Mountain Xpress 02.10.21

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 28 FEB. 10-16, 2021

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C ONTENT S

WELLNESS

10 ‘HOPE AND A WISH’ Multiagency collaboration seeks to stop gun violence

16 OUTPATIENT OPTIMISM Antibody therapy comes to WNC COVID-19 patients

GREEN

NEWS

FEATURES

18 NEW GREEN-BUILDING CERTIFICATIONS Plus: Agreement on coal ash cleanup costs; OGS Spring Conference goes online; more

PAGE 20 BACKLASH BLUES Jazz artist Nina Simone — who was born in Tryon and educated at Asheville’s Allen High School — kept up a lively correspondence with poet Langston Hughes in the 1960s. New research is uncovering more information about the artistic exchange.

COVER PHOTO Courtesy of NoordHollands Archief / Fotoburo de Boer COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick

4 LETTERS 4 CARTOON: MOLTON

A&C

7 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN 24 AROUND TOWN The latest history talks, art exhibits and poetry contests

8 COMMENTARY 10 NEWS 12 BUNCOMBE BEAT

A&C

15 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 25 WINE, DINE, EAT CHOCOLATE Love conquers all as Valentine’s Day dining options adapt

16 WELLNESS 18 GREEN ROUNDUP 20 ARTS & CULTURE

A&C

30 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 26 FOUR-PART HARMONY Local artists release new albums

30 CLASSIFIEDS 31 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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OPINION

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.

Thank you, COVID-19 relief team So much seems off in the world right now that I want to acknowledge something going in a good direction with a heartfelt “thank you” to the entire Buncombe COVID relief team.

From the web managers and call center agents, to the meeters and greeters, the registration folks, the people administering vaccines, the supervising physicians and all the other folks involved in implementing and managing this effort at A-B Tech and Reynolds High School, you are showing the rest of the country how to effectively run a mass vaccination program that serves many hundreds of people every day.

From published reports and conversations with friends elsewhere, you definitely rolled out Buncombe County’s program well ahead of other areas in the country in terms of shots in the arm. That means our community will be able to save more lives and get back on its feet faster down the road as well.

As of [Feb. 1], the county has lost 263 people to this pandemic. We will lose more before this letter is published. The lives of the families and friends they leave behind are forever transformed. There is no Normal. We are all Covidweary. But your efforts — coupled with a continuing commitment by everyone else to mask up, wash up and keep themselves and others safe — will hopefully turn the tide.

So take a bow, all of you, for a job well done so far and please keep up the good work!

— Mike Breck Asheville

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The repurposing of the Vance Monument would present an opportunity, not only for learning, but also to add yet another layer to the history and growth of this community.

As Sandra Kilgore states, the repurposed monument could “provide a new narrative” toward a much-needed unification.

— Karen Burt Coker Asheville

More support can be tapped to reject Raytheon

C A RT O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N

Repurposing monument would offer chance for learning, growth I am writing in response to Sandra Kilgore’s thoughtful opinion piece, “Full Circle: Can Repurposing the Vance Monument Help Heal the Divide in Asheville?” [Jan. 27, Xpress].

Kilgore makes excellent and well-supported points in regard to the Vance Monument, many of which I find myself in agreement with.

Having lived in New Orleans, I am familiar with the disillusionment and consequent division citizens face when confronted with the loss of a landmark that has been ingrained into their identities.

Many people, like myself, have come to the shameful realization that landmarks they previously regarded as little more than references for street directions or the quirky eccentricities

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of past citizens are actually symbols of pain and oppression to others.

While I understand the desire to dispense with the cause of the pain by getting rid of the monument, I agree with Ms. Kilgore’s point about the advantages of repurposing the Vance Monument.

We study history in order to learn from mistakes. When something is gone, we tend to forget, but when we have reminders around us, we are more likely to remember the lesson to be learned.

The Vance Monument has been a part of the history of Asheville since 1898 and over that time has acquired many more layers of history than the memory of the avowed racist and white supremacist Zebulon Vance. Ms. Kilgore provides strong examples of this, including the positive symbolism of an obelisk and the probable construction of the monument by men of color.

Thank you for that informative and mostly balanced Mark Barrett article about Buncombe’s new Pratt & Whitney/Raytheon F-35-parts factory [“Controversial Choices: Debating the Pratt & Whitney Project,” Jan. 20, Xpress]. However, there were areas where Mr. Barrett’s reporting was not so balanced. They include: 1. His conclusion that “opposition appears to be well short of the numbers that would be needed to persuade [county] commissioners to change course.” Yet Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Tulsi Gabbard got over 55% of the vote in the Buncombe County Democratic primary in 2020, according to USA Today, and those candidates all wanted to drastically cut the military budget. This would have likely included the $1.5 trillion F-35 program.

So many of those voters, [34,461] to be exact, could be possible recruits by the Reject Raytheon Coalition.

There’s no great hurry to mobilize them because the plant can be stopped at any time in its construction or production, and county commissioners can be voted out of office every two to four years.

2. Mr. Barrett cites Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman’s contention “that rejecting the plant would have no ‘direct bearing’ on military spend-

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OPI N I ON

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.

ing,” yet doesn’t provide an alternative perspective. The national Democratic Party has a strong minority that’s in favor of drastically cutting the military budget as is proven by the 34% of its voters supporting Sanders, Warren or Gabbard in the overall Democratic primary totals. A Gallup poll conducted in February 2020 reports that 51% of Democrats think that the U.S. spends too much on defense.

Buncombe’s rejection of the Raytheon plant would add power to this movement — especially if it could garner coverage by the national media. If for some reason, the Reject Raytheon Coalition is unable to mobilize the tens of thousands of Sanders/ Warren/Gabbard voters in Buncombe County, there’s still one saving grace.

As Mr. Barrett points out, only 20% of the plant production will be used to make the F-35 parts.

Does that mean that if America uses our F-35 parts on one of the planes to fight unnecessary or immoral wars, we Buncombe citizens will only be 20% responsible for the carnage? Keep in mind that 20% of anything harmful is still 100% harmful.

— Lorrie Streifel Asheville Editor’s note: We always appreciate receiving feedback from our readers.

Regarding the points raised in the letter, writer Mark Barrett offers this response: “It is speculative to say support for Sanders, Warren and Gabbard will translate into county residents persuading commissioners to withdraw their welcome of Pratt & Whitney, which would involve reneging on an agreement to provide

incentives. Omitting their vote totals in the Democratic primary does not indicate a lack of balance. Even one of the opponents said in the story he thinks the incentives are ‘a done deal.’

“The story does not explore the consequences of possible national media coverage of a change in stance by commissioners. It does provide an alternative perspective to Newman’s by quoting plant opponents as saying the commissioners’ vote bolsters the military-industrial complex, explaining why they believe that and why they object.”

Teaching peace: an opportunity for a better future The coronavirus has made it crystal clear that we stand at this time and place on the fragile threshold of moving beyond the industrial age into a new world. This time of crisis can be used to bring our nation and the world into a new relationship, hopefully stronger, more democratic and caring.

In the midst of this uncertainty, the local Veterans for Peace and other local groups still vigil nonviolently at Vance Monument to create an awareness for peace and justice. For example, local groups celebrated the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that came into force on Jan. 22. It bans the development, testing, production, manufacture and acquisition or stockpiling nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Not only “use of” but also the threat of the use are illegal.

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CARTOON BY BRENT BROWN At least 61 nations signed the treaty.

The United States has yet to sign it.

Let us teach peacemaking in our schools and include it in our way of life. We must develop an environment in our schools that includes the development of mind, body and heart — encouraging artistic creativity, which is one of the most important factors in enabling humans to reach their full potential.

We can advocate for courses at every level from fourth grade through college that focus on the legacy of slavery, discrimination, classism and social issues that have an ongoing impact on the lives of all of us today. We need to teach and inspire our young to create a “caring society” that has the strength and empathy to respond to such problems as we face today.

My experiences with local high school and college students here in Asheville are encouraging. I am encouraged by the intelligence and insights of the students. It gives me hope for the future, but we adults also need to educate ourselves and become informed. There is an obvious need to reinvent education, politics, economics, the media and, yes, even religion.

Once again, I encourage parents and teachers, and all citizens to focus on our future legacy to our children.

We can focus on a way of life that teaches and inspires our young to create a “caring society” informed by

democratic ideals — otherwise we will remain trapped in a system of power without compassion or morality, strength without empathy and uninformed citizens.

All of us may not be able to actively participate in nonviolent demonstrations or study history and social issues, but each of us can practice kindness and some form of prayer and meditation to develop an inner peace within ourselves.

Without peace at home, all the hard work, vision and hope for a functioning government and economic security will overwhelm our struggle to survive. Democracy requires a united active participation to respond to our multiple problems. This requires the practice of peace, justice, empathy and compassion* to support families, teachers, the caring profession and our neighbors. No small act of caring is wasted. (*Compassion that is not based on feeling pity for others. This involves an awareness of our shared independence and obligation to help one another.)

Let us all give thanks for these days of crisis and opportunity for the capacity to unite the human community to work for peace and justice through loving kindness in the midst of our polarized country.

— Ed Sacco Asheville MOUNTAINX.COM

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OPINION

Behind the mask

community behind a face covering.

That’s not being canceled; that’s asking for respect that should be offered freely.

What it means to date — and not date — in Asheville right now

BY JODI WALKER

Hi! My name is Jodi, and about eight months before the pandemic hit, I transitioned my life as a single, freelance journalist living far from home in New York City, to a single, freelance journalist living closer to home in Asheville.

I understand how local residents feel about outsiders coming in and swinging our big, girthy opinions around with little regard for how life went on before we moved our vintage hat collections down from Brooklyn. However, being single, lonely and simmering with surface-level horniness during a global pandemic is a topic I feel uniquely qualified to comment on.

It’s also a topic that, until recently, I had no idea could be perceived so differently by another Brooklynitecum (or not, as it were)-Ashevillean [“From a Distance: What I’ve Learned About Dating in Asheville During a Pandemic,” Jan. 6, Xpress, annual Humor issue]. And, frankly, I’m feeling a little defensive of my new town, my gender and humor at large.

BROOKLYN TO ASHEVILLE

In Brooklyn, I had two roommates and an apartment so tight that we had to store our suitcases on top of the refrigerator. In Asheville, I have a porch, a kitchen big enough to lay down a yoga mat and a newfound passion for bear sightings. So, I’d call that a net positive. Still, it was difficult going into lockdown in a new city where none of my casual cocktail dates had yet revealed themselves to be a suitable quarantine cuff. But I took solace in the fact that keeping myself socially distanced from others meant that I was keeping my new community safe.

Because over the last year and a half, Asheville has shared its mountain views, its wide sidewalks and its single men with me — and in return, I have tried not to berate its citizens for neglecting to offer me casual sex during a pandemic.

Don’t get me wrong, I would like to maintain casual relationships 8

FEB. 10-16, 2021

during quarantine. In a vulnerable moment, I recently admitted to some friends that I thought my house was being haunted by a very specific ghost who had thrice turned on a bedside gadget of mine in the middle of the night. I still have no explanation for that, but the way they laughed in my face makes me think that it’s at least proof that pandemic-related horniness can be funny.

PANDEMIC WITHIN A PANDEMIC Of course, the very first time I noticed this pandemic within a pandemic for the unlaid among us was as early as May when every single man I had ever exposed one collar bone to texted me in unison to see, and I quote, “What’s up?”

And what was up, reader?

Why, our collective libidos, of course. Because I think all single Ashevilleans can at least agree that being alone during a pandemic isn’t easy. I’d say the mental strain of not seeing loved ones and bearing the constant oppressive weight of an unknowable deadly virus are the biggest challenges — but not getting laid is definitely the funniest part of it.

What’s not funny, however, is the suggestion that anyone has a right to sex, tangential to a partner who desires to have it with them, particularly during a pandemic.

Declaring mistreatment because one’s own desires aren’t being met is called entitlement, and it’s unlikely to charm the pants off anyone, no matter the city in which you’re swiping right.

APPLES TO APPLES

From my own perspective as a cisgender straight white woman, the quality of dating in Asheville isn’t much different from anywhere else I’ve ever lived. Because being a straight woman on Bumble, Hinge or Tinder means consistently weeding through a small group of men who feel entitled to your time and attention simply because they

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JODI WALKER saw your photo scroll across their screen. These guys seem sure that it’s my job — the job of a stranger!

— to protect their egos from feeling rejected, ignored or undesired.

But that’s where they’re wrong.

My job is to write jokes about The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, an altogether more bizarre task, and yet a more fun and tenable one than risking my health to offer strangers the suggestion of sex during a pandemic. Any rejection or lack of interest is not a personal attack but simply a reflection of my own needs and desires, which stand the potential to be different from someone else’s on account of me being an autonomous human.

(Wild, if true.)

But once you’ve weeded that group out, you’re left with the many, many men who respect women as individuals right here in our special city. Men who, amid a pandemic, understand that someone else’s choice to put a pause on meeting in person has nothing to do with them; who understand that their mounting horniness is actually just a fun new character trope to explore, rather than the fault of someone else (women) or something else (Asheville).

I would never suggest that someone has to take the exact same COVID-19 precautions as I. But I would also request that they not take my precautions as a personal attack against their happiness, nor that they time travel to 2004 to call women “butterfaces getting away with murder” for protecting their

A HEALTHY OUTLOOK

For me, keeping a healthy outlook about dating during a pandemic — and more recently, not dating during a pandemic — has meant readjusting my expectations. Pandemic dating is never going to be as effortless as messaging someone “hey” at noon and taking them home by midnight.

There’s nothing chill about asking someone for a detailed list of how many people they’ve recently gotten within 6 feet of before you grab a masked margarita together.

If there is a faultless pandemic dater, I’m not her. I admit to keeping my app accounts live, despite knowing that I’m not currently prepared to take on the physical risk of dating in Asheville while temperatures limit social distancing opportunities. So, what could occasionally lead me to fire up an app that shows me pretty pictures of men scaling nearby mountains, and more often than not, holding fish? I guess just that distinct brand of loneliness that mounts after logging off an energetic Zoom gathering only to find yourself instantly alone, not in the mood to watch Bridgerton and not quite ready to face the ghost haunting your bed.

Pandemic-related isolation is hard, and it’s only natural to want some sympathy for one’s hardships. If that sympathy isn’t granted, it’s completely reasonable to feel a little sorry for yourself.

But once that’s done, well — the options are endless. You might get laid, you might write an insightful essay, or you might even manage to do both.

Who knows, maybe in four-14 months when I’m named The Last Person on Earth to Get Vaccinated, there could be a line of men at my door so aroused by my thinly veiled rage that they can’t wait to date me IRL. But probably not. So, until then, let’s keep hope alive, kiss entitlement goodbye and recognize that the thirst is very, very real right now.

Jodi Walker is a freelance pop culture journalist getting away with absolute murder behind her CDCrecommended mask. You can find her writing all over the internet and in her newsletter at jodi.substack.com. X

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9

NEWS

‘Hope and a wish’

Multiagency collaboration seeks to stop gun violence

BY MOLLY HORAK mhorak@mountainx.com Can rising gun violence in Asheville be stopped in its tracks by roughly $200,000 of funding supporting a year of on-the-ground programming?

Probably not. But that doesn’t mean community organizations don’t plan to try.

Over the last year, the urgent need to address the interrelated causes and impacts of gun violence, systemic racism and poverty grew even more pressing. In 2020, the Asheville Police Department reported a five-year high for calls related to gun discharges and shootings, the vast majority of which involved Black men. Community members grew tired of witnessing the disproportionate impact of gun violence on their friends and neighbors, explains Tiffany Iheanacho, Buncombe County’s justice services director, prompting county leaders to look for new solutions.

In June, Buncombe County’s child fatality review team identified gun violence as a growing threat to children in Asheville. Buncombe County’s Justice Resource Advisory Council passed a proclamation declaring racism a public safety emergency in July.

In early January, Buncombe County announced a new partnership with four community organizations — the SPARC Foundation; Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective; My Daddy Taught Me That; and the Racial Justice Coalition — to develop a community-led strategy to help address gun violence. Funded using a portion of the county’s $1.75 million Safety and Justice Challenge grant, which aims to reduce jail populations, the team plans to provide residents

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IT TAKES A VILLAGE: Program leads from the SPARC Foundation, My Daddy Taught Me That and the Racial Justice Coalition met Jan. 20 to strategize next steps as they implement a community-led initiative to reduce gun violence.

From left, Rob Thomas, DeAngelo Collins, Jackie Latek, Bates, and Keynon Lake. Photo by Molly Horak comprehensive services to support the journey out of poverty and trauma.

“In this day and age, it’s really hard to come up with a novel idea about anything,” says Jackie Latek, executive director of the SPARC Foundation. “What we’re doing here is taking existing programs that have evidence and research behind them that have worked, and we’re pulling those programs together.”

TOUGH NUT TO CRACK

Enter the newly formed Violence Interruptors Street Team. The goal is to shine a light into one or two neighborhoods overwhelmed by gun violence, Latek says, with each partner organization tackling a different

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systemic problem that could lead someone to commit violence.

Her organization, the SPARC Foundation, will work to develop pathways to financial stability and connect residents to medical resources. Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective, under the guidance of Michael Hayes, will focus on resolving community trauma through multiday resiliency trainings and listening circles. Community members will be trained as Umoja facilitators, explains Hayes, the organization’s executive director, ultimately becoming a resource for healing in areas facing the greatest challenges.

Student ambassadors from My Daddy Taught Me That will build relationships with young people in

the targeted communities (which haven’t yet been selected), says MDTMT founder Keynon Lake. The youths’ role will be as “boots on the ground,” working to teach conflict resolution skills and share the many opportunities available to youths in Asheville and beyond.

Connecting with individuals committing gun violence is a tougher nut to crack. That’s where the Racial Justice Coalition comes in, says community liaison Rob Thomas. While the other partner organizations are out in the community, he’ll be identifying programs that have demonstrated success at reducing gun violence elsewhere and creating a proposal detailing what it would take to implement something similar in Asheville.

The group points to Operation Peacekeeper, a Stockton, Calif.-based initiative that employs “street-wise” individuals trained in conflict resolution, mediation and mentorship to work with young adults at highest risk of gang involvement and gun-related violence. A 2002 study of the Operation Peacekeeper model

by Harvard University researcher Anthony Braga found a 42% decrease in monthly gun homicides, compared with pre-intervention trends.

The grant establishes a hierarchy that shares decision-making power equally among all partners. Keeping the focus on community leadership, rather than law enforcement, is key to building neighborhood trust, Latek says. “For the county to put money towards an initiative to address gun violence without it being police-focused, that’s new in my mind,” she says.

‘LEFT UNCHECKED’

In 2020, the Asheville Police Department responded to 10 homicides within city limits, says department spokesperson Christina Hallingse. Eight of the victims were Black men. The weekend of Thanksgiving saw seven shootings over three days; on Nov. 30, a 17-year-old was killed in a shooting in Montford.

Gun violence is a “serious public health crisis” that the APD takes very seriously, Chief David Zack wrote in a statement to Xpress. “Working with community members and partner organizations is imperative to develop and implement a successful gun violence reduction strategy,” he said.

But the impact of the violence continues to disproportionately fall on people of color, says Lake of MDTMT. “There has been a blind eye to this.

We haven’t had the proper responses from law enforcement or our local government, so you’re left with a group of people left unchecked and not properly cared for.”

In 2019, Black people comprised 25% of the Buncombe County Detention Facility’s population and 69% of gun-violence victims, despite representing only 6.3% of the county’s population. In early 2020, justice system staff worked to reduce the number of people incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as the number of those detained went down by nearly 40%, however, racial disparities intensified. By July, the jail’s Black population had risen to 33% of the total.

Stopping gun violence before it occurs is critical to keeping jail populations low, Iheanacho explains. Gun violence episodes often trigger higher-level felony charges, which take longer to prosecute. Judges are less likely to release individuals charged with violent offenses on bail pretrial, she adds, leaving more people in

CHANGE OVER TIME: Repairing generations of trauma will likely take decades, says Michael Hayes, executive director of Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective. By offering resiliency trainings and listening circles in neighborhoods with high levels of gun violence, he hopes to boost community morale through healing. Photo courtesy of Hayes custody as they wait for their day in court.

That said, violence isn’t confined to gun use or to predominantly Black communities, explains Grits, a member of the Racial Justice Coalition.

Though domestic violence, intimate partner violence and sexual violence exist in every commmunity, when white people hear the word “violence,” they automatically and unfairly think about neighborhoods of color, the activist posits.

“We continue to write off this demographic and say that they’re all violent,” Grits says. “And then we put forth these ‘solutions’ that are largely law enforcement-based from folks who don’t live in the community, but we’re not redistributing resources to ensure folks can get out of bad situations.”

UPHILL PUSH

Buncombe County hopes to continue funding the program after its first year, says Hannah Legerton, the Justice Services grants manager.

Staff has applied for an additional year of Safety and Justice Challenge grant funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; if awarded, the renewal includes a one-year program extension. Longer term, the county is beginning to look for outside funding streams to continue projects that have demonstrated success, she says.

If the city of Asheville wanted to get involved, Thomas suggests using a portion of the Asheville Police Department’s $30.1 million annual operating budget. As activists continue to advocate for a 50% cut to the APD budget, a fraction of that funding for a program like this could have a huge impact, he says.

“Gun violence isn’t just a Blackperson thing, it’s not just a poor-person thing, it’s an everybody problem — you could get shot or robbed if you’ve been doing everything right in your life,” Thomas says. “With this program, we’re trying to work a miracle with a hope and a wish.” X

Change isn’t going to happen overnight, leaders caution. Mentorship programs can take years to show shifts in mindsets, Hayes says, and repairing generations of trauma will likely require decades of work.

From redlining to predatory lending; from the era of mass incarceration to the enormous achievement gap between Black and white students enrolled in Asheville City Schools, gun violence cannot be solved without understanding the history of racism that drove many Black communities into poverty, Thomas argues. “You have to understand the history so the solution will not be seen as charity, because the solution will require a lot of resources, from people to money to infrastructure,” he says.

Residents in communities experiencing high rates of violence are likewise tired of watching programs come and go within a few years, Latek adds, making continued county support all the more important. “If we’re going to push this rock up a hill, don’t pull our people away from us when we get halfway up,” she says. “We need to get this rock to the top, before it comes crashing back down on us.”

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11

BUNCOMBE BEAT

Buncombe receives new property values The numbers are in. And the numbers are up.

The results of Buncombe County’s latest property tax revaluation, publicly released on Feb. 1, show double-digit percentage increases in the sales ratio for nearly all areas of the county.

That figure indicates how much the county’s appraised value for a property went up since the last revaluation, effective in 2017, to match the property’s market price.

The only exception was Biltmore Forest, which saw a sales ratio increase of just 4%. However, the median property value increase for the wealthy municipality was $92,900, the most of any area reported by the county.

Since 2013, Buncombe has operated on a four-year revaluation cycle, twice as frequent as the state-mandated eight-year cycle, in response to the area’s booming real estate market. Keith Miller, the county’s tax assessor, notes that North Carolina

law also requires a revaluation when the countywide sales ratio drops below 85%; as of December, that ratio was 83%.

