Up & Coming Weekly

4 UCW DECEMBER 23-29, 2009 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 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, Erinn Crider, Shannen Dill, Karen Poppele, Takeema Hoffman –––––––––––– 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 ........................ 24 TV ..................................................... 26 Movie Review .................................. 28 Movie Schedule ............................... 29 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ....................... 30 News of the Weird ........................... 31 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 31 Classifieds ........................................ 32 Games .............................................. 34 Dining Guide .................................... 35 INSIDE City Action Saved Lives from Chen's Neglect by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher COMMENTS? Bill@upandcomingweekly.com. PUBLISHER'S PEN Kudos to Fayetteville's Fire Marshall Ron Lewis for the action he and his department took last week by safely evacuating residents from the neglected and potentially dangerous Prince Charles Hotel. This action demonstrates the concerns and sensitivities our city has toward Fayetteville residents and their well being. This mandate was responsible, over due and somewhat heroic contrary to Chen's claim that the evacuation was disrespectful to the Prince Charles inhabitants. What? Disrespectful? Chen knowingly put dozens of innocent people in harm's way since he was fi rst warned on Oct. 29 that the building had no less than 18 safety and fi re-code violations. He then intentionally ignored the city's warnings and discounted their courtesy attempt of providing him ample time to correct the serious defi ciencies. Instead, he willingly chose to place dozens of men, women and children in harm's way. Shame on you, John Chen. Thumbing your nose at our local authorities, government leaders and agencies whose job it is to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents is irresponsible. This total disregard of humanity does not sit well with a caring community working too hard to enhance its image and develop its brand of History, Heroes and Hometown Feeling. We are a generous and forgiving community, Mr. Chen. However, three strikes and your out. Counterfeit windows, illegal air conditioners, code violations and no building permits. Hey, I think already you've been given one strike too many! Now, that's generosity! And you boasting that you are going to bring the City of Fayetteville to its knees and "change our culture." Well, I've got news for you, Chen, we are very well pleased with our culture whether you like it or not. So you better bring your A game to court. You saw how fast the Fayetteville community residents, churches and agencies responded to assist your refugees. That's our culture, Mr Chen. Your $1.9 million auction- block bargain isn't worth the lot it sits on without the respect and support of this community. Here in Fayetteville Mr. Chen, we take care of our own. Had you come into our community with respect and attempted to become a part of the city instead of doing it your own way, You, too, would have been counted in that number. But that wasn't the case, and soon justice will take care of you. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. Have a comment or opinion? We would love to hear from you. Call 391 3859 or bbowman@upandcomingweekly. com

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