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/953976
8 UCW MARCH 14-20, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Fayetteville's Dogwood Festival has been des- ignated the best event in the southeast U.S. by the Southeast Festivals and Events Association. e honor was announced at the association's annual conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Events in eight states were eligible for awards. "We are beyond thrilled to bring home this pres- tigious award for our community," said Carrie King, Fayetteville Dogwood Festival executive director. "e spirit of the Fayetteville community made the Dogwood Festival a natural choice for the award." e Dogwood Festival has received top honors from local, state, regional and international organi- zations. e annual event is a private undertaking committed to providing a variety of family-cen- tered activities each spring and has done so for 36 years. e 2018 festival will take place April 26–29 in downtown Fayetteville. Mayor concerned about racial inequities Fayetteville City Council has withdrawn City Attorney Karen McDonald's selection of two lo- cal attorneys in a nationwide civil action against prescription opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors. Attorneys Terry Hutchens and Billy Richardson volunteered to represent the city of Fayetteville in cooperation with two national groups of law yers who have taken the opioid manu- facturers and distributors to court. e lawsuit is being presided over by a single fed- eral judge. e objectives of the legal consortiums are to recover the costs of dealing with opioid abuse and to eventually reimburse local communi- ties for their costs of fighting the epidemic. Mayor Mitch Colvin objected to McDonald's awarding of the contract to the law yers without go- ing through the city's bidding process. Colvin told Up & Coming Weekly that local attorneys Jonathan Charleston, Allen Rogers and Lila Washington, all black, had asked him why they hadn't been offered an opportunity to represent the city. "ere needs to be local and minority inclusion in this city, and it has not happened for years," Colvin said. McDonald disagreed with Colvin's characteriza- tion of events. "is is a cultural change," Colvin said. City council revoked McDonald's action and or- dered the administration to invite other attorneys to offer their services. No money is at stake except that eventually cities and counties could receive dam- ages and the lawyers would earn compensation. Cumberland County Primary Election preliminaries e 2018 May Primary Elections are just around the corner. Local and state primaries are May 8 this year. Early voting begins in mid-April. Six voting places have been established for one-stop voting. e Board of Elections voting hours are: ursday-Friday, April 19- 20; 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, April 23-27; 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, April 30-May 4; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 5; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Cliffdale Recreation Center, North Regional Li- brary, Hope Mills Recreation Center, East Regional Library and Gray's Creek Recreation Center voting hours are: ursday-Friday, April 19-20; 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, April 23-27; 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, April 30-May 4; 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Grove Street bridge closed for repairs e Grove Street bridge over the Cape Fear River has been closed this month for repair and mainte- nance work that will extend its longevity. Concrete repairs are being made below the bridge. Deck joints on the driving surface are also being fixed. e bridge was built in 1974 and carries about 25,000 ve- hicles a day. Portable detour signs have been erected. While the bridge is closed, locals are being de- toured using Cedar Creek Road and Clinton Road, which becomes Person Street, and U.S. 301/Busi- ness 95. For updates on the bridge closure or other real- time travel information, go to DriveNC.gov or fol- low NCDOT on Twitter. PWC water changes may be noticeable e Fayetteville Public Works Commission has temporarily stopped adding ammonia to its water treat- ment disinfection process. e North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources requires all water systems that add ammonia to their drinking water to discontinue its use for a one-month period an- nually. PWC will resume adding ammonia to the water treatment disinfection process April 1. is month, fire hydrants are being opened fre- quently to flush the water distribution system. Dur- ing the month, chlorine may be more noticeable, and some customers may experience discolored water because of the flushing. FTCC hosts Fayetteville's fourth annual Foodtrepreneur Forum this ursday Kent Hill, FTCC director of the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneur- ship and Small Business, is excited that the school, alongside the Center for Economic Empow- erment and Development, is cohosting Fayetteville's fourth annual Foodtrepreneur Forum ursday, March 15. e conference and expo focuses on the rapidly growing opportunities for food trucks and other mobile food service options, such as push- carts and pop-up coffee bars. e event will begin at 8 a.m. in the Tony Rand Student Center at FTCC's Fayetteville campus, located at 2201 Hull Rd. Attendees will be offered a variety of learning op- portunities, including how to build a solid business plan for any food truck and how to collaborate with other local mobile businesses. ere will be advice and testimonies from successful restaurateurs and food truck owners. Food industry experts will be on hand offering advice. ere is even a tour of the suc- cessful "R Burger" food truck scheduled. In addition, there will be a panel discussion about how to get started in the food truck business, man- aging costs, food truck public and trade relations and obstacles to avoid in food truck marketing. Kent Hill and FTCC's Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Small Business is the go-to resource for helpful business seminars, one-on- one confidential business counseling and expert guidance to assist entrepreneurs in launching new businesses or to help existing businesses grow their companies. All these FTCC SBC services, seminars and resources are free. Online registration is required for entry to the free Foodtrepreneur Forum on March 15. Seating is lim- ited, so early registration is highly recommended. Visit http://tiny.cc.ftccsbc to secure your spot. Dogwood Festival best in Southeast by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST JEFF THOMPSON, Senior News Reporter. COMMENTS? news@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200. Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin