Feds don’t need voting data
To the Editor:
I am writing about the Save America Act. I have seen conflicting information about this legislation, which is now awaiting Senate approval after passing the House. The more I attempt to research the proposed changes to voting eligibility, the more confused I become.
I moved to Highlands in 2019, applied for my N.C. driver’s license, and discovered that I needed a Real ID.
NC AG opposes rollback of PFAS protections
Attorney General Jeff Jackson is opposing a rollback of data collection and reporting about PFAS forever chemicals. Just months away from receiving data from PFAS manufacturers about the type and amount of PFAS chemicals in their products, EPA is now trying to hide the use of PFAS from the public, Jackson claims.
Don’t expect better results with same choices
Western North Carolina is a region defined by resilience. Mountain communities have endured floods, factory closures, rising housing costs and the slow erosion of public institutions with a steadiness that deserves admiration. None has beaten our people.
But there is one challenge the region has not met with the same determination: demanding better from the people elected to represent it.
Western North Carolina braces for 2026 races
Western North Carolina’s next election cycle is already shaping up amid a volatile mix of entrenched incumbents, disaster recovery fallout and deepening national divides, with competitive races stretching from the U.S. Senate on down to county-level offices.
While marquee statewide contests appear to be headed toward familiar General Election matchups, cracks are emerging down the ballot, where public trust and institutional legitimacy are demanding attention from voters now more than any other time in recent memory.
Federal shutdown threatens food aid in WNC
Waynesville resident Sam Wilds is blind, cannot work, uses her entire Social Security disability check for household bills, has approximately $50 left on her SNAP card for the month of October, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
‘Keeping the lights on:’ In the public lands of the Blue Ridge, a complicated and unusual federal shutdown
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between BPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
Nearly one month into the federal government shutdown, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains open to the public, and the National Forest Service’s logging and disaster response capabilities remain active.
Step up, or step down: Whatley blames Democrats after calls to resign grow louder
Hurricane Helene recovery czar Michael Whatley is blaming Democrats for the growing chorus of criticism over his job performance — but in heavily Republican Western North Carolina, it’s not just Democratic voices calling for Whatley to be replaced or step down.
There are ways to fix Social Security
To the Editor:
I read with interest the opinion piece in the LTE section on Sept. 2 regarding Social Security by Glenn Duerr.
Mr. Duerr is right that the trust fund isn’t on a permanently secure path under the current rules. Projections do show a shortfall "if nothing changes.” So calling attention to solvency isn’t wrong.
Big ‘Bad’ Bill is gonna hurt
To the Editor:
The Congress has to finalize the Big “Bad” Bill (for most of us) by Oct. 1 or face a government shutdown. This means Congress still has the rest of September to “fix” the worst parts of this bill if they want to before the final vote by Oct. 1.
Who would have believed?
To the Editor:
A year ago …. who would have thought …
That the richest man in the world who helped elect the president with $290 million would be appointed to a bogus government agency and then walk in to real agencies with his teenage hackers with handles like “Big Balls” and fire thousands of government employees, destroying decades of institutional knowledge and dismantling agencies and parts of agencies that work on behalf of and protect American citizens.
