Buncombe County commissioners wrapped up their Sept. 7 meeting in less than an hour. Among the actions they took and reports they heard was this tidbit: Commuters are the county’s second-largest source of carbon emissions, making up 18 percent of the total. More than 90 percent of county employs drive to work, averaging a roundtrip of almost 28 miles. In other actions and reports…
The spirit of unity behind the Black Mountain Asheville Rastafari Collective runs deep. So deep, in fact, that the small local group was able to unite some of the biggest names in reggae — Bunny Wailer, Damian and Stephen Marley, and Ras Michael — to share the stage for the first time ever. The collective … Read more
Is it overstatement to say that late ‘80s/early ‘90s-era outfit The Pixies invented alternative rock? The sound that Nirvana pushed into the mainstream began largely with them, and hundreds of bands owe credit. Kurt Cobain was often quoted saying The Pixies’ first full-length album Surfer Rosa was his favorite all-time record and greatest influence. The … Read more
Mountain State Fair Fall’s chilly nights signal a host of seasonal treats, and after the apple harvest, the first and finest may be the state fair. With its bounty of oversized vegetables, its stable of farm animals, its midway rides and its fair-only fare (fried Snickers bars, anyone?), the N.C. Mountain State Fair is nine … Read more
“It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself, ‘Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?’” — Carl Sandburg From Big Glassy overlook at Connemara (now the Carl … Read more
In our Sept. 1 election story, "The Race Is Not Necessarily to the Swift," we incorrectly identified attorney William Christy as president of the local bar association. Christy is instead the president of the 28th Judicial District Bar, which is part of the North Carolina State Bar, the agency responsible for regulating the practice of … Read more
In the heat of a financial crisis that has started eating away at our few remaining luxuries, like a few local beers or some new sporting gear, nobody wants to hear about other people's problems. Still, grave injustice can be seen through thousands of windshields during rush-hour traffic near the junction of interstates 240 and … Read more
The former CTS plant and an adjacent Mills Gap Road property have moved one halting step closer to being named a Superfund site. On Sept. 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will consider proposing that the contaminated properties be added to the National Priorities List of hazardous-waste sites. A formal decision won’t … Read more
Two days after downtown Asheville was the scene of a two-and-a-half hour standoff between police and a man from South Carolina, big trucks arrived at the renovated Pack Memorial Library: “The Books Are Back,” Mountain Xpress staff photographer Jonathan Welch reported in a Thursday, Sept. 2 blog post. But earlier in the week… All’s well … Read more
On Sept. 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it’s considering proposing the former CTS electroplating plant in south Asheville and a related Mills Gap Road site for possible inclusion in the National Priorities (Superfund) List. Area residents have reported numerous health problems, and Xpress spoke recently with one of them, Gabe Dunsmith, who’s … Read more
