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/950172
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MARCH 7-13, 2018 UCW 7 Hits and Misses a STAFF REPORT OPINION Hit (N.C. Press Association Awards) Congratula- tions to Up & Coming Weekly sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. (1st Place - Sports Columns) and Up & Coming Weekly graphic designer Elizabeth Long (2nd Place - Best Food Ad, 2nd Place - Best News- paper Promotion) on their North Carolina Press Association awards. Miss (Voter confusion) An official Cumberland County voter card many received in the mail notes citizens are registered to vote in seven different districts: 4th City Council district, 1st County Commission district, 1st School Board district, 43rd State House district, 19th State Senate district, 12th Judicial district and 8th U.S. Congressional district. Hit (Crosswalks for the blind) Fayetteville traffic en- gineers are making some intersections user-friendly for the visually impaired by installing devises that give audible instructions to the blind signaling when it's safe to cross. Read more about it in the News Digest. Miss (Sheriff solicitation) The North Carolina Sheriffs' Association is soliciting for money for its members. Nearly half the group's expenses go to pay its staff, which is one reason Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison had his name taken off the list. Cumberland County Sher- iff Ennis Wright has no problem with the solicita- tion for money. "These are tough times for North Carolina law enforcement agencies," said Wright. Hit (Economic recovery) Fayetteville and Cumberland County continue to benefit from business investment in the community. Every investment by com- mercial firms and small businesses reduces property taxes on Cumberland County homeown- ers who have the greatest tax burden of all metro- politan areas of North Carolina. Miss (Illegal street barricades) Two streets that connect Eastern Boulevard with B Street have been closed for about three years. They were barricaded by police as a crime prevention effort. The streets were never officially closed by city council. The city attorney said several months ago she would take the closure of Link and School Streets before city council, but to date, she hasn't. Hit (Open gov- ernment is the law) N.C. Attorney Gen- eral Josh Stein says he is an ally of journal- ists in communities like ours where local government too often conducts the public's business in private. "The law is clear," he said, that public bodies must obey the state's public records and open meetings statutes. Stein spoke at the annual con- vention of the N.C. Press Association last month. Sheriff Ennis Wright N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein Pa i d f o r b y C i n d y B l a c k we l l f o r C l e r k o f Co u r t Experienced. Qualified. Committed. the PEOPLE'S CLERK