Around noon one June day, the urge for a night run hit me, and I dashed off an impromptu e-mail invite to the nearly 900 people on my "WNC adventure" list. Despite the short notice, I hoped a few fellow runners would meet me at the Hard Times Trailhead at Bent Creek. Arriving early, I … Read more
I stand cross-armed, staring at my hollyhocks. It's July. They should be blooming gloriously, but they're not. Why? Garden pests — or, more precisely, weevils, which I thought preferred roots, not leaves. Still, a pest is a pest, no matter what part of the plant it attacks, and this tiny, barely discernible insect has turned … Read more
Oh, Asheville. I love you, Asheville. You are my neighbors and my family. I dance these streets with you, I stand in defiance and celebration with you, I drink to your health, and I care for your well-being. I am from here, and I have never felt more a part of a real community than … Read more
I read with interest the review of Santé written by David Forbes in the July 8 Xpress. The article certainly whetted my appetite to experience this apparently lovely little wine bar. Although it was well-written and offered an enthusiastic endorsement of Santé, I must say that the use of the term "aftertaste" when referring to … Read more
Dear Mr. Collins: I wish you had read my letter more carefully since you completely misrepresented what I had written in yours! [Letters, July 1] I never advocated a complete ban on chaining dogs in my letter, as you asserted — and in fact, I proposed to Council a law that has been met with … Read more
I am writing this in the belief that our municipal government has already received a fiduciary and moral wake-up call in the shadow of the Pack Square debacle. Does Asheville government want to repeat the desecration of our treasured architectural, cultural and historic legacy — which was the dreadful permanent fate of Thomas Wolfe's home … Read more
The forced annexation of Erwin Hills would add additional tax dollars to Woodfin's budget, but offers no reasonable return for these fees. We are left to feel like serfs who are told the king demands a higher tithe. I am not opposed to paying fair taxes, but with a weakened economy, this is not the … Read more
Will someone please stop City Council and their puppet-masters from allowing such horrendously ugly buildings to be built? The iconic tourist expression for our town is Biltmore — as in "built-more," not "build-more." After the ugly butterfly-roof structure on South Lexington, the clunky replacement of the elegant Penny's building on Battery Park Avenue and the … Read more
