I’m appalled at the sheer bitterness the Xpress allowed Hanna Rachel Raskin to parlay in her sad excuse for a food criticism on Vigné, the newest and chicest dining addition to downtown Asheville. I’m sorry she hates skinny people that dress nicely. I’m even sorrier that they intimidate her. And I wonder, as a renegade […]

In my last interaction with a “trolley” (really a diesel bus), I was dining at Sals in the alley when a trolley stopped [with] the exhaust pipe pointed directly into the alley, assisted [by] a light breeze. In one word, this was obnoxious. But forgivable. When the traffic light turned green, the trolley spewed a […]

The City Council’s consideration of The Ellington is at the heart of Asheville’s challenges in this day and age. I watched Tuesday’s Council meeting with great focus, and I believe City Council did a valiant job. In my 50-year professional career, I have done cutting-edge work as an architectural designer, constructor and restorer of some […]

I’m quite certain if I lived smack dab in the middle of WNC, I couldn’t choose “bests” in all those categories [“Best of WNC 2007,” online at mountainx.com]—even if a few places do stand out in my mind. However, I do know of one place that excels in product and service beyond any similar place […]

On this sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, a much larger threat to our nation is rearing its ugly head. Researchers at Atlanta’s Morehouse School of Medicine have just reported a rising rate of high blood pressure among America’s children. Based on National Center for Health Statistics surveys of nearly 30,000 […]

Dear reader: Welcome to the new, improved Mountain Xpress. Every week, we strive to give you the latest, greatest news-and-arts coverage our area has to offer. That commitment never changes, but beginning this week, a number of other things have. Under the skilled hands of our production and design staffers, Xpress has revamped the paper […]

The cheerleaders of the oil oligarchy are in the forefront of efforts to discredit Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s current leader. They suggest he’s too chummy with Castro, insolent in his remarks directed at the United States, just too lippy to represent a Third World Country. Don’t people like him know their place? We may just have […]

It was very disappointing to read Brian Postelle’s “Just the Facts” article [“Peace Talks,” Sept. 5] regarding the Greenlife/Maxwell Street truck issue. In the past, the Xpress has generally been thorough and unbiased in its coverage of the issue, but that journalistic standard dropped significantly with this article. According to Postelle, “two years after … […]

For 12 years, I have lived in Asheville, and most of those 12 years I have used the Mountain Xpress to peruse what is going on in liberal Asheville—not to mention what movies are playing. The week of Aug. 29, when I picked up a copy, I felt a wave of nausea as my subconscious […]

I took offense at Molton’s latest cartoon [Sept. 5 Xpress], depicting the farmer and his wife—concerned by the current drought—as the most idiotic, unhealthy, ignorant-looking people around. I know many farmers, including my in-laws, as hard-working, healthy, trying hard to keep their farms going. I am not sure why people seem to think of farmers […]

I rarely respond in writing to news articles, but Nelda Holder’s “Two Boys, Two Worlds” [Aug. 22] was so thoughtful and well written that I had to say, “Way to go, Nelda!” I could tell whose side she was on, and yet she managed somehow to remain professionally neutral, a rare trait among those of […]

The article “Two Boys, Two Worlds” [Aug. 22] happens to be an excellent example of investigative reporting, true journalism. We are constantly hearing of the crimes brought to our neighborhoods by illegals. How they “wear” on the medical and financial systems of this country. How Americans are sick of being used by this so-called group. […]

It is very disturbing to drive around Marion and witness the all-too-common “dog cages” where the family pet is relegated. In some cases where one sees the same dog day after day, it’s a pretty safe bet the animal enjoys no family contact, and this is simply heartbreaking. It makes one wonder why folks even […]

With respect to the article, “Kitties and Copperheads” [Commentary, Aug. 8], I was quite dismayed by the attitude that it is acceptable to allow “pet” cats to roam outside, and that the killing of snakes—albeit venomous (but not considered lethal)—is warranted. Although habitat loss is probably the greatest threat to our native wildlife, free-roaming pet […]

In reference to Cecil Bothwell’s article [“No Change: City Still Ignoring UDO Violations,” Aug. 29], the author writes that the case of the Staples signage “violated the city’s Unified Development Ordinance.” Frankly, it isn’t the sign’s fault. Since no one is taking the blame, I say it should be handed to the folks who designed […]