A former baseball field at Asheville’s Pisgah View Apartments is finding new life as a community garden. The project has brought together activists, educators, students, Warren Wilson College, UNCA and local businesses. Let’s play ball? No, let’s plant beans: Volunteers (from left to right) Mellasia Skyes, Mattie Smith, Gwen Jamison, Shannon Zambricki, Robert White and … Read more
Versus vampires: Garlic growers take note – garlic geek Tom Sherry of Whistlepig Farm in Hominy Valley offers these harvest hints. On average, garlic should be harvested when the outer three or four leaves are brown. Harvest earlier if you plan to store the garlic for months, harvest later if you plan to eat it … Read more
Roan if you want to: The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy will host a half-day hike through the Highlands of Roan on Saturday, July 10, beginning at 10 a.m. The hike will follow the Appalachian Trail from Carver’s Gap to Big Grassy Bald, taking in stretches of spruce-fir forest and Roan’s globally rare grassy-bald ecosystem. The … Read more
Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover, as the terrific new barbecue book by Raleigh News and Observer columnist Fred Thompson proves. The cover of Barbecue Nation: 350 Hot-Off-The-Grill, Tried-And-True Recipes from America’s Backyard features a gorgeous USA-shaped steak on a grill. And since Thompson will be at Malaprop’s this Friday, July 6, … Read more
The shocking irony of the Asheville City Council’s recent actions wasn’t lost on me—or, I am sure, on many other residents of our fair city. First they passed an ordinance prohibiting gated communities. This was ostensibly an effort to bring our community together by fostering a climate of inclusiveness. Then, in the next breath, they … Read more
This is a complicated issue, so bear with me. (Also, if anyone knows more about this, feel free to educate me.) Traditional radio and satellite radio are losing market share to innovative services responding to market demand such as Pandora, which I subscribe to for $12 per year. Pandora allows me to create radio stations … Read more
I very much enjoyed Stewart David’s letter [“Green Barbecue?,” June 20] regarding your article [“Chew on This,” June 6]. I, for one—being new to the state—did not know that pigs outnumber people in North Carolina (though I did know we were No. 2 pork producers, after Iowa). Given this information, is it not amazing what … Read more
I tried to get tickets to the Pumpkins show too, and along with so many others, my browser crashed that fateful Sunday. Since I had a gun show to attend, I gave up. A week later, I was commiserating with a friend and business associate at the Mountain Xpress, saying how perfect the B-52’s would … Read more
I am writing in response to your review of Harvest Restaurant [“Harvest: East Asheville Restaurant Still Needs to Ripen,” June 20]. First, in the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I am an employee and so have a vested interest in seeing us portrayed fairly in print. Overall, I found your article to … Read more
I was pleased to see Steve Shanafelt’s blurb about my new CD, “Walkin’ to the Bridge” [“Culture Watch,” June 27]. However, the article contained two factual errors that I would like to correct. First, Ryan Cavanaugh tours with sax player Bill Evans, but Bill Evans does not appear on “Walkin’ to the Bridge.” Second, Nathan … Read more
