OPINION
The Chronicle i
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Ernest H. Pitt Publisher/Co-Founder
donna rogers Managing Editor
Elaine Pitt Business Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
Work to get
Connect NC
on the ballot
Gov. Pat McCrory came to Winston-Salem on
Thursday, June 11, to pitch his $2.85 billion Connect
NC bond proposal at Winston-Salem State
University (WSSU). It has two parts. One part covers
roads, including some in the Winston-Salem area.
The other covers infrastructure, such as buildings on
the state's historically black colleges and universities
(HBCUs), including WSSU.
The governor says he is looking at the future, try
ing to obtain money for the state to be more compet
itive with nearby states, such as South Carolina,
Tennessee and Virginia. He calls the bond proposal
money investments into areas that need boosts. The
state's highways need repair and new ones are need
ed, and the state's colleges, universities and commu
nity colleges need help with infrastructure as they
train students for the 21st century challenges ahead.
The money proposed for the state's five HBCUs
would go to infrastructure in STEM areas: science,
technology, engineering and mathematics.
The proposal includes two bonds of about $1.5
billion each - one for roads, the other for infrastruc
ture.
Over $200 million is included in the infrastruc
ture bond proposal for major improvement plans at
facilities of all of the state's HBCUs. The governor
is proposing that WSSU receive $53.9 million for a
new, larger science building. WSSU's printed mate
rial says the building will be "a hub of innovation,
discovery and application that will attract and sup
port faculty and students with diverse academic
interests," such as biology, chemistry, physics and
the health sciences. The material says the Biomedical
Research Infrastructure Center will be in the new
building so that all the sciences laboratories will be
near each other. This will encourage more collabora
tion between faculty and students.
"In order for North Carolina to produce highly
The following are members of the Forsyth County
State Legislative Delegation:
?Sen. Joyce Krawiec
? Sen. Paul A. Lowe Jr.
? Rep. Debra Conrad
? Rep. Edward Hanes Jr.
? Rep. Julia C. Howard
? Rep. Donny Lambeth
? Rep. Evelyn Terry
(R)
(D)
.(R)
(D)
(R)
(R)
(D)
District 31
District 32
District 74
District 72
District 79
District 75
District 71
skilled graduates, our universities and community
colleges must provide students and educators the
resources to do so," the governor said in a statement.
"The Connect NC bond proposal allots $734 million
to improve our state's universities and community
colleges. This will increase the quality of education
received by our students, and. in turn, increase the
quality of our workforce."
The new WSSU building would be a great asset
to the university. The university already has a great
reputation for its nursing program. The new building
would enhance its entire sciences program, which
would prepare students for the jobs ahead, many of
which haven't been created yet.
The Connect NC has hurdles to overcome before
the bond money can flow to any college, university
and road, however. First, it has to be put on the ballot
for North Carolinians to vote on it. The governor is
asking citizens to contact their lawmakers to tell
them to push for a vote on the bond proposal this
year, probably in November. He says the lawmakers
in the General Assembly are hesitant to put it on the
ballot because they have not heard from citizens who
say that's what they want. He is urging everyone to
contact lawmakers to make sure they know that
Connect NC should be on the ballot.
We also urge citizens to do that. A lot is riding on
the bond proposal. Not only is money for WSSU
included, but money for various roads in the area and
the new loop around Winston-Salem is included, too.
The governor's office says the proposed transporta
tion bond would pay for 27 permit-ready highway
projects throughout North Carolina that have com
pleted environmental documents.
In addition, the bond would fund the paving of
176 unpaved secondary roads totaling 113 miles.
No tax increase is needed to fund the bonds, the
governor's office says.
A ballot vote on Connect NC is worth pushing
for. Not only will it promote democracy now, but, if
it passes, then it will also help to create a more com
petitive North Carolina in the future.
BURDEN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Override of veto
of Senate Bill 2
draws disgust
To the Editor:
Senate Bill 2 is unconstitutional,
and will undoubtedly be challenged
in court. This
bill, which will
now become law,
is discriminatory
and treats gay
and lesbian cou
ples as second
class citizens.
We are more
determined than
ever to achieve
full equality for
Ferrara
LGBT [lesbian,
gay. bisexual and transgendered] peo
ple in North Carolina and to ensure
that LGBT youth know that they are
not alone.
Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara
Executive Director
Campaign for Southern Equality
Asheville
This law is nothing more than
state sanctioned discrimination. It is a
terribly misguided attempt to rewrite
what equal protection under the law
means. Equality and fairness are not
principles that are decided on a case
by-case basis, dependent upon who
happens to be working the counter on
a particular day. Neither the United
States Constitution nor the North
Carolina Constitution permit any
such thing. It is terribly unfortunate
that this many elected officials don't
understand that.
Jake Sussman
Tin Fulton Walker & Owen
Charlotte
Governor vows
to uphold respect
for public office
To the Editor:
Regarding
Senate Bill 2:
It's a disappoint
ing day for the
rule of law and
the process of
passing legisla
tion in North
Carolina. I will
continue to
stand up for
conservative
McCory
principles that
respect and obey the oath of office
for public officials across our state
and nation.
While some people inside the .
beltline are focusing on symbolic
issues, I remain focused on the
issues that are going to have the
greatest impact on the next genera
tion such as creating jobs, building
roads, strengthening education and
improving our quality of life.
N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory
Raleigh
s
Greensboro
redisricting
plan tramples
democracy
To the Editor:
Sen. Bob Rucho's Senate
Redistricting Committee took a
rushed, hushed vote on Wednesday
[June 10], setting the stage for a
major fight with the people of
Greensboro. It presently has three at
large City Council seats and five sin
gle district Council seats. The
Greensboro mayor votes on every
issue and elections for City Council
are hotly contested, since there is no
run-off.
Apparently,
some 01 me
anti-democracy
faction on Jones
Street in
Raleigh think
they know how
to govern
Greensboro bet
ter than its own
citizens. This
faction wants to
Barber
make it harder
for minorities and working people to
have influence with their votes, and
Senator Rucho appears to be their
front man in Raleigh. He wants a
Senate Bill that matches House Bill
263 that would eliminate at-large
seats and establish seven single
member dis
tncts; limit the
power of the
mayor, allowing
her/him to vote
only in case of
ties; establish a
run-off election,
creating incen
tives for back
room deals.
The N.C
.NAACP, in con
Rucho
sultation with our legal team, sup
ports the people of Greensboro, who
strongly oppoSirthese anti-democra
cy steps to diltjte the minority vote.
One person's vdte is equal to anoth
er's.
By opening the way for new dis
tricts, Rucho and his race-based
computer map-maker can draw maps
to divide and dilute minority voters.
They have already split the campus
of North Carolina A&T University
into different districts. Soon minori
ties and other vulnerable voters will
have no say in how their city is gov
erned. If Rucho's behind-the-scenes
maneuvering can get the Anti
Democracy in Greensboro bill
passed, it is likely other large cities
with sizable minority populations
will be targeted.
Senator Rucho ran rough-shod
over his own colleagues in his
Committee hearings. Perhaps he is
upset that the U.S. Supreme Court
recently ruled against race-based
redistricting maneuvers by some of
his counterparts in the Alabama leg
islature. They packed black voters in
certain areas, and diluted the voting
powers of others, snatching their
present ability to vote for a candidate
of their choice. The U.S. Supreme
Court found race-based redistricting
schemes unlawful.
At any rate, he would not permit
I
V
his colleagues ? elected members
of the House and Senate ? to even
comment. He cut off fellow senators
from commenting and debating his
race-based bill. Cities in North
Carolina do not like it when some
one down on Jones Street starts to
take away their local powers. And
people of color clearly don't like it
when the voting rights our grandpar
ents fought and died for are suddenly
snatched from us with parliamentary
tricks.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
President, N.C .NAACP
Durham
Don't miss NBTF
and experiences
it brings to area
To the Editor:
for the sake of full disclosure, I
have been associated with the
National Black Theatre Festival
since 1991, two years after it was
founded by the late Larry Leon
Hamlin. I have participated as a the
atre-goer, a member of the fundrais
ing committee, a member of the
Marvtastic Society and a member of
the NCBRC board of directors.
My memory bank is full to over
flowing with experiences I owe sole
ly to the fact that the Festival comes
to Winston-Salem every other year. I
rode in an elevator with a very
friendly Denzel Washington and his
family; I sat mesmerized as Chester
Gregory recreat
ed the life of
Jackie Wilson; I
chatted with the
lovely and
accomplished
Vanessa Bell
Calloway at a
celebrity recep
tion; I was trans
ported back in
time by the
Singleton
musical stylmgs
of the Soul Crooners; and I found
myself dining in the same local
restaurant with Sydney Poitier.
Thousands of local residents
have shared similar experiences, but
many others have not. If you have
not attended the National Black
Theatre Festival, mark your calendar
for August 3-8. You can get infor
mation about the many plays that
will be performed, times, locations,
ticket prices and more at
www.nbtf.org.
We are extremely fortunate to
ha\te an event of international scope
in our community. The Festival
would not be possible without
dozens of financial supporters -
civic, corporate, city, county and
individual. To all of you, thank you
for believing in Larry's vision and
Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin's hard work
to keep it alive.
Do yourself a favor: Don't let
another year pass without taking
advantage of this incredible opportu
nity.
John Singleton
Kernersville
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