I’m writing as a citizen and resident of Jackson County to voice my support for Ron Robinson for N.C. Senate, 50th District. The seat is currently occupied by tea party extremist, Jim Davis. As a person deeply concerned about the degradation of our natural environment, I see candidate Robinson as someone I can trust to […]

I hope that I am not alone in my supreme discomfort at the casual discussions our City Council is having regarding placing a larger surveillance network of cameras in downtown. Is this a surveillance network that we will hand operation over to the police, whose department is mired in malfeasance and investigation? Draconian broad surveillance […]

Thanks for your reply to my EV letter, Melissa [Oglesbee] [“Are Electric Vehicles the Answer?” Feb. 12, Xpress]. My complaint was about the tax on innovation by the state, seemingly trying to inhibit an industry in its infancy. True, electricity powers the car, but the public EV stations on Charlotte Street and UNC Asheville both […]

Mark Bennett’s sales pitch for bison consumption [“Reviving the Herd,” Feb. 5, Xpress] contained several erroneous statements. First, he claimed that unlike beef cattle, bison don’t need hormones or antibiotics. Cattle kept in confined agricultural operations are given hormones to cause rapid unnatural weight gain in order to maximize profits, and antibiotics because close confinement […]

My family and I have owned property adjacent to the Coggins’ property on Old Farm School Road referenced in the article, [“Colliding Visions,” Jan. 22, Xpress] for 70 years. The majority of people who live in the Old Farm School area oppose Case Enterprise’s proposed development, constituting nearly 400 housing units and commercial properties. However, […]

Thank you, David Forbes, for the well-written account of the repeated run-off violations from Beverly-Grant’s strip-mall development on Merrimon Avenue (“Muddy Waters,” Jan. 29, Xpress ).  As much as I respect Shannon Tuch, director of Asheville’s development services, I must strongly disagree with her statement that Beverly-Grant is “really trying” [to keep its pollution on-site]. […]

I feel bad for Louise Harrison, the reader who responded [”Thankful for Mountain Mobility,” Feb. 5, Xpress] to my letter about the shortcomings of Mountain Mobility, [”Mountain Mobility Can Do More,” Jan. 28, Xpress]. Again, I am grateful for their transport to my many doctor appointments and to food shopping. If Ms. Harrison had a […]

RE:  [“Poultry for the people,” Feb. 5, Xpress] I commend the founder of the Asheville Chicken Club for pointing out that chickens are “fragile little birds and they need proper care.” I’d also like to share some information with those considering acquiring chickens. Half of the birds born at hatcheries supplying the egg industry (males) […]

I am overjoyed that our City Council is working to address the need for affordable housing in Asheville.  Both as a professional working in public health and an Asheville City Schools Board of Education member, I know the web of challenges that children and adults face in Asheville.  Affordable housing is one essential piece of […]

The “Fracking and Electric Vehicles in NC” letter in your Feb. 5 issue is another example of the black-and-white thinking that gets us nowhere as we face the daunting challenge of global energy. Mr. Beharrysingh would have us believe that fracking=bad and electric vehicle=good, and thus our state politicians are misguided in supporting one while […]

Mr. Smith rhapsodizes about making affordable housing “a top strategic priority” in his opinion piece in last week’s Xpress [“These Three Things,” Feb. 5, Xpress]. Yet in 2010, after listening to at least two hours of folks and families from Royal Pines, including fixed-income and disabled veterans, pleading with City Council not to do so […]

It seems to me that an awful lot of folks I know in service industries have to work two jobs to just make ends meet. When you’re working 40 hours a week, you shouldn’t have to get a second job to afford to live in our city and stay out of poverty. What about people […]

In his letter to the editor referring to the controversy over the proposed development of the Coggins’ property in Riceville [“There is No ‘Light’ Development,” Feb. 5, Xpress], Troy Amastar said he was “appalled that the Western North Carolina Alliance is no longer an advocate for conservation, but instead supports such developments.” Her statement is […]

I am writing in regard to Ms. Bergen’s letter [“Mountain Mobility Can Do More,” Jan. 22 Xpress]. I have lived in Asheville for 12 years. Three years ago, I gave up my car. I was dependent upon taxis and the goodness of friends until I heard about Mountain Mobility. They won’t take me to the […]

Apparently, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources wants to explore for natural gas in these mountains. Long and short — they want to frack here. There goes our pristine mountain water. Obviously, these politicians are in the back pockets of the oil and gas industry. I think we need to tell them […]

What is more fun that sitting inside your house when it is zero degrees outside? Sitting inside your house when it is zero degrees outside with no electricity. With alarming regularity, thousands and thousands of WNC residents are losing power as the Duke grid experiences high demand because of cold weather. Twice in January so […]

On a recent snow day in Asheville, I had the pleasure of taking a walk through my neighborhood and then through downtown. One neighbor was taking responsibility for the sidewalk in front of his house by removing the snow. Lacking a snow shovel, he used a garden shovel to do the job successfully. When I […]

I want to respond to your recent pieces on the Interstate 26 Connector [“Big Ideas,” Jan. 8 and “Connecting,” Jan. 15, Xpress]. Your first piece described the Connector as a “big idea.” I would argue that the I-26 Connector has been an idea that has not been big enough. As you implied in your second […]

We appreciate the Mountain Xpress’ acknowledgement of unconscious bias in the recent “Big Ideas” history of Asheville (Jan. 8-15). And we accept Xpress’ offer to engage the community in “ongoing civic dialogue.” However, we believe that this dialogue must be more substantial than a brief, unsigned response in the letters to the editor section of […]

In response to the last week’s letter, “Mountain Mobility Can Do More” [Jan. 22 Xpress]: There is a lack of connectability for people who do not have access to automobiles or other options in small cities and rural areas of America. There are ways to solve the local problem, in addition to expansion of the […]

I will preface the following comments with the full disclosure that I’m a white male. I sincerely appreciate and back constructive efforts on everyone’s part to erase social injustice such as racial and gender bias. But the Jan. 10 open letter chastising Mountain Xpress [“Big Ideas,” Jan. 8, Xpress] for apparent gender and racial bias […]