While Miller explains that the median sales ratio for the county overall increased by roughly 18% to bring properties in line with market value, the rise was not evenly distributed. He says that urban areas such as Central Asheville and Southside generally saw larger percentage gains than did rural areas like Candler and Avery’s Creek.

But some areas bucked that trend.

The sales ratio in the Central Business District, for example, increased by only 14%, while that in East Buncombe increased by 27% — the biggest rise anywhere in the county. Miller points out that the appreciation of downtown commercial property values slowed over the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic; in contrast, the virus bolstered demand for residential property.

Miller says a steady stream of residents has contacted his office for more information about the new values over the past week, with roughly 330 submitting online appeals as of early Feb. 5. The county hasn’t observed any particular trends in the demographics or property locations of those who have submitted appeals thus far, he adds.

Higher property values, Miller emphasizes, will not necessarily translate into higher property taxes. “I’ve tried to stress that to people, to keep people from the anxiety and getting worried and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, how am I going to do this?’” he says.

“People just need to remember that you cannot calculate your tax bill based on that percentage [increase in sales ratio.]”

How the new valuations will impact those tax bills is determined by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, which sets the property tax rate annually as part of the

county’s budget process. After the 2017 revaluation, the board set a rate 2.6 cents higher than the revenue-neutral figure, a decision that increased the average tax burden by about 14%.

During a Jan. 19 briefing, commissioners heard a presentation that weighed Buncombe’s property taxes against those of other large North Carolina counties. The county’s median residential tax bill of just over $1,500 ranked seventh among the 11 counties of that benchmark group.

However, as Performance Management Director Rafael Baptista pointed out, many Buncombe residents still struggle with housing due to the high cost of available properties.

“It’s not the tax bill that’s making the unaffordability, it’s the mortgage,” he said.

— Daniel Walton X

UP WE GO: All areas of Buncombe County except Biltmore Forest saw double-digit percentage increases in sales ratio from the recently completed revaluation process. Graphic courtesy of Buncombe County 12

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Buncombe boards highlight development pressures

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SOU TH ASHEVILLE MORE MONEY, MOORE PROBLEMS: Martin Moore, chair of the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment, told county commissioners on Feb. 2 that his board had recently faced marathon sessions over the approval of big-budget developments such as the 660-unit 20 South Bear Creek complex. Screen capture courtesy of Buncombe County

— Daniel Walton X

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and provides little discretion over project design.

“We’re really — I don’t want to say a rubber stamp, but that’s what it feels like at some times,” Waldrop explained. “It sometimes makes us feel like we don’t really have a role to play. We’re just sort of filling in a spot, that we’re being checked off as a box.”

Waldrop said the board recommended an audit of the county subdivision ordinance with an eye toward protecting open space and ensuring adequate infrastructure, as well as an audit of the Community-Oriented Development program designed to bolster affordable housing. And the county’s upcoming comprehensive land use plan, she continued, should reconsider zoning in anticipation of climate-change impacts such as landslides and flooding.

Nathan Pennington, Buncombe’s planning and development director, emphasized that the county’s land use challenges are only expected to continue as time goes on. “We’ll see what 2021 turns out, but we do not see an abatement to the development boom,” he said.

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When attorney Martin Moore first joined the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment about three years ago, he said, the body mostly helped “everyday people with everyday problems.” Those coming before the all-volunteer board, its chair recalls, were primarily “neighbors” looking for relatively small tweaks to county zoning regulations.

But over time, Moore told the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners during a Feb. 2 meeting, the Board of Adjustment has become a battleground for some of the county’s most contentious developments. Projects such as the 660-unit 20 South Bear Creek complex and 852-unit Busbee apartments have faced marathon hearings — some over nine hours — fiercely debated by opposing legal teams.

As previously reported by Xpress (see “Best laid plans,” Dec. 2), Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman has named revisions to Buncombe land use policy as one of the top three priorities for his new term. Moore’s presentation, as well as a subsequent report from Buncombe County Planning Board Chair Nancy Waldrop, indicated that the county remains interested in changing its approach to development.

Although Moore assured commissioners that his board was up to the challenge of hearing complicated legal arguments over big projects, both Newman and Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara suggested that the county should reconsider its duties. “It behooves us, when we see a volunteer board taking on a workload this substantial and complex, to really take a fresh look at how that’s going for those volunteers, and also maybe questions we should be asking from a policy standpoint,” she said.

Similarly, Waldrop said the Planning Board had reviewed applications for more and larger major subdivisions in 2020 than in any previous year. She expressed some frustration over the board’s legal role, which only involves ensuring that developers have complied with county ordinances

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N EWS

ACS transparency issues cloud school sale discussion Gene Freeman, the superintendent of Asheville City Schools, was unequivocal in his remarks during a Feb. 1 meeting of the Asheville City Board of Education. “There has been no discussion of selling the building. The board has given me a direction to find out what we can do with the building. So there’s a lot of misinformation out there,” he said, in reference to Asheville Primary School’s West Asheville campus.

Freeman was equally unequivocal in his remarks during a Dec. 7 work session of the same board: “I’m recommending that we close the APS building and that we sell it.” The board then unanimously voted during a special called meeting on Dec. 14 to give “approval to explore selling the Asheville Primary campus.”

“From my point of view, and from a budgetary point of view, we

HEAD OF SCHOOL: Asheville City Schools Superintendent Gene Freeman contradicted his earlier statements on the proposed sale of Asheville Primary School during a Feb. 1 meeting of the Asheville City Board of Education.

Screen capture courtesy of Sunshine Request don’t need this building,” Freeman added prior to the Dec. 14 vote.

“This is not the first time this has been brought up, and we need to make a move to do something with this building.”

The fate of the school — and the contradictory statements of ACS leaders — have attracted intense community interest in recent months, with a Change.org petition to “Save Asheville Primary School” collecting nearly 2,600 signatures as of press time. Over 170 people tuned in to the Zoom stream of the Feb. 1 meeting, with many waiting nearly two hours to offer public comment on the proposed sale and 50 submitting written comments via email.

Several of those commenters criticized the school system for a lack of transparency around its decisions. Although ACS spokesperson Ashley-Michelle Thublin claimed in a Jan. 5 email that the school community had been invited to three town halls about the campus and its needs, Lara Lustig said those meetings had provided little information and didn’t allow parents or teachers to have their concerns addressed.

“The information I got during the work session today is probably 200% more information than, as a

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parent, I’ve had so far, and not for lack of trying,” said Lustig, mother to two APS students. “I really have tried to communicate with y’all.”

And Brooke Heaton, father to a student at Isaac Dickson Elementary School, said system officials had talked up the many improvements made to the APS building when he toured the facility in the spring of 2020 — a stark contrast from the “deep disrepair” they outlined when considering its sale. “It was rather jaw-dropping to hear the school described in such terms last December,” he explained.

The system has been inconsistent in describing the cost of needed repairs to the APS campus. On Dec. 14, Freeman told the board that expenses would run approximately $9 million; the Jan. 5 email from Thublin instead listed a figure of roughly $6 million “to bring the building up to minimum standards.”

Xpress has also experienced delays in obtaining basic records of the school system’s discussions.

Although the announcement for the Dec. 14 meeting stated that a recording would be made available on the ACS Facebook page after its conclusion, no such video had been posted to that page as of press time. The minutes of the Dec. 7 work session and regular meeting and Dec. 14 special meeting, all of which were approved by the board on Feb. 1 and requested by Xpress on Feb. 2, were not made publicly available until Feb. 5.

In August, Xpress and Carolina Public Press sent a joint request to Freeman and Shaunda Sandford, chair of the school board, asking for board meetings to be conducted, recorded and shared according to best practices for transparency outlined by the UNC School of Government. Neither school official offered a response or acknowledgement of receipt.

As previously reported by Xpress, the potential school sale comes as ACS faces a challenging fiscal situation for the next fiscal year. (See “Failing arithmetic,” Jan. 27.) According to a report by Hurd Isenhour Lopes, a Hickorybased consulting firm, presented to the school board on Feb. 1, the district should “delay nonessential purchases and hiring for the remainder of the year and prepare for cuts to the 2021-2022 budget.”

— Daniel Walton X

COMMUNITY CALENDAR FEB. 10-19, 2021

Leadership Asheville Winter Buzz Breakfast Talk on public art and monument selection by Monument Lab director Paul Farber.

TH (2/18), 8:30am, Registration required, avl.mx/8z8

For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar. For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext. 137.

For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, ext. 320.

In-Person Events = Shaded

Justice Matters Tour Behind the scenes at Pisgah Legal.

TH (2/18), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7ur

All other events are virtual

WELLNESS Alzheimer's Association: Navigating a Dementia Diagnosis Part 1 Webinar presented by Dr. Mark Pippinger.

WE (2/10), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8y4 Council on Aging: Introduction to Medicare How to avoid penalties and save money.

WE (2/10), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, coabc.org Steady Collective Syringe Access Outreach Free naloxone, syringes and educational material on harm reduction.

TU (2/16), 2pm, Firestorm Books & Coffee, 610 Haywood Rd

ART Exhibit Tour: Mirror/Mentor Led by curator Julie Levin Caro at Warren Wilson.

TH (2/11), 6pm, Free, avl.mx/8y7 Jackson Arts Market Live demonstrations by local artists.

SA (2/13), 1pm, 533 W Main St, Sylva Slow Art Friday: Reading Faces Discussion led by touring docent Hank Bovee at Asheville Art Museum.

FR (2/19), 12pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/8yw

MUSIC & DANCE Thursday Night Live: Patrick O’Neil In-gallery classical cello performance.

TH (2/11), 6pm, Asheville Art Museum, 2 S Pack Square

The Magnetic Theatre: My Dearest Love songs and letters with acoustic duo Liz and Elizabeth.

SA (2/13), 7:30pm, Free, avl.mx/8z5

Asheville Friends of Astrology Monthly meeting.

FR (2/19), 7pm, fb.com/ ashevilleastrology

Zoe & Cloyd Valentine’s Concert Presented by Black Mountain Center for the Arts.

SA (2/13), 8pm, $20, avl.mx/8z4 Moog Foundation: Abominatron Listening Party Led by audio engineer Seva David Ball.

SU (2/14), 2pm, By donation, avl.mx/8z6 Wortham Center Ballet Workshop: The Dying Swan Presented by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

FR (2/19), 7pm, Registration required, $28, avl.mx/8yx

LITERARY Malaprop’s Book Launch Masuma Ahuja presents Girlhood: Teens Around the World in their Own Voices.

TH (2/11), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8zk Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance: Reader Meet Writer Featuring Jerry Mitchell, author of Race Against Time.

TH (2/11), 7pm, avl.mx/8zL Firestorm Visionary Readers Group Discussion on The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.

MO (2/15), 7:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8um

BUYING OLD PAPER MONEY 10 yrs WNC/ETN notes, bonds, maps, currency etc.

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PLIE IT COOL: Wortham Center for the Performing Arts will present Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo in a virtual dance workshop Friday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m. The all-male drag ballet troupe will demonstrate its signature work, The Dying Swan, with a comic spin, followed by a brief history of ballet. avl.mx/8yx. $28. Photo by Sascha Vaughan, courtesy of Wortham Center for the Performing Arts CIVICS & ACTIVISM Asheville Historic Resources Commission Regular meeting.

WE (2/10), 4pm, avl.mx/7ud PAHC Informed Progressive Series: A Hole in My Heart Special play viewing and discussion on gun violence.

WE (2/10), 6:30pm, Free, avl.mx/84a Waters & Harvey Live: Renewing Our Culture of Civic Engagement Panel discussion presented by BPR. TH (2/11), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8zn Asheville Downtown Commission Regular meeting.

FR (2/12), 9:30am, avl.mx/85u Silent Vigil for Immigration Reform Organized by Progressive Alliance of Henderson County.

