I read with interest the travails of runner Chris Moe, who was hit twice by cars and threatened with legal action, all during a single run on Asheville roads [“Asheville drivers should share the road with runners,” Feb. 11, Xpress]. I’m a runner myself, and in 25 years of running, much of it on roads, […]
Author: Letters
Showing 2605-2625 of 2857 results
Letter writer: ‘Medical Intuitives’ article needed a skeptical eye
Your paper has in recent months published a series of frankly unbelievable statements about what various people can do with various supernatural abilities — all of them presented by the reporters as simple facts, without even a hint of journalistic skepticism. I have cringed, rolled my eyes and said nothing. But the absurdity reached a […]
Letter writer: Freaking out about vaccines? Really?
As you may know, Asheville is among the areas with the highest rates of unvaccinated children in the country. I’m not anti-vaccine, really I’m not. That said, I swear this whole controversy around vaccines feels to me like the secular liberal equivalent of homosexuality for conservative Christians. Of all the things the Bible in general […]
Letter writer: Thousands of small solutions exist for Asheville’s white-supremacy problem
Reading Jerry Sternberg‘s opinion piece, “Gospel According to Jerry: Confessions of a Recovering Racist” [Feb. 11, Xpress], inspired a lot of feelings in me: Irritation, disgust and confusion were the big ones, but there was also a sense of relief. Here is someone with white-skin privilege talking about racism in Asheville, acknowledging that he is a recovering racist and asking about solutions.
Letter writer: Big Ivy’s forests must be protected
When we purchased our Barnardsville-area property years ago, we chose it primarily because it backed up to national forest lands. We felt this ensured that the land would be protected for our family and for future generations. Why are we now considering creating roads to slice through the forest so that logging trucks can cut […]
Letter writer: Asheville offers multiple spiritual (and nonspiritual) paths
I enjoyed the cover article for a December issue (posted online on Dec. 24) entitled “Churches in the fall: local churches get back to their roots in a rapidly changing millennial culture” [Dec. 25, Xpress]. Howard Hanger, founder of Jubilee! definitely helps with the hanging chads left behind by more conservative expressions of orthodoxy and orthopraxy […]
Letter writer: Committed community leaders needed for Asheville City Schools
What could be more important than nurturing the next generation? Public education is an essential part of our democracy, and a local board of education has one of the most important responsibilities — helping steer the educational journeys of the students in our community. Our Board of Education’s decisions affect the lives of students, parents, […]
Letter writer: Leave your big-city driving habits at home
So, my beautiful city has expanded and improved in marvelous ways since my childhood days in the ’70 and ’80s. And some negative things have come along with it. As a native, here’s my issue with you moving here. You bring your nasty, aggressive, mean, “all about me” big-city driving habits with you. Let me preface the rest of […]
Letter writer: Julie Mayfield would be an asset on City Council
As a resident of Asheville for 18 years and an active member of my community, I’m always excited to see inspiring women leaders step up to their calling in politics and run for office. It is that time for Julie Mayfield, and I’m pleased to see her candidacy for Asheville City Council. Julie is an […]
Letter writer: Zoning laws could ensure future buildings complement natural beauty
I recently returned from a visit to Scottsdale, Ariz. All of the houses and businesses there are set back 200 feet from the roads. The exterior of all the buildings match the sand of the desert floor and none of them are more then two stories high. Billboards are nonexistent As a result, when you […]
Letter writer: Asheville needs looping technology to help those with hearing loss
[Xpress has] been carrying articles related to wellness, emphasizing the whole person. But if you are going to deal with the health of the whole person, you need to consider hearing loss and the limited availability of means for dealing with it. It can lead to gross isolation, which can be a life and death […]
Letter writer: Will Asheville make Oregon’s density mistakes?
In the late ’70s, Oregon embarked on a strategy to limit urban sprawl and became the first state to adopt an aggressive “Smart Growth” methodology of zoning. Its goals were exemplary but failed to anticipate that the most “efficient” way to populate the cities was directly opposed to the way that people actually wanted to […]
Letter writer: Asheville drivers should share the road with runners
Asheville, N.C., Voted Worst Place to be a Runner! Well, not exactly the worst place to be a runner by any means. To be fair, Asheville is probably one of the greatest cities in the world to be a trail runner. I happen to be training for a road race, though, and that requires pounding […]
Letter writer: Set a better example, Urban Outfitters
I am writing to express my dismay when I drive or walk by the Urban Outfitters store in downtown Asheville and see their large double doors propped wide open, no matter what the weather. In the summer, you are blasted with cold air from their AC on the sidewalk. In the winter, the heat must be […]
Letter writer: Off-duty rescue workers saved my life
I have been hearing about the Asheville “vortex” ever since moving here in 2011 but did not realize that the city is also host to a number of angelic beings. Three weeks ago, I suffered a severe psychotic break and found myself wandering down Biltmore Avenue, trying to make it to the hospital on foot. […]
Letter writer: Asheville’s reactions to growth show how people dislike change
It seems that a lot of Asheville residents have strong opinions as to what our city should be and the types of people who should live here. I cringe to see the occasional “Keep Asheville Weird” and “Don’t Move Here” bumper stickers. Who among us can claim the rights to any place, really? The boundary lines […]
Letter writer: Blaming visitors will not solve community’s problems
I have been reading more and more calls to make Asheville for locals, and it feels unnecessarily divisive. Who is a local? I moved here with my family in 1966 — but I’m not a native. Do you have to live here full time to be invited to enjoy this city? What about students at UNC […]
Time to act, while there’s something left to save
No doubt you have already noticed that with the passing of each year, there is less and less of what many of us love the most about living in Asheville. The nature. The destruction happens faster and faster each year. Look well upon every tiny little nook and cranny where a few trees provide habitat […]
‘American Sniper’ an ‘endless abomination’
I saw the incredibly violent American Sniper on M.L. King’s nonviolent birthday in a Biltmore Grande theater packed with other Ashevilleans. Director Clint Eastwood succeeded in depicting how brilliantly brave sniper Chris Kyle was tragically traumatized, and then murdered, in part by America’s Middle Eastern policy. The movie is mainly an endless abomination of kicking […]
Hanke’s comment might prove hurtful to victims of child abuse
Reviewing Inherent Vice [Jan.7, Xpress], Ken Hanke wrote, “I suspect there are people who can resist a movie with lines like, ‘He forced my little girl to listen to original Broadway cast albums while he had his way with her,’ but I am not one of those people. That is just one of the many nuggets of […]
Two Henderson County wineries omitted from wine industry story
While we are always happy to see coverage of the Western North Carolina wine industry [“Grape Expectations: The Changing Face of WNC Wine,” Jan. 14, Xpress], we were very disappointed that the two Henderson County wineries — Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards and Burntshirt — were not included in the story. Failure to include these thriving wineries in your own backyard […]