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.
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4 APRIL 9-15, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Wow! Good news! The Fayetteville Observer reported last week that the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority announced what I think is great news for Fayetteville and the residents of Grove View Terrace, an out-of-date, low-income public housing community off Grove Street. I have no idea how it came about, but, the United States Department of Public Housing and Urban Development has given local FMHA Director Dawn Driggers one year to submit a plan to relocate Grove View Terrace residents and rebuild the development. What? Did they say rebuild? Whoa! Why would we want to do that? Surely, the mayor, city planners, city council and the city manager will weigh-in on this important matter. This opportunity is a godsend as we focus our time, talent and resources on reducing crime, beautifying our city and enhancing our quality of life. Think about it. From the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, past Festival Park to the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, Grove Street has the best potential for becoming Fayetteville's premiere gateway into the city. And, with the recent success we have had with the Hope VI Development Project in replacing Campbell Terrace and Delona Gardens, why would we even consider "rebuilding" or "replacing" Grove View Terrace? The mere fact that Grove View qualified for this new HUD program confirms the need to rid the community of this crime-ridden, worn out, run down and dilapidated eye sore. The residents of Grove View deserve better and our community deserves better. LIPSTICK ON A PIG About 15 years ago we spent millions of dollars to camouflage the Grove Street blight only to enhance it. Check out the crime statistics for this area. Now, in 2014, we have a second chance to reclaim this 29 acres of natural, pristine inner-city beauty and to better the lives and living conditions of hundreds of low- and medium-income families while enhancing the quality of life of all Fayetteville residents. To do this we need strong, progressive and aggressive leadership. What happens on Grove Street and the future of Grove View Terrace should not be left solely in the hands of its residents, the FMHA director or its board. We will have only one chance to get this right. Miss it and Grove View Terrace residents are guaranteed another couple of decades of mediocrity and we will lose our gateway. Again, this will take leadership. Let's see who steps up — or who doesn't. Stay tuned and thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly. My View on Grove View by BILL BOWMAN STAFF INSIDE PUBLISHER'S PEN PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS OFFICER Jerred Sanders accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/ OFFICE COORDINATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com Kristy Sykes kristy@upandcomingweekly.com Beverly Pone beverlypone@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street 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 infor- mation 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 per- son. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. High 70° Low 49° Sunny 7 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Monday April 14 Tuesday April 15 High 77° Low 54° Mostly Sunny 24 / Thursday April 10 High 77° Low 54° Mostly Sunny High 77° Low 58° Mostly Sunny High 76º Low 50º Partly Cloudy Friday April 11 Saturday April 12 Sunday April 13 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Call 910.354.1679 High 78º Low 52º Partly Cloudy BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, Up & Coming Weekly. COMMENTS? Bill@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Calendar............................................ 14 Concert.Connection......................... 19 TV...................................................... 20 Movie................................................ 21. Free.Wheelin'.Feelin'........................ 22 Horoscopes/Advice.Goddess.......... 23 Classifieds......................................... 24. Games............................................... 26 The future of Grove View Terrace should not be left solely in the hands of its residents, the FMHA director or its board. Cover.photo.credit:.AP.Photo/Gerry.Broome