The Confederate Statue Controversy Must Lead To A Wider Conversation About Racism In Winston-Salem

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Updated 10:35, 1/05/2019, 433 words

 

Troublemakers force politicians to act. When a brave, anonymous activist added some commentary to Downtown Winston’s Confederate monument on Christmas Eve, it was an early Christmas gift for anti-racist activists in Winston and throughout the state. What was a one or two-day story, became the story in Winston-Salem that everyone is talking about when Mayor Allen Joines announced on January 1, a new plan to relocate Winston’s Confederate statue.

Chapel Hill is still the … Read the rest

Zesto: Building Community Or Developing A Fast Food Franchise?

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“I’m always glad when we can have public-private partnerships.”                  -D.D. Adams, 8/14/2017

 

Back in May, a new Zesto restaurant opened at 2600 New Walkertown Road. The community excitement that I witnessed over Zesto’s opening made this blogger feel a little sheepish for harshly criticizing the project. So I shelved this article for a few months.

Now, after Zesto has been open for a while, and the excitement has faded, it’s time to take a critical look at Zesto.… Read the rest

Winston Native Crowned Miss America, But Poverty In Winston Keeps Many From Achieving Their Dreams

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Monday, the Winston-Salem City Council honored Nia Franklin, the recently crowned Miss America. Though Franklin’s pageant sash read New York, the 2018 Miss New York was born and raised in Winston, though she attended high school at North Davidson (a stain upon her hometown girl narrative that can be overlooked).

Recently, I asked a classmate of hers at North Davidson what she remembered of Franklin? My African American friend told me, that “being Black at North Davidson” they were … Read the rest

City Council Is Poised To Fund The Peters Creek Initiative

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The Winston-Salem City Council has a full agenda tonight, replete with the usual giveaways, including hundreds of thousands of dollars for a development one mile south of BB&T Ballpark. And nearly an equal amount for a parking deck in the Wake Forest University Innovation Quarter.

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Those two locations; BB&T Ballpark and the WF Innovation Quarter are already the site of the City of Winston-Salem’s most notorious money pits.

The city shouldn’t continue to subsidize the WFIQ. … Read the rest

The People’s Business

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Monday, 9/17/2018:

Noon – The Public Assembly Facilities Commission will meet at the Benton Convention Center.

3:00 p.m. – The Outstanding Women Leaders Program Committee will hold its monthly meeting in the City Manager’s Conference Room at City Hall.

7:00 p.m. –City Council Meeting, in the Council Chamber, City Hall, Room 230.

Tuesday, 9/18/2018:

4:00 p.m. – The Minority and Women Business Enterprise Citizen Advisory Committee will hold its monthly meeting in the Public Works Conference Room, City

… Read the rest

The Power Of The People Was On Display At The August 20 Meeting Of The W-S City Council

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The August 20th Winston-Salem City Council meeting was one to remember. It was the most democratic city council meeting that I have ever witnessed. It was a rare example of people in the council chamber pushing back against the mayor and city council.

Typically the Winston-Salem City Council doesn’t give much time for citizens to voice their concerns. Public comments are given at the end of council meetings, just before adjournment. They are little more than an afterthought.

But, because … Read the rest

Unpopular Opinion: Summer On Liberty Sucks

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Summer on Trade has been on Liberty Street since 2016. It’s time to admit that Summer on Liberty isn’t working. The concert series has been a shot in the arm to Liberty Street. Liberty Street is on its way to developing into Trade Street 2.0 minus the art galleries.

But some changes need to be made to the city’s premier summer concert series; its lost much of the energy that it used to have.

I miss the intimate feeling that … Read the rest

Southeast Gateway Development Moves Forward Long After Happy Hill Was Gentrified

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Monday night’s city council meeting was the first meeting of our city’s elected body in over a month. At Monday’s meeting, a bakery/wine shop on Reynolda Road was approved, a property on Northwest Boulevard was rezoned, as were two churches.

The rezoning of the Burger King on MLK Drive was postponed yet again. The BK on MLK will likely stay closed until BK lets the City have it their way.

Speaking of the City of Winston-Salem having it its way, … Read the rest

The Winston-Salem City Council Merry-Go-Round: June 4, 2018

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Monday’s city council meeting was brief. In just over an hour the Winston-Salem City Council meeting ended. That’s the Allen Joines’ machine at work. Little debate, no contentious arguments, and no public comment-except where prescribed by law! That’s what rule by the rich looks like in Winston!

The principal topic before the council Monday was a zoning petition in Ardmore. A developer wanted to convert a former goat farm on the corner of Ebert and Silas Creek into a townhome/office … Read the rest