Dr. Jennifer Green is director of the Cumberland County Public Health Department, and Green brought some not-so-welcome news to the Board of Commissioners this week, telling the board that wastewater surveillance data from the state reveals COVID-19 particles are on the rise, according to a news release from the county. That could mean an increase in a spread of the virus. Green urges county residents to prepare for fall respiratory virus season by updating COVID-19 booster shots when they become available in late September or early October, getting a seasonal flu vaccine, and getting the new respiratory syncytial virus vaccine, if recommended by your health care provider. And, Green said, keep washing your hands, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and stay home if you are sick. For more information, visit cumberlandcountync.gov/publichealth. There are those among us who scoff at COVID-19 and vaccines. I’m not one of them. I will heed Dr. Green’s advice.
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Another gun. Another city homicide, this one unfolding again in broad daylight with the shootings of two women on Aug. 19 in the 1800 block of Powell Street in the Massey Hill community. And one of the women was in late-term pregnancy, according to the Fayetteville Police Department, and the child she was carrying, an FPD news release says, died as a result of the crime. A 24-year-old man is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, felony conspiracy, shooting into an occupied vehicle and shooting into an occupied dwelling. It is the city’s 34th homicide of 2023. There were 44 city homicides in 2022. Just another senseless homicide.
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County Commissioners Toni Stewart, Glenn Adams, Jeannette Council, Jimmy Keefe, Marshall Faircloth, Michael Boose and Veronica Jones have approved a proclamation for gun violence awareness and prevention. We don’t need a proclamation. We all are aware of gun violence in this community. What we need is for people to behave themselves and start respecting human life.
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No argument that the 3,000-seat Crown Event Center heading our downtown way will be aesthetically pleasing, but parking for patrons will be a problem, and traffic congestion, too.
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Efrain “Freddie” de la Cruz says he didn’t expect CityView Media to print his letter of complaint against WFNC radio personality Jeff Goldberg calling for equal airtime on Goldberg’s “Good Morning Fayetteville” broadcast. “To be honest, my campaign manager sent it to Goldy,” de la Cruz says about his mayoral campaign manager Nero B. Coleman. “My intent was not for me to go on the show,” de la Cruz was telling me Wednesday, but rather to keep Mayor Mitch Colvin off the airways and from promoting his reelection campaign. “It’s nothing personal,” de la Cruz says about the radio show host. “I just don’t like his politics.” Copies of the letter, de la Cruz says, were sent to The Fayetteville Observer, Up and Coming, WIDU radio personality and newspaper opinion writer Troy Williams, and CityView. If you didn’t want your grievance printed, Mr. de la Cruz, neither you nor your campaign manager should have sent copies to local media. You are bidding for perhaps the most significant elected office in the city. How The Fayetteville Observer or Up and Coming or Troy Williams handled your complaint is their business. I’m a 53-year journalist with 31 years of experience covering city and county government and elections in this community. I don’t play political games with politicians or campaign managers. And just for the record, Mitch Colvin was interviewed Thursday by Goldberg, and the discussion involved gun violence and homelessness. There was no conversation about the mayor’s reelection campaign.
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Bill, Goldy did the same thing to me when I ran for House 44 in 2018,” Linda Devore, now a member of the Cumberland County Board of Elections, writes in an email about Jeff Goldberg, the WFNC radio personality who finds himself drawing criticism from city mayoral candidates Efrain “Freddie” de la Cruz and Quancidine Hinson-Gribble, both of whom are calling for equal time on his “Good Morning Fayetteville” broadcast. “After the May primary, he had my opponent (retired N.C. House Rep. Billy Richardson) on six times for ‘legislative updates.’ I called him on it in July and still have the text message exchange, if you are interested. His response was that he would be in touch in October, so he has been accused of this same behavior before, and he has done it to many. But he owns the mic.” No, Mrs. Devore, Jeff Goldberg does not own the microphone. Cumulus Media does, and Goldberg says corporate lawyers are considering suspending weekly conversations with Mayor Mitch Colvin until after the election season in November. Jose “Alex” Rodriquez, a Fayetteville City Council District 1 candidate challenging incumbent Kathy Keefe Jenson, also has registered a complaint asking for equal time and requesting that the councilwoman not promote her campaign when talking about city issues. The bottom line here is that incumbents should not use their airtime with Greenberg to hype their reelection campaigns. The greater bottom line here is for Greenberg to have the city manager on in weekly broadcast when it comes to talking about city issues of concern to city residents. Goldberg says he is not purposely supporting any of the mayoral candidates to include former city councilman and county commissioner Charles Evans. Or any other City Council district race. Greenberg also says he immediately reached out to de la Cruz and Hinson-Gribble about having them on the “Good Morning Fayetteville” broadcast, and neither reached back. No matter, Cumulus legal eagles are on it, and they will make the final decision. One thing is for certain, the mayoral race is getting attention.
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Bill, I just read your incredible story on Mr. Yarborough,” former Fayetteville Observer reporter Nancy McCleary writes in an email about Ramon Yarborough, retired publisher of the newspaper and Fayetteville Publishing Co., who died at his Fayetteville home at age 90 on Aug. 20. “He retired the year before I got there, but I do remember getting a birthday card from him one year. In all my years at the paper, I never heard anyone in the community or employees of The Fayetteville Observer speak anything but good about him. I wish I had gotten there to work with him longer, because I think he would have been a wonderful employer. No one can write these stories like you. That’s for sure. You might come off at times as the crusty curmudgeon, but I know better.” Ramon Yarborough, Nancy, was a remarkable newspaper publisher, but Ramon Yarborough was a far more remarkable human being.
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“Death is hard,” Diane Parfitt writes in an email about our Monday news story on the death of Ramon Yarborough, retired publisher of The Fayetteville Observer, The Fayetteville Times and Fayetteville Publishing Co. “Grieving is hard. But with the memories shared in your amazing article on Ramon Yarborough, I hope his family and friends are filled with the joy he shared with so many. I had the honor of knowing him over the years, in a small way compared to so many others, but I was touched by his humanity. He loved life and shared this love with others in so many ways. Ywiou captured this so beautifully in your wonderful article that honored him. Thank you for doing this and sharing it for all of us to experience and remember this amazing man. He will be missed.”
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A poignant moment Thursday evening in Raleigh, where CityView magazine editor Bobby Parker accepted the N.C. Press Association award on behalf of CityView magazine as the state’s best publication in its category in front of journalists at the association’s annual convention and awards gathering at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. Judges honored the magazine for its submissions of May 2022, December 2022 and March 2023, all that carried the fingerprints of late managing editor Lorry Williams before her death at age 59 after a courageous battle with breast cancer on Feb. 28 of this year. “CityView, and every one of us who lives here, lost a hero today,” Tony Chavonne, CityView Media’s owner and publisher, would tell our Greg Barnes when news came of Ms. Williams’ death. “But we celebrate the fact that, with her vision and leadership, Lorry’s hopes of an informed community is the legacy she leaves behind for each of us.” Others with CityView Media honored were longtime photographer Cindy Burnham, first place for her photos in the magazine; Jason Canady, third place in feature writing; Gary Mangum, third place in religion and faith reporting; and former CityView Media reporter Michael Futch, third place in general news reporting on the homeless. I’m particularly proud for Mangum and Futch. I hired them both at the newspaper more than 40 years ago. Lorry Williams spent 36 years in journalism with The Fayetteville Observer as a reporter, regional editor, city editor and executive editor before leaving in 2022 and joining CityView Media to help launch and guide its digital news publication. Thursday could not have been a more fitting tribute to Lorry Williams’ long and distinguished journalism career.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961..
