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 Cover photo: Wick Smith Calendar. .......................................... 14 . Concert Connection......................... 19 TV...................................................... 20 Movie................................................ 21 PUBLISHER'S PEN Another Consultant?? by BILL BOWMAN Well, first, let me go on record as saying that I am all for having a not located here in Cumberland County. Unlike the cities of Raleigh, Visual, Cultural & Performing Arts Center in Downtown Fayetteville. I Durham, Winston-Salem and Greensboro that we are often compared will support the initiative 100 percent — both physically and financially. to, we do not have the large and generous corporate entities here in our This has always been a great idea. However, what I find hard to support community that can support such large institutional arts venues. is spending another $63,000 on another outside consulting firm to tell Actually, truth be known, I think we have a lot to thank Mr. Marvin us what a good idea it is, how much it will cost and where to put it. This for. Think about it. Granted, we don't have that huge mound of dirt is no reflection on the recently hired Webb Management Services in he recommended as Fayetteville's central signature showcase feature, any way, but, I think we have the talent and leadership here in our own but we do have the Airborne & Special Operations Museum — not ¡ A large recreational complex to be community to make this kind of determination. a bad central signature showcase. In addition, we located in the rectangle formed by After all, don't you think we may have studied have Robeson, Gillespie, Campbell and Russell benefited from several other insights and ideas streets. this enough over the last two decades? The Marvin suggested in his original plan — things like ¡ A City Council, if I remember correctly, spent a new new retailatpromenade perpendicular to deck and a convenient downtown parking Hay Street Ray Avenue. almost the same exact amount of money hiring charter schooldistrict extending from ¡ A major arts on the way. Festival Park covers his Green Street to Bragg Boulevard south of Studio Cascade Inc., to update the Fayetteville recommendation for an amphitheater and park as Rowan Street. Renaissance Plan in 2012. And, if my calculations doesAthe Cape Fear River Trail. And, what I feel is Haymount Park district. ¡ are correct, it will take the same amount of time our most successful achievement that resulted from ¡ New residential development along the Cape Fear River. (one year) and will follow the same process of this preliminary 17-year-old study, the proliferation ¡ An emphasis on improving the Person having local public hearings, interviewing residents, and growth Russell Street corridors. various housing of residents and Street and artists, downtown businesses and property owners. opportunities downtown,by most While it may seem a fanciful plan including the lofts and standards today, recommendations the Those of us who have been around for a apartments, the 300 Blockinof Hay St., Ralph Marvin Plan influenced significant progress, while have heard many, many shared ideas Huff's Parkdevelopment of Festival Park and and, of course, View Condominiums including the the Airborne and Special Operations Museum on how to perk up our economy by perking the Hope new housing project proposed VI project. The genesis of all these ideas (ASOM), a west of Bragg Boulevard, the came from up our Downtown. I guess you could say this and accomplishments Rowan Street Marvin's original overpass and the trail system along Blounts process started in 1996 with the talented late plan. TheCross Creek. It also brought into Creek and execution and refinement came from us. the downtown planning process scores architect Robert Marvin with his A Complete My point is simply this, weofhave already heard Figure 3.04 – The 1996 Fayetteville "Once and for All" In the past 17 years there have beenarea residents, merchants, community volunteers, plan established the 3,000-acre downtown planning Fayetteville, Once and For All, plan. This was a from the experts so why not their rely on the that this plan and the 2002 Renaissance Plan carried local officials and employers, soliciting now several plans for a vast study area,startdowntown, incorporating forward. This makes for comments and joining their voices real Fayetteville eye opener. His $27+ million skills, talents, intelligence together into and ingenuity of our entire neighborhoods that may not at first glance appear a comprehensive set of goals for downtown. ing with Robert Marvin's A Complete to be part of downtown. (Image source: Studio Cascade, Fayetteville facelift recommendation called for own residents, local artists and city and county Inc.) Fayetteville, Once and For All, plan. a huge mound overlooking a water feature, a staff and elected officials to determine if there is Cumberland County 2030 Renaissance Plan was prepared are aGrowth Vision downtown Visual, Cultural & real need for a Plan parking garage, charter school, amphitheater, also recognized Performing pavilion, park and plenty of downtown diversity from construction and incorporated in this Arts Center. I guarantee incorporated of Cumberland County and its that collectively they will know document, as follows: jurisdictions and, truth be known, the right questions to ask, prepared a long-range growth they already know residential housing catering to various socioeconomic groups. The vision plan, resulting in the articulation of goals the answers. For $63,000 to direct growth at a regional no one should be cost of Marvin's insights? Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers money. and policies of taxpayer money, level. A Complete Fayetteville: Its outreach efforts and the resulting plan surprised or disappointed good dealthe findings are things that we when of work performed by That was nearly 17 years ago. Was it worth it? Did weOnce & For All get good value represent a multiple agencies. The information next life have the "Marvin from this investment? Well, since that time, we adoptedThis plan, commonly referred to as known for many, many years. In my generated I want to be a the Fayetteville during the Vision 2030 process – as well as Plan" of its author, consultant as Renaissance Plan (2002) — a neat little package consistingafter3,000 was prepared in 1996 (from outgoal and policy direction reinforcing the the of town!) or a weatherman. a vision for downtown. It foresaw significant importance of downtown and always free Either way, acres of downtown Fayetteville targeted for greatness. This plan was the landscape, injecting I could never be wrongas a regional resource transformation of – were helpful in this plan update. recreational areas criticism. Thank you for reading Fayetteville's recently revised in 2012 by another consulting firm from Seattle,and naturalizedfrominto the heart of downtown. community Washington. So, I ask again, why do we feel we need another feasibility Downtown Marketing Some of its more notable recommendations BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, Up & Comstudy and what have we learned from the ones in whichincluded: already newspaper: Up & we have Research ing Weekly. COMMENTS? Coming Weekly. Activating the downtown commercial core invested? Has our community really changed in the last 15 years? editor@upandcomingweekly.com. was the fundamental directive of the 2009 With the exception of BRAC, I really don't think so. Big business is Fayetteville's Weather Forecast 3•4 Thursday November 21 Friday November 22 4 NOVEMBER 20-26, 2013 High 72° Low 54° Mostly Cloudy Saturday November 23 High 66° Low 34° Rain Call 910.354.1679 Chapter 3 - Plan Background Sunday November 24 24 / High 66° Low 46° Mostly Cloudy Free Wheelin' Feelin'........................ 22 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess.......... 23 Classifieds......................................... 24 Games............................................... 26 Monday November 25 Tuesday November 26 High 49° Low 28° Sunny High 48º Low 31º Partly Cloudy High 55º Low 38º Partly Cloudy 7 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM