New Life Journal, a monthly Asheville publication that focuses on green living and natural healing, recently alerted advertisers that it was closing due to the economy. "It is with great sadness and difficulty that I write … to inform you that due to current economic circumstances I must discontinue the publication and distribution of New … Read more
Hamming it up for plastic Did you know that every second, 100 plastic bottles are thrown away in North Carolina? And that one in five plastic bottles doesn't get recycled? Those are just two reasons state legislators passed a bill that bans plastic bottles from landfills. The law took affect on Oct. 1, and during … Read more
Back in the day, Xpress rewarded its reader-voted Best of WNC winners with (curb your enthusiasm) a plaque. That's cool and all, but most of us would agree that nothing says "Congratulations!" quite like a big fat party. So, last year Xpress got thinking, not only is the Best of WNC winners circle populated by talented folks, but when we're talking musicians, artists, dancers, chefs, bakers and brew masters, we're pretty much talking about a ready-made celebration. Food, drink and entertainment: The only missing ingredient is an audience to enjoy the revelry.
The Osmonds were on to something with "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock N' Roll." And cheesy as they may be, that sentiment pretty well covers the lineup at the Grey Eagle Saturday. Brooklyn's Andy Friedman and the Golden Winners share the stage with Asheville's raucous Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed and … Read more
"Something about this town drew us here as musicians; now we're going to be part of the soundtrack to this town," says singer/songwriter Oso Rey. It's true that Asheville grooves to its own beat, like the snippets of buskers and the drum circle and music flowing from bars as you walk by. If a musician … Read more
They should put huge, bright-colored condoms on all those phallic symbols standing in front of the Buncombe County Courthouse on the old City/County Plaza to remind the public what the Pack Square Conservancy has done to the community. This $8-million project to turn a park into a park has already cost $16 million in public … Read more
Mr. Joe Connolly, Buncombe County attorney, informed the attendees at the Aug. 5 commissioner's meeting that North Carolina has a law prohibiting residents from voting on the zoning issue. What he said is true, but he didn't go far enough. In spite of this law, we did vote on zoning in 1999 and set a … Read more
Deceptively pretty mass-produced desserts have done a great job raising diners' expectations — but they've also corroded their sugar-coated instincts. In the late 1980s, a certain ubiquitous restaurant-supply company started hawking fully loaded cheesecakes and candy-stuccoed tortes. Remember Snickers Pie? It looked great under glass: Every mathematically pre-sliced piece was exactly the same size as … Read more
The last time I was lost in a cornfield, I earned a billion superficial skin nicks while running through the field's sharp-edged, leafy clutches. Though I'm now less prone to such boyhood misadventures, my 7-year-old daughter, Maeve, recently inspired me to take a fall corn-maze excursion in Western North Carolina. Where o' where to go? … Read more
