Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1319716
4 UCW DECEMBER 16-22, 2020 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR April Olsen editor-@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dylan Hooker art@upandcomingweekly.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Keyuri Parab REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Margaret Dickson, Pitt Dickey, D.G. Martin, John Hood, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Prudence Mainor, Crissy Neville COVER IMAGERY COMPONENTS Courtesy of Richard Wilson ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: 910-484-6200 FAX: 910-484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2020 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. PUBLISHER'S PEN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COM- MENTS? BILL@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. 82 64 82 83 79 82 63 64 83 66 64 65 THU DEC 17 FRI DEC 18 SAT DEC 19 SUN DEC 20 MON DEC 21 TUE DEC 22 52 33 54 34 58 38 57 39 59 45 60 42 Mostly Sunny Showers Showers Showers AM Showers Partly Cloudy No doubt about it, the flow of relevant, truthful and honest news is being attacked on many fronts. e business of media has experienced profound changes, and we find our- selves continually dealing with the way we gather the news, receive the news, and actually how we fund the news. Local media is under assault nationwide with chains absorbing community news- papers, and often decimating them. e Fayetteville community lacks a strong, daily source of local news. We have a mediocre talk radio sta- tion, no local TV station, and a daily left-of-center daily newspaper that is a shadow of its former self. It's a sad situation for a community of 300,000-plus residents. No doubt, Fayetteville is on the verge of be- coming North Carolina's next "news media desert." We cannot let this happen. Here in Fayetteville, we have dif- ficulty staying informed of important issues that go before the Fayetteville City Council, County Commission- ers and the CC school board. With- out dedicated news reporters no one is covering these meetings, asking pertinent questions and presenting the facts for analyses and discussion by the community. Up & Coming Weekly, like other weekly newspapers across the country, has always been the local community's heart and conscience. We celebrate the community and promote people, businesses, orga- nizations, music, the arts and cul- ture. We showcase our community's uniqueness and provide a platform for views – both popular and un- popular. We reflect the values of our residents, businesses and organiza- tions. When the occasion calls for it, we challenge decisions and actions made by community leaders. is is necessary to ensure transparency. Our citizens deserve no less than our best effort on these tasks. Local community newspapers are different than dailies, many of which carry the same regional and national stories shared from content sources. e publishers of a daily in Raleigh simply are not interested in report- ing on local details here that do not profoundly affect their city. at task is often left to local area commu- nity newspapers, like Up & Coming Weekly, and we've been doing that for 25 years. You can get headlines anywhere. But, as more and more people rely on social media to keep up with their community, they realize they are missing the essence of what defines their community. is is why a community newspaper is so important. Locally, our citizens need a voice, and they need to know what is going on and taking place in the community. ey need to know what their leaders are doing and what decisions are being made. Unlike the state, regional, national and international news, there is no substitute for locally-produced news and views. How- ever, local coverage depends solely on local newsgathering. Local news is all about the community and what is happening in and about your neigh- borhoods. At Up & Coming Weekly, we are committed to continuing to serve as a local news source. We endeavor to keep you informed of what is happening in our community and highlight people and organizations doing great things. We aim to hold our leaders accountable to you. We know Fayetteville and Cumberland County residents value Up & Com- ing Weekly and our efforts to provide news and information. We welcome your ideas and feedback. We hear you, and rest assured, our newspa- per will be expanding to meet the demands of the community. ank you for a great 25 years. We look forward to continuing to serve as your community newspaper. ank you for reading Up & Com- ing Weekly. Up & Coming Weekly: Supporting the community, local news and views for 25 years by BILL BOWMAN