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/3373
PUBLISHER Bill Bowman bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Kirkpatrick editor@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITER Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Tabitha Kidd tabitha@upandcomingweekly.com OFFICE MANAGER Suzy Patterson suzy@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, Shanessa Fenner, Stephanie Crider, Erica Gilbert –––––––––––– 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. STAFF Internet Directory ............................ 12 Calendar ........................................... 18 Concert Connection ........................ 25 TV ..................................................... 26 Movie Review .................................. 28 Movie Schedule ............................... 29 Wheelin' Feelin' ................................ 38 News of the Weird ........................... 30 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 31 Classifieds ........................................ 32 Games .............................................. 35 Dining Guide .................................... 36 INSIDE Paid parking downtown? It is inevitable, and in my opinion, we certainly need a parking deck in downtown Fayetteville. However, deck or no deck, "paid parking" may be only a surface issue for struggling downtown businesses and organizations. Paid parking is very common in most successful metropolitan cities. In those cities, we expect it and accept it. Eventually, we will accept it here as well. However, I must offer a word of caution to all my dedicated, hardworking downtown advocates, friends and neighbors. This "paid parking" controversy may be the least of our worries. That's right. Especially, if your job is to revitalize downtown Fayetteville economically or if you are a local retail business, gallery or restaurant that depends heavily on foot traffic to provide customers. Think about it. When PWC moves into their beautiful new facility on Eastern Boulevard later this year, thousands of their employees, clients, customers and business associates will NOT be coming into downtown Fayetteville on a daily bases. Add to this what I refer to as the CCO factor "customer convenience option" created by paid parking. Consumers have the preference of choosing similar goods and services located at more convenient locations. CCOs may be visiting an alternate branch of their credit union, financial adviser, restaurant or insurance company all more conveniently located, easily accessible and offering "free and easy" parking. Regardless, the real issue, problem and challenge for downtown businesses will be to attract new people to replace those being displaced by PWC 's move or displeased with the paid parking situation. In any case, those who have a vested interest in a healthy, economically vibrant city center (and all of us do) better start shaking a tail feather to get things percolating in Downtown Fayetteville very soon. If that is not enough to contend with, remember, we have to keep our progress from backsliding because of other distractions like the deteriorating situation at the Prince Charles Hotel. This being said, we all need to put our "thinking caps" on and discover new innovative ways to advertise, market, promote and showcase the features, attractions and businesses that won us the title of All America City back in 2001. We are now a vibrant community of History, Heroes and a Hometown Feeling. It's time to tell somebody about it. Shout it from the roof tops. Otherwise, this upcoming exodus from downtown may eliminate the need for additional parking in the future — free or paid. Warning: Paid Parking Is Not Downtown's Biggest Problem by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 106 or Bill@upandcomingweekly.com. PUBLISHER'S PEN writ-er [rahy-ter] – noun 1. a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc., esp. as an occupation or profession; an author or journalist. If you see yourself in that light, Up & Coming Weekly would love you to join our creative, talented, community-oriented line-up of contributing writ- ers. If you are interested in joining our writing team, e-mail sample articles or questions to: editor@upandcomingweekly.com For more informtion, call 910-484-6200. 4 UCW OCTOBER 7-13, 2009