In an era when governments are often criticized for being too secretive or unresponsive, it can be quite a surprise to discover the myriad ways Asheville city government seeks to keep the flow of information open. In fact, the city’s Community Relations division puts customer service at the top of its list, according to staffers. … Read more
Freelance commercial copywriter Dalton Griner moved to Western North Carolina more than two years ago, figuring he’d settle in “these amazing mountains” to inspire and energize his writing. Flush with contract work from a handful of small national firms, Griner envisioned an idyllic life spent working at his computer at night while spending his days … Read more
Two weeks before his Parkside project was due to come before City Council in what promised to be a contentious public hearing, developer Stewart Coleman lopped two stories off the design. Beneath the bar: Originally planned as an 11-story condominium building (above), the developer now proposes a nine-story design (below) — a move that reduces … Read more
Asheville is a beer town. If there was any doubt before, there’s none since the Wedge Brewing Co., Asheville’s newest microbrewery, opened its doors last week to a thirsty horde ready to lap up the latest offerings in hand-crafted beer. A new taste in town: Beer fans flooded the recent opening of the Wedge Brewing … Read more
You don’t have to be a dam expert to realize that the new Bee Tree Reservoir holds a whole lot of water (more than 520 million gallons, actually). Dormant for nearly 10 years before its April 25, 2008, reopening, Bee Tree was the city’s primary drinking-water source for more than a quarter-century. After that it … Read more
An expert is a person from more than 50 miles away with a briefcase. Recently the city of Asheville hired a group of experts called Goody Clancy all the way from Boston, Mass., to tell us what we should do with our downtown in order to appease our no-growth activists. It seems like we go … Read more
At a time when the life span of a mayfly exceeds that of most Hollywood marriages, even the most devoted fans can hardly expect their favorite band to make it to the leather anniversary. After all, with battling personalities, power struggles and suffocatingly close quarters, bands are like the ultimate adventures in matrimony—and perhaps even … Read more
It has been said that great success comes with great compromise. But how far are we willing to go to achieve our professional goals? From Shakespeare’s tragic Macbeth to Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the temptation to sacrifice morality for the sake of success continues to be a compelling theme for the stage. … Read more
Hard work eventually pays off—that’s a mantra in the world of independent music. Bands that have been around for years still struggle just to get a few pairs of feet through a club’s doors, and a night’s hard work can often result in barely enough cash to gas up the van and trudge on to … Read more
Remember going to a concert and having a true musical experience? Your ears rattled, your bones quivered, and while you weren’t quite sure exactly what happened, you knew that you heard—or perhaps felt—a show that can’t be easily replicated by listening to a CD or watching a music video. You’ve had one of those rare … Read more
