If a person were to sit in a crowded room full of people and load a gun while talking on a cell phone and smoking a cigarette, I’m willing to bet more than a nickel that everyone in the room would be—at the very least—nervous and concerned. Yet, on a daily basis, people thoughtlessly jump […]

I’m not a fan of Obama, but I am an enemy of the Republicans. I’d rather leave this country than see it remain in the hands of those who have destroyed it, trashed the Constitution, voided the separation of church and state and [voided] the checks and balance system set up by our forefathers. And, […]

At a time when many people are facing hard choices about how to support themselves, I would like to take this moment and this column of print to remember someone lost in the struggle. Last month, a 19-year-old man named Jeremy Johnson was killed while riding his bicycle across Tunnel Road. He was headed to […]

As a collector of plants, I was both amused and dismayed by Cinthia Milner’s essay “Serendipity: The Art of Roadside Digging” [The Dirt, May 28]. I applaud the rescue of plants from the blades of bulldozers. And it’s rewarding to find unusual old varieties of flowers that mark abandoned or long-gone homesteads. These old plantings […]

The recent “Daily Deed” cover article [“Doin’ It Daily,” Aug. 6] highlighting a new marriage guide about sex, intimacy and navigating monogamy really has me confused. I know life in Asheville is a bit different from life in the tamer, more conventional Charlotte to our south—where the author and her husband live—but are things really […]

I’m sorry, did I read it right? “Parking meters should be updated to enable motorists to pay by debit or credit card” [“A House Divided,” Aug. 6]. Is Fred Burchett working for Visa? He must not know that each single transaction, regardless of amount, costs anywhere from 15 to 25 cents, plus there’s an additional […]

I am writing in regards to the piece on eating locally [Edgy Mama, July 23]. As a farmer and mother, I found her supposedly humorous and flippant tone throughout offensive. The title, “Eat Local, Go Hungry?,” was a bad start. My husband and I have a farm and sell at three tailgate/farmers markets in Asheville. […]

As an eight-year resident of Flat Top Mountain in Fairview, I have witnessed many changes and much development along our scenic byways and mountain lands. The Cliffs at High Carolina will be historic not only for Buncombe County (as the largest development ever), but for residents of Flat Top Mountain and the Spring Mountain communities […]

The two articles on downtown development in the recent Xpress were interesting on their own, but also in their opposing recommendations [“A House Divided” and “Going Up?,” Aug. 6]. The master plan called for different development guidelines for different areas and called for maintaining the “Traditional Downtown” for local retail, arts, government etc. It would […]

So after all is said and done, the people who were put in charge of the welfare of the citizens of Asheville and the county have—to no one’s surprise—sold us out to the highest bidders. While elected officials are still haggling and hedging on the Parkside fiasco [and] Stewart Coleman threatens and holds the city […]

I have not read yet why a valued piece of land on the common green was sold without any public notice beforehand. Also, I would be interested in learning who actually signed off on the sale and why he (she) has not been fired by this time. I have sent several different letters to City […]

I’ve decided that they need to rename Biltmore’s “Summer Evening Concert Series” to the Biltmore “Summer Evening Sit-Down Series.” What is it about concerts at Biltmore, and why does everyone insist on sitting down? Is it a wine-and-cheese crowd, or have they just not had enough local beer or Biltmore wine yet to put them […]