Less than three months after saying she would not run for reelection, incumbent Robin Cape announced that she will make a bid as a write-in candidate for Asheville City Council. Cape, who won her seat in 2005, says that she has taken care of the personal and family issues that initially made her pull out … Read more
Buncombe County public-health officials are readying to deal with the possibility that up to 30 or 40 percent of the population will be infected with either seasonal flu or the H1N1 virus at any one time in coming months. "We are preparing for many, many people to be infected," Health Director Gibbie Harris told reporters … Read more
Call it a circus for your brain. Call it an idea explosion with a rock-and-roll vibe. Call it a variety show for nerds, by nerds. No matter how organizer Jennifer Saylor describes it, the TEDx Asheville event set for Aug. 30 at the Orange Peel will do one thing — spotlight the ideas and talents … Read more
An Asheville woman was stabbed to death Aug. 16 outside a Montford home. Police say the killing stemmed from a domestic dispute and have charged Rodney Lamar Robinson with first-degree murder. According to a statement from the Asheville Police Department, officers responded to a call at 72 Woodlawn Ave. that afternoon reporting that "a male … Read more
Firefighter Charles Alexander Diez, facing felony assault charges for allegedly shooting at cyclist Alan Simons's head last month, is no longer employed by the city of Asheville. City staff would not reveal whether Diez was fired or chose to leave. Diez's employment with the Asheville Fire Department ended on Aug. 10, according to Lisa Roth, … Read more
Once upon a time, Asheville had a premier electric-trolley system. Between 1889 and 1934, several private companies operated lines that ran about 40 cars and totaled 18 miles of track. The service linked the main train depot, downtown and surrounding areas. Imagine this: A composite rendering suggests what a modern tram coming up Biltmore Avenue … Read more
He lay against white sheets, a slight figure wasted by disease. Friends came to see him, sat beside him, reached out to touch his arm. They asked whether he was comfortable. Could they get him anything? But he was out of reach now. He had traveled beyond words. To take some of the earliest photos … Read more
Goombay fans have taken in a lot of eclectic world-beat sounds over the years, from African drums to Caribbean grooves. But here's something even the most astute world music fan might not know: The cowbell — that clunky but effective rhythm instrument — doesn't jive with the digital age. "You can take a cowbell and … Read more
The band name Drunken Prayer doesn't actually stem from the time singer/songwriter Morgan Geer and keyboardist Audra Fleming spent holed up in a cabin in California's wine country. It's also not about dogma, though Geer used to front Asheville-based blues-rock outfit The Unholy Trio. "Religious themes work as iconic imagery on an everyday level, without … Read more
If it's true that Asheville is the Paris of the South, then Marshall is more akin to a small town in the South of France, with its picturesque landscape, close-knit community,and laid-back quality of living. Over the past few years, the small historic river town of barely 900 occupants has quietly grown into a thriving … Read more
