Last August, Buncombe County mailed out its first tax bills reflecting the new land reevaluations and the new tax rate. After two appeals, taxes [on our property] went up an average of 329 percent. We live on Cisco Mountain, facing the Blue Ridge Parkway, and have enjoyed this land for years. I have hiked all … Read more
A week or so ago my girlfriend and I spent an interesting evening with friends. We were at their house, recuperating from a heavy meal, when the husband switched on the television to a program so outlandish that it nearly blew the back of my head off. I can’t recall the show’s precise title, but … Read more
Cafe on the Square is slated to re-open this week after extensive renovations to its downtown Asheville dining space. The celebrity hangout closed last month to revamp the front-of-the-house. According to a staffer, the plan was to “make things look a little prettier.” A new menu is slated to debut with the new decor. Among … Read more
You already know the work of local artist Stephen Louis Lange—that is, if you’ve dined at Doc Chey or Savoy under the large, lacquered black-and-red mandalas. But, until recently, few (including Lange himself) would have considered the artist to be a fashion designer. “I am an avid cyclist and I find things on the side … Read more
A Feb. 6 fly-over compliments of SouthWings—an Asheville-based nonprofit that provides free flights for conservation organizations and members of the media—gave Mountain Xpress a bird’s-eye view of a few development sites in Buncombe and Madison counties that have spurred controversy in recent months. Volunteer Darwin Jones piloted the four-passenger Cessna, and Louise O’Connor of People … Read more
