When it comes to emergency preparedness, organizations and agencies in Asheville and Buncombe County are stepping up their efforts to enhance existing services, add new capabilities and run tests to see how well prepared we really are. This Xpress cover story examines some of the issues surrounding local preparedness. • Buncombe County has put together … Read more
Belve Marks as Benedick and Mickey Hanley as Beatrice in the Montford Park Players’ 2007 production of Much Ado About Nothing The Montford Park Players is North Carolina’s longest running Shakespeare festival. It has grown for the past 36 years due to its entertaining and educational quality productions of Shakespeare and other great playwrights, its … Read more
An analysis by the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry has found no evidence of cancer clusters in the immediate area surrounding the former CTS of Asheville site. But the small sample size places sharp limits on the reliability of the conclusions, researchers caution. And other types of studies being undertaken now may yield a more … Read more
They were on full alert in the building just off City/County Plaza that houses Asheville’s Police and Fire departments. Preparing for the worst, extra staff was on board, equipment was at the ready, and the Emergency Operations Command Center had its supplemental communications systems fired up. In short, both departments were on standby for disaster. … Read more
When Vision Media Television first contacted Leslie Richard, who runs The Öko Box (a small eco-fashion business) out of her home, she was interested. So sue me … : Local eco-fashion designer Leslie Richard in her home, which doubles as her shop. She’s the target of a $20 million lawsuit by a Florida media company. … Read more
Last year, Leicester resident Valeria Watson-Doost submitted a letter to Mountain Xpress about an historic building in West Asheville’s Burton Street neighborhood that was slated for demolition (see “Wrecking Ball Swings Toward Asheville Black History,” Letters, May 15, 2007). “I did research on the building … and found out that it was built in 1924 … Read more
Asheville’s first major public outdoor sculpture exhibition will move out of the city, its organizers recently announced. The third annual RiverSculpture will be held in Woodfin at Reynolds Mountain, north of the city limits, instead of on the river in West Asheville. Sculpting a new home: A map of the site in Woodfin where the … Read more
An Aug. 6 letter from developer Stewart Coleman to protesters beneath a magnolia tree at the heart of the Parkside controversy effectively gave notice that Coleman plans to cut the tree down sometime after 35 days from that date. Made in the shade: Dixie Deerman, aka Lady Passion, speaks at a press conference held in … Read more
County approves freeze on creating new staff positions A referendum on electing Buncombe County commissioners by district will not be on the ballot come November. A motion by Chair Nathan Ramsey calling for a referendum on both district elections and expanding the board to seven members failed when no one would second it during the … Read more
Asheville and environs are used to gathering national acclaim: America’s favorite highway. Top 10 greatest places to live. Best place to retire. Home of a world-famous ecovillage? Earthy all around: A gathering at Earthaven Ecovillage in Black Mountain. Courtesy Joshua Canter According to Joshua Canter, co-leader of the Asheville Communities Network and a consultant and … Read more
