Heroes for hire: Buncombe fire services under pressure (Best Of WNC – Part 1)
- Volume 24
- / Issue 3
Cover Design Credit:
Scott Southwick
Cover Photography Credit:
Cindy Kunst
As Buncombe County continues its rapid pace of development, local fire departments are scrambling to keep up. Xpress takes a look at the county’s network of fire departments. Shown here, Lt. James Kelly of Leicester Fire Department.
arts
Connecting cultures with songs of passion
Mariachi music was not initially Acencion Inestroza’s strong suit. He grew up listening to traditional country music from Nicaragua, and played the piano in a salsa band. But it didn’t…Paula Hanke and Peggy Ratusz honor Linda Ronstadt in kickoff of concert series
The “Love is a Rose” performance is both the beginning of a new show and the first in a much larger, more ambitious project for Paula Hanke and Peggy Ratusz.…Smart Bets: Waxahatchee
The Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter plays The Grey Eagle with a full band on Sunday, Aug. 13.Smart Bets: Sweet Knives
The former Lost Sounds bandmates play The Mothlight on Friday, Aug. 11, at 9:30 p.m.The Wilma Dykeman Legacy honors women writers in new lecture series
Kathy Ackerman will be discussing Olive Tilford Dargan as part of a new female-author series sponsored by the Wilma Dykeman Legacy. The program features lectures on five writers — Dargan,…Smart Bets: Entanglements
The multi-media presentation debuts at the Revolve Project Space on Friday, Aug. 11, at 8 p.m.Laugh Your Asheville Off draws performers from across the country
Each night of the festival features a completely different showcase of comics, most of whom are making their first appearance in Asheville. “We keep a very wide revolving door with…Smart Bets: Christopher Swann
The former Asheville resident will discuss his new thriller at Malaprop’s on Thursday, Aug. 10.
food
Legacy of loss, part 2: Food access challenges in Asheville’s Southside community
In the 1970s, changes caused by urban renewal efforts stripped the historically black Southside community of its thriving network of corner stores and markets. Today the neighborhood fights its food…Sharing space: Do children have a place in Asheville’s brewery taprooms?
The family-friendly nature of Asheville area breweries has drawn criticism, but it remains a key part of the local industry's identity.Small bites: Asheville Wine & Food Festival takes it outside
Entering its ninth year, the Asheville Wine & Food Festival will take place at Pack Square Park. Also: Taco Throwdown and Tequila Tasting returns to The Grey Eagle, Table hosts…
living
Open borers
Asheville N.C.
movies
Screen scene: Local film news
The documentary 'Racing Extinction' receives two local screenings, Highland Brewing shows a documentary on the U.S. military’s reduced dependence on fossil fuels and more.
news
Exploring WNC’s mixed role in the Civil War
The Rural Heritage Museum at Mars Hill University's latest exhibit, 'The Civil War in the Southern Highlands: A Human Perspective,' includes 18 panels, dozens of photographs, authentic objects, rare letters,…Book seeks to elicit wonder of Linville Gorge
In this reissue of his 2005 collection of historical and contemporary accounts of Linville Gorge, author Christopher Blake depicts the wildness of a unique place alongside its role in human…Aug. 15 breakfast to introduce farmers to thriving market
While Western North Carolina is already known for producing high-quality medicinal herbs, there's still plenty of potential for growers to get in on the ground floor of a market that…How local fire departments keep residents safe in changing times
As population grows in WNC's once-rural areas, the model of volunteer-based fire and rescue services is giving way to bigger budgets, more training and significant numbers of paid staff. How…Chief Presley retires from Skyland FD amid controversy over families in fire service
Chief Dennis Presley will retire from the Skyland Fire and Rescue Department as of Aug. 20. His announcement came on Aug. 2, the morning after Weston Hall of Black Mountain…Youths of color get chance to visit colleges
An Aug. 13 tour of northeastern colleges and universities could well change the fates of some of the 40 students from marginalized or disadvantaged backgrounds who take part. Now in…Conscious Party: Craft After Dark
WHAT: An after-party to benefit the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design WHEN: Thursday, August 10, 8-10 p.m. WHERE: 67 Broadway WHY: Following the Center for Craft, Creativity and Design’s…
opinion
Letter: Bothwell best choice for Asheville City Council
"The positions that Cecil takes are based on his determination to be a voice for residents and our quality of life."Letter: Vote Kapoor for neighborhood involvement
"If elected, he would advocate for greater involvement of neighborhood representatives in the City Council’s planning and decision-making."Letter: Yoga festival was awesome
"To walk the streets of Asheville and see a rainbow of people engaging in wellness, health and larger discussions of access and change is exactly what we need, right now."Letter: Stop the Atlantic Coast Pipeline!
"This $5.5 billion, 42-inch diameter, 600-mile pipeline carrying fracked gas under high pressure would run from West Virginia through Virginia and across Eastern North Carolina, threatening pristine forests, headwaters, hundreds…Letter: Don’t rewrite history, just get rid of the monuments
"Tolerating monuments such as the Vance obelisk teaches young people that the ownership of slaves was not important and certainly nothing to be considered shameful. But it is important and…Letter: Facts show the Civil War was over slavery
"Finally, if we are to remember our history as it actually happened, we need to place equally large monuments for those who suffered generations of brutal enslavement near every Confederate…
