Up & Coming Weekly

STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Kirkpatrick editor@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITER Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Tabitha Kidd tabitha@upandcomingweekly.com Steve Rogers Steve@upandcomingweekly.com OFFICE MANAGER Suzy Patterson suzy@upandcomingweekly.com –––––––––––––– GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Soni Martin, D.G. Mar tin, Pitt Dick ey, Margaret Dickson, Bob Cogswell, John Hood, Shanessa Fenner, Erinn Crider, Karen Poppele, Renee Gibbs, Heather Griffi ths –––––––––––– 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. INSIDE PUBLISHER’S PEN by JANICE BURTON The last time the issue of raising the fares on the Fayetteville transit system was raised, the conversation became immediately heated. This time around, it seemed to have taken a while to heat up, but now it’s boiling. With Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne calling for both sides to reach a common ground, and a group of ministers stirring the pot against the increase, the debate over the increase can only become more interesting. For those who haven’t been following the rate hike brouhaha, let me refresh your memory. A couple of years back, the Fayetteville City Council brought up the idea of raising the bus rates — it seems they hadn’t been raised in a number of years. The very idea brought a hue and cry from throughout the community. Not so much at the idea of raising the rates, but over the idea of raising the rates when bus services was so bad. Buses were dirty. They didn’t run on time, or at all. They broke down. They were unsafe. The system was short staffed, under budgeted and far from meeting the needs of its riders. That’s when the city council decided to do something about the bus system, but in order to do that, they had to raise some money. No news here, the budget was tight. They couldn’t fi nd the money to bring the system up to date. So, they found a way to do it. They added a $5 fee on to backs of every car- owning citizen in Fayetteville. Keeping in mind, these car-owning citizens didn’t ride the bus. But, they were asked to pay $5 to make the system better for those who did ride the bus. At the same meeting, the council voted down an increase in bus ridership fees. Makes total sense, right? Much like today, those vocally opposed to the idea of the $5 fee and opposed to the idea of not raising the fares Fayetteville’s Weather Forecast Fayetteville’s Weather Forecast Thursday June 24 Friday June 25 Saturday June 26 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sponsored by High 98° Low 76° Partly Cloudy 4 UCW JUNE 23-29, 2010 High 93° Low 75° Scattered Thunderstorms High 91° Low 76° Isolated Thunderstorms Regional Airport www.fl yfay.com Fayetteville High 96° Low 75° Partly Cloudy High 93º Low 75º Scattered Thunderstorms High 93º Low 74º Mostly Sunny WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM included Councilwoman Val Applewhite. Some of you may remember that at the time I commented that although Applewhite made a number of people angry, including the good ministers who had brought their fl ocks out by the number, she did the right thing. Applewhite serves a constituency that doesn’t even have access to the FAST system. They couldn’t ride a bus if they wanted to, but they sure can pay for them. So, it’s not surprising that Applewhite is leading the band Internet Directory ............................ 12 Calendar ........................................... 14 Concert Connection ........................ 18 TV ..................................................... 20 Movie Review ..................................20 Movie Schedule ............................... 21 Free Wheelin’ Feelin’ ....................... 22 News of the Weird ........................... 23 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 23 Classifieds ........................................ 24 Games .............................................. 26 Dining Guide .................................... 27 Battlelines Are Drawn on Bus Fare Increase on raising the rates this go round. The whole debate got a lot uglier this past week, when City Manager Iman let the council know that the excess money in the FAST budget was on hold for a rainy day. Not exactly the news you want to hear when your rate hike will generate far less than the rainy day funds. But still, the point remains. The cost of fi xing the system was carried on the backs of those who do not use the system. It’s time that those who do use the system put a little in the pot, even if it is just a little. It shows the citizens who have carried the cost that those who ride the bus are on the team, too. If nothing else, it makes the $5 fee more palatable to those who had it shoved down their throats. I don’t know if a comprise can be reached, but it seems that the car-owning citizens of the city have already compromised enough. JANICE BURTON, Associate Publisher. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Call 910.354.1679 Call 910.354.1679 Sunday June 27 Monday June 28 Tuesday June 29 24 24 / 7

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