We Ml Ba _ J Crowth Concept If our memory serves us right, while serv ing as a City Council member about four years ago, Harvey Gantt was calling for balanced growth. Again, last year at the Urban Sym posium, Mayor Gantt reissued his call for balanced growth. The basic concern express ed by Mr. Gantt in each pronouncement was that in the absence of a balanced growth policy the city would be inundated with un controlled growth leading to major traffic pro blems, an inbalance in our schools, overloads on our public utilities, and excessive disproportionate demands on other public ser vices. ** r*' '' 4 . J * . • Mr. Gantt’s concerns were primarily focus ed at southeast Charlotte because of growing potential for such an impact in that part of the city. Developers. expressed opposition to Mayor Gantt’s viewpoint and said the free market should determine the direction of growth. The problem with the developers ’ un managed growth approach is that in the name of their desire to earn a profit demands are placed on the taxpayer to provide public utilities and public services with limited resources. - * . , r:s.^ . _ _ Our impression is that Mayor Gantt believes that government has a responsibility to have some role in geographic growth because of its impact on all citizens, those caught up in the web of traffic Jams, delay, in getting public services, and the mushrooming high density multi-family housing impact on single family detached subdivision, as well as other citizens — all taxpayers — because of the imbalanced burden to provide the needed public services. JR * 1 Earlier this week, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Director Martin Cramton echoed Mayor Gantt’s concerns when be told a meeting of City and County officials and members of a citizen’s 2005 Plan Advisory Task Force that balanced growth should be the No. 1 priority for guiding the county’s development toward the year 2006. * • Mr. Cramton said “we have got to quit tak ing about balanced development” and start doing something about it “we got to make some tough decisions.” Among these tough decisions Cramton sees is the heed to defer the building of the much-discussed and debated outer belt road until after the year2000. hi discussing his staff’s proposals, Cramton pointed out the balanced growth will require spending increased sums of public money in water and sewer lines, roads, parks and schools in north and northwest areas as an in centive-to renewed development, fit We support hjayor Gantt and Planning director Cramton views on balanced growth first, because it makes good economic and secondly, it may provide the needed in centives to bring new opportunities for growth and development in the largely neglected north and northwest part of the city. Post-Season Basketball Fever ■ a • — ™ pjcnty oi rouiiuDaLis will bo bonne** eg on thf hardwood this month ch^N^A* ^tournament and visitation first round NCAA game. Today also North Carolina’s Tarheels. (34-$) face Middle Ten nessee State (17-13) aPNotre Dame. Tomor * row, Friday, four other ACC teams swing into NCAA tournament action. In addition, and as a credit to the quality of play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the three remaining teams M • vi - — Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia will compete in the NIT beginning next Tuesday. Thus, Charlotteans andother bastions of ACC basketball support can look forward to much excitement on the hardwood in the weeks ahead. Perpetrating New . vEa t "The new racism is what whites and blacks are perpetrating upon black people. It’s the continued clamoring by a lot of black leaders for preference from an administration, : • whether it be Republican or Democrat, that leads black people to assume that they are ’ some special wards of the state in perpetui ty. ’ These are the words of Clarence Pendleton, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He added that the new racists are typically supporters of civil right# These civil righters reacted angrily to Pendleton’s remarks and accused him of be ing insensitive to the plight of many black Americans. We could almost agree with Mr. Pendleton’s viewpoint except for the fact that his comment refers first to people who ire economically deprived and happen to be black. * • « %) > ' Those blacks reared outside of the inner cities of the nation in homes with positive values toward education, the work ethic, sex ual behavior and religion have largely been successful even without civil rights laws and federal handouts. However, for those people, blaok or white, who for whatever reason have not been endowed with such values, there is truly a new for some assistance. Thus, if there is anything wrong .with governmental assistance to the economically disadvantag ed, be they black or white, it is that no em phasis is placed on value development, the primary ingredient for motivating self-help. ITftup70 u$ TO IMPOSE MPeff-ROW WWarb we GOING TO ROOTS AND COMMUNITY MUST MERGE, TO FORGE A ASA/NG BLIGHT Carolina Is IGod’s Angels Working Tol By SABRINA JOHNSON Rarely in this business oriented society does one have the opportunity to Interact with people on a not so business level. One such occa sion arose on March 6. The writer was invited to a recep tion at the home of Dr. Mildred Baxter-Davis honoring and welcoming Sherry Suttles, new assistant county manager, for her accomplish ment and to Charlotte. ■ have a fatally. Maybe it’s the colleges and universities and basketball. While all of the answers are correct, when people are asked why they are here their reply is primarily “Because folks here are so nice and sincere.” That says a groat deal about a group of people. One subgroup that is work ing toward that and maintain ing the positive attitude is the Black Women’s Caucus of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. These women are working toward increased in volvement in all aspects of liv ing in and about North Thy Charlotte Pot North Carolina’s Fastest Growing Weekly , 704-376-0496 “The People’s Newspaper’ 106 Years Of Continuous Service Bill Johnson Editor, Pub. Bertiai d Reeves Gen. Mgr. Fran Bradley Adv. Mgr. Dannette Gaither Of Mgr. Published Every Thursday By The Charlotte Post ' Publishing Company. Inc. Main Office: 1531S Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Second Class Postage Paid at Charlotte Member, National ' Newspaper Publishers’ Association North Carolina Black Publishers Association National Advertising Representative: Amalgamated Publishers, Inc. —... ' ■» M.M—ML. . , One Year Subscription Rate One Year-817.76 Payable In Advance from Capitol Hill Administration Attempts “Back Of Bus” Policy K By ALEREDAL. MADISON Special To The Post Aa one of the two Black reporters, representing the Black media at the White House, I was confronted with blatant racism, by two of the members of the White House press staff. The White House correspondents , who cover the White. Howe daily have seats in the briefing room with their names on them. White Howe correspondents who represent the ■mall media wwBy sit in the win dows. stand, or take a vacant awt when some of the others are absent I’ve always gone in the back room where there are coffee and donuts lor the correspondents, and get a chair. I place this chair agat—t the wall, parallel with the second row of press seats It is against the wan to allow for tree passage, and it to beside the four seats of the White Howe press staff. On March fourth, while waiting for the briefing to atari, I was reading the newspaper. Robin Gray, assis tant press secretary, who Appears to be la Ms late twenties, came by and •aid, “Alfreds, why are you sitting up front’" I responded that since 1 didn’t have a seat I usually get a chair and sit harv against the wall. Re said, “move in ftp back.’’ I in formed Robin that they took as off the beck of the bus in the fifties, and that I will not be relegated back there again. I asked why he had ob joettena to my sitting there, end he ■Md that he had none, fail that my colleagues