Common courtesy in a modern age

I own a cell phone, as do most of the readers of this publication. It is a modern convenience that I cannot imagine my life without. I also work in the service industry, waiting tables. In the 10 years I have been doing so I have witnessed the increase of cellphone use destroy the common […]

Restaurant merry-go-round

Black Mountain is a restaurant merry-go-round. In the short year that I have lived here, I have seen H.T. Papa's restaurant close; it is now a Chinese place. A coffee house on the edge of town closed — the lady who ran it left and opened her place in Old Fort (now I hear it […]

Muffin Republican­s, go home

We read Richard Thatcher's love-fest letter to the editor (regarding Whole Foods) with amusement [“Wholly Satisfied with Whole Foods,” May 4 Xpress]. Wow. We moved here from Atlanta to get away from pseudo-Republicans like you. If you don't want to support local Asheville businesses and be a part of the community, why don't you go […]

Wholly satisfied with Whole Foods

I read Lance Hardcastle's attack letter several weeks ago, and I wanted to write in to give my wholehearted support to the new, improved Greenlife [“Whole Foods: The Bigger the Worse?” March 30 Xpress]. Personally, I was very excited when I heard Whole Foods was taking over the Asheville location. They are making some great […]

Capitalist­s strike back?

Nathan Strong is obviously a dyed-in-the-wool communist, so nothing I say is going to change his mind, but for the people who might be swayed I thought I should respond to his letter [“Green Capitalism Still Sucks,” March 30 Xpress]. What he forgets is that most people work simply and purely for the money they […]

May 1 is big enough for multiple holidays

I feel compelled to point out the hypocrisy in the recent letter “Green Capitalism Still Sucks” [March 30 Xpress]. The reader decried the Asheville Grown Business Alliance for co-opting a "120-year-old anti-capitalist holiday" with its May 1 Big Love Fest downtown. I would be remiss not to point out that the celebration of a May […]

Local capitalism is still capitalism

Over the course of the 100 bloody years that it took the U.S. labor movement to win the eight-hour workday, labor militants struck, rioted and were executed for what was then seen as an overly radical demand that would destabilize industry and ruin the economy. Capitalism has undergone massive restructuring on a global scale, including […]