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/844872
8 UCW JULY 5-11, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM HITS AND MISSES HIT: Fayetteville's 15th annual Blues-N-Brews Festival was a resounding success. It's the Cape Fear Regional eatre's major fundraiser. ousands turned out at Festival Park and paid $40 each for small glasses resembling shot glasses on steroids to sample the many craft beers available and enjoy the concert. MISS: e departure of newspaperman An- drew Barksdale from e Fayetteville Observer is a loss for our community. An- drew spent 17 years report- ing on local government for the Observer. He was a good journalist. Barksdale is a ca- sualty of the purchase of the newspaper by GateHouse Media, headquartered in suburban Rochester, New York. He said he's been looking to change jobs for quite a while. He resigned to take a job in public relations with the state Depart- ment of Transportation in Raleigh. HIT: Imagine this: A motorist driving along Pinecrest Drive was actually doing 25 mph, the speed limit. I was behind her. When she turned onto Mor- ganton Road, she stepped it up to 35 mph, also the speed limit. I was in no hurry, but you can imagine how impatient everyone else was. MISS: e Bragg Boulevard con- struction detour near downtown was a flop. DOT set up signs, orange barrels and cones directing inbound traffic to turn left onto the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway over to Ramsey Street and then downtown. A smarter and much shorter detour was to turn right onto the MLK over to Hay Street, only three-tenths of a mile, and then downtown. Motorists had to figure that out for themselves … and many did. HIT: anks to the merchants and restaurants who give seniors their discounts without customers having to ask for them. In most cases, it's ob- vious when seniors are making pur- chases and are therefore entitled to their 10 percent discount. Not all places give the discounts unless requested by the customers. MISS: Pretty soon, the new downtown FAST Tran- sit Center will open. It's more than a year behind schedule. Greyhound will also use the terminal. Something's missing, though. ere isn't any public parking on the property for visitors or families. ere are a few parking spots on the street. HIT: City Councilman Ted Mohn speaks his mind no matter what. He said he isn't going to seek re-election, which may be why he's so willing to be more straightforward these days. Not only does Mohn say it like it is, he's the Council's resident numbers analyst. Maybe we can persuade him to run again. Blues-N-Brews a Success by JEFF THOMPSON Andrew Barksdale Ted Mohn JEFF THOMPSON, Senior News Reporter. COMMENTS? news@upandcomingweekly. com. (910) 484-6200.