These days, you don’t need a phaser or a lightsaber to battle alien invaders. Armed only with gloves, herbicides and some guidance from groups like the Western North Carolina Alliance, local volunteers are laboriously uprooting tenacious bunches of exotic grass and other plants that have taken root in the region’s public lands. Without such efforts, … Read more
Asheville’s resident paranormal expert, Joshua Warren, has written many a book, hosted many a conference, hunted many a ghost. But if he’s getting tired of riding the fringe, it doesn’t show. In fact, he seems more eager than ever to illuminate the strange, and his latest endeavor—the Dark 30 traveling show—does so with help from … Read more
One-stop absentee voting is available now through Oct. 6. Call your Board of Elections for location/information (Buncombe County: 250-4200)—and remember that, effective this year, you may register when you vote during the one-stop period. Sept. 29: Meet Asheville City Council candidates Selina Sullivan and Bill Russell, candidates for, at a family event at Aston Park, … Read more
Depot Street in the River District, already swimming with some of Asheville’s cutting-edge art studios, has a new neighbor with the arrival of the Fine Arts League school and galleries. Home is where the art is: The Fine Arts League has opened its new home on Depot Street. photos by jonathan welch The nonprofit, which … Read more
“When I write, I can shake off all my cares,” wrote Anne Frank on April 5, 1944. Frank’s cares were considerably more than any 14-year-old should ever have to bear: She was in hiding with her family in Holland, having been displaced 11 years before from her home in Germany, and well aware that Germany’s … Read more
Deborah Miles, founder and director of the Center for Diversity Education at UNCA, was recently awarded the 2007 Evan Mahaney Champion of Civil Liberties Award from the Western North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “We are honoring Debbie for conceiving and operating this decade-old program, which has won many awards and wide … Read more
Shedding tiers: Asheville bandwidth to go big time Asheville will soon take a giant leap forward on the information superhighway that will make the area more attractive to high-tech businesses. AT&T’s direct optical-fiber connection between Asheville and Atlanta, slated for completion by the end of the year, will boost the area’s Internet bandwidth capabilities, moving … Read more
There’s a small town nestled somewhere in the mountains that’s known for its pristine forests, its great skiing and its charming culture. The town’s web site proudly proclaims it to be a great place to escape the heat in the summer, and it’s easy to imagine the smiling face of Mayor Terry Bellamy overlooking a … Read more
Not too long ago, eco-minded attire consisted of shapeless pieces of clothing in uninspired shades of clay, putty and oatmeal. To the fashion conscious, earth-friendly clothes held all the appeal of a gunnysack (and not in the sense of Jessica McClintock’s Gunne Sax collection). Hat trick: Reversible wool cap ($55-$150) by Oosss Designs. Luckily, as … Read more
If you like art museums with gimmicky or trendy exhibitions, this is not a good time to go to the Fine Arts Museum at Western Carolina University. There are three exhibitions on display, and all offer serious examples of artistic achievement. Norm Schulman’s “The Ruler,” an engobepainted work in salt-glazed porcelain from 1985. The main … Read more
