Bill Kirby Jr.’s notes for the week
Bill Kirby Jr.
Bill Kirby Jr. is a veteran journalist who spent 49 years as a newspaper editor, reporter and columnist covering Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the Cape Fear Region for The Fayetteville Observer. He most recently has written for CityView Magazine.
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: Downtown Crown Event Center was a money pit and growing deeper by the day
“The facts were clear,” Cumberland Board of County Commissioners’ Chair Kirk deViere says about escalating costs and apparent “flaws” that led to the board’s 5-2 decision to no longer pursue the downtown site.
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: City manager says 2026 budget ‘a win for Fayetteville,’ but dissenting councilman says City Council could have done better
Bill Kirby Jr.’s notes for the week
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: Family retail furniture business nearing end after 80 years in downtown Fayetteville
“We’ve shared countless memories and milestones with you, and those moments will stay with us forever,” Joel Smith says on behalf of himself and his Homemakers Furniture & Interiors family business. “Thank you for being part of our journey.”
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: A proud high school graduate remembers his parents, teachers and those who helped him along his way
We don’t hear enough about the 442 teenagers from Jack Britt High School, who earned $4.5 million in college scholarships. And we surely don’t hear enough about teenagers such as Mustafa Alasri.
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: Reducing violent crime, recruiting and retaining officers priority for incoming police chief
Bill Kirby Jr.’s notes from the week.
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: Kitchen fires are the leading cause of home fires, and stovetop fire suppressors can make a difference
Capt. Stephen Shakeshaft with the Fayetteville Fire Departmentsays the No. 1 cause of home fires starts in the kitchen. The FFD responded to 50 kitchen fires in this city in 2024.
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: City’s youth curfew is as much about responsible parenting as it is about protecting our teenagers
“The curfew, all of us must understand, is as much about responsible parenting as it is in keeping those 16-year-olds and younger off the streets, so they don’t become perpetrators of crime or themselves crime victims,” writes Bill Kirby Jr.
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: City manager to reveal Fayetteville police chief today at City Hall
Bill Kirby Jr.’s notes from the week
Posted inThe Kirby File
Column: It wasn’t a stingray, and it wasn’t a jellyfish on that Aug. 13, 2022, vacation day in the Florida Keys
“I lifted him up, and that’s when we see from his kneecap [down] just bone,” Jameson Reeder says about that horrifying day at Looe Key Reef, when 10-year-old J.J. Reeder became a 9-foot bull shark’s prey.
