“It will completely change the character of the neighborhood I have lived in for over 37 years, increase traffic problems and move large, impersonal commercial spaces further into residential neighborhoods.”
Letter: Plan, then vote to send students back
“There is no excuse that these educational professionals [did] not have a concrete and specific plan set in place before voting to send students back.”
Road reports
Beat a retreat: City Council doubles down on plan to meet behind closed doors
In a change from previous City Council practice, and in opposition to advice provided by a UNC School of Government expert on open meetings, Asheville City Council plans to go ahead with a closed-door meeting devoted to “strengthening personal relationships, teamwork and communication required to do meaningful work together” on Wednesday, March 31.
Letter: The many benefits of urban food gardens
“I, like you, worry about the sharp rise in homelessness, but urban gardens are not to blame in the least.”
Letter: Join Asheville High to help reverse global warming
“Throughout April, let’s witness how our individual actions collectively add up to real, positive impacts.”
Letter: Defunding the police
“It’s a very simple equation. Less $$$s for police and fighting crime = more crime!”
Letter: Shocked by Xpress vaccine cover
“As someone who spends my entire life creating music events and desperately needs people to be vaccinated so we can put millions of music/service-industry people back to work, I was shocked to see the image on the cover.”
Letter: Xpress cover sends terrible message
“Your recent cover regarding a reluctance by many to get a COVID vaccine sends such a terrible message.”
Letter: No new jail in Haywood County
“If the Haywood County leaders truly cared about people, they would request funds for mental health resources to help those suffering from substance abuse issues rather than criminalizing them.”
Letter: My experience with Asheville police
“The police are being disproportionately (to an extent which is out of proportion, beyond what is fitting) blamed for our societal woes, while most of us refuse to reflect adequately upon our own poor choices.”
Letter: Why I’m getting the vaccine
“Am I willing to ingest a foreign substance today that will give some protection against a possible long-term debilitating health issue? My risk assessment for myself is yes.”
Your as(phalt) is grass
Letter: Stop attacking homeless people
“AVL must put an end to abuse of Asheville’s growing and always changing homeless population by the Asheville Police Department, Department of Transportation and City Hall.”
Watershed we do?
Letter: Name Buncombe’s COVID-19 fatalities
“Let all the anti-maskers see the results of the virus on a local level.”
Letter: Land conservation efforts have positive impact
“Permanently protected farms have helped preserve a portion of the county’s rich farming heritage, kept intact part of the rapidly vanishing agrarian landscape, maintained the viability of local food supply and created new opportunities for agritourism.”
Letter: No bridge, no Bluffs!
“Without the bridge, Richmond Hill will be torn apart — both figuratively and literally. Our community will bear the burden but not one benefit.”
Letter: Our land is more than a backdrop for development
“We ask why the developers don’t care. They’ve been taught architecture as though project sites were interchangeable background slides projected behind the main subject: the man-made structure.”
Letter: Could local Black artists ‘Advance Asheville’?
“Hiding history only tempts us to repeat it.”
