Asheville residents may not be aware or care about Duke Energy’s proposed rate hikes for North Carolina homes, businesses, and municipal governments. They should be, especially if and when Duke and Progress Energy merge. … The last 8 percent increase was granted in 2010 by the N.C. Utilities Commission. This time Duke is asking for … Read more
For a bunch of self-proclaimed slack-asses, Kovacs and the Polar Bear have sure had a stellar year: headlining The Grey Eagle, high-profile gigs opening for Tyler Ramsey and War On Drugs, winning a best Music Video Asheville award, slots at Bele Chere and Birmingham's inaugural Secret Stages festival. Oh yeah, and the local Americana band … Read more
Asheville City Council Oct. 11, 2011 meeting City scraps community-media initiative Waneta Street rezoning narrowly approved It wasn't on the agenda, but the Occupy Asheville demonstrators who packed the Asheville City Council chamber on the rainy night of Oct. 11 had a request they wanted met — and pronto. They’d already been camping out at … Read more
Roger Hartley's Oct. 5 letter to Xpress raised a question [“Vote for Marc Hunt — I Already Did”]. Mr. Hartley noted he was "pleased to have voted early in the primaries for Marc Hunt" and signed his letter as a resident of Cullowhee. Has Asheville annexation gone wild or do we have widespread voter fraud? … Read more
1. Why did The Milk Carton Kids decide to make their live album, Retrospect, available as a free download? a. Mercury was in retrograde. b. Their focus group suggested a price of .09 and they rounded down. c. They believe in “try before you buy.” d. It was actually an accident by their (ex) publicist. … Read more
On a rainy primary Tuesday, Asheville voters came out in record-low numbers, handing candidates Marc Hunt, Chris Pelly and Lael Gray the most votes while eliminating Tim Peck and TJ Thomasson from the City Council race. Only 10.07 percent of the city's 64,989 registered voters — a new low — showed up at the polls … Read more
Thanks to the tireless efforts of many local standup comics (some of which write for this very paper’s “Asheville Disclaimer”), we now live in a city where you can go see fantastic local, regional and national comedians every single night of the week. But you wouldn’t know it by reading the Mountain Xpress. I cracked … Read more
Of course everyone wants better schools, including Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, but the question is what A-B Tech really needs and whether or not the current referendum is the best way to get it. Unfortunately, several issues have not been publicized. It is assumed and advertised that the sales-tax increase, if approved, is to be … Read more
Join the WNC Green Building Council for an hour of green trivia at Posana Cafe, 1 Biltmore Ave., on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 5:45 p.m. Questions will cover general knowledge and no expertise is needed. Bring a team, or go solo. Info: http://www.wncgbc.org. The UNCA music department presents an evening of jazz, featuring numerous student … Read more
Last March, I realized everyone’s worst nightmare when a doctor diagnosed my 44-year-old husband, Ben, with a 10-centimeter colo-rectal tumor. Ben had low risk factors. We were stunned and heartbroken. Within two weeks of treatment, we had met our $10,000/year insurance deductible. This could happen to anyone. What if we didn’t have insurance? Ben is … Read more
