The worst menaces to the lifestyle and stability of Asheville and Buncombe County are drug dealers and land developers. The former destroy lives; the latter ravage landscape. It should be obvious to all who live here that we are being overwhelmed by this rapacious pair of invaders. Our resistance, such as it is, remains largely […]
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A zoning tale of two cities
I am writing this letter in response to two recent articles in the Mountain Xpress and lots of letters to the editor. The issues are growth, preservation and zoning. I grew up in Austin, Texas. Austin has zoning. In the ‘80s, it was a city of about 100,000 with lots of live music, an active […]
Taking the L.E.A.P.
I’m writing about Marsha V. Hammond’s thoughtful column “Am I my brother’s keeper?” [Commentary, Feb. 21]. Unfortunately, the common-sense solution to Ashville’s crime and drug problem lies in Washington, D.C.—not Asheville or any other city or town in the United States. Since the vast majority of all of our violent crime and property crime is […]
Tolerance trumps censorship
David Spangler [“Who Defines Dialogue?”, March 7] voiced concern regarding those who would endeavor to censor others who disagree with them regarding the eating of meat. Well said, David! I have recently been the victim of one who has even gone so far as to withdraw relationship because we are on opposite sides of an […]
Family farms aren’t the answer, either
Am I to understand correctly that one of Nathaniel [Beuer]‘s justifications [“The Vegetarian Drama,” Letters, March 7] for animal slaughter is that it provides vegetable fertilizer, without which gardening is impossible? This is one of the dumber (albeit humorous) rationalizations I have seen. Vegetarian societies, monasteries, communes and religions have existed since time began (including, […]
We pay a terrible price for indifference
As a political liberal and animal-rights activist, I feel obligated to respond to David Spangler’s letter [“Who Defines ‘Dialogue’?”, March 13]. There is nothing fascist about peacefully calling for our society to respect life. In fact, I see it as my responsibility to community and family to speak out against cruelty and injustice. Further, the […]
Chipping away at the plan
I have tried to understand the madness on the U.S.-Mexico border. It is obvious the judicial system is playing a role in allowing the illegal inhabitants. The foreign insurgents use our own laws against peace officers, American citizens and townships. The laws they are not entitled to are manipulated for them. Frivolous lawsuits are being […]
The Lewis Rathbun Center
The Lewis Rathbun Center is a hospital hospitality house offering lodging and a supportive environment at no charge to out-of-town families with patients in area hospitals. Volunteers assist with welcoming over 1,500 families in medical crisis a year. A guest from Franklin, N.C., shares, “The peace and comfort that one finds at the Rathbun Center, […]
Buncombe’s plan for the worst
“Mass casualty event.” “Decontamination action guidelines.” “Emergency mortuary plan.” Not exactly light lunchtime topics. But such sobering terminology is common at Buncombe County’s Department of Emergency Services, which is charged with coordinating the county’s response to disasters both natural and human-made. Among the department’s duties is compiling a comprehensive emergency-operations plan—a hefty document containing a […]
Going his own way
Besides being requisite to every lite-rock-station playlist in existence, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours virtually created the Behind the Music soap opera. The turmoil surrounding the creation of the album (i.e., the breakup of Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac vocalist/erstwhile witch Stevie Nicks) resonates even today—if you’re stuck in the ‘70s, that is. A jollier Joyce? (Or […]
Post-rock quintet talks back
Buoyed by the success of their soundtrack to the hit film Friday Night Lights, the Texas quintet Explosions in the Sky finds itself at the head of the all-instrumental-rock-band class lazily labeled “post-rock.” The band employs similar soft-loud dynamics pioneered by the likes of Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but with a panoramic twist: […]
Rocking the boat
“This area has become the training ground for extreme kayakers,” Woody Callaway told me recently when we sat down to discuss the kayak-manufacturing business. “People come to Asheville for the winter to train for their big summer trips to California, Idaho, British Columbia, wherever. This is this hot spot to live if you’re serious about […]
Fair to workers, so why cry “foul”?
The Feb. 28 issue of Mountain Xpress contained a piece by Hal Millard entitled “Business Chafes at Shuler’s Pro-Union Stance.” It is no wonder that business leaders are unhappy about Rep. [Heath] Shuler’s support of the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800), the intent of which is to make union organizing more fair for workers. […]
Looking for better leadership
Though I’m an out-of-towner, I’ve always had a fondness for Asheville and Buncombe County. I’ve always considered the local governments in your area a bit more thoughtful and forward-looking than I see in many North Carolina communities. Which is why the secretive—and almost certainly illegal—actions of the Buncombe County government regarding the Woodfin diesel plant […]
Asheville Bahá’ís honor whole human family
On Tuesday, March 20, Asheville’s Bahá’í community will gather to celebrate the new year (164 Bahá’í Era). This festive day, which runs from sunset to sunset, is also the vernal equinox—the first day of spring. All over the world, Bahá’ís celebrate Naw-Ruz (pronounced “no-rooz”) according to local custom. American Bahá’í communities typically have a potluck […]
A moment of reckoning
Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their county. Ask not what your county can do for you but what you can do for your county. These familiar (if slightly altered) words of two of this country’s most prominent presidents are right on target for our […]
Those small steps won’t get us there
Jim Roberts had some interesting ideas [“Small Steps to a Big Payoff,” Feb. 28], but they won’t ensure jobs for the upwardly mobile or a livable income for residents at all job levels. Asheville business leaders need to identify a handful of companies in the United States that can, and are willing to, open branch […]
Don’t strip-mine our daughters
In North Carolina, Sens. Katie Dorsett and Janet Cowell have sponsored a bill that requires schools to distribute to all parents of children in grades 5 through 12 information on vaccines available to prevent cervical cancer. Merck’s Gardasil is the only vaccine addressing cervical cancer on the market. Corporations exploit natural resources—the earth’s body—to make […]
Mr. Pinelli goes to Washington
From Feb. 2 to 6, people from 45 out of 50 states attended the Department of Peace Conference in Washington, D.C. I was there representing Western North Carolina on behalf of the WNC Department of Peace and Nonviolence Campaign. Congressional committees have been reviewing the Department of Peace and Nonviolence Legislation (H.R. 808) since June […]
Now’s the time to try it
We recently entered Lent, the 40-day period preceding Easter when Christians have traditionally abstained from meat and dairy products in memory of Jesus’ 40 days of fast and prayer before dying on the cross. With religious devotion giving way to self-indulgence in recent times, Christian denominations gradually receded to meatless Fridays, then even fewer dietary […]
Join the revolution
There were some key statements removed from my letter [“Co-ops Mean Democracy,” March 7] when it was edited for length. Most importantly, I would have left in the statement: “Cooperatives are about a revolution in values that puts people before profit.” I feel strongly about this point. Cooperatives are about more than community, they are […]