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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10 UCW MARCH 24-30, 2021 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM NEWS New board members chosen to lead in governing UNC System by DALLAS WOODHOUSE e General Assembly is set to add new members to the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. e board governs the consolidated sys- tem, encompassing 16 public universities across the state and the N.C. School of Science and Mathemat- ics. e board has 24 voting members, elected by the state Senate and House to staggered, four- year terms. Former N.C. Rep. John Fraley, R-Iredell, is the sole new House pick to join the BOG. e House plans to re-appoint current board members Kellie Blue, for- mer Rep. Leo Daughtry, Carolyn Coward, Reginald Holley, and Wendy Murphy. While in the General Assembly, Fraley chaired the higher education com- mittee overseeing the UNC System. "Fraley has been a longtime supporter of the UNC System. It's not a surprise to see him added to the UNC Board of Governors," said Jenna Robinson, president of the James G. Martin Center for Aca- demic Renewal. Fraley would replace Doyle Parrish, owner of hotel development company Summit Hospitality Group. Parrish did not seek reappointment due to a recent surgery. Rep. Kelly Hastings, R-Gaston, who leads the BOG appointment process in the House, told CJ the appointments of both new and returning board members represent a broad selection of talented North Carolinians. ey'll help the UNC System stay affordable, deliver an educated work force, and meet the evolving needs and challenges of higher educa- tion in North Carolina, Hastings said. "We have a strong group of diverse people from varying backgrounds. ey are put in place to have a calming hand during difficult and fast-changing times." New members chosen by the Senate are Lee Rob- erts, Sonja Nichols, and Kirk Bradley. Art Pope, Randy Ramsey, and Jimmy Clark were reelected. e new members would replace cur- rent board members Marty Kotis, Steven Long, and Dwight Stone. "e addition of Lee Roberts to the UNC Board of Governors may signal the General Assembly's inter- est in scrutinizing the university system's finances," said Robinson. Roberts and Pope served as state budget directors under former Gov. Pat McCrory. Republican Sonja Nichols, 55, is an African Ameri- can businesswoman and philanthropist with strong connections to the Charlotte business community. While she ran for N.C. Senate and was defeated as a Republican, Nichols' politics are unusual. She voted for President Obama but supported much of Presi- dent Trump's education reform agenda, including Trump's support for historically black colleges and universities. "Sonja is a bridge builder; she brings people of all backgrounds together to help those in need," said Chris Sinclair, a close Nichols friend and her 2020 Senate campaign consultant. "Sonja will bring a breath of fresh air and a unique perspective to help HBCUs grow and thrive in North Carolina. She will be an excellent addition to the UNC BOG and will greatly help with UNC's diversity, equality, and inclusion programs." Former Democratic state Sen. Joel Ford was elect- ed to fill a seat on the board left vacant when Darrell Allison resigned. Allison later won appointment as chancellor at Fayetteville State University. Senator's bill would expand controversial N.C. film grants by ANDREW DUNN Wilmington's Republican senator has teamed up with a Winston-Salem Democrat to push a bill that would expand North Carolina's film grant program — a program critics say is actually a money loser for the state. Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, and Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, are the primary sponsors of Senate Bill 268, which would add $34 million to the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund over the next _two years. at's on top of the $31 million per year the grant program already receives. e film grants were established by the General Assembly in 2014, and reimburse filmmakers up to a quarter of their pro- duction costs for a movie or TV show filmed in North Carolina. e idea is to incentivize major produc- tions — movies with a budget above $3 million and TV episodes costing $1 million or more — in the state, bringing with them jobs and spending. "Securing the multi-year grant funding would show that the legislature is supportive and respon- sive to the state's film industry and the needs of the studios," Lee wrote on his Facebook page. "at includes their desire to have fiscal certainty when looking to base a potential multi-year produc- tion, like a TV series that often becomes synonymous with where it is shot." Wilmington, home to EUE/Screen Gems Studios, has a long history with the film industry. It's been the setting for movies such as "Iron Man 3" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer," as well as as TV shows like "Dawson's Creek" and "One Tree Hill." e Film and Entertain- ment Grant Fund replaced a film income tax credit program that offered up to $20 million per produc- tion. e new grant pro- gram has already tripled in size since being introduced fewer than seven years ago. But studies have shown that film grants and in- centive fail to deliver the economic impact they promise. North Carolina's pro- grams paid out more than $400 million between 2005 and 2018, but brought back somewhere between 19 cents and 61 cents on the dollar, independent analysts show. States are increasingly exiting the film incentive business. Twelve states have repealed their pro- grams in the past decade. "As with other incentives programs, taking money from other people caring for their families and work- ing in other productive endeavors to give to, in this case, film production has consistently shown to be on net bad for the state economy," said Jon Sanders, senior fellow, regulatory studies and research editor at the John Locke Foundation. A number of television shows and movies have been filmed in North Carolina. Several scenes in "e Hunger Games" were filmed in and around Asheville, Charlotte, Shelby and DuPont State Forest. Scenes from "Iron Man 3" were filmed in Cary, Rose Hill, Oak Island, and at EU/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington. (Movie poster images courtesy of IMDb.) New members to the UNC Board of Governors from left: Kirk Bradley, Sonja Nichols, Jimmy Clark, Art Pope and Lee Roberts. (photo by Maya Reagan, Carolina Journal) DALLAS WOODHOUSE, Carolina Journal News Service. COMMENTS? editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. ANDREW DUNN, Carolina Journal News Service. COMMENTS? editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.