This is in regard to the following excerpt from Chris Pelly’s commentary [“It’s My Party: Partisan Elections Promote Full Disclosure,” June 27]: “Our system of local governance is designed to be a representative democracy. We elect a mayor and City Council and trust in their wisdom to guide our city. I don’t always agree with […]

With a view toward the recent City Council, Board of Commissioners and public discourse involving “Crossing the French Broad,” the Asheville Design Center (www.ashevilledesigncenter.org) is presenting a public presentation and discussion on bridges and bridge designs. Perhaps this will help our community focus on the economic, aesthetic and environmental pluses of a high-quality, high-efficiency, cost-effective […]

Today our baby sleeps in the cold ground. He was our littlest, last and only baby, and now he is gone. We took him to an emergency center three weeks ago, and they would not treat him because we were poor. Our baby was not a human baby; God did not bless us with human […]

This past weekend, in your wonderful city of Asheville, I lost my new best friend, Darren Marshall. On the same evening, to the chagrin of my girlfriend, I fell in love with another woman, Terra Currie. Both these events—and so much more—took place at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater during the performance of Romeo and Juliet […]

I was pleased to see Steve Shanafelt’s blurb about my new CD, “Walkin’ to the Bridge” [“Culture Watch,” June 27]. However, the article contained two factual errors that I would like to correct. First, Ryan Cavanaugh tours with sax player Bill Evans, but Bill Evans does not appear on “Walkin’ to the Bridge.” Second, Nathan […]

I was very disappointed with the eight budget priorities presented by City Council member Brownie Newman’s letter [“City Budget Needs Community Input,” June 20] and the order they were in. First, I noticed that affordable housing was not among them—despite the fact that it was top priority when he was elected and prices have risen […]

As regular visitors to Asheville from over the mountain in Johnson City, Tenn., my husband and I eagerly made many weekly trips to Asheville because of the excellent breads the Blue Moon Bakery provided. Unfortunately, since they closed their doors, we have been disappointed in most of the competition’s efforts at bread baking. Blue Moon’s […]

Out of the Democan/Republicrat candidates for president, one individual stands alone as a voice for a return to American constitutional principles and common sense, and an escape from incomprehensible and disastrous foreign and domestic policy. That person is the congressman and physician from Texas, Ron Paul. He is hope for America. I support Ron Paul […]

Corporations don’t eat. They don’t sleep. They have no capacity for love or remorse. Their sole purpose is to make more money than they did last year with no regard for the harm they do to people or the environment. So why is it that these nonliving entities are given the same legal rights as […]

Dear readers: Time for us to toot our horn a bit: The Mountain Xpress has just garnered a slew of new awards. Xpress is one of 125 member newspapers of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, which administers a national journalism contest that issues highly coveted awards each year. The results of this year’s contest were […]

I so admire Ruth and Billy Graham. I am in no way aligned with nor do I subscribe to their theology. That’s got nothing to do with it. What I admire is their genuineness. Admittedly, I have limited knowledge of the Grahams. I have never met them and only know what the media has presented. […]

I’ve been baffled for years now by certain Xpress covers, but one recent issue takes the cake: drawing parallels between the lyrics of British MySpace starlet Lily Allen and the writing of English novelist Jane Austen [Lily Allen: Reflections of Jane Austen?”, June 13]. At first, the cover didn’t shock me, as I assumed Allen […]

Lily Allen a modern-day Jane Austen? [“Lily Allen Gets the Last Laugh,” June 13] Sure, and Liz Phair is Joyce Carol Oates. Maybe next week’s cover story could be a comparative study of Franz Kafka and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. I read the list of Allen/Austen parallels, and it was a major stretch. And even if […]

I was thoroughly entertained (and not for the first time) by the well-crafted and insightful piece by Melanie M. Bianchi entitled “Lily Allen Gets the Last Laugh” [June 13]. Lest she be accused of being either too “blithely potty-mouthed” like Lily Allen, or of having her own social commentary too deeply “embedded” like Jane Austen’s […]