Letter from the editors

Dear readers:

Each year, the North Carolina Press Association holds a competition to select the best journalism in the state. At a ceremony last week in Cary, N.C., the latest slate of winners was announced, and two independent newsweeklies in our neck of the woods garnered awards in the competition’s division of largest-circulation community newspapers.

Here at Mountain Xpress, contributing editor Rebecca Bowe won second place for investigative reporting, for her exposé on the CTS hazardous-waste site in south Asheville. In the wake of her series of reports on the pollution there, local, state and federal authorities have turned new attention toward remediating the site. And Jon Teeple, our tireless Webmaster, scored a third-place award for general excellence in a newspaper Web site—a testament to just how much work he’s done to bring MountainX.com to its full potential.

Just down the road, Waynesville’s Smoky Mountain News also came home with bragging rights. The newspaper’s Michael Beadle won second place for best profile feature, and writer Becky Johnson scored second for best news-enterprise reporting for her early, in-depth report on problems at the Haywood Regional Medical Center. Perhaps the biggest honor of all, however, was winning first place in the coveted community-service award category: The News garnered that honor for its wide-ranging coverage and pointed editorials regarding development issues in the WNC mountains.

Congrats to all!

— The editors

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Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

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