How single
men balance
dating and
fatherhood/IB
Bobcats add a dastv
of DELL CURRY to NBA
team's bench mix
Volume 32 No. 40
Plans far
Greater
Salem
City of
God/5B
58 PI
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00 KSniES fORO
CHARLOTTE KC 282U-5302
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$1.00
The Voice of the Black Community
County’s
no miser
on water
saving
Fly on the Wall is rumor,
innuendo and a smattering
of truth for first-time readers
or those who just don't know
any better.
Now that the disclaimer
has been dealt with, courtesy
of the crack law firm of
Dewey Cheatham and Howe,
barristers to the wanna-be
stars, lets get the mischief,
mayhem and malfeasance
underway, shall we?
Mecklenburg County will
never earn its own Water
Stars Award for conserva
tion.
A few weeks ago the coun
ty asked citizens to be
“Water Smart’’ and irrigate
lawns between 10 p.m. and
6 a.m. One of Fly's spies
peeped Parks & Recreation
sprinklers watering
Independence Park’s soccer
fields at 1:30 p.m. Monday.
Oh, did Fly mention it was
96 degrees and the sprin
klers were set so high it
looked like a tugboat
stream?
Now if Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Utilities wants
us to get up in the middle of
the night and water the yard,
why can't the department
change the automatic timers
on public property? Check
your water bill next month.
You may be drowning in
their malfeasance.
• Fly got lost the other day
finding the Education
Center, which is now on
Martin Luther King
Boulevard, the former
Second Street. But that's the
norm around here. Seven
Charlotte streets have
changed names this year, so
pay attention, lest you lose
your way and sanity.
You no longer drive on
lower East Independence
Boulevard. That’s
Charlottetown Avenue.
Where’s that, you ask.
Between Seventh Street and
the now-adios Midtown
Square by the Cherry neigh
borhood. For you newbies,
that’s the site of Charlotte’s
very first mall, now the new
uptown Target store.
■ While we’re on the street
topic. Fly will
be on the
Westside June
28 at 10 a.m.
as one of
Charlotte’s
most dedicat
ed business
men has a
street named
in his honor.
Cloudman Street will be
Please see WORD/3A Dixon
McCatroll
PHOTO /ERICA SINGLETON
Ronald Neal sits on the porch of his Gilbert Street home while a crew of World Changers put a
new roof on the house. The World Changers ministry has renovated homes in some of Charlotte's
poorest neighborhoods over the last three years.
Changing the world
one house at a time
Volunteers take
summer break to
help struggling
communities
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
If you drove past 2919
Botany Drive this week, you
might have wondered why
there were so many kids on the
roof of the house, but home-
owner Deborah Williams con
sidered the kids, and what
they were doing, a blessing.
“I inherited this house from
my parents,” Williams said. "It
was one of the first houses
built in the [Lincoln Heights]
area in the early 1950s.”
Like many old houses, the
one Williams’ grew up in had
fallen into disrepair.
“Unfortunately, due to incli
mate weather and wear and
tear, the roof just started leak
ing on the inside.” A single
parent, Williams and her
daughter did all the "band-aid
ing” they could, but didn’t
know what else she could do,
so she turned to the city for
help. And help came in the
form of 320 volunteer youth
and adults with an organiza
tion called World Changers
that, according to its website,
provides “dynamic week-long
mission trips for students
Luncheon honors 'women’s leadership
By Herbert L. White
herb.wh/fe@fhechortotfeposLcom
From philanthropy to entrepre
neurship, five women will be hon
ored by poet Maya Angelou for their
achievements in making Charlotte a
better place to live.
Oh, and the hats are back, too.
That’s all part of Saturday’s Maya
Angelou Women Who Lead Luncheon
at the Westin Charlotte, 601 South
College St. The luncheon is a
fundraiser for the United Negro
College Fund. The luncheon begins at
10 a.m, and this year’s honorees are:
• P.J. Benton, CEO of PJJD
Enterprises;
How to protect your
home from Mother
Natures fury/6D
• Gigi Dixon, senior vice president
of national partnerships at Wachovia
Corp.;
• Vi Lyles, project director at The
Lee Institute;
• Cama McNamara, publisher of
Today’s Charlotte Woman and
• Sarah Belk Gambrell, a philan
thropist and recipient of the first
Maya Angelou/Elizabeth Ross Dargan
Lifetime Achievement Award.
“This year’s honorees have a deep
love for education and are fantastic
examples of how passion and com
mitment can have a profound impact
on our community and our world,"
Please see WOMEN S/3A
Also serving Cabarrus, Chester, Mecklenburg, Bowan and York cj
Countfs
bind over
school
bonds
Commissioners wrestle
over referendum cost that
will generate support
By Herbert L. White
hefb.wh;te@fhecHortotteposf.com
A record bond package for Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Schools is giving Mecklenburg
county commissioners a case of sticker
shock.
A proposed $617 million
bond package suggested by
County Manager Harry Jones
faces stiff opposition from a
razor-thin majority of com
missioners. The board’s four
Republicans - Dan Ramirez,
Dan Bishop, Bill James and
Karen Bentley - favor a $486
million proposal. Democrat Woodard
Valerie Woodard broke party
ranks to join the Republicans, citing effi
ciency concerns and the tax bite voters
potentially face with future transportation
and education projects.
“Six-anything is too high in lieu of losing
the bond referendum two years ago,”
Woodard said. "That’s a lot for the average
person to endure in a short amount of
time.”
A majority of commissioners voted down
a $620 million package, maintaining its
size will all but doom it to failure in
Please see BOND/3A
N.C. Medicaid
debate leaves
lawmakers with
bumps, bmises
By Herbert L. White
herb.wh/teSIhectiortoffeposLcom
North Carolina needs a solution to its
Medicaid funding gap by the end of the
month.
Lawmakers have yet to agree on a budget
in part because of an impasse over how to
help counties pay their share of the federal
health insurance program for low-income
Americans. A temporary quarter-penny
sales tax will expire on July 1, which would
leave the state with a $260 million revenue
shortfall.
Lawmakers and Gov. Mike Easley have
both proposed $20 billion budgets. The
House budget includes $100 million in
Medicaid relief for counties, while the
Senate version provides none.
N.C. counties are required to pay 5 per
cent of their Medicaid costs, but rural coun
ties and urban counties like Mecklenburg
with large population increases are strug
gling to keep pace with costs.
The federal government funds the bulk of
Medicaid at 64 percent; the state chips in
30 percent and counties pick up the
remainder.
Senate Republicans propose a plan that
would shift local sales tax revenues to the
see N.C. MEDICAID/3A
seeking to make a difference in
the lives of those with spiritu
al and physical needs.”
Since Monday, Williams has
watched the World Changers
sing, dance, and replace her
leaky roof.
‘It’s a blessing to have these
young people to come in and
see what they can do, and how
well they do it,” said Williams.
“It’s just lets me know that
there is hope.”
See CHANGING/2A
Set everything straight
• The June 14 article on Father's Day
lessons misidentified radio personality Jai
Delai's employer, WQNC (Q 92.7 FM),
• A graphic in the June 7 article
"Selling the mission" should have shown
in-state tuition of $3,842 at UNC
Charlotte and $3,414 at N.C, A&T State
University in Greensboro.
Life IB
Religion 5B
Sports 1C
Business 6C
A&E1D
Classified 3D
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