The Environmental Quality Institute at UNCA is being eliminated because it "does not directly relate to the university's core mission." [according to Chancellor Anne Ponder, quoted in a recent press release] UNCA's core mission is to "Serve as the Standard of Excellence in Public Liberal Arts Undergraduate Education." Does eliminating an on-campus undergraduate research facility … Read more
Stewart David's commentary ["Greenwashed," July 1 Xpress] may have been factually correct, but the conclusions of the study he cited, "Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States," were much more nuanced and balanced than Mr. David's out-of-context quotes implied. Here is an example: David: "… eating a vegetarian diet … Read more
Back when I was poor and lived in Asheville, I'd go to Shad Marsh's house for a few beers now and then. You know what would end up happening half the time? Hell, if he wouldn't end up making dinner for me and his lovely wife, Kristen, he'd let me stay over so as not … Read more
I strongly support NC HB1353, the clothesline-defense bill, as absolutely essential for both property rights and the environment — in the defense against authoritarian, elitist and polluting local governments. This bill is hung up in the N.C. Senate Commerce Committee. If passed, it will prevent city, town or county governments from banning clotheslines (and infringing … Read more
I enjoy your paper each week, and when I am out of this area, I find I miss it. For some background on me, well, I am almost 50, an ex-military officer, fairly conservative, and have lived here on and off since I was a kid in 1973. I love it here in Candler — … Read more
By 1936, the Great Depression had savaged the nation and the world, and Asheville and Buncombe County were left in dire financial circumstances. Schoolteachers were being paid in scrip (IOUs from the county that some local merchants reluctantly accepted, at deep discounts, so that teachers could buy the bare necessities of life). Land was still … Read more
It's Saturday afternoon at Bele Chere and standing motionless in front of the Vance Monument, sun pouring down on his head, a street preacher holds a sign that starkly declares "Fornicators & Drunkards shall not inherit the Kingdom of God." Feeding the frenzy: Asheville Ski Club volunteers dish out local brews at the Bele Chere … Read more
