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 PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Crowe editor@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITER Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Marybeth Leiby Marybeth@upandcomingweekly.com OFFICE MANAGER Deborah Baughn deborah@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, Jhana Lewis, Erinn Crider, Karen Poppele, Heather Griffi ths, Beth Solzsmon-Carpenter –––––––––––– 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 new Congress has taken Washington by storm. Their agenda is crystal clear — they are targeted on cutting the budget and cutting spending. I have no problem with that. Over the past few years spending has been out of control, and it’s time the scissors came out and the government’s credit cards got cut in half. With that being said, I think they need to put some thought in their cuts and not just go after what Washington insiders are calling “low-hanging fruit.” To date, the best example of low-hanging fruit has been the pay of federal workers.(A caveat here, yes I am a federal employee, so I know of what I speak.) The fi rst round of cuts focused on federal employees was a freeze on pay for the next two to three years. What that means in essence is that in January over the next three years, federal workers who would traditionally receive a cost-of-living increase, will not. Do I love that idea? No. Does it set my hair on fi re and make me want to run out and protest? No. Federal workers are well paid. I’ll make no bones about that. But that pay also equals some pretty substantial taxes each year. So in limiting pay, the government is also limiting what is fl owing into its coffers. At the same time they are freezing pay, they are upping the cost of health insurance for federal workers. And, I’m not talking a little. I’m talking great big increases. All thanks to last year’s Healthcare Reform. It kind of seems like double jeopardy for those in government service. Thanks for doing a good job, so for your efforts we are freezing your pay and picking your pockets. But that’s only the beginning. Recently, a newly elected Congressman submitted a bill that mandated all federal workers take two-weeks leave — without pay. Really? What happens when they can’t buy food or pay their bills because of the forced time-off? Who is going to rescue them? The problem with low-hanging fruit is that it’s easy to pluck. But it’s also easy to get hit in the head with. Federal employees are great in number. Their voting power is immense, and, they typically are voters. This might be something the Fayetteville’s Weather Forecast January 28 Fayetteville’s Weather Forecast Friday Thursday January 27 Saturday January 29 newly elected Congress needs to keep in mind as they continue to pluck. Maybe they should look at changes within the system rather than the kind of ideas they are batting around. Maybe, like the military, there should be a mandatory retirement age for Civil Service. There are many in the system who are well past the retirement age, but they stay in service. These people are usually topped out on the pay scale; with a mandatory retirement age, the system would lose some of its highest paid staff. Or maybe they need to actually look at revamping the system so that those who don’t produce — those who keep the phrase “good enough for government work” alive — are put out of the system. It is almost impossible to get rid of a federal worker. Those who produce the least know the system the best, and believe me, they aren’t afraid to play it. If it was easier to get rid of poor performers, you could design a more effi cient system that employed fewer people but got more done. That’s a revolutionary idea. But beyond revamping the federal system or freezing pay or forcing federal employees to bear the brunt of the cuts, the Congress should get serious and look at the checks they are writing. Maybe there should be fewer federal studies on things such as the effect of heat on hair. That study came up with the outcome that heat damaged hair. Who didn’t know that? Or maybe they should look at the pork-barrel spending that pumps millions of dollars into each Congressman’s district. This money is usually tied to a must-be-approved bill, so the pork just keeps rolling. Have you ever looked at some of the things and projects it funds? It would make your head explode. If the new Congress wants to be successful, they need to make cuts. But they need to dig deep and not reach for the low- hanging fruit. Maybe, they need only reach in their own back pockets. JANICE BURTON, Associate Publisher, Up & Coming Weekly, COMMENTS? editor@upandcomingweekly.com. CalCall 910.354.1679l 910.354.1679 Sunday January 30 Monday January 31 Calendar ........................................... 14 Concert Connection ........................ 18 Movie Review .................................. 21 Free Wheelin’ Feelin’ ....................... 22 News of the Weird ........................... 23 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 23 Classifieds ........................................ 24 Games .............................................. 26 Watch Out for the Low-Hanging Fruit Tuesday February 1 High 47° Low 28° Mostly Sunny 4 UCW JAN. 26 - FEB. 1, 2011 High 49° Low 30° Partly Cloudy High 54° Low 30° Sunny Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 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