Poor timing: Why four-year terms are a bad idea

May 23, 2018 By in Fayetteville Politics Leave a comment

Guest Post by Bill Bowman 

Come on, folks! Four years terms for our elected officials? Are you kidding? Is this community so sadistic and hell-bent on fulfilling that predetermined and haunting conclusion that Fayetteville and Cumberland County will always find a way to rip defeat from the jaws of victory?

No doubt Fayetteville is experiencing a growth spurt stimulated by the new $38 million baseball stadium and the Houston Astros’ 30-year commitment to play ball in the city. Currently, we have about $100 million of new economic development in downtown Fayetteville. This is a good thing, but the prevailing question in the minds of many residents is “does this community have the dedicated, intelligent and business-savvy leadership capable of managing growth of this magnitude?” Many think not.

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Carolinian Exceptionalism (School Shootings)

May 21, 2018 By in NC Politics Tags: , Leave a comment

As the father of two young boys, one already in Kindergarten, I can’t help but feel helpless seeing American schoolkids murdered in their classrooms on a monthly basis.  “Thoughts and prayers” are running thin.

Columbine happened when I was in high school.  I remember discussing it with my English class.  Most of us wrote it off by arguing that the kids responsible were “just crazy.”  Colorado was too far away, and it never really registered.  We went on being high school kids.

Flash forward twenty years:  I’m a dad now, and I’m at a PTA event in the auditorium of my old elementary school where I was a turtle in the Christmas play.  The speaker interrupts bingo night to solicit donations to construct a solid wooden fence around the playground to “protect the perimeter” of the school.

What happened?  No, seriously, what happened?

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Rep. Szoka on Teacher Pay: At least you’re not a farmer (Audio)

May 15, 2018 By in Fayetteville Politics, NC Politics Tags: , 2 Comments

Republicans in the legislature have begun to spin their response to the massive teacher rally that will take place in Raleigh tomorrow.  “Misinformation” is being spread, they argue.  “Union thugs” are organizing the march, not real teachers.  Regardless of the spin, it’s going to get interesting on Jones Street.   This is no small rally.

As a whole, there seems to be a massive divide between the thoughts of knowledgeable Republican legislators and the feelings of teachers.  You could hear it on the airwaves this morning in Fayetteville:

On a local talk show, Representative John Szoka (R-45) expressed amazement and laughed when asked why teachers are so unhappy that they are marching on Raleigh.

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Stadium Parking (Part III)

May 12, 2018 By in Fayetteville Politics 1 Comment

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Today, the Fayetteville Observer published an in-depth article about parking for the new downtown stadium.  The article confirmed what I blogged about a month ago and what many Fayetteville residents still do not know:

The 14.7 million dollar parking deck that the city is paying for with your tax dollars will not be used for general public parking during baseball games and stadium events.

The reason a majority of the public is unaware of this fact is because it has been kept under wraps.  All of the details surrounding the deck have been conducted in closed meetings, and the city’s numerous construction and lease contracts with Prince Charles Holdings concerning the hotel and parking deck have not been posted on any city website.  Compare this to the dozens of documents you can easily find online memorializing our agreements with the Houston Astros.

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Is the City Council (D)emocratic?

May 10, 2018 By in Fayetteville Politics Leave a comment

I’ve begun soliciting my wife’s help in proofreading blog posts.  She’s a U.N.C. journalism major and knows intricacies of English grammar that I occasionally overlook.  A recent proofreading session lead to the idea for this post.

Tyrone Williams’ resignation left a vacancy on the Fayetteville City Council.  To fill the vacancy, the council announced that it is accepting volunteers from District 2.  Presumably, one volunteer will be chosen by a majority vote of the council.

So who will they select to lead District 2?  The answer can be found in the proofreading:

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