Monday was a busy day for Fayetteville City Councilwoman Kathy Keefe Jensen, the five-term District 1 representative of north Fayetteville. It was a day of meetings with the N.C. congressional delegation.
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.
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Column: Home and hardware business, owners say, is their ‘sweet spot’
If you are an aficionado of retail hardware stores, a walk through this place is like being a kid in a candy store. You name it, Nate and Lori Tracy Stobbe have it at Lori’s Ace Home & …
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Column: Mayor pro tem has a new address, but the councilman still represents District 5
City residents wondering about whether Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins can retain his District 5 seat on the Fayetteville City Council can rest assured that, indeed, Dawkins says he can. “The ordinance requirement is the council member has to reside in the council district which he or she represents,” Dawkins says.
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Column: Community activists are passionate about an ‘office of community safety’ for the city
You might say Sheila Cuffee and Cynthia Leeks just simply cut to the chase. They were among about 60 people who came Monday to Arthur D. Smith Recreation Center to hear from Lisette Rodriguez, Shaun McMillan and Latisha McNeill about how an “office of community safety” can make a difference in the lives of those suffering a mental health crisis when Fayetteville police are called to investigate a 911 call and potential crime.
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Column: Businesswoman takes her passion from the courtroom to the yoga studios
There’s a tranquility and a calm that permeates through this place where women and men both gather throughout each week to not only strengthen and tone their bodies but to reflect and be in touch with themselves and their daily lives. There’s a serenity. You can feel it.
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Column: City councilman says change in term length is a decision for residents alone
If a new Fayetteville City Council member cannot get up to speed on long-term strategic planning for the city, then that City Council member should not be on the council. But that’s freshman Councilman Derrick Thompson’s position in hoping to change council member terms from two years to staggered four-year terms.
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Column: It began with some ‘noodling,’ and today begins our second year of digital publication
You can learn something about someone by just watching. Tony Chavonne, believe it or not, is one of few words, but Tony Chavonne always is thinking, and particularly about this city, this county …
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Column: New police chief reaching out to us so we can better keep city residents informed
When you are a newsman in this community, you hope for law enforcement leaders like Kem Braden. Leaders who are upfront with the media when it comes to crime, and, more important, as candid as they can be with residents of the community, who just wish for a safe place to go about their daily lives in peace.
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Column: City Council reprises discussion about 4-year, staggered terms for council members
Fayetteville City Councilman Derrick Thompson wants to change the length of terms of office for council members from two to four years and to stagger terms for future councils. He says doing so will help the city with long-term strategic planning and projects. Councilman Mario Benavente joined Councilwoman Kathy Keefe Jensen in opposing Thompson’s request.
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Column: Hope Mills commissioners say no to extending elected terms
HOPE MILLS — Three town commissioners took an apparent about-face Monday, joining with Commissioners Jerry Legge and Joanne Scarola in deciding not to pursue changing the terms of town officials from two-year to staggered four-year terms for future elected boards
