What will we remember about our readers’ opinions in 2025? Judging from the year’s collection of letters to the editor and commentaries published in Xpress, their attention has been focused on a cluster of big issues — and a few outliers (we’re looking at you, pickleball!). Here’s Part 1 of a recap.
Helene recovery
The year began barely three months after Tropical Storm Helene — the biggest natural disaster to hit Western North Carolina in our lifetimes —and multiple readers weighed in on what should come next.
“I’m hoping that all building in and around rivers will not take place,” wrote Asheville reader Janice Doyle on Jan. 1. “To rebuild in the same place where destruction took place will be far from wise.”
And in a Jan. 8 commentary, local writer Bill Branyon argued: “Against the backdrop of 44 flooding events in the last couple of decades, the impact of hurricanes Ivan, Frances and Helene, and escalating climate change, shouldn’t we instead establish zoning regulations reflecting the fact that we may already have all the buildings, housing and roads that Buncombe’s mountainous terrain can handle? The answer to that is obviously a resounding yes!”…