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Then why did all the city/county/state leaders recently meet to discuss it after local businesses demanded something to be done?
Do tell.
Different subjects:
Certain civic leaders in Asheville met to discuss crime and solutions. The comment about other agendas was addressing members of City-data and their comments regarding Asheville.
It really needn't be either/or but as witnessed in many North Carolina cities, with gun violence and crime so deeply ingrained in Southern culture, civilian control of law enforcement with an overly permissive agenda is a recipe for..........gun violence and crime.
This is a fair opinion though I must ask, since you've acknowledged the pernicious effects of Asheville's approach to law enforcement, what you perceive to be the corresponding ill effects of your own area's more aggressive approach? As a native New Englander, I can assure you that our cities and highways are subject to far more stringent law enforcement than anything I've seen in North Carolina. We're Liberals, yet among the safest regions in the entire country.
I live in Sullivan County, TN. Buncombe County has a little under 50% more residents, but the jail has only about 60% of Sullivan's inmates from what I was able to tell this morning.
A friend of mine here is an Uber driver. That's how he makes his living - it's not a side gig to him. He's been falsely arrested for DUI twice in the last six months. The first time, it took about six weeks for the toxicology to come back. His Uber account was canceled, so no income.
Labs were completely clean. The DA continued to press charges, even though there was no evidence of impairment all. Eventually, the case did get thrown out, but he had an attorney who knew him take the case pro bono. The city ended up being sued for damages due to lost wages and false arrest. If he didn't have the attorney, would have taken a plea because he couldn't have afforded counsel, going all the way through criminal court and a trial? Maybe.
While that first case was going on, he was arrested for a secondtime for DUI. Results came back clean - charges were dropped swiftly this time. He's loud, can be obnoxious, is a sloppy dresser, and hangs around bars, but that's him trying to drum up business. That doesn't mean he's drunk/DUI.
What's this kind of thing going to do to ride share once word gets around sober Uber drivers are being arrested for DUI? There are basically no drivers now. I've never had this problem in Asheville, trying to get a ride share at typical hours.
I know someone who recently got ninety days in county for a simple marijuana possession of less than half an ounce and a paraphernalia charge for a pipe. That's not even a crime.
TN arrests people for anything, and sentences them harshly. Asheville is too lax on open drug use, vagrancy, etc. I'd rather have Asheville's problems than the problems in the legal system here in Sullivan County.
Once rates decrease or prices normalize, I'm out of here for WNC.
I live in Sullivan County, TN. Buncombe County has a little under 50% more residents, but the jail has only about 60% of Sullivan's inmates from what I was able to tell this morning.
A friend of mine here is an Uber driver. That's how he makes his living - it's not a side gig to him. He's been falsely arrested for DUI twice in the last six months. The first time, it took about six weeks for the toxicology to come back. His Uber account was canceled, so no income.
Labs were completely clean. The DA continued to press charges, even though there was no evidence of impairment all. Eventually, the case did get thrown out, but he had an attorney who knew him take the case pro bono. The city ended up being sued for damages due to lost wages and false arrest. If he didn't have the attorney, would have taken a plea because he couldn't have afforded counsel, going all the way through criminal court and a trial? Maybe.
While that first case was going on, he was arrested for a secondtime for DUI. Results came back clean - charges were dropped swiftly this time. He's loud, can be obnoxious, is a sloppy dresser, and hangs around bars, but that's him trying to drum up business. That doesn't mean he's drunk/DUI.
What's this kind of thing going to do to ride share once word gets around sober Uber drivers are being arrested for DUI? There are basically no drivers now. I've never had this problem in Asheville, trying to get a ride share at typical hours.
I know someone who recently got ninety days in county for a simple marijuana possession of less than half an ounce and a paraphernalia charge for a pipe. That's not even a crime.
TN arrests people for anything, and sentences them harshly. Asheville is too lax on open drug use, vagrancy, etc. I'd rather have Asheville's problems than the problems in the legal system here in Sullivan County.
Once rates decrease or prices normalize, I'm out of here for WNC.
I understand. Pick your poison. Or simply choose one of the vast majority of cities with leadership that better understands the necessary balance between the two. Ideological extremism should never replace common sense in local government.
I understand. Pick your poison. Or simply choose one of the vast majority of cities with leadership that better understands the necessary balance between the two. Ideological extremism should never replace common sense in local government.
And yet it does. In local, state and federal governments.
And yet it does. In local, state and federal governments.
And in cases without the bulwark of checks and balances, results are generally predictable. It's why as a lifelong Democrat, I'm such a believer in divided government.
And in cases without the bulwark of checks and balances, results are generally predictable. It's why as a lifelong Democrat, I'm such a believer in divided government.
It's why as a lifelong Independent I am such a distruster of Democrats. AND Republicans. No bulwark required.
I understand. Pick your poison. Or simply choose one of the vast majority of cities with leadership that better understands the necessary balance between the two. Ideological extremism should never replace common sense in local government.
There needs to be a middle ground.
People are like "anything goes" in Asheville, but it's not like the Buncombe County jail is empty. What's allowed are very specific kinds of crimes (drugs, generally related to people who appear to be "down on their luck"). The drug addicts then get into other things.
I sort of have an insider's view into the government based on my employment. 95% of what is going on in the Asheville city and Buncombe County is just the typical machinery of government anywhere. The city and county both have really good resources through the health and social services departments for people who really want help. Everything is ran much better and is better funded than where I'm from.
Are there problems? Sure, but all places have issues. Still, I think the area is heading in a much better direction than most smaller metros.
Inflation is up. People are having to spend more for essentials. They probably have less money to blow. I'd say that accounts for more of the "issue" than anything that is specific to the local area.
People are like "anything goes" in Asheville, but it's not like the Buncombe County jail is empty. What's allowed are very specific kinds of crimes (drugs, generally related to people who appear to be "down on their luck"). The drug addicts then get into other things.
I sort of have an insider's view into the government based on my employment. 95% of what is going on in the Asheville city and Buncombe County is just the typical machinery of government anywhere. The city and county both have really good resources through the health and social services departments for people who really want help. Everything is ran much better and is better funded than where I'm from.
Are there problems? Sure, but all places have issues. Still, I think the area is heading in a much better direction than most smaller metros.
Inflation is up. People are having to spend more for essentials. They probably have less money to blow. I'd say that accounts for more of the "issue" than anything that is specific to the local area.
We're all citizens of the same country. Let's hope we figure things out together.
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