FR (2/19), 4pm, 1 Historic Courthouse Square, Hendersonville

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY SBCN: Starting Your Herbal Products Business Presented by Patricia Kyritsi Howell.

WE (2/10), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8ye

Deep Dive Lab: Grant Writing for Your Small Business Presented by Tara Brown.

TH (2/11), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8zo Goodwill Career Quest: Continuous Improvement Culture Featuring Emerson Automation Solutions.

WE (2/17), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wq SCORE: Business Model Canvas Workshop for women 50 and older.

WE (2/17), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8wo AARP Fraudcast: Cyberfraud How to protect yourself from fraud online.

WE (2/17), 10:30am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8z7

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS UNCA: Trust in a Polarized Age Talk by political philosopher Kevin Vallier.

WE (2/10), 7pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8y2 Pack Library: Spanish Conversation Group For adult language learners.

TH (2/11), 5pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8ty

Black Mountain Sowing Circle: Start Your Seeds Indoors workshop with John Bowen.

SA (2/13), 10am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8yz

Gardening in the Mountains: Lawns & Weeds Workshop by NC State Haywood County Extension. Register to get Zoom info: mgarticles@charter.net.

WE (2/17), 1pm, Free Bullington Gardens: Masses of Grasses Workshop Led by Shannon Currey.

FR (2/19), 3pm, $12, avl.mx/8z3

FOOD & BEVERAGE Black History Brunch Crash course in Black history with speeches, poems and songs.

Menu by Clarence Robinson.

SA (2/13), 10am, Free, YMI Cultural Center, 20 Eagle St Valentine's Cookie Decorating Class Led by Three Eggs Cakery. Tickets: avl.mx/8xr.

TU (2/16), 6:30pm, Catawba Brewing, 32 Banks Ave

Jewel of the Blue Ridge Vineyard: Country Winemaking How to make fruit, vegetable, root, flower and berry wines.

WE (2/17), 7pm, Registration required, $20, jeweloftheblueridge. com

KIDS Malaprop’s Book Launch Allan Wolf and Brianne Farley present No Buddy Like a Book.

FR (2/12), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8zm

VOLUNTEERING MountainTrue: Island Park Work Session Invasive plant removal.

Register for location details: avl.mx/638.

WE (2/10), 11am-2pm, Bryson City American Red Cross Blood Drive Register at redcrossblood.org/give with code AshevilleOutlets.

SA (2/13), 11am-3pm, Asheville Outlets, 800 Brevard Rd

CLUBLAND

Online Event= q WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm SOVEREIGN KAVA q Poetry Open Mic, 8pm, avl.mx/8uc

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Josh Dunkin (solo acoustic), 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic Night w/ The Lads AVL, 6pm THE 2ND ACT Mr Jimmy (blues), 6pm

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12

ISIS MUSIC HALL Christie Lenée (solo acoustic), 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Blue Ridge Pistols (rock), 7pm

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Hope Griffin (soul, blues), 2pm

THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE Valentine’s Day Social, 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL Rebecca & the Reckoning w/ Franklin Keel (honky tonk, Americana), 7pm

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 TRISKELION BREWING CO. Virginia & The Slims (blues, swing), 11am

CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Anti-Valentine's Day/ Mardi Gras Smash Bash, 2pm

SAINT PAUL MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS Brian Ashley Jones (blues, country), 2pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Judaculla Blue Trio (jam, blues), 3pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING The Lads (acoustic originals), 2pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Valentine’s Celebration w/ The Fritz, 4pm

ISIS MUSIC HALL • Main Stage: Seth Walker (roots, blues), 7pm • Virtual Valentine w/ Kim Richey (Americana), 7pm, avl.mx/8xo q

WEHRLOOM HONEY MEADERY Music & Mead w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 4pm

THE POE HOUSE Mr Jimmy (blues), 6pm

ISA'S FRENCH BISTRO James Hammel (solo acoustic), 5pm

BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Romantic Movie Trivia Night, 6pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah’s Daydream (jazz), 5pm

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15 THE JOINT NEXT DOOR Blue Monday w/ Mr Jimmy, 6pm

MOUNTAINX.COM

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Witty Wednesday Trivia Night, 6:30pm ISIS MUSIC HALL q Patrick Lendeza (Hawaiian slack-key guitarist), 7pm, avl.mx/8xp THE GREY EAGLE q Travis Book Happy Hour w/ Nicki Bluhm (bluegrass), 7pm, avl.mx/8xq SOVEREIGN KAVA q Poetry Open Mic, 8pm, avl.mx/8uc

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18 SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic Night w/ The Lads AVL, 6pm

FEB. 10-16, 2021

15

WELLNESS

Outpatient optimism Antibody therapy comes to WNC COVID-19 patients

BY MOLLY HORAK mhorak@mountainx.com The giant, tarp-covered tent staked in the middle of the Mountain Area Health Education Center parking lot looks like something astronauts might set up on the moon. But instead of space suits, the doctors and nurses entering the pressurized, whitedomed bubble are wearing head-totoe personal protective equipment, ready to administer monoclonal antibody infusions to high-risk COVID19 patients.

Inside the tent, it feels like a “warm and comfortable nurses’ station,” says Dr. Rebecca Bernstein, the physician overseeing MAHEC’s new bamlanivimab infusion program. COVID19 patients experiencing mild to moderate symptoms enter in waves.

A team member explains the process, and a few minutes later, an IV is placed in each patient’s arm, slowly dripping highly targeted coronavirus antibodies into the bloodstream.

By some metrics, the country is turning a corner on the COVID-19 pandemic. New cases are dropping across the United States — North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services reported just over 3,000 new cases on Feb. 8, down from more than 11,500 cases on Jan. 9 — and vaccine distribution, while still limited, is underway. Treatments to lower the risk of serious symptoms in infected individuals are also improving and becoming more widely available.

Two monoclonal antibody therapies manufactured by drug companies Eli Lilly and Regeneron received

KEEP YOUR DISTANCE: In an effort to keep people infected with COVID-19 away from other patients, Mountain Area Health Education Center is administering all monoclonal antibody therapies in a tent erected in the main parking lot of its Biltmore campus. Photo courtesy of MAHEC emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November for COVID-19 patients at risk of developing severe illness and requiring hospitalization. Now, the therapies former President Donald Trump touted as the “cure” for COVID-19 following his October hospitalization are available on a limited basis for Western North Carolina residents.

“With the surge in patients that we’re seeing, we need whatever tools we can get to decrease the impact this virus has on our community,” Bernstein says. “This is the one

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outpatient treatment that has been shown to decrease the severity of the disease.”

SCIENCE SAYS

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic proteins produced by the immune system to fight off harmful viruses and other foreign threats. As with the COVID-19 vaccine, the drugs stimulate the body to mount a stronger immune response and destroy the coronavirus before it causes damage. Early data suggests the drugs may reduce hospitalizations in people at high risk for severe complications by 70%; late-stage clinical trials are ongoing.

Unlike the convalescent plasma taken from recovered COVID-19 patients, which contains all of the different antibodies a donor has developed, monoclonal antibody therapies only contain the specific antibody (or, in the case of the Regeneron cocktail, two antibodies) targeted at a protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Treatments must be given within 10 days of symptom onset, and patients who are already hospitalized with the virus or who require oxygen are not authorized for treatment.

At MAHEC, patients age 55 and older with cardiovascular disease,

hypertension or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are eligible for antibody therapy with a doctor’s referral. Younger patients with a body mass index over 35, chronic kidney disease, diabetes or an immunosuppressive disease may also qualify, as can those over the age of 65 without preexisting conditions. The therapy takes about an hour to administer, Bernstein says. Patients are then monitored for any adverse reactions for up to an hour after the infusion.

Thanks to a deal struck by the federal government, doses are free, although some patients may be charged for the drug’s administration.

In November, Medicare waived all copayments for administration costs.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the state’s largest private provider, has also waived all member cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatments through Wednesday, March 31.

Despite the drug’s early success, supplies remain extremely limited.

The federal government controls the distribution of 950,000 doses of Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab and 300,000 doses of Regeneron’s casirivimab/ imdevimab; state health departments are sent allocations from the federal supply every two weeks for distribution to local providers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services has also developed a program to directly send monoclonal antibody doses to long-term care facilities, dialysis centers and federally qualified health centers.

REGIONAL RESOURCES

Pardee is one of the busiest hospitals in the UNC health system for treating patients with the Eli Lilly and Regeneron monoclonal antibody infusions, said Chris Parsons, medical director of the Pardee Center for Infectious Diseases, although he did not specify how many infusions have been administered at the facility. The hospital is working closely with the Henderson County Department of Public Health, the Henderson County Emergency Medical Services team, long-term care facilities and community providers to identify potential candidates for the drugs, he wrote in an emailed statement.

AdventHealth Hendersonville also offers both infusions, says Chief Medical Officer Teresa Herbert. The hospital accepts referrals from any practice, long-term care facility or urgent care, though staff can only treat four patients a day due to limited supply and space constraints.

Negative pressure rooms — facilities that constantly pump potentially contaminated air away from other patients — are required to give the infusions, she says, and these rooms are often in short supply.

All monoclonal antibody therapies received by Mission Health were sent to MAHEC to support the infusion

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Inside MAHEC’s bamlanivimab infusion tent, a staff member prepares for the next patient to arrive. Photo by Karen Zatkulak, courtesy of MAHEC tent program, noted Mission spokesperson Nancy Lindell in a statement.

As of Jan. 28, MAHEC had completed 24 infusions since the program’s official launch on Jan. 19.

Blue Ridge Pharmacy, a longterm care pharmacy provider, is also receiving federal allocations of the antibody infusions for use at regional nursing homes and long-term care facilities, says Dave Phillips, the pharmacy’s director of clinical services. Citing patient privacy concerns, he would not share the names of those facilities or how many infusions had

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been sent to area nursing homes, but he says Blue Ridge has seen a surge in interest over the last few weeks.

“No medication comes without risks, but there’s promising data coming out as we continue studying and learning more about these monoclonal antibodies and their impacts on COVID,” Phillips says.

‘IT WORKS’

Flat Rock resident Debi Brown began to feel sick on Jan. 2. By the

next morning, the 61-year-old felt as if she had been “run over by a truck.”

Brown drove to nearby Pardee Hospital for a COVID-19 test. As she waited, she began talking to a physician’s assistant about her husband, Larry, who is 72 years old and has a history of heart failure, high blood pressure and asthma. His age and health history placed him at high risk for serious COVID-19 symptoms, Brown says — but they also made him eligible for an antibody treatment.

The next morning, following a positive rapid test for COVID-19, Larry got his monoclonal antibody infusion. Within 48 hours, he was feeling completely normal. Brown, however, says she “went through the wringer.” Despite having several heart conditions herself, she was told her age disqualified her from getting the same therapy. She later developed pneumonia, and nearly a month after her diagnosis, she’s still experiencing shortness of breath, a deep cough and a diminished sense of smell.

Before her bout with the coronavirus, Brown says she didn’t know that monoclonal antibodies were available in the area. But she believes her husband’s infusion was likely the difference between a mild illness and a life-threatening hospitalization.

“This stuff is amazing, and people need to know about it,” Brown says.

“They need to ask for it, if they can.

It works, and it can help stop this disease before more people end up dying left and right.” X

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FEB. 10-16, 2021

17

GREEN ROUNDUP

by Daniel Walton | dwalton@mountainx.com

Green Built Alliance launches new certifications Homebuilders seeking a stamp of approval from Green Built Alliance will have to step up their game in 2021.

At the start of the year, the Ashevillebased nonprofit released updated guidelines for its Green Built Homes program, which certifies new construction as environmentally friendly.

