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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STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS OFFICER Paulette Naylor 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 Cynthia Deere cynthia@upandcomingweekly.com 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 information 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 person. 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 Calendar ........................................... 12 Concert Connection ........................ 15 TV ..................................................... 17 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ....................... 18 PUBLISHER'S PEN Crown Coliseum: A Love Fest for the Orphan by BILL BOWMAN Crown Coliseum: At last, a love fest for the orphan … but will it last? That is the question. No doubt the Crown Coliseum needs dire attention and it is finally getting it. Many think it's long overdue. For more than a decade the Crown Coliseum has been on a losing streak; costing Cumberland County taxpayers tens of millions of dollars while being ignored by the Cumberland County Commissioners and the Crown Coliseum Board, all of which are charged with the stewardship of the county's money and assets. However, there is good news! Recently we have seen signs indicating that county management is finally rallying to rectify the situation before it gets much worse — if that is at all possible. Nonetheless, the effort is a good thing, especially when the $60 million entertainment facility is losing more than $3 million dollars a year with a dismal 10-year track record. I'm not really sure who is responsible for getting this initiated, but thank God someone is attempting to stop the madness and fiscal bleeding. I hope it's a strong, dedicated posse of Cumberland County Commissioners lead by Board Chair Jimmy Keefe and County Manager James Martin. It will take this level of leadership and accountability to reign in the colossal fiscal drain the Crown is having on the Cumberland County community and our tax-paying citizens. Regardless, this is a good thing and indicates the road to recovery and salvation may be near for the Crown. I guess I never imagined it would develop into such a media love fest, which was prematurely sparked by the jubilation that finally someone is going to address the results of a decade-long void of county oversight, local management deficiencies, operational inefficiencies and deficiencies at all levels. Not to mention the lack of basic business development (shows and other paying venues that generate revenue). The process has started. Appointing Commissioner Ed Melvin as county liaison to work with George Turner, Crown board chairman was a good step in the right direction. Both men have years of experience on the Crown board and, more importantly, both are established, successful local business owners. They are the near perfect task force for assuring the project stays on track and for keeping the county manager and board of commissioners informed of the progress. First, the decision to bring in a professional consultant to evaluate the existing Crown operation was a solid decision by Turner and the board — even with its hefty $36,000 price tag. This exercise will pretty much confirm what everyone already knows about the operation, but, it will make it official. No new news, just confirmation of what we already knew. Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Thursday May 9 Friday May 10 4 UCW MAY 8-14, 2013 High 81° Low 62° Partly Cloudy Sunday May 12 Saturday May 11 High 82° Low 65° Partly Cloudy Another good decision to Turner's credit was inviting three leading professional entertainment-management companies in to tour the Crown facility. Another proactive step in the right direction. However, the most impressive decision by far is the logical course of action — the issuance of appropriate RFP's (Request For Proposals) inviting these companies to bid on what they can offer in terms of running and managing our Coliseum. This is significant because these are professionals in the business. Rest assured, all three of their proposals will be based on their propensity for making money for themselves while saving Cumberland County millions. And, all Turner, Melvin and the Crown Board need to do is choose the one that comes up with the best plan to meet their needs and ours. A decision that should be excessively objective and within our capabilities. The big question is: Are we (Cumberland County) capable of making an objective decision? Regardless of the facts, realities or paid opinions, Fayetteville and Cumberland County have an extremely poor track record for following through and "doing the right things for the right reasons." Sad, but true. Here are just few love fests from the past: AIT building, Prince Charles Hotel, Scana, Festival of Flight, Dr. Mel Henderson's Dock's, the E-85 ethanol plant, Freedom Park, county jail location and the locations of the Crown Coliseum and ballpark (J.P. Riddle stadium). Argumentative, I know, but the point is this: Most of these initiatives, with the exception of E-85, started out as well-intentioned projects. Then, somewhere along the way a person, organization or other selfserving outside influence hijacked the entire project to fit or fulfilled their more personal, pressing or political needs. What other explanation could there be for such a dismal track record in community development? Crown Coliseum Board Chair George Turner, County Manager James Martin, Cumberland County Commissioner's Ed Melvin and Jimmy Keefe know and understand the problem and task at hand. Now we'll have to wait and see if they can execute a plan on its own merit and without the outside influences of politics or special interest. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. P.S. The money lost at the Crown over the last 10 years could have provided a splendid base of revenue for Parks & BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, Up & Coming Recreation. Think Weekly, COMMENTS? editor@upandcominabout it. gweekly.com. Call 910.354.1679 24 / High 80° Low 60° Partly Cloudy Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 19 Classifieds ........................................ 20 Games .............................................. 22 Dining Guide.....................................23 Monday May 13 Tuesday May 14 High 83° Low 62° Partly Sunny High 80º Low 60º Partly Sunny High 84º Low 62º Partly Sunny 7 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM