Incoming BP CEO: Time...

ASHEVILLE -- A Charlotte company is eyeing the former Deal MotorCars property on Merrimon Avenue as a possible location for a Harris Teeter supermarket.

Recalling Bele Cheres...

It was Bele Chere weekend 1990? 1991?, which also happened to be production weekend at the newspaper. Friday or Saturday afternoon, just around suppertime. Temperature still in the high 80s, hot and high humidity too. The publisher had already half jokingly threatened that anyone who blew off editing weekend might not have a job come Monday. My desk was trapped directly above a kielbasa stand on the street below; there was no air conditioning in that old building, no closing the windows, nowhere to hide from the thick greasy smoke. I maintained a semblance of cool until I heard the intro to ?Lying to the Races,? one of my favorite songs by The Staple Singers who were now playing less than 50 feet from the front steps of the Miles Building. I jumped up, called out, ?I gotta go, I?ll be back!? and ran out into the street to hear the band. Only 50 or so people were there, so there?s room to swing-dance with Robert the …...

Happening now: banjo/uke

The Sugarfoot Serenaders play banjo/uke outside the Mountain Xpress offices Saturday evening. Photo by Michael Muller ...

Proposed ordinance...

A proposed ordinance that would allow considerably more density ? and faster approval ? for green, affordable development saw a reversal last week when the city?s Planning and Zoning Commission voted it down 3-2 and recommended a scaled-down version instead. The rules triggered a debate about exactly how Asheville will pursue the oft-touted goal of sustainability. The ordinance, crafted over two years by the Mayor?s Affordable Housing task force, allows developers to build denser housing than normally allowed by an area?s zoning if it?s considered affordable or sustainable and located in certain areas a quarter-mile from major transit corridors. Exactly how much denser the projects may be depends on how affordable, how green and how close to transit they are. The rules would allow such projects to be directly approved by Planning and Zoning, instead of having to go before Asheville City Council for a vote. However, at the c…...

Former Deal MotorCars...

ASHEVILLE -- A Charlotte company is eyeing the former Deal MotorCars property on Merrimon Avenue as a possible location for a Harris Teeter supermarket.

Twitter coverage: 11th...

This post provides tweet-by-tweet twitter-based coverage of the 11th Annual Asheville Metro Economic Outlook, which took place Wednesday evening, July 28, 2010. For a PDF of the presentation given by Parsec Financial, click here. 4:31 PM @michaelfmuller: I will be live-tweeting tonight?s Economic Outlook Thingy presented by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, starting at 5pm. 4:32 PM @michaelfmuller: It takes place at the Diana Wortham Theatre. The public is invited. 4:58 PM @michaelfmuller: So news editor @mvwilliams and I are safely ensconced in the Diana Wortham Theatre, unlike everyone else ? who are still waiting outside. 5:01 PM @michaelfmuller: We will be covering the Chamber?s Metro Economy Outlook Presentation, presente…...

Asheville man drowns in...

MORGANTON -- The body of a man who drowned in Lake James has been identified as that of an Asheville man.

South French Broad water...

A ?scheduled water interruption? in the South French Broad Avenue area has shut down water to homes, along with the YWCA?s child care center and summer camp. According to YWCA marketing director Ami Worthen, however, the organization received no notice of the interruption beforehand. Shortly after 2 p.m., water returned to the area. ?The City of Asheville Water Resources department has scheduled a water interruption from 8:00 a.m. ? 4:00 p.m. due to a water valve replacement on South French Broad from Bartlett Street to Hilliard Avenue including Vernell Avenue, Swindale Avenue, Phifer Street, Timothy Street and Daily Drive,? an alert on the city?s website declares. Also, two missives over the city?s Twitter account

US expert: China oil...

ASHEVILLE -- A Charlotte company is eyeing the former Deal MotorCars property on Merrimon Avenue as a possible location for a Harris Teeter supermarket.

Wildlife rescue...

MARSHALL, Mich. -- Volunteers and government officers scrambled on Friday to save geese and other wildlife damaged by an oil spill in a southern Michigan river as the Canadian company that owns the ruptured pipeline said the crude had been contained.