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 bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Crowe MANAGING EDITOR Caroline Goins stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com hal@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown ltmcmd01@aol.com OFFICE MANAGER Laurel Handforth officemanager@ upandcomingweekly.com Mary Catherine White ACCOUNTING accounting@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Mar tin, Pitt Dick ey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jhana Lewis, Erinn Crider, Karen Poppele, Heath- er Griffi ths, Beth Solzsmon-Carpenter, Shannon Angry –––––––––––– 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. MARKETING/SALES Hal Nunn ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephanie Crider PUBLISHER Bill Bowman INSIDE Highways and Byways: Tolls Good, Concrete Bad Calendar ........................................... 14 TV ..................................................... 20 Movie Review .................................. 21 Concert Connection ........................ 22 PUBLISHER'S PEN by BILL BOWMAN If converting I-95 into a state toll road from the Virginia state line to the South Carolina border will provide additional revenues for making this and other major North Carolina highways safer and more enjoyable for travelers, then I say bring it on. Why not? It's not as if tolls are new and an untested venture. Actually, I just returned from a business trip in New Jersey. Check out the toll tab: • Maryland Tolls: $5 • Harbor Tunnel Toll: $6 • Delaware Tolls: $3 • Delaware Memorial Bridge Toll: $6 • New Jersey Turnpike Tolls: $6 • Total $26 x 2 (round Hundreds of orange cones now warn drivers of the impending danger should their tires inadvertently come in contact with the concrete median. trip) = $52 In New Jersey, they pump your gas for free and at 25 cents less a gallon than in North Carolina. You also get to drive through Virginia for free. At least for the time being. However, the North Carolina Department of Transportation should proceed with caution on this project. Especially, if they are relying on additional revenue from North Carolina's hefty gas tax. Even though tolls will increase state revenues it may not be enough to offset the overall construction and maintenance costs if gas tax revenues decrease. After all, gas prices are much lower in both Virginia and South Carolina than here in the Tar Heel state. Travelers may choose to cruise right on through our beautiful state. Even my full-size SUV can easily cruise from Emporia, Va., to Dillon, S.C., on one tank of gas with plenty to spare. Actually, I could even make it to Savannah, Ga. In other words, I hope our DOT really puts a sharp pencil to this venture before it gets to a point of no return and we all suffer the consequences. Speaking of roads, consequences and suffering, have you Fayetteville's Weather Forecast February 10 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Friday Thursday February 9 Saturday February 11 been on Ramsey Street lately? The newly installed concrete medians beg the question: What was our city and the DOT thinking and, what Raleigh concrete company lobbyist was responsible for mixing up this precarious batch of sand and gravel? Without actual accident and incident statistics it is difficult to measure or assess just how treacherous and dangerous these obstructions are going to be to for north-side motorists. Hundreds of orange cones now warn drivers of the impending danger should their tires inadvertently come in contact with the concrete median causing the vehicle to veer into the narrow parallel lane. As if that were not enough of a danger, drivers must also be alert and aware of cars making precarious U-turns while dodging those same orange cones that have fallen from the median into the street. This project is so ill planned and conceived it begs for someone to "follow the money" in search of a reasonable explanation of how it became a reality. Now, our only hope is that local leadership and the DOT come to their senses and stop this concrete madness before injuries, deaths and economic devastation worsen. This is not the road to prosperity our community needs or the toll it will have on northern Fayetteville residents and businesses. To be continued... Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher. COMMENTS? 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