Clearly the issue all along [regarding Asheville’s “highway blogger”] wasn’t Mr. Phillip’s exercise in free speech; it was the Asheville Police Department’s blatant disregard for Mr. Phillip’s constitutional rights and their subsequent arrest of Mr. Phillips on entirely fabricated charges. And just who is accountable for this bogus arrest and these trumped up charges, now … Read more
Props to Rebecca Bowe and David Forbes for the article “Who’s Complaining Now” [March 11 Xpress]. The rental situation in Asheville is deplorable. In six years, [of the] 10 houses I have lived in, maybe one would pass the Minimum Housing Code inspection. Very few have had working heat other than space heaters. Others have … Read more
The spontaneous violence that erupted at Asheville High School on Thursday [March 6] needs to be addressed clearly [and] loudly—and without the mention of specific gang names, members, sets or hoods. The [Xpress] coverage of recent gang activity [“The Writing on the Wall: APD Tracks Local Gangs,” Feb. 27] mentioned that media exposure helps gangs … Read more
This letter is in response to Mr. Roeten’s letter to the editor [“Superfunds-R-Us,” Feb. 27] [and] his description of “people [losing] rational thought” at a meeting concerning the CTS toxic site on Mills Gap Road. I too was at this meeting at the fire station, as well as many other meetings concerning the CTS toxic … Read more
Regarding the article [“Coming Soon to a National Park Near You: Loaded Guns?”, March 5] on the proposed federal-park gun-law changes: Mr. Millard’s editorial sizzles with a hysteria that is reminiscent of when North Carolina proposed its concealed-carry laws. Back in 1995, it was written that the streets [would] run red with blood if the … Read more
Lindsay Popper’s piece, “Stopping the Violence” [Commentary, March 5], was right on. I recently saw Warren Wilson College’s production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues for the first time. I found the production jaw-dropping, hilarious, uncomfortable, tearful and thought-provoking. I was reminded of my friends, my family members and my clients as I watched and … Read more
More and more bottled water is showing up on our retail shelves. Meanwhile, more and more developers latch on to the Buncombe County water supply. We saw our public water reserves threatened during a recent drought, but water conservation in the minds of our public officials consists of handwringing and exhortation. Now our governor has … Read more
Many issues have surfaced in the 2008 campaign. The Republicans have attacked each other with religion, age, being too liberal, and the basics like weak on border and economy. Mostly it has not been too nasty. The Democrats have been more spirited in their debates. Sex, religion and race seem to be the most important … Read more
As Carl Bernstein recently said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, people within the Democratic Party are starting to wonder “how much this is about the Clintons and how much is it about the country?” Today our military is bogged down in Iraq’s civil war, our economy [is] staggering and working families are struggling to compete in … Read more
While some African-American superdelegates have switched to Obama, others who support Hillary say they are receiving pressure they don’t appreciate and are holding firm. African-American superdelegates said recently that they’ll stand up against threats, intimidation and “Uncle Tom” smears rather than switch their support from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama. “African-American superdelegates … Read more
