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.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/28067
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 Tracy McCullough Tracy@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. PUBLISHER’S PEN by BILL BOWMAN “The earliest years of childhood are critical. Experiences during this time literally shape the structure of the brain. Because today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders, parents and workers, everyone has a stake in making sure that all children have the experiences they need to thrive.” Those are the words that are emblazoned across the Smart Start website. They are also words that North Carolinians need to take to heart, and North Carolina leaders need to ponder over as they make decisions concerning the funding of the Smart Start program. Everyone needs to look at the achievements being made through programs directed to and affecting early childhood development here in Cumberland County and across our state. Smart Start and More at Four are proven and time- tested programs that have had positive, long-term effects on the development of children and their educational achievements. Those programs are now in jeopardy. You might ask yourself what is Smart Start? In short, Smart Start is the state’s early childhood infrastructure. Smart Start local partnerships serve to bring stakeholders to assess local needs; ensure accountability; and leverage community, state and federal resources. Local partnerships have established community networks that bridge education, health services and family supports to best meet the needs of young children and their families. The Smart Start network of 77 local partnerships serving all 100 North Carolina counties is the envy of the nation. Federal and private funders have invested millions of dollars in North Carolina’s early childhood system because Smart Start provides the network on the ground that is needed to produce effi cient and effective results. Fayetteville’s Weather Forecast Fayetteville’s Weather Forecast Thursday March 31 Friday April 1 Saturday April 2 The power of Smart Start is in its public/private partnership that mandates outcomes, while giving communities local control to determine the best approach to achieving them. When state and local governments are focused on fi scal responsibility some tough decisions have to be made. These decisions should not be based on “fi scal desperation.” Young children are the innocent, bipartisan, foundation of our nation. Cuts in these programs are short sighted and devastating to the development of our children and our nation. North Carolina’s Democratic leadership needs to man-up with the facts about the Partnership for Children and its progress. Governmental leaders need to look at the impact and success the organization has had in implementing these programs, rather than bantering over that weak redundant cliché “It’s for the children.” Republicans need to get focused on what’s really important and stop fl exing their majority muscles while advocating a “one- size-fi ts-all” mentality when it comes to funding cuts directed at balancing North Carolina’s budget. This is not an issue that needs to be determined along party lines. Both sides of the aisle in Raleigh need to focus on the existing and blatant waste, fraud and duplication of services that have a choke hold on the North Carolina taxpayer. Smart Start: A Smart Move. We hope common sense and compassion prevails. We’ll soon see where our priorities are. Thanks for reading. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, Up & Coming Weekly, COMMENTS? editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com CalCall 910.354.1679l 910.354.1679 Sunday April 3 Monday April 4 Tuesday April 5 INSIDE Smart Start: A Smart Move 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 High 60° Low 45° Showers High 65° Low 48° Showers 4 UCW MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2011 High 72° Low 46° Sunny Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. High 72° Low 50° Sunny High 78º Low 55º Showers High 77º Low 53º Showers WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 24 / 7