Pisgah National Forest is missing a golden opportunity and charting the wrong course with its proposal for the Brushy Ridge Project, an operation that sets the direction for management of the North Mills River area over the next decade. The river is well-loved and heavily used by local residents and tourists. Being one of the […]

We absolutely do not need another hotel in Asheville (they're building one at the end of South French Broad). Has anyone looked into the yellow pages of our phone book lately? Robert McGahey had it right [in his June 10 Xpress commentary, “Just Remnants”]: “We and the land are victims of overdevelopment, especially around Asheville.” […]

I am responding to two letters in the June 17 Xpress about "tethering" dogs. Cynthia Etheridge "couldn't be more disgusted with Council members," and Troy Amastar complains about labeling "animal-rights activists as extremists.” For the record, I live in Asheville, voted for Obama, drive a hybrid, shop at the Co-op and don't eat meat. I […]

I have been involved with Asheville politics off and on for over nine years. I met Gordon Smith last year and from the onset was quite impressed with his thirst for knowledge for local issues. He stays informed on what is going on in our community and truly cares about people. I was thrilled when […]

Here in Asheville, we have an incredible wealth of traditional healers, yet because of health-care constraints most of us cannot even afford to have what should be seen as “well-being care.” Insurance will not cover anything outside the box. And that affects all of us. We can't get health care nationally because it has been […]

In our June 10 issue, Robert McGahey's commentary, “Just Remnants,” identified Tom Peterson of the National Climatic Data Center as a Nobel laureate. The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was actually awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of which Peterson is a member.

A well trained, loved dog will give you back far more than he ever asks for. A dog will put his life on the line for its owner and will gladly help both the blind and disabled. All it asks for, aside from the basics, is a little attention, some exercise, a warm, dry bed […]

Kudos to parishioner Matt Mores for the hotel plan on the city-owned property across from the Basilica. It makes a great deal of sense. I hope something like it actually gets built. Good luck to the Basilica, the McKibbon Group and the city. — Steve Woolum Asheville

It was last Halloween when I first knew something was wrong. I was at my friend's house, talking with her 7-year-old daughter, who was dressed as Superman (she didn't dig Wonder Woman's "invisible plane"). Me: "So, when you come out of the phone booth, who are you going to be? Claire Kent?” Her: “What's a […]

A lot of people are in an uproar — well, maybe it's just me, and you other folks are mesmerized by your televisions — about our downtown park, Pack Square, being fenced off for renovations for years, while the projected cost of this curiously noncity project escalates from 6 million to 27 million dollars. A […]

Christopher Webb, your commentary [“A Stranger in Paradise,” June 10 Xpress] is brilliant. And, I appreciate your ability to believe that idealistic realities still exist — especially after having returned from an unarguably hellish circumstance. I, too, have held on to this belief that a utopian idea lives and breathes here in this region of […]