While North Carolinians are busy worrying about the rising price of food and gas, our legislators in Raleigh are entertaining some counterproductive ways to balance the budget. A recent legislative study recommended closing seven of North Carolina’s Agricultural Research Centers—most of which are located in WNC—and selling off the land. This caused a storm among […]

As a corn-fed Ohio woman, I enjoyed Margaret Williams’ article on growing corn. It’s been 15 years since I have had land to grow corn on, but I remember fondly the days of my childhood: going out to the cornfields at 5 p.m. to pick our Golden Bantam ears for supper that night, husking them […]

Fred Flaxman’s article “Keeping the Public Out of Public Radio” [Commentary, May 7] needlessly insults WCQS and blurs the line between general public access to programming decisions and his own interest in getting airtime for his own shows. His shows may be good, but his views about WCQS do not represent mine. I have listened […]

I believe I’m probably one of the people Byron Ballard would refer to as a person who “has no roots and doesn’t care to.” She might assume that upon meeting me, but she’d be wrong, and my reaction to her column was a big “pffft—so what?” My mother and father grew up in two different […]

The bicycle campaign is a joke when compared to the pedestrian issue. We simply need sidewalks. We live off Riverview Drive, where one of the most popular parks connected to Amboy Road exists. Due to the special dog park [there], people are walking with dogs in the middle of the road [and] around curves. It […]

I have a few thoughts to share [on downtown parking]. First of all, building another parking garage downtown is not necessary or even desirable for either the residents of Asheville or our visitors—especially the proposed parking garage [that would] remove two of Asheville’s irreplaceable jewels, namely Heiwa and Downtown Books. Also, widening Merrimon Avenue and […]

We would like to thank both the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners and the Asheville City Council for their unanimous votes to extend water lines to homes in the Oaks Subdivision off Pinners Cove Road, due to contamination of wells in our area. The work to get this done at the local government level was […]

During Preservation Month (yes, that’s right—May) and 2008 Buncombe County’s Year of the Park, how can the city of Asheville possibly contribute to destroying the visual environment of one of the city and county’s greatest treasures, the Basilica of St. Lawrence and its surroundings, by permitting the construction of an outrageous hotel block! A park […]

I had a dream that all the controversial hotels downtown were built—and about the aftermath of what happened next. It started with me walking down the street [when] distant jackhammering caused a gargoyle from the last-remaining art-deco building to rattle loose and shatter in front of my feet. There was gridlock traffic, with every other […]

Most of us are appalled by the sadistic nature of cockfighting and dogfighting. However, there are other industries that turn a profit by abusing and exploiting animals for entertainment. It has been confirmed that three dogs died during the 2008 Iditarod. Most likely, more dogs will die as a direct result of their participation in […]

… Ringling has plastered Asheville with billboards and posters promoting the circus. What their publicity does not mention is the violence involved in “the cruelest show on Earth.” Lions, tigers, horses and elephants are trained with whips, electric prods and bullhooks. A bullhook looks like an ax handle with a pointed metal hook on one […]