“Many items that are now standard construction practices have been removed from our checklist, while we have added opportunities to gain points for new technologies,” explained Maggie Leslie, the nonprofit’s program director, in a blog post describing the changes. Additions include more stringent efficiency requirements for lighting, more credit for using nontoxic building materials and greater emphasis on design strategies to connect humans with nature.

Two new add-on certifications are also available for builders who want to go beyond the basics: Net Zero Water Ready Certification and Regenerative Certification. And builders themselves can participate in a Regenerative Professional Accreditation program to certify their continuing education in green building practices.

“Many local builders and architects are ready for the challenge, inspiration and recognition of an advanced, regenerative home certification and professional accreditation,” said Leslie. “We hope that this will educate and inspire builders of all levels with new ideas.”

Duke reaches agreement on coal ash cleanup costs

Although customers of Duke Energy will still be responsible for nearly $3 billion in cleanup costs for the company’s coal ash through 2030, that burden has been reduced by about $1.1 billion due to a Jan. 25 settlement involving the utility, the Sierra Club and North Carolina state officials. In a statement celebrating the move, Duke said the decision “resolves the last remaining major issues on coal ash management in North Carolina.”

However, the settlement does not address roughly $5.5 billion in additional cleanup costs the utility expects to incur through 2037. As reported

by NC Health News, state Attorney General Josh Stein said ratepay18

FEB. 10-16, 2021

Giménez and K. Rashid Nuri with prerecorded workshops in 11 themed tracks, including Cherokee food, mushrooms and permaculture. A virtual exhibit hall will also feature live demos, promotions and Q&A sessions from vendors of organic products and services. More information and registration available at avl.mx/8xd.

ZERO HERO: This home, built by Familia Enterprises, received a Platinum Net Zero Energy certification through Green Built Homes. Its design features native and edible landscaping, a location in a walkable neighborhood and a variety of green finishes. Photo by Familia Enterprises, courtesy of Green Built Alliance ers’ share of those costs has yet to be determined.

“This settlement is a testament to the power of the grassroots activists and their legal allies, who spoke at public meetings and fought for years to force Duke to take responsibility for its coal ash cleanup,” wrote the Sierra Club in a Jan. 28 statement. “While we’re glad to see Duke take steps toward cleaning up the mess and pollution left by its dirty, dangerous coal plants, we know that so long as it continues to burn coal, North Carolina communities are still breathing in particulate matter and drinking in the toxic chemicals coal plants leave behind.”

Approximately 1.1 million cubic yards of coal ash and other wastes are slated for disposal in a landfill at Duke’s Arden power plant, which switched fuels from coal to natural gas in January 2020. That site is expected to reach its capacity in 2024.

tual format from Saturday, March 13, through Sunday, March 21.

“The virtual platform will allow us to reach a broader audience than ever, and we’re excited to showcase our event as an affordable, accessible option for practical education for growers around the nation,” said Sera Deva, the nonprofit’s director of programs and systems design, in a press release announcing the move. “We love when our passion, knowledge, inspiration and sharing can come together in one place.”

The new conference format will combine live keynote addresses from speakers Samantha Foxx, Eric Holt-

Save the date

• The N.C. Arboretum is encouraging local participation in the global Great Backyard Bird Count, FridayMonday, Feb. 12-15. Birders can sign up for an online introduction to the count held Thursday, Feb. 11, as well as small-group bird walks at the arboretum on Saturday, Feb. 13.

More information and registration available at avl.mx/8xe.

• N.C. Cooperative Extension’s McDowell County Center hosts several webinars throughout February for sustainability-minded WNC residents. Topics include roadside and waterway cleanup safety on Wednesday, Feb. 17; basic fruit and berry growing on Thursday, Feb. 18; and vegetable gardening on Thursday, Feb. 25. Full calendar and registration available at avl.mx/8yp.

• High school and college students in Buncombe County with an interest in conservation or agriculture are now eligible for a $1,000 scholarship from the Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors. Applications are available at avl.mx/8xf and must be submitted by Monday, March 15.

• Buncombe Soil and Water is also holding its annual seedling sale through Sunday, Feb. 28. Ordering of plants such as blackberries, red mulberries and persimmons is available online at avl.mx/wordcap0, with pickup Thursday-Friday, March 4-5, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

OGS Spring Conference moves online March 13-21

For the first time in 28 years, the Organic Growers School Spring Conference won’t be rooted on the ground. The annual event, a tradition for many Western North Carolina gardeners and sustainable lifestyle advocates, will instead return in an all-vir-

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WATER WORKS: Girl Scout Isabella Conway, right, painted a message of environmental conservation on rain cisterns overseen by Hendersonville stormwater administrator Michael Huffman. Photo courtesy of the city of Hendersonville

• The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources will accept written public comment on proposed changes to the state’s groundwater quality standards through Tuesday, March 16. Comments may be sent by email to GWTriRevComments@ncdenr. gov or by mail to Bridget Shelton, NC DEQ-DWR Planning Section, 1611 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699. More information on the proposed changes is available at avl.mx/8xg.

Community kudos • The WNC Sierra Club presented its annual Environmental Recognition Awards on Jan. 7. Winners included former Rep. Chuck McGrady for green legislator of the year, Painters Greenhouse of Old Fort for green business and David Reid and JD Diefenbach for protectors of the national forest.

• Waynesville resident Kaleb Rathbone was promoted by N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler to assistant commissioner for Western North Carolina agricultural programs and small farms.

Rathbone previously directed the state’s 18 agricultural research stations.

• Friends of DuPont Forest was selected to receive 100 hours of pro bono marketing services from Darby Communications and Status Forward as part of the local firms’ Stand Up Initiative. That work will support the nonprofit’s Share the Trails campaign, which educates visitors on proper outdoor etiquette.

• UNC Asheville received LEED Gold certification for The Woods, the college’s newest residence halls.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, recognizes buildings for meeting criteria such as efficient resource use and sustainable site location.

• Pine Gate Renewables donated $5,000 to Asheville GreenWorks in support of a pollinator garden planned for the River Arts District.

The 0.35-acre meadow will include oxeye sunflowers, wild bergamot and other plants attractive to pollinator species.

• Girl Scout Isabella Conway completed a series of environmental murals to decorate rainwater cisterns at Hendersonville’s Patton Park. The art emphasizes the connection between local water quality and wildlife health. X

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ARTS & CULTURE

Leave you with the blues

HISTORY

New digital archive examines Nina Simone’s relationship with Langston Hughes THOMAS CALDER

1932 trip to the Soviet Union, at which time the poet wrote “Goodbye Jesus.” In the poem’s penultimate verse, Hughes declares:

tcalder@mountainx.com When a Raleigh-based audience gasped inside Quail Ridge Books, author W. Jason Miller realized he’d unintentionally discovered his next research topic, ultimately leading him to Western North Carolina.

At the time, Miller, a professor of literature at N.C. State University, was celebrating the February 2020 release of his latest work, Langston Hughes, a biography written for the University of Chicago Press’ Critical Lives series.

Speaking to the audience, “I kind of mentioned off the cuff that Langston Hughes had written a review of this very famous North Carolina musician whose name they might know: Nina Simone.”

Cue the collective gasp.

“I looked out and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, these people are veritably drooling for more information,” the author continues with a laugh. “And so I said to myself, ‘I need to figure out more about what happened between Simone and Hughes.’”

Soon thereafter, Miller launched a new research project, creating an online archive to house rare documents, including audio files and photographs. The growing collection, Backlash Blues: Nina Simone and Langston Hughes, will debut this fall.

In the meantime, Miller and his team of graduate research assistants continue gathering information about Hughes’ historic, albeit underreported, 1949 visit to

PRIME RIB

ROAST

“Goodbye, Christ Jesus Lord God Jehova, Beat it on away from here now.

Make way for a new guy with no religion at all — A real guy named Marx Communist Lenin Peasant Stalin Worker ME —”

POET AND SINGER: In 1949, poet Langston Hughes, right, spoke at Allen High School in Asheville. One of the students in attendance was Eunice Waymon, later known professionally as Nina Simone. In time, the poet and the singer developed a unique friendship, which author and N.C. State University professor W. Jason Miller is currently documenting in an online archive, Backlash Blues: Nina Simone and Langston Hughes. Photo of Simone courtesy of Dr. Crys Armbrust, Nina Simone Project Archive; photo of Hughes courtesy of the Library of Congress WNC, where he and Simone first crossed paths.

On Tuesday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m., Miller will discuss the group’s latest findings as part of a virtual event hosted by Malaprop’s Bookstore/ Café. The author says he will also use part of the talk to encourage local residents to share any stories they might have about Hughes’ visit.

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Because of Hoover’s allegations, Miller points out, several cities boycotted Hughes.

“The Asheville incident is fascinating because you wonder if the newspaper was trying to just practice avoidance by not talking about the event [prior to Hughes’ arrival],” Miller says.

Of greater interest and insight, Miller continues, is Hughes’ written response to local resident Halsey B. Leavitt’s Feb. 20, 1949, letter to the editor, in which Leavitt condemns the poet’s visit and echoes Hoover’s claims. In Hughes’ letter, published in the April 3, 1949, Sunday edition of the Asheville Citizen-Times, Hughes declares: “I am not now and I have never been a member of the Communist Party. My appearance at the Allen High School was purely in the form of a literary and Negro History Week program. I am sure that the superintendent and principal of Allen High School had in mind, when they invited me to appear at the school, an evening of purely cultural and historical import. Certainly, anyone who was present at the program could hardly have gone away with any other impression. I wish very much that Mr. Halsey B. Leavitt had been present. I thoroughly believe in the right of Mr. Leavitt to present his views to the public.

I think that he should accord me the same privilege.”

GOODBYE JESUS

No big headline announced Hughes’ arrival to the mountains in February 1949. His trip was part of a weeklong speaking tour in honor of Negro History Week — the predecessor to Black History Month.

The poet was scheduled at a number of locations, including Black Mountain College and Allen High School, a private secondary school for Black women and girls located near downtown Asheville.

After Hughes’ departure, the local paper received a series of letters to the editor. Some residents criticized The Asheville Citizen for failing to report on the historic visit; others applauded the paper’s decision, calling Hughes a communist.

Asheville’s mixed response, explains Miller, was a microcosm of America during this period of McCarthyism and the Red Scare.

Hughes had been under the scrutiny of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover for several years leading up to his visit. Hoover declared the writer a communist on account of Hughes’

The poet’s letter, observes Miller, “shows the work Hughes had to do to really defend his reputation.”

FLAIR, BUT NO AIR

Eunice Waymon, later known professionally as Nina Simone, was among the students who attended Hughes’ Allen High School address.

2021

“She’s literally sitting in the audience, looking up at this famous Black poet that she will eventually become good friends with,” Miller says, still seemingly in awe of the happenstance.

According to Miller, it’s unknown when Hughes first heard Simone’s music. But by 1960, he invited the up-and-coming musician to perform at the summer Newport Jazz Festival. Despite being the third act on the first day, “Simone wowed everybody,” Miller exclaims.

A few months later, in November, Hughes praised Simone’s talents in his weekly column for The Chicago Defender.

“She has a flair, but no air. She has class, but does not wear it on her shoulders. She is unique,” Hughes wrote. “You either like her or you don’t. If you do — wheee-ouuu-eu!

You do!”

Over the next seven years, the two artists maintained a written correspondence, until Hughes’ death in 1967.

“He was someone she trusted and relied on,” Miller explains. “At times she wrote him really lengthy letters expressing her true feelings and talked to him about his books and autobiographies.”

Along with their friendship, notes Miller, Hughes also played an important role in several of Simone’s song selections, including “Backlash Blues.” The lyrics originated as a poem that Hughes wrote for the singer shortly before his death. Simone ultimately added her own original verse to the number.

Miller, however, is careful about overstating Hughes’ role in Simone’s career. “Her talent was more than enough on its own,” he says, noting Hughes’ influence simply helped accelerate the singer’s inevitable success.

LOST TO THE WIND

“We have this weird phenomenon in scholarship where music people talk about music people, and poet people talk about poet people,” Miller says, as a way of explaining why this dynamic relationship between Hughes and Simone has been largely ignored in academic circles.

“It’s this huge gap that needs to be filled,” Miller continues, speaking specifically of Hughes and Simone, though the notion extends far beyond the poet and musician.

“African American history and culture has more often been lost to the wind rather than buried in dust because of the oral nature of so many stories passed mouth to mouth,” Miller explains.

Through Backlash Blues: Nina Simone and Langston Hughes, Miller seeks to preserve what he can about the unique friendship between the two artists.

He also views the project as a cautionary tale. “The challenges of recreating the life and times of folks such as Hughes and Simone remind us that so many events and relationships such as these disappear with those who experienced them firsthand,” Miller says. Which is why he implores community members to share with his team whatever recollections, documents, photographs or anecdotes they may have about the unique pair, especially as it relates to Hughes’ 1949 visit to Asheville.

To register for Miller’s Tuesday, Feb. 16, virtual talk, visit avl.mx/8y8.

If you have information you’d like to contribute to Backlash Blues: Nina Simone and Langston Hughes, email Miller at wjmille3@ncsu.edu. X

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The history of Black History Month Today’s Black History Month began as Negro History Week, founded in 1926 by Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson. Taking place each year on the second week in February, the celebration coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

According to author and N.C. State University professor W. Jason Miller, local, Black female librarians often organized the community events associated with the weeklong observance. Though slow to achieve national recognition, the yearly gathering gained momentum in the late 1940s.

“African Americans had been calling throughout World War II for a double victory,” Miller explains. “If we were going to fight against racism overseas, then we needed to also win it here at home.”

Support continued to grow, as mayors and governors throughout the country began recognizing Negro History Week. The weeklong celebration eventually evolved into Black History Month, officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976. X

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21

ART S & CU L T U R E

Cooking while Black The paucity of Black chefs in Asheville and American restaurants is rooted in history and racism

HISTORY MONTH

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com Soon after it opened in late 2018, Benne on Eagle became the subject of laudatory profiles in national publications and nabbed the No. 6 spot in Esquire magazine’s list of 2019’s Best New American Restaurants.

Owned by white Asheville chef John Fleer of Rhubarb and The Rhu, the restaurant has received kudos for paying homage to African American influence on Appalachian food and honoring the legacy of the once-thriving Black neighborhood known as The Block.

In May 2020, Benne’s opening chef de cuisine, Ashleigh Shanti, a Black native of Virginia, made the short list for Rising Star Chef in the James Beard Awards. A recent increase in attention and plaudits paid to high-profile Black chefs in America simultaneously sheds ambient light on their overall scarcity. Malcolm McMillian, who succeeded Shanti as chef de cuisine at Benne in October, asserts that the country’s restaurant industry has centuries of catching up to do when it comes to equity in the kitchen.

“When you talk about the meagerness, you have to begin with history,” he says. “Because of slavery, oppression and racism, we didn’t even get a chance to dip our toes into fine dining and kitchen hierarchy until maybe the 1970s or ’80s. Go back to the 1700s, the people owning and running restaurants have been white people; they hired white people. The

PURSUING HIS PASSION: Though his parents urged him to pursue a more stable and lucrative career, two Black chefs who were family friends encouraged Rakim Gaines to take a culinary path. Photo by Cindy Kunst people writing cookbooks are white people, the people on cooking shows are white people, the people winning awards are white people. They had like a 300-year head start.”

NATIVE SON

The issue remains a national one; according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020 just 14.7% of chefs and head cooks were Black, the lowest percentage of category by gender, race and ethnicity. A July 2019 story in The New York Times spotlighting 16 Black chefs (Shanti among them) impacting food in the United States, notes that before 2018, Black chefs had not won a James Beard Award in any of the Best Chef or Outstanding Restaurant categories for 14 years.

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This meagerness, as McMillian describes it, is especially apparent in Asheville. The mountain town may have dubbed itself Foodtopia, but the view from within the kitchen is not quite so heavenly for Black chefs and cooks.

“At the level of executive chef, chef de cuisine or sous chef, I only know of three here in town,” says Rakim Gaines, executive chef at Capella on 9 since 2018. “Malcolm, me and Ashleigh, and Ashleigh isn’t in a restaurant right now.”

Of that trio, only Gaines is a native.

Born and raised in East Asheville, he emulated his mother, whom he describes as a “soul food mom,” and was glued to the television set every day after school watching “Great Chefs of the World” on the Discovery Channel.

Though his parents urged him to pursue a more stable and lucrative career, two Black chefs who were family friends encouraged Gaines to take a culinary path. “They said if this is what you love to do, do it and figure it out as you go along,” he says.

Gaines enrolled in A-B Tech’s culinary program, but shortly before he was to begin an internship at The Omni Grove Park Inn, he became a father, and figuring it out took on new meaning. He left school and took a job shucking oysters at The Lobster Trap, where within five years, he advanced to the position of sous chef.

He later did a brief stint at Corner Kitchen before moving in 2017 to Capella on 9, the rooftop restaurant in the newly opened AC Hotel downtown. Just three months in, the executive chef position opened up, and at the urging of his fiancé and young son, Gaines asked to be considered. Posana executive chef Jordan Arace (Posana is part of the Mandara Hospitality Group that consulted on the Capella on 9 concept) saw his potential, Gaines says, giving him the opportunity to learn and prove himself until he was named executive chef six months later.

While Gaines says he has not experienced overt or severe racism during his career in Asheville, he acknowledges that it exists. “There are assumptions and stereotyping based on race, for sure, on every level,” he says. “A Black person comes into the kitchen or the dining room, and it’s all eyes on that person.

It’s subtle, but it’s also normal. I have always had to work that much harder, but that motivates me.”

SHADES OF RACISM

Cooking is McMillian’s third career after four years in the Army, then a stretch putting to use the business degree he earned in his hometown of Orange, N.J., at the Bank of America in Charlotte, where the mother of his son had moved from New York.

When banking went bust in 2008, he decided to use his GI Bill benefits to professionalize his knack for cooking.

In his classes at Johnson & Wales in Charlotte, he noted a lack of Black faces. “In labs, there were typically 14 to 16 students, and maybe two or three were people of color,” he says.

After securing degrees in culinary arts and food service management, he began a peripatetic path of upper-level chef positions through some of Manhattan’s best-known restaurants, where he found opportunity and plenty of shades of racism.

From some owners, he says, there was blatant bigotry, including open use of the N-word and discourage-

ment of McMillian’s efforts to motivate Black back-of-house workers to pursue more skilled positions.

“From peers, it was more learned behaviors and stereotyping, like my decisions and cooking methods being questioned,” he says. “I’m 100% certain that would not happen if I were not a Black man.”

McMillian found a mentor in Dominican chef Aksel Theilkuhl at STK restaurant in Manhattan.

Theilkuhl later recruited him to assume the executive chef role at Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse and, in 2018, lured him to a small mountain town in upstate New York to serve as his chef de cuisine at the DeBruce Inn, named that year as one of Esquire magazine’s best new restaurants. But as McMillian sought to move closer to his son in Charlotte, Asheville loomed on the horizon.

“When Benne was on Esquire’s 2019 list, and I saw Ashleigh was Black, I reached out to her,” McMillian says. Conversations ultimately led to interviews with Shanti and Fleer. He accepted the position of executive sous chef last July, and when Shanti left in November, he took over as chef de cuisine.

PROGRESS NEEDED: Malcolm McMillian, chef de cuisine at Benne on Eagle, asserts that the country’s restaurant industry has centuries of catching up to do when it comes to equity in the kitchen. Photo courtesy of Benne on Eagle

FOOD AND LAUGHTER: Clarence Robinson launched Cooking with Comedy Catering in 2010 while he was still working in restaurants and also felt motivated to inspire young people in his community through free cooking classes.

Photo courtesy of The Ingles Table

COOKING FOR COMMUNITY

Mentorship led chef Kikkoman Shaw to his current position running the Asheville Housing Authority’s Southside Community Kitchen, which five days a week provides 300 meals for elderly, homebound and disabled residents using top-notch products, including fresh, local produce from We Give a Share.

The Asheville native first met the meal program’s co-founder, chef Mark Rosenstein, when he was enrolled in the Green Opportunities Kitchen Ready culinary training course. For a time, Rosenstein had managed the program, which was offered at Southside Kitchen, where Shaw is now referred to as “Boss Man.” “Chef Mark told me if I could cook good food, I could go anywhere in the world and get a job, that it was all about building my toolbox,” recalls Shaw. “It opened my horizons to try different foods and experiment with different flavors. I started watching cooking shows and buying cookbooks. I knew there weren’t many Black chefs in Asheville, so I set my mind to achieve that.”

His first job after graduating from the program was at Bouchon, where he learned to cook French cuisine. From there, he went to Blackbird, where he ran the lunch service. When Blackbird temporarily closed due to COVID-19, Rosenstein called Shaw and asked him to helm

the meals program at Southside Community Kitchen.

“Chef Mark believes in me, and I believe in him,” Shaw says. Shaw also believes in the team he has built of four Black graduates of the first GO Kitchen Ready class. “I want to see all of them excel and do wonderful in life,” he says. “I want to find people in the situation I was in and motivate them to succeed.”

In addition to Rosenstein, Shaw credits legendary Asheville chef and social justice activist Hanan Shabazz — recently honored by the Southern Foodways Alliance with its 2020 Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award — with providing inspiration for the entire crew.

“She has her way,” Shaw says with a laugh. “She brings so much to us.

She has so much insight into what it was like for Black cooks years before we were born.”

CREATIVE PATHWAYS

Chef Clarence Robinson was born in Asheville and, as a “military brat,” lived in various U.S. states before settling back here, where he got his GED at A-B Tech. Always drawn to the kitchen to watch his mother, grandmother and aunts cook, he enrolled in the school’s culinary program, which led to positions at the Omni Grove Park Inn, Sunny Point Café and Chestnut, a stint managing the Western Carolina Rescue Mission kitchen and ongoing cooking demo videos with The Ingles Table.

Robinson launched Cooking with Comedy Catering in 2010 while he was still working in restaurants and also felt motivated to inspire young people in his community through free cooking classes. “I started bringing kids to my kitchen to teach them and show them how fun cooking could be and also a career,” he says.

In 2019, he committed full time to his catering company and intends to resume the workshops for kids when pandemic social distancing requirements ease.

He says he’s experienced racism throughout his career in multiple ways, from verbal abuse and sabotage to being underpaid and undervalued. “One place wanted me to create a soul food menu for them and be executive chef, but the salary they offered was less than a white line cook would make,” says Robinson.

He declined.

Robinson believes the key to success for Black chefs in Asheville is to create their own path. He’s set to debut a food truck this month, Cooking with Comedy by the Flavor King. And to help fill Asheville’s soul food void, he has partnered with SoundSpace@Rabbit’s Music Rehearsal Studios to create a café that’s projected to open in late fall or winter. The name, he says, will be Areta’s Soul Food in honor of his Aunt Areta. “That name just sounds like good food,” he says.

Ownership, says Fleer, is key to growing Black representation in the industry. The condition under which he agreed to open Benne on Eagle on The Foundry Hotel property was that it reflect the history and culture of The Block. “In the best of all possible worlds, there would have been a Black owner from the beginning of the life of Benne,” he says. “My ultimate hope is that at some point, there will be.”

When Shanti departed Benne, she made it clear she planned to stay in Asheville and devote herself to developing opportunities for Black and underserved communities. “As a Black woman and Black chef in Asheville, I see the importance of representation of restaurant ownership,” she told Xpress in December.

“I want to be a part of diversifying that sector, and I believe Asheville is a great place to do it. I think most chefs want to open their own restaurant. I am definitely one of those.”

So is Gaines, who says, “My ultimate goal is to open my own small restaurant in Asheville, on the value of my own name, Rakim Gaines.” X

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ARTS & C U L T U R E

ROUNDUP

Around town

The latest history talks, art exhibits and poetry contests

Opening the Door to Change The Rural Heritage Museum at Mars Hill University recently debuted its latest exhibit, Opening the Door to Change: Educating Rural Appalachia. “This exhibition presents a focus on the dynamic relationship between community values and education,” says Les Reker, director of the Rural Heritage Museum. “It explores how rural students have had to navigate the various economic, geographic and racial challenges they have faced while pursing an education in rural Appalachia, especially Western North Carolina.” Examining the time period between the mid-19th and the late 20th century, the virtual presentation includes videos, rare photographs and detailed historical panels. To learn more about the free, online exhibit, visit avl.mx/8yf.

Lunch & Learn with historian Steve Nash Steve Nash, associate professor of history at East Tennessee State University and president of the Mountain History and Culture Group, will host a virtual Lunch & Learn at Pack Memorial Library on Tuesday, Feb. 16. Nash’s presentation will focus on the Freedmen’s Bureau, a government agency brought in to help the South adjust

The Creative Well Local artist Nate Barton’s new exhibit, The Creative Well, is on display in the Upper Gallery at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts. Comprising various mediums, the collection features oil pastels, watercolors and ink. “In the past few months, I have experienced a bit of an explosion of creativity,” says Barton in a press release. “My creative well is overflowing, and I have been channeling it into making art.” The exhibit is free to attend and runs through Friday, Feb. 26, at Black Mountain Center for Arts, 225 W. State St., Black Mountain. Hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

To learn more, visit avl.mx/8yh.

Asheville Mardi Gras

CLASSMATES: Students pose outside the historic Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School circa 1947. The photo is one of several on display at the Rural Heritage Museum’s latest exhibit, Opening the Door to Change: Educating Rural Appalachia. Photo courtesy of the Rural Heritage Museum at Mars Hill University from slave to paid labor, following the Confederacy’s defeat during the Civil War. Running noon-1 p.m., the event is free to attend. To learn more, visit avl.mx/8zp.

Art & Design Faculty Biennial

Every two years, Western Carolina University’s Fine Art Museum invites faculty members to

share their latest works at the Art & Design Faculty Biennial. This year’s theme is water. According to a description on the university’s website, the show asks viewers “to consider our physical and psychological relationship with water, as well as its spectrum of impact on our lives and ecosystems, as both a destructive force and sustainer of life.” Currently on display, the virtual exhibit runs through Friday, May 7. Learn more at avl.mx/8ya.

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In response to COVID-19, the annual Asheville Mardi Gras is changing course, opting for its first-ever house float parade instead of its traditional downtown Mardi Gras celebration. Over 20 homes are participating with outlandish decorations capturing the spirit of the festival, which takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 16. For details, including a map of participating homes, visit avl.mx/8z1.

Calling all poets N.C. State University’s annual poetry contest is accepting submissions from all North Carolina residents, including out-of-state and international students enrolled in North Carolina universities.

Published writers, tenured/ tenure-track professors in the University of North Carolina system and previous contest winners are ineligible. It’s free to enter, and contestants may submit up to three poems. Deadline to enter is Monday, March 1. For more details, visit avl.mx/8yg.

Still time to submit Moog Music is accepting submissions through Sunday, Feb. 28, for a new vinyl mural that will span the width of the Moog factory building in downtown Asheville.

Proposals should be emailed to factory@moogmusic.com with the subject line “Moog Factory Artwork Submission.” For more information, visit avl.mx/8yi.

— Thomas Calder X 24

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MOUNTAINX.COM

FOOD

Lotsa love!

In the Before Times, snagging a table for two for a Valentine’s Day dinner out with your sweetie required shrewd advance planning.

But this year, take heart, procrastinators! Several Asheville restaurants are cooking up romantic dinners to take away and enjoy in your private love nest. Some are also offering dine-in service, but reservations — and masks — are required.

La Bodega by Cúrate’s Tapas for Two To-Go recreates the grazing experience tête à tête in the privacy of your own home. Among the eight small plates are a trio of Spanish cheeses, croquetas, sautéed shrimp, Cúrate’s signature piquillo peppers and burnt Basque cheesecake. Available for pickup or local delivery. $92 plus tax and gratuity. 32 S. Lexington Ave. avl.mx/8yq Ivory Road Café & Kitchen has your love feast and tables for two by reservation 5-9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12.

The three-course menu with options for appetizer, entrée and dessert is $32 per person. Ivory Road, 1854 Brevard Road. avl.mx/8yk Reserve a view for two with a threecourse prix fixe dinner on Sunday, Feb. 14, at The Montford Rooftop Bar. 199 Haywood St. avl.mx/8yl RendezVous suggests a rendezvous chez vous with a takeout surf (lobster) and turf (beef Wellington) dinner for two with sides, dessert and wine for $145. Pickup is at noon and 5 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. $145. Call 828-348-0909 for details or order by Saturday, Feb. 13. avl.mx/8ym The same menu can also be enjoyed inside RendezVous or Bouchon downtown by reservation only at avl.mx/8yn. RendezVous, 181 New Haw Creek Road; Bouchon 62 N. Lexington Ave.

Wine, dine and eat more chocolate

Bones treats, a partnership with Texasand New York-based Hearts & Bones Animal Rescue. Three blends of the specially shaped love bites are available all month, with $1 from every $10 package sold being donated to Hearts & Bones. Botanical Bones are sold at Flora and West Village Market, can be ordered as an add-on to BimBeriBon’s Big Bountiful Bags and are available through the Bountiful Bones website at avl.mx/8qp.

— Kay West X

CHERRY BOMBED: Get your heart on with a tin of chocolate-covered cherries, part of the French Broad Chocolate Valentine’s Sweet Shop line. Photo

by Kristina Valdiviezo, courtesy of FBC also reveal Bottle Riot’s new awning, enhanced indoor and outdoor seating and additional lighting and heating on the patio. Bottle Riot, 37 Paynes Way. avl.mx/wordcaoq CHOCA-LOTTA

French Broad Chocolates invites you to say “je t’aime” with its Valentine’s Day-themed Love + Chocolate Collection of a dozen boxed chocolates, red and rose wine bonbon sets, chocolate-covered cherries, raspberry-white chocolate covered macadamias and limited-edition chocolate bars. Order online at avl.mx/8yo and pick up from the factory at 821 Riverside Drive, or wear your mask and peruse the cases at the downtown shop at 10 S. Pack Square.

POP STAR Want an unconventional Valentine’s Day gift that benefits the community? Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn’s new Asheville Artist Bag, designed by local artist Annie Riker, is stuffed with nine cups of Asheville Mix — a savory-sweet white cheddar and salted caramel blend. For every Asheville Artist Bag sold, Poppy will donate $2 to the Asheville High School Hands Up program supporting students and their families with educational resources. To order, visit avl.mx/8zj.

PUPPY LOVE

Botanical Bones, a local vegan and gluten-free line of dog biscuits baked by former Brooklynite Rachel Meyer, is offering limited edition Hearts &

SEEING RED

And white and pink and even orange. Just in time to clink glasses of bubbly with your valentine, Bottle Riot reopens Friday, Feb. 12, with a new love match between the River Arts District wine bar owners Lauri and Barrett Nichols and Strada Italiano owner and chef Anthony Cerrato. Piccola Strada will take over the kitchen and serve a small-plate menu of Strada classics like Tuscan stuffed figs, grilled Florentine ravioli and new items showcasing housemade fresh pasta. The reopening will

Show love to at least 8 of your favorite local businesses over the 28 days in February Choose local-independent businesses over Amazon and corporate behemoths @golocalasheville #828golocalchallenge MOUNTAINX.COM

FEB. 10-16, 2021

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ARTS & CU L T U R E

MUSIC

Four-part harmony

Jon Charles Dwyer, Spaceman Jones and the Motherships, Musashi Xero and Hustle Souls release new albums

BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com Inching up on a year since venues were temporarily shuttered, Asheville-area musicians continue to release new music — much of which was written and recorded prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but paused until creators could get a better sense of the altered industry. Xpress spoke with four such solo artists and groups about their first-quarter releases, three of which share the same producer.

STARDUST MEMORIES

Released on Jan. 29, Jon Charles Dwyer’s Junebug is a gorgeous

MOVIE LISTINGS Bruce Steele’s and Edwin Arnaudin’s latest critiques of new films available to view via local theaters and popular streaming services include: TWO OF US: This concise and moving French sapphic drama explores the risks of coming out to possibly unsupportive family members, not coming out at all and never letting go. Grade: A-minus. Not rated A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX: Documentarian Rodney Ascher profiles purveyors of “simulation theory,” which posits that life is an illusion controlled by an outside force. The concepts are thought-provoking, but the film’s production value is fairly middling. Grade: B. Not rated MALCOLM & MARIE: Zendaya and John David Washington give their all in this noisy, drama-filled two-hander that feels like it was meant for the stage.

Grade: C-plus. Rated R

Find full reviews and local film info at ashevillemovies.com patreon.com/ashevillemovies 26

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RESOLUTE: Clockwise from top left, local artists Jon Charles Dwyer, Spaceman Jones and the Motherships, Hustle Souls and Musashi Xero are releasing new projects within weeks of one another. Dwyer and Spaceman photos by Jake Dwyer/Shape Studios; Hustle Souls photo by Donnie Rex Bishop; Xero photo by Tyler Jackson/Andrew Anderson collection of Americana originals, fortified by full-band instrumentation that provides a thoughtful complement to the singer-songwriter’s warm but knowing vocals and confident acoustic strumming.

The artist’s second full-length work is produced by Cliff B. Worsham, one of Dwyer’s biggest supporters since he and his wife moved to Asheville in 2017 and whose creative partnership Dwyer believes is less a choice than something “written in the stars.” In addition to Worsham’s sonic expertise, Dwyer brought in his former Appalachian State University bluegrass professor Rebecca Branson Jones on pedal steel guitar and another former Boone connection, Alex Travers, on fiddle. Rounding out the collaborations is celebrated indie rocker Jessica Lea Mayfield.

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“I asked [Mayfield] to sing on ‘Good Folks,’ but she got back to me after listening to the record and informed me that she also wanted to sing on ‘Shame,’” Dwyer says. “I of course gratefully responded with a resounding, ‘Please!’”

The two went on to film the forthcoming video for “Good Folks” outside Los Angeles — the kind of trip that Dwyer yearns to take again once pandemic conditions improve to where he can perform live without putting attendees at risk. Until then, he’s content to keep his skills sharp in a more private setting.

“I work the front desk at Empire Tattoo, and we don’t open until noon. I love to come in early before anyone gets there and sing,” Dwyer says. “It helps. I miss it all, but I’m grateful for all that’s here.” joncharlesdwyer.bandcamp.com

RETURN TO THE COSMOS

Worsham’s involvement on an Americana album may raise eyebrows for listeners accustomed to his prolific work in hip-hop and electronica under the moniker MOTHER HOOD, but the artist is upfront that the eclectic credits are an accurate reflection of his interests.

“People get caught up in genre, and I feel like it’s so limiting,” Worsham says. “I go from listening to bubblegum pop-punk to the heaviest hardcore metal to the grimiest hip-hop in a day.”

That sonic openness has been evident throughout Worsham’s successful partnership with local hip-hop artist Davaion Bristol in the duo Spaceman Jones and the Motherships, whose The Loops of Life, Vol. 1 EP is slated for a Tuesday, March 9, release on a limited run 7-inch vinyl. Vol. 2 arrives in June, at which point the entire EP will be released digitally with a bonus track.

Though written before quarantine, the lyrics on The Loops of Life reflect a strong sense of survival, inspired by Bristol feeling significant upheaval in his life on a professional level, being in between jobs, as well as as other personal matters. Add to those crises the tempered appreciation for the tremendous creativity that he and Worsham funnel into each track, and their latest project forms the exciting nexus of numerous stresses and inspirations.

“We haven’t been the most celebrated outside of Asheville. We are kind of a bubble phenomenon right now,” Bristol says. “There were some competitive juices flowing, wanting to be the best, and feeling like we had been putting out so much quality work — and to only be recognized and celebrated in the place that we are from is a little bit frustrating to me. So, I wanted to step it up a little bit.” spacemanjonesandthemotherships.bandcamp. com

CHEF’S SPECIAL

Worsham likewise crafted the beats for local hip-hop artist Tyler “Musashi Xero” Jackson’s new EP, Clean Plate Club, a concept album loosely built around themes concerning cuisine.

“I just love food and the art of it,” Jackson says. “I love to cook, I

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AR T S & C UL T U R E love how it brings people together.

I see a lot of parallels between it and music.”

The rapper’s distinct gravelly timbre pairs nicely with Worsham’s sonically dark production and builds on what Jackson calls their “natural connection” that’s existed from the start of their friendship.

And while the project’s thematic intentions are evident across songs with names such as “Bones,” “Reservations” and the Bristol collaboration “Leftovers,” Jackson was careful to tap into his “knack for writing with specificity” and keep the conceptual tie-ins loose rather than take a “more overboard” approach as he did on his single “Strawberry Fields.”

Clean Plate Club also marks Jackson’s first album since recovering from a fortunately mild bout of COVID-19 in the fall. Though he’s always “created music with a sense of urgency,” he feels that his experiences in 2020 have helped grow his artistry in numerous aspects.

“The ways in which life has changed and the long-term effects on how things have been altered

that we’ve yet to fully see have surely continued to push me to focus,” he says. “However, the last year provided me with the opportunity to look up from the hustle and develop new parts of myself and expand who I see myself as, which has been rewarding and illuminating.” musashixero.bandcamp.com

CHECKING IN

Hustle Souls’ Daydream Motel may not feature Worsham’s involvement, but its high-energy songs, slick production and rich soulfulness would likely make him proud. The quartet’s latest upbeat EP (out Sunday, Feb. 14) is a welcome respite from the pandemic’s daily fears and uncertainty. Yet the collection is very much a product of the past year and was scheduled to be recorded a week before statewide stay-at-home orders were implemented.

“There were times when the general daydream lightness of the album was in obvious conflict with the outside world, and what we were doing felt trivial in comparison,” says frontman Billy Litz. “But some of the most jubilant music of all time has come in response to what I can only imagine to be very difficult situations, so maybe joyous music isn’t always just an escape from a miserable situation but can serve as a rebellion against it — and

maybe the recording of this music gave us the chance to break the negative loop or attraction to dwell in the misery of a situation.”

Litz, Chris Everett (guitar), Jonathan Taylor (bass/vocals), Kevin Scott (drums/vocals) and producer Eric Sarafin — whom Litz calls “the fifth member of the band” — did their best not to “think too much about the world crumbling around [them] outside” and managed to settle into the groove of tracking Daydream Motel fairly quickly.

Adjusting to an existence where they’re not on the road two-four days a week, however, has proved more challenging and forced the bandmates to take on new jobs to earn a living.

“We still practice and have written basically a whole new album, but the only time we have found to practice that works for our new schedules is 8 a.m. on Mondays, which is pretty early in the musician world,” Litz says. “I know for myself, I had to come to peace with the fact that making music in front of people cannot be my identity or where I get all my purpose and joy in life. It’s really frustrating to let go of a plan you have spent years of sleepless nights trying to build for no fault of your own — like, really frustrating. But I realized that my joy for music is personal and will always be there.” hustlesouls.bandcamp.com X

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Author Anton Chekhov made a radical proposal: “Perhaps the feelings we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows people who they should be.” In accordance with astrological potentials, my beloved Aries darling, I invite you to act as if Chekhov’s proposal were absolutely true for at least the next two weeks. Be animated by a generous lust for life. Assume that your intelligence will reach a peak as you express excited kindness and affectionate compassion. Be a fount of fond feelings and cheerful empathy and nourishing ardor.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau told the following story about Taurus composer Erik Satie (1866–1925). When Satie died, his old friends, many of whom were highly accomplished people, came to visit his apartment.

There they discovered that all the letters they had sent him over the years were unopened. Satie had never read them! How sad that he missed out on all that lively exchange. I beg you not to do anything that even remotely resembles such a lack of receptivity during the coming weeks, Taurus.

In fact, please do just the opposite: Make yourself as open as possible to engagement and influence.

I understand that the pandemic somewhat limits your social interactions. Just do the best you can.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): On behalf of the cosmic omens, I demand that the important people in your life be reliable and generous toward you in the coming weeks. You can tell them I said so. Tell them that you are doing pretty well, but that in order to transform pretty well into very well, you need them to boost their support and encouragement. Read them the following words from author Alan Cohen: “Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly; your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty; and your purpose when you are confused.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): For a while, poet Alfred de Musset (1810–1857) was the sexual partner of Cancerian novelist George Sand (1804–1876), also known as Aurore Dupin. He said that after intense love-making sessions, he would fall asleep and wake up to find her sitting at her desk, engrossed in working on her next book. Maybe the erotic exchange inspired her creativity? In accordance with current astrological potentials, I recommend Sand’s approach to you. Vigorous pleasure will coordinate well with hard work. As will deep release with strong focus. As will tender intimacy with clear thinking. (P.S. I know your options for pleasure and intimacy may be somewhat limited because of the pandemic. Call on your ingenuity and resourcefulness to work the best magic possible.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo poet Warsan Shire suggests, “Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself — what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat.” This would be an excellent exercise for you to carry out during this Valentine season.

You’re in a phase when you’re likely to enhance your lovability and attract extra support simply by intensifying and refining the affectionate compassion you feel and express toward yourself.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I wish the pandemic would give us a short break so we could celebrate the Valentine season with maximum sensual revelry and extravagant displays of joyful tenderness. I wish we could rip off our masks and forget about social-distancing and hug and kiss everyone who wants to be hugged and kissed. But that’s not going to happen. If we hope to be free to indulge in a Lush Love and Lust Festival by Valentine Season in 2022, we’ve got to be cautious and controlled now. And we are all counting on you Virgos to show us how to be as wildly, lyrically romantic as possible while still observing the necessary limitations. That’s your special task.

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Raymond Carver wrote, “It ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love.” That seems like a harsh oversimplification to me. Personally, I think it’s fun and interesting to pretend we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love. And I think that will be especially true for you in the coming weeks. In my astrological opinion, you should be discussing love extensively and boldly and imaginatively. You should redefine what love means to you. You should re-evaluate how you express it and reconfigure the way it works in your life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I’m turning over this horoscope to psychologist John Welwood.

His words are the medicine you need at this juncture in the evolution of intimacy. Study the following quote and interpret it in ways that help illuminate your relationship with togetherness: “A soul connection is a resonance between two people who respond to the essential beauty of each other’s individual natures, behind their facades, and who connect on this deeper level.

This kind of mutual recognition provides the catalyst for a potent alchemy. It is a sacred alliance whose purpose is to help both partners discover and realize their deepest potentials.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Transform yourself with the sweetest challenge you can dream up. Give yourself a blessing that will compel you to get smarter and wilder. Dazzle yourself as you dare to graduate from your history. Rile yourself up with a push to become your better self, your best self, your amazingly fulfilled and masterful self. Ask yourself to leap over the threshold of ordinary magic and into the realm of spooky good magic. And if all that works out well, Sagittarius, direct similar energy toward someone you care about. In other words, transform them with the sweetest challenge you can dream up. Dare them to graduate from their history. And so on.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I invite you to compose a message to a person you’d like to be closer to and who you’re sure would like to be closer to you. Be inspired by what poet Clementine von Radics wrote to the man she was dating, telling him why she thought they could start living together. Here’s her note: “Because you texted me a haiku about the moon when you were drunk. Because you cried at the end of the movie Die Hard on Christmas Eve. Because when I’m sick you bring me fruit, kiss me on the mouth and hold me even though I’m gross.

Because you bring me flowers for no reason but on Valentine’s Day you gave me a bouquet of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Because every time I show you a poem I love you’ve read it already.”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’ve adopted some lines from poet Walt Whitman for you to use in composing a love note. Send it to a person you know and love, or to a person you want to know and love, or a person you will know and love in the future. Here it is: “We are oaks growing in the openings side by side. We are two fishes swimming together. We are two predatory hawks, soaring above and looking down. We are two clouds driving overhead. We are seas mingling, two cheerful waves rolling over each other. We are snow, rain, cold, darkness. We circle and circle till arriving home again, voiding all but freedom and our own joy.”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “To heal is to touch with love that which was previously touched by fear,” wrote author Stephen Levine. I propose you make this theme a keynote for your best relationships in the coming days. What can you do to alleviate the anxiety and agitation of the people you care for? How might they do the same for you? If you play along with the cosmic rhythms, you will have extraordinary power to chase away fear with love.

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22 Remark from one who’s obviously not going to call

36 Vivid colors

23 Ancient Jewish Note: The clues in this “uniclue” crossword 5 Stiffly formal ascetic appear in a single list, combining Across 6 Rice-A-___ and Down. When two answers share a 7 Not reacting 24 Emoji that can number, they also share a clue, in a mean “Get a load 8 Raised one’s manner to be determined. of this!” spirits?

CLUES 3 Predators of 9 Old Glory 25 East Coast city penguins 1 Rubberneck 10 Past the point of on a western being a joke, say 2 Lands heavily coast 4 ___ to shame

HOME IMPROVEMENT

No. 0106

35 French political division 37 Game with antlers 38 The last one was named Louis

puzzle by Eric Bornstein 42 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup champs

57 Orange discard

43 Footwear fashion faux pas

59 “Impractical Jokers” channel

44 Condition that can lead to repetitive behavior, for short 45 Risk losing one’s license, say 46 1950s-’60s entertainment group 47 Container at a bakery 48 Button on a deli scale 49 Houston team 50 Country with 28 states

58 “No food for me, thanks”

53 “Gotcha”

39 Breakfast grains

54 Each

40 Portuguese greeting

55 Exaggerated stories

41 Fully from, as a place

56 Proven to be reliable

67 “Feel the ___” (bygone political slogan)

60 Italian man 61 Reproductive cells

68 Paradises

62 Cowboy’s lasso

69 The Jackson 5 had some big ones, informally

63 Sneaker insert 64 Former Japanese P.M. Shinzo ___

70 “Slow Churned” ice cream brand

65 Store hours word

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

F O R A G E

I C A R U S

N E W E S T

F L I P O U T

G R E N O B L E

R O A D R A C E

51 Enthusiasm 52 Actor Poitier

66 Anxiety about being excluded from the fun, for short

D A A N V S I E C R E S E R A H A H A A R H B I G O T E R M A E R N S

P I N Y O N

P E N S

O S M C E A A R H U B S

O N I T

S W A T A M N O O R R A L B A P U S B A L L E M

A C E L A E C O R E L Y

F O R B I D

T R E A S U R K E G B I F O A N C L E Y

R E C L I N E R

A R T L E S S

R E S C U E

D W E E B S

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FEB. 10-16, 2021

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