88.5 WFDD - Mayor Allen Joines: Recent Episodes
David Ford
A sign from June 2020 in the window of Pepper's Restaurant and Bar in Boone asks customers to wear a mask. The town has now made indoor masks in public places a requirement for a second time. PAUL GARBER/WFDD
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines issued an emergency order requiring residents to wear masks in non-household situations indoors. It's the latest North Carolina city to reinstate indoor masking mandates.
The Twin City joins Charlotte, Raleigh and Boone, as well as Orange, Durham, Wake, and Buncombe counties, with Guilford’s indoor masking mandate slated to begin later this month.According to Mayor Joines’ declaration, face coverings will be required whenever people come into contact with non-household members indoors — places like restaurants, grocery stores, gyms and other businesses.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Christopher Ohl says when fully vaccinated people transmit the highly contagious delta variant to other fully vaccinated people, the results are relatively mild, what he calls a “COVID cold.”
"What’s the important thing about a COVID cold is not to give it to somebody who’s immunocompromised or unvaccinated, or at the extremes of age, or has a lot of underlying medical problems," says Ohl. "That’s the transmission from a vaccinated person that we worry about."
The new declaration in Winston-Salem recommends vaccination, and social distancing in spaces that require masking to slow the spread of COVID-19. The indoors mask mandate takes effect in Winston-Salem beginning Friday at 5:30 p.m.
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coronavirusnc #delta variant #maskmandate #mayor allen joines #winston-salem
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The Renfro Nightingale WS Protective Mask is manufactured by Refro Manufacturing, a leading global manufacturer, designer, distributor and marketer of legwear products based in Mt. Airy. Photo courtesy of Renfro Manufacturing.
An initiative in Winston-Salem has begun to combat COVID-19 with a goal of providing everyone access to facemasks. They'll be widely distributed throughout the community as part of a new program called Mask the City.
Mayor Allen Joines, local business leaders, healthcare professionals, and church organizers are urging residents to begin wearing the new masks and continue social distancing through May 31. The masks are designed and produced — up to 900,000 of them per week — locally.
Mayor Joines says distribution efforts are already underway.
"According to preliminary tests, these masks offer an excellent protective barrier and reduce the likelihood that anyone who’s wearing this mask will share their germs with someone else," says Joines. "And this mask can be washed up to 25 times without degrading its effectiveness."
Many local businesses and organizations have committed to purchasing large numbers of the masks to provide to their employees. Roughly 60,000 will be distributed at no cost to low-income and at-risk residents through community and faith-based organizations. They’ll also be available for individual purchase at Lowes Foods locations throughout Forsyth County beginning Friday.
For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you’re experiencing.
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covid-19 #coronavirus #mask the city #masks #coronavirusnc #refro manufacturing #wake forest baptist health #mayor allen joines #socks
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Following their roundtable discussion with members of the city’s business and foundation community, City Council Member Denise Adams and Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines announced a new funding plan for the Think Orange community campaign. DAVID FORD/WFDD
According to a recent study by Feeding America—a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks—North Carolina ranks among the 10 worst states in the nation for food insecurity. Here in the Piedmont, 1 in 4 children are unsure of where their next meal will come from.
In August the city began the Think Orange campaign after receiving a $115,000 grant from the National League of Cities to develop programs addressing hunger. But that money is set to run out in December. So, at the Benton Convention Center downtown Tuesday, Mayor Allen Joines along with North Ward City Council Member Denise Adams presented a path forward.
“Today we announce the beginning of a Think Orange corporate investment fund," he said. “We’re going to be raising $500,000 to help sustain this program over the next five years. We got a nice kick-off for that in that Hanesbrands announced that they’ll be donating 2,200 pairs of orange socks that will be helping to continue the push for this in our city.”
Adams called on a community-wide effort to address food insecurity.
“This is something we all can help do,” said Adams. “We understand and know that when children, adults, and special needs folks are hungry it impedes their quality of life. In order for us to advance people out of poverty, we need to make sure that they’re healthy with nutrition every day.”
The orange socks will be sold at Lowes Foods with all proceeds going to the Think Orange campaign. The grocery chain also presented a check for $90,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank in an effort to support hunger relief programs there.
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food insecurity #think orange #mayor allen joines #council member denise adams
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The Winston-Salem memorial to "Our Confederate Dead." PAUL GARBER/WFDD
The city of Winston-Salem is preparing for gatherings surrounding the fate of a Confederate statue downtown this weekend. This comes after Mayor Allen Joines gave the owners of the statue until the end of the month to move it.
City officials say they’re expecting people on both of the sides of the issue to show up in Winston-Salem on Sunday. In a press release, the city says it supports the right to peacefully assemble, and there will be a police presence downtown.
The statue is owned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It’s been vandalized twice, and according to Joines, moving it is in the interest of all parties.
“What we’ve said to the Daughters is we as a city can’t guarantee the safety of the monument," says Joines. "We obviously can’t afford to put a police officer there full time. That was one reason we had made the suggestion of locating it to a dignified location.”
Joines has suggested the statue be moved to Salem Cemetery. A spokesperson for the United of Daughters of the Confederacy says they will fight attempts to move it.
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confederacy #monument #winston salem #mayor allen joines #protest #confederatestatuews
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The Winston-Salem memorial to "Our Confederate Dead." WFDD FILE PHOTO BY PAUL GARBER
Organizers have scaled back a protest rally against the move of a Winston-Salem Confederate monument.
The rally to keep the monument downtown is promoted by a group called the Heirs to the Confederacy. The original plan was to start in Chapel Hill. That’s where a fight over the appropriate place for a toppled Confederate monument known as “Silent Sam” continues.
After that, the plan included travelling from Chapel Hill to Winston-Salem, where city officials have given the owners of the monument until the end of January to move it or face legal action.
In a social media post, the Heirs to the Confederacy say they'll no longer urge monument supporters to protest in Winston-Salem. Instead, it will be replaced by prayer and the laying of flowers.
Organizers say they changed the plans at the request of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the owners of the monument who have vowed to fight attempts to move it.
An official with the group has confirmed to WFDD that they