Day: July 20, 2010
“Broadband killer” is dead
Legislation that would have temporarily restricted local governments’ ability to get into the Internet and cable TV business died in the wee hours of July 10, shortly before the General Assembly adjourned for the year. By Michael Muller Hailed by proponents as a necessary measure to preserve free-market competition and assailed by critics as an … Read more
The great Bele Chere and Twitter debates
With the approach of Bele Chere, Ashevilleans have once again taken up one of their favorite pastimes: debating the benefits and drawbacks of hosting the biggest free street festival in the Southeast. Last week, Xpress staffer David Forbes provided a forum for readers to vent with his online post "Bele Chere: Boon or Burden?" In … Read more
URTV: Channel vision
Depending on who you talk to, URTV is either facing imminent shutdown or adequately funded through next June. In the space of a few weeks, representatives of the public-access channel have given widely conflicting accounts of its financial status. “We’ll be out of money as of August,” Executive Director Pat Garlinghouse stated early last month … Read more
URTV: “Mistrust and discontent”
Among other things, Buncombe County’s audit of the public-access channel’s finances and organizational structure” concluded that “Contrary to the May 2009 URTV bylaws and expectations of both the county and city governments, URTV has failed to adequately understand and comply with open-meeting law.” Released July 12, the report goes on to note, “This is an … Read more
The Biz
A steady stream of curiosity seekers seem to be wondering just exactly what’s going on in the vacant space at the corner of Patton and French Broad Avenues in Asheville, across from the Federal Building. You wouldn’t know it from all the people stopping by, but the new shop isn’t quite open for business yet, … Read more
The Buzz: The end of suburbia
Ever ponder what life would be like without your car, a large grocery store with countless food items from around the globe, and dozens of box stores providing every gizmo you might need at any moment — much of it shipped from China? The group Transition Asheville does, and they have a plan. In this … Read more
The Green Scene: Preserving the future while holding on to the past
July 29 marks graduation from AmeriCorps Project Conserve for 22 environmental enthusiasts who have been serving at 14 different environmental organizations throughout Western North Carolina. Take me to the river: AmeriCorps Project Conserve members Eric Chance, Josephine Butler, Maureen Halsema and Rebecca Childress gathered a truckload of trash along the Watauga River during an AmeriCorps … Read more
A better live band
After capturing the world’s attention with The Trinity Sessions in 1988, Cowboy Junkies have continued to reinvent the music they love. Their new, independently-released album, Renmin Park, is the first in a series of four coming over the next 18 months, and includes Chinese rock star and album art from a prominent painter/physicist. (The second … Read more
Junker’s Blues
Our Story So Far: Exhausted from a late Friday night but unable to sleep, the semi-delirious junker has been wandering around Smiley’s Flea Market early Saturday morning in a state of heightened anxiety, turning small decisions into huge dramas fraught with apparent significance no sane individual would give them. While the junker is checking out … Read more
