Up & Coming Weekly

4 UCW FEBRUARY 10 - 16, 2010 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 Elexis Joseph-Lawson Lexi@upandcomingweekly.com Steve Rogers Steve@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, Renee Gibbs, Heather Griffi ths, Chanel Coleman –––––––––––– 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 ........................................... 16 Concert Connection ........................ 26 TV ..................................................... 23 Movie Review .................................. 24 Movie Schedule ............................... 25 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ....................... 26 News of the Weird ........................... 27 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 27 Classifieds ........................................ 28 Games .............................................. 30 Dining Guide .................................... 31 INSIDE City and County: Nothing To Talk About by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher COMMENTS? Bill@upandcomingweekly.com. PUBLISHER'S PEN Holy smoke! Last week during its annual retreat, the Cumberland County Commissioners unloaded on the City of Fayetteville. At contention was a number of issues relating to city/county progress and development. The commissioners showed the city no mercy. Is this the same group of commissioners that, according to Board Chairman Billy R. King, had no reason to convene a county/city joint meeting because it would be a waste of time and "... there was nothing to talk about"? Nothing to talk about? As soon as the words left his mouth, they seemed ridiculous — and the residents of both the city and county knew it. Now, in view of the important issues affecting our residents, like the prospect of having clean water, this kind of pettiness is beyond absurd. Will it ever stop? When will our elected offi cials start talking and taking a responsible leadership position? Cumberland County and Fayetteville residents deserve better. Obviously, few took seriously the warning outlined in my January editorial Message from Massachusetts. Let me reiterate: Cumberland County residents are getting fed up with this kind of governance. They want action. They want leaders who are honest and of the highest integrity. They want transparency and accountability from their governmental leaders. They are also taking note of the goose step, rubber stamping and "follow the thundering herd" positions that offi cials and boards are taking on important issues. Many elected leaders may think they are invisible and that there is "safety in numbers" no matter what the issues are. This is not true. This is why I admired Commissioner Ed Melvin's lone dissenting vote on giving the hospital's CEO a hefty bonus and salary raise at a time when so many Cumberland County residents are unemployed and struggling fi nancially. I cannot speak for Commissioner Melvin, I can only state my interpretation of the message he was trying to convey to his constituents and the community. That being "Cumberland County, we hear you, we feel your pain and frustration, and we are trying to do everything within our power to help you." Providing salary increases and big bonus rewards to top management (i.e. AIG, Merrill Lynch) while displacing and laying off local workers sends a message loud and clear to hospital employees and Cumberland County residents on where they actually rate in the big scheme of providing "quality-of- life." This recession is affecting everyone. I'm not proud of the fact that we have not only laid off employees during the last year but we have also rolled back salaries. Few businesses I know have not. However, the fi rst cuts and roll backs were initiated at the top with our corporate management. After all, how could we ask our employees to sacrifi ce if we were not willing to? This type of message is heard loud and clear by those from whom our success will ultimately come. It is my wish that in these diffi cult times that both our city and county leaders provide the kind of leadership that gives a higher priority to better communications, honesty, integrity, transparency and accountability. These are the foundation for building a better community. Once this happens many of the problems plaguing our community for decades will dissipate in the spirit of cooperation, fi scal responsibility, compassion, love and understanding. This I can guarantee. 24 24 7 / Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sponsored by Thursday February 11 High 47° Low 27° Mostly Sunny High 51° Low 31° Mostly Sunny High 48° Low 30° Rain/ Snow High 51º Low 31º Sunny Friday February 12 Saturday February 13 Sunday February 14 Monday February 15 Fayetteville Regional Airport www.fl yfay.com Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Call 910.354.1679 Call 910.354.1679 Tuesday February 16 High 52º Low 33º Partly Cloudy High 48° Low 29° Few Showers

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