Shootout by kayak: Watch the region’s best pro and amateur freestyle kayakers duke it out for $5,000 worth of prizes Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23 and 24, at the NOC/Dagger Freestyle Shootout. Hosted by the Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City, the contest resembles skateboarding—on water. Instead of using a half-pipe, kayakers maneuver on river … Read more
Dripolator: Asheville’s Dripolator has vastly expanded its breakfast offerings in a menu makeover that debuted last month. Available selections now include a breakfast burrito, spinach-and-goat-cheese frittata and an focaccia breakfast sandwich featuring blackened tomatoes, all made with local eggs from Farside Farms. The lunch menu has also been revamped: While the devastatingly delicious Freakwich of … Read more
As an eight-year resident of Flat Top Mountain in Fairview, I have witnessed many changes and much development along our scenic byways and mountain lands. The Cliffs at High Carolina will be historic not only for Buncombe County (as the largest development ever), but for residents of Flat Top Mountain and the Spring Mountain communities … Read more
So after all is said and done, the people who were put in charge of the welfare of the citizens of Asheville and the county have—to no one’s surprise—sold us out to the highest bidders. While elected officials are still haggling and hedging on the Parkside fiasco [and] Stewart Coleman threatens and holds the city … Read more
The two articles on downtown development in the recent Xpress were interesting on their own, but also in their opposing recommendations [“A House Divided” and “Going Up?,” Aug. 6]. The master plan called for different development guidelines for different areas and called for maintaining the “Traditional Downtown” for local retail, arts, government etc. It would … Read more
I have not read yet why a valued piece of land on the common green was sold without any public notice beforehand. Also, I would be interested in learning who actually signed off on the sale and why he (she) has not been fired by this time. I have sent several different letters to City … Read more
I’ve decided that they need to rename Biltmore’s “Summer Evening Concert Series” to the Biltmore “Summer Evening Sit-Down Series.” What is it about concerts at Biltmore, and why does everyone insist on sitting down? Is it a wine-and-cheese crowd, or have they just not had enough local beer or Biltmore wine yet to put them … Read more
During The Davids’ happy-hour set at the French Broad Brewery, mastermind David Clegg announces that the band isn’t really in its element. This is scary, because even sandwiched between the copper kegs and playing to a crowd of the work-weary, The Davids are a gale force. An alcohol and angst-fueled trio of heartbreak, irony and … Read more
Twenty-two acres of forest waste from a speculative-grading project is ready to be burned. This project is a 22-acre speculative-grading project that will leave about 10 acres usable, with the remaining acreage in man-made steep slopes. The forest has been basically cleared down to the flour-dry dirt. All organic matter has been pushed into piles … Read more
The city of Asheville and Buncombe County are no strangers to the use of eminent domain. As you reported [“A House Divided: Community at Odds over Downtown Master Plan,” Aug. 6], the city’s African-American community is well aware that “[ i ]n the 1970s, hundreds of buildings around the Southside Avenue and Valley Street (now … Read more
