is settling into the Madison County landscape as we glide along in our double-ducky. Just ahead we spy a sharply defined line in the smooth flow, spanning the river from shore to shore. The sound of rushing water builds to a steady roar. And then we’re into it, a class … Read more
