Day: October 29, 2008
The Dirt: Do not disturb
Like my garden, if I don’t go dormant every now and then, I may one day grind to a halt and quit. In Botany for Gardeners, Brian Capon explains what dormancy is, and I love the definition so much, I occasionally paraphrase it for my husband, saying: “I am currently dormant. My physiological activities are … Read more
Door to door
At press time, most polls showed the race between Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain extremely close in North Carolina. The state’s electoral votes have gone to Republicans in every presidential race since 1976. But Obama has organized extensively in the state, and the global economic crunch has changed the political landscape. … Read more
Put it in ink
A U.S. president can serve a maximum of eight years in the White House, but a tattoo is forever. Despite that fact, or perhaps because of it, Oakley resident T.J. Thomasson had a portrait of presidential candidate Barack Obama emblazoned on his arm. Done in blue and red, the visage was designed by tattoo artist … Read more
Palin roars through Asheville
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin attacked Sen. Barack Obama in a fiery Oct. 26 speech in the Asheville Civic Center arena, branding the Democratic presidential candidate “Barack the wealth-spreader.” The Republican vice presidential nominee also told a crowd of thousands that she and Sen. John McCain would cut taxes. Photo by Jonathan Welch “If you are … Read more
Campaign calendar
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. There are two extremely important things to remember when you cast your ballot, whether it’s during early voting or on Election Day: 1. Voting a straight-party ticket will not include the presidential race or the nonpartisan contests. You must mark your choices in those races separately. … Read more
Voting by the numbers
The focus on voter registration this year seems to be paying off locally—for Democrats anyway. Since early February, 14,415 new voters have registered in Buncombe County, according to statistics released Oct. 21 by the Board of Elections. The vast majority (98 percent) of those new voters registered as either Democrats (7,355) or unaffiliated (6,765). A … Read more
Biz: Safe havens
With all the turmoil and confusion in the financial sector, it’s easy to believe that the carnage is endemic. But while the pall of doom is all too real, not every financial institution is in peril. Give them credit: While the banking and financial sectors are in a shambles, relatively cautious, conservative credit unions and … Read more
