It is so mean to put a collar on a wild bear! It is so self-serving to put a bear through human harassment. If people see lots of bears out there, there probably are lots of bears out there. If you don’t see lots of bears out there, probably there are not lots of bears out […]

A DO-NOTHING Congress and a House of Representatives, whose real speaker is a radical right-wing senator, not even a member of the House, have accomplished less and hurt the country more over the past six years than any Congress in history. It’s a fact. [John] Boehner is just a puppet, not a leader in any sense […]

The series of paid informational advertisements by Ingles has taken the store out of advertising and into advocacy. This is dangerous ground for a company because it alienates customers who don’t agree. The nationwide boycott of Hobby Lobby for its stance against parts of the Affordable Care Act is an example of where this can […]

I’m sure most people know by now that Nancy Waldrop (wife of soon-to-be ex-Commissioner  Republican David King) was successful in securing the votes needed to run as an unafilliated candidate in November for her husband’s commission position. The Democrats were unable to get anyone from their own party to run for the job, so they […]

Based on Ken Hanke’s raving five-star review [“Snowpiercer,” July 9, Xpress], we saw the new movie Snowpiercer. Having endured the two-hour farce, I can only surmise Hanke is enjoying either payola or powerful psychoactive drugs. This was one of those movies that was so unapologetically bad that it was almost good. It was good in […]

For the past two or three years I have been reading “Eating Right for Good Health” by corporate dietitian Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets in Mountain Xpress. At first I would hear about all the new organic fruits, veggies and new products that Ingles had to carry and the benefits of gluten-free, etc. Then, in the last month […]

Talk about offending readers. After reading the Movies section, I was appalled that you promote a movie [“Venus in Fur,” July23, Xpress] directed by a sex criminal, Roman Polanski. No one should attend the movie Venus in Fur no matter how “great, great” it is or support its nasty director in any way, shape or form. Polanski […]

When I read Joe Stelpflug’s letter [“Beer Tourists, Beware of Gorges State Park,” July 16, Xpress], I was not at all surprised by the pompous attitude possessed by the Gorges State Park ranger he encountered on the July Fourth holiday. For some reason, in most instances, law enforcement officers believe that a badge gives them […]

(Robert) Woolley’s article [“Profiles in Suspicion,” July 16, Xpress], in which he claims, “A book’s cover does tell you something,” defends racial profiling with the erroneous argument that minorities commit crimes at higher rates. That’s a broad insult to make without any evidence to back it up. I wish Robert were aware of the insidious, […]

OK guys, I get it. I’ve been reading your reviews for a long time now, and I completely understand why you’d like a movie such as Life Itself over a movie such as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Not enough substance in the summer blockbuster that is Dawn, too many explosions, and where […]

Robert Woolley’s commentary (“Profiles in suspicion, ” July 19, Xpress) is a disgusting, racist rant from someone whose worldview is clearly very deeply steeped in white supremacy — a fact of which he seems incomprehensibly oblivious. Woolley seems to have no understanding of the ways the criminal justice system, the police and the prison-industrial complex […]

In response to Jonathan Ammons’ article “Handcuffed: Local Bartenders Decry ABC Law Restrictions” [July 9, Xpress], the availability of specialty spirits is alive and well. North Carolina’s alcohol control system is indeed conservative. Reforms are slow and deliberate, but many will argue that the system is a good balance of consumption and control. For example, […]

I am a disabled autistic adult, and I am writing to protest the use of the phrase “feebleminded” in your recent article about autism [“Profiles: Living Full-circle with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” June 25, Xpress]. This phrase is a very derogatory euphemism for a person with intellectual, developmental or cognitive disabilities. It is rooted in eugenics, forced […]

Thank you to Cameron Huntley  for a beautifully written story [“Poetic Mayhem at Thrashville:  The Secret World of WNC Skateboarding,” July 9, Xpress].  I didn’t expect that my interest would be held through a long article about skateboarding, but I was riveted. Poetic, lyrical and emotionally gripping, it was a work of art.  I’ll be […]

I truly enjoyed reading your story about people creating new retail marketing ideas in the area [“Driving Sales: Mobile Businesses Roll Into WNC,” July 9, Xpress].  There is another mobile boutique about to start in this area that I thought would be great to let your readers know about. It is called Hazel Twenty. The Facebook […]

In response to [David Lynch’s July 16] letter [“New Mural at Orbit DVD is Offensive”], we interpret art with our own issues and desires. I look at an orchid, and all I see is a beautiful exotic flower. Many people see a vagina, but I am gay, and I never think of vagina. Take for […]

On the evening of  July 4, I parked at the visitor center of Gorges State Park to refill water bottles. A park ranger pulled up behind me, and asked if I had any alcohol. At first I said “no,” but when he persisted, I fessed up to a six-pack of canned Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale […]

I enjoy all the new murals being created around our city. But I take offense to a new mural on the side of Orbit DVD at 781 Haywood Road in West Asheville. The mural features a young woman on all fours in a suggestive pose. Next to her is a three-toed sloth on top of […]

Residents of North Asheville will notice the absence of the white oak at 189 Kimberly Ave. Broken in a storm two years ago, it was bolted in five places and cabled in two in an effort to keep it upright. Subsequent testing showed the tree to be hollow in the bottom one-third of the trunk. […]

Thank you so much for your article on Autism [“Living Full-Circle with Autism Spectrum Disorder,”June 25, Xpress].  As a mother of a teenager on the spectrum, it is wonderful for a positive article on Autism. North Carolina is one of the best states for Autism help. But one thing is needed to make this the […]

There is a bill currently in the NC House of Representatives to put the issue of Medical Marijuana on the November ballot.  H1161 currently languishes in the Judiciary Committee under the control of Rep. Leo Daughtry (R-Johnston). The much-maligned marijuana  plant’s use for alleviating suffering is well enough documented that 23 states have legalized its […]