The Metropolitan Sewerage District, which is supposed to be the big leader of the yet-to-be-created Regional Water and Sewerage Authority, is talking about raising rates 2%. It has been argued multiply that the City of Asheville cannot run its water system, and the MSD can, because the city would increase water rates, even though rate increases have consistently fallen under recommendations proffered by the consulting firm the city hired for the water system. In covering the news item, the local daily, like a housecat slinking innocently away from the broken lamp, announced the raise and with implicit ergo segued into a story about the city suing the state to prevent the utilities merger.