Art of crawl
Who's top dog
>¥hertit comesdo '
"ndriotte's best
4irt$ district?/! B
The Voice of the Black Community
Also serving Cab! ”
WEEK OF mVt 12-18,2S07
f ivO 3?atties For" Rc
•a MC 28216-5302
Mecklenburg County commissioners voted Tuesday to support $516 million in construction bonds for Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools. CMS now takes on the task of developing a priority list that has divided the school board between inner city and subur
ban factions.
Building school priorities
$516 million referendum faces hurdles over construction
Denning
Graham
By Herbert L. White
herb.white@thecharlottepostcom
The hard part of deciding on
a price tag for Charlotte-
Mecklenburg school bonds is
over. Next: selling it.
County commissioners
voted unanimously Tuesday to
approve a $516 million refer
endum on the November bal
lot. The school board now
faces the task of prioritizing
projects.
“If we can come together on
a consensus, 1 think we all
pretty much agree on our sup
port for the bonds,” said
Commissioner Dan Bishop,
who represents District 5.
“In the grand scheme, I think
we've come a long way, com
missioners’ chair Jennifer
Roberts said. “I think we real
ize this isn’t a perfect plan, but
it's a good plan.”
The sticking point will likely
come down to competing
interests in the urban core and
suburban ring. Rapid enroll
ment in suburban campuses
dictate CMS build new schools.
Urban advocates have lobbied
for upgrades for older cam
puses. The commissioners
confirmed its support without
holding the board or CMS to a
list of exact building priorities.
“We believe the school board
should be reasonable and we
trust them to do Just that,”
Roberts said.
School board member
George Dunlap predicts CMS
will craft a priority list, but
warns it needs balance to win
in November.
“If you alienate African
Americans, you won’t get their
support,” he said. "If you alien
ate Myers Park and Olympic
See SCHOOL/2A
Roberts
t (1 think we
realize
this isn't a
perfect
plan, but
It’s a
good
plan, yy
JENNIFER ROBERTS
Mecklenburg County
Commissioners chair
AAARY MCLEOD BETHUNE AWARDS IN CHARLOTTE
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
Esther Mcliwalne (left) and Anna Hood (right) were named winners
of the Mary McLeod Bethune Award by the Notional Council of
Negro Women June 23 In Charlotte. N.C. State Convenor Manderline
Scales made the presentation.
NAACP focused on
priorities, leader says
By Hazel Trice Edney
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PLI8USHERS ASSOCIATION
WASHINGTON - NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, while point
ing to the ills of America that he says have been exacerbated
by the administration of President George Bush, told the
NAACP annual convention this week that the organization
must now prioritize its own refueling and growth for
"grander victories" over injustices.
“There is nothing more important for us to be doing right
now than ending felony disenfranchisement elsewhere and
registering voters. If you don’t believe one vote counts, look
at the Supreme Court," Bond told the audience of thousands
in prepared remarks at the 98th Annual NAACP Convention,
themed “Power Beyond Measure," in Detroit.
“But there are other things we must do too. We must make
strengthening our branches and state conferences a first pri
ority, building membership where it is low and insisting on
See BOND/2A
No summer break for democracy
By Herbert L. White
/-ieft).v//-iife®ftiecliafIoffep05tcom
JaMeese Mangum is a democracy
advocate - even at Charlotte fast
food restaurants.
Mangum is a student organizer
in Democracy Summer, an initia
tive of Democracy North Carolina.
Students from N.C. colleges par
ticipate in grassroots organizing
ranging from voter registration
drives to campaign finance
reform.
The goal is to involve more peo
ple in the political process, said
Adam Sotak, organizing director at
Democracy North Carolina, which
sponsors the program.
“They educate the public about
important issues facing our
democracy," he said. “They urge
people to vote and take action for
voter rights in North Carolina.”
In addition to three organizers in
Charlotte, Democracy Summer
students are also in Fayetteville
and Durham.
Spending the summer advocat-
Property managers
breathe new life into
troubled community/6C
ing for community-based political
empowerment is a lesson in grass
roots democracy, said Mangum, a
junior at N.C. Central University
and Harding University High
School graduate.
The organizers’ role is to pass
the message to people who are
often skeptical they can have
much impact.
“It’s helpful because we’re get
ting into the nitty-gritty of what
people can do," she said. "It’s good
Please see DEMOCRACY/3A
and time
N.C. bill would punish
activities and recruitment;
includes education funding
By Herbert L. White
herb.whife®fhecfiQf)offeposf.com
N.C. lawmakers are considering bills that
would define gang activity, penalties and
funding for prevention programs.
Senate Bill 1358, the Street Gang
Prevention Act, is sponsored by Malcolm
Graham, a Charlotte Democrat. Co-spon-
sors include Charlotte
Republican Robert Pittenger
and Democrats Charlie
Dannelly and Dan Clodfelter.
The bill was approved last
week by the Senate Judiciary
Committee and is now before
the Finance Committee. The
House is considering a simi
lar bill.
“It creates new standards In
North Carolina as it relates to street gangs,”
Graham said. “What we’re trying to do is go
after kingpins who are recruiting 12- and
13-year-olds.”
Whatever form the bill ultimately takes,
the legislation will provide law enforce
ment another tool, said Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Police Detective Harold
Jackson, who is assigned to the Criminal
Intelligence Division.
Charlotte has 2,000 police-documented
gang members and 150 sets, or individual
Please see BILLS/3A
Men’s shelter
extends services
by two months
By Herbert L. White
herb.whiie@fhecriortofteposf.com
The Emergency Winter Shelter is extending
its services.
The shelter for homeless men. housed at
the Lucille Giles Center at 3410 Statesville
Ave., will be open for seven months, an
increase from five, beginning October 1. The
facility will close April 30, 2008.
“This is a 40 percent increase in our time of
operation” said shelter president Dick Lupo.
“The increase in homeless in Charlotte and
the cold weather of last April caused us to
look at our days of operation."
Shelter officials expect the extended opera
tions will require a 50 percent increase in the
budget to pay for services and support staff.
That means an increase of $100,000 to
$300,000 this year - all from charitable giv
ing. The shelter, which opened in.l981, does
not receive local or state government funding
and relies on individual donors and partner
ships with the faith community for services.
On the Net:
Emergency Winter Shelter
www.ewscharlotte.org
Central
Piedmont
Community
College stu
dents Courtney
Fewell (sitting
left) and Sheena
KIsiah sign
campaign
finance petitions
as Democracy
Summer student
organizers
JaMeese
Mangum and
Rodney Leak
look on.
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
INSIDE
LifelB
Religion 46
Sports 1C
Business 6C
A&E1D
Classified 4D
To subscribe: (704) 376-0496 FAX (704) 342-2160.© 2007 The Chailotte Post Publishing Co.
Please
Recycle
o
ooo