Live and Learn

"The legendary 1998 season, when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire competed to break Roger Maris’ home run record, serves as an impeccable backdrop for This Dark Road to Mercy, the…

Among the forms of musical youth are The School of Rock (both the movie and the institution where young musicians learn the finer points of shredding) and the 27 Club…

It's been a year and a half since Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, the king of kid-hop, left Asheville for sunny California. Where, perhaps surprisingly, his days are not filled with…

“When explaining Listen to This: Stories in Performance to newcomers, I will often describe it as This American Life life onstage but with better reception and more beer,” says local…

Blue-collar Don is the father of the star pitcher and veteran coach; Michael is the timid newcomer who wants a special activity for his comparatively unathletic son. Scott Treadway and…

Kim Shattuck definitely wasn’t the first bassist to be terminated unceremoniously. The firings and infighting that go on within bands easily rival the Hollywood drama that each week fills up…

Most of us have taken a tumble or two down the YouTube rabbit hole. We know how a seemingly innocuous, two-minute laughing baby video can turn into a two-hour time…

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design christened its new space at 67 Broadway St. with an opening reception and inaugural exhibition, Taking Shape: Celebrating the Windgate Fellowship. The center’s Friday,…

In the basement of a large house in Boone, a young band of self-proclaimed weirdos regularly draws an enthusiastic crowd. The musicians wail on their instruments. And disrobe. The band’s…

When Sommer Collier was teaching third grade at Jenks Elementary in Tulsa, Okla., it’s a safe bet she didn't see herself running a commercially competitive food blog and having companies…

For more than a thousand years, northern Asian cultures have beaten the harsh cold and brutal snow storms of winter with warming dishes such as steaming soups and stews, peppery…

Editor’s note: In her new regular column The Family Kitchen, Asheville yoga instructor and parent Mado Hesselink will explore ways for families to eat a healthy diet on a budget.…

A-B Tech wins statewide competition Five A-B Tech students recently snagged first place and a gold medal during the statewide Hot Food Team Culinary Competition, earning them a trip to…

Catawba adapts to Asheville The first brewery opening of the year is anything but business as usual. SIDEBAR: Highland Night Flight Highland Brewing Co. has come up with a way…

Local seniors learn skills and discover friendships in the garden.

Local organizations improve our health through education.

In our Live and Learn issue (on stands Jan. 29) we shine a light on MANNA FoodBank’s Packs for Kid’s program, explore how seniors are keeping themselves sharp in the…

The latest round in a long-running neighborhood dispute highlights the uneasy truce between the conflicting aims of environmental protection and development. On Jan. 11, heavy rains pounded Asheville. But in…

Fingers snapped and echoed across UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Hall on Jan. 23 as Marc Bamuthi Joseph spoke in rhythm and rhyme about hate, greed, neglect and ignorance. Capping off UNCA’s…

It's impossible to discuss the health of a community without also discussing the food we eat. And when it comes to making healthy food more widely available for the underserved…

What would it take for us to be the healthiest, safest community in the nation? Research tells us that health and safety are shaped by the communities we live in…

Our experiences in early childhood shape our lives. When children are exposed to severe, frequent stress it shapes their future health and safety. Research tells us that when a child…

When it comes to services for children and adults with autism, Asheville offers an array of resources from vocational programs to mentoring to support for families. However, according to Sylvia…

With prospects of a special tax to fund a downtown Business Improvement District unlikely, the city announced Jan. 24, that the Asheville Downtown Improvement District’s board was going dormant. According…

Area known for prostitution sees improvement

I want to respond to your recent pieces on the Interstate 26 Connector [“Big Ideas,” Jan. 8 and “Connecting,” Jan. 15, Xpress]. Your first piece described the Connector as a…

We appreciate the Mountain Xpress’ acknowledgement of unconscious bias in the recent “Big Ideas” history of Asheville (Jan. 8-15). And we accept Xpress’ offer to engage the community in “ongoing…

In response to the last week’s letter, “Mountain Mobility Can Do More” [Jan. 22 Xpress]: There is a lack of connectability for people who do not have access to automobiles…

I will preface the following comments with the full disclosure that I’m a white male. I sincerely appreciate and back constructive efforts on everyone’s part to erase social injustice such…

The publisher and managing editor reply: Our Big Ideas package was not meant to comprehensive. We aimed to offer a sampling of big ideas — and a short, historical timeline…