“Carolina Costume Co. had numerous characters lined up in the parade when a police officer came up to the Easter Bunny and said it was illegal to wear a mask in public.”
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“Carolina Costume Co. had numerous characters lined up in the parade when a police officer came up to the Easter Bunny and said it was illegal to wear a mask in public.”
“In my view, the overly tolerant approach to vagrancy and lack of concern relative to soaring bond issues, financed by property taxes, in Asheville can be traced to poor leadership.”
“May all humans who choose to breathe fresh air and not be masked be welcomed anywhere in the public sphere and be treated with dignity in the future.”
“It is embarrassing how low teacher pay is in North Carolina and especially Asheville with the higher cost of living.”
“It is blatantly obvious to me that there are many homeless advocates and agencies in such a small city, yet rarely do I read about collaboration and true problem-solving for the social issues among these agencies.”
“We should use and maintain what we have (except nukes), manufacture mainly two-stroke diesel bus (and fire engine) parts and address climate change exclusively with municipal abortion funding.”
“We women have to wake up and use our voting power to support what we need. This is clearly the way to protect the future.”
“This forest management plan was supposed to be a framework for long-term sustainability of our national forests and carbon storage but instead puts wildlife habitats and old-growth areas at an increased risk, catering to new roads that will increase water pollution and habitat fragmentation.”
“I feel like if this situation isn’t seriously addressed, it will have a long-term negative effect on Asheville and its many businesses that rely on tourism.”
“Clusters of mostly men had gathered in the shadows of every doorway. No one spoke to us or even acknowledged us, but I was glad I wasn’t alone.”
“It has become a place where local people cannot afford to live and many of us no longer want to visit.”
“I have felt a creepy vibe when I have gone downtown because of the difficulty of finding parking and the homeless folks camped out on sidewalks.”
“Other than a Planned Parenthood ad, I saw no mention whatsoever of the effect of that Supreme Court decision on Buncombe County or on family planning services in this area.”
“An incident like the Ohio disaster could wreck tourism, not to mention our everyday lives, for many years.”
“Buncombe commissioners have so little regard for libraries and librarians that it’s OK to make our woefully underfunded system worse for both patrons and staff.”
“But we can directly help our county’s workers, the people who drive our tourism economy — and thus drive contributions to the TDA’s coffers — by asking the TDA to give some money back to build housing for such workers.”
“Why not bring in the National Guard to help assist the Asheville Police Department in the downtown area?”
“The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority is sitting on millions of dollars in its coffers and should spend some of its money making downtown Asheville the tourism haven that it promises it is in all of its marketing efforts, but their promise is currently not delivered.”
“The lack of regular patrolling invites chaos and boundary testing. This has been a long-running issue and can only be solved by a community united by bold government leadership.”
“Hire 40% more policemen, pay them a salary so they can live in Asheville and put them where they are needed the most — downtown Asheville.”
“We all know the priorities, and they are past needing to be dealt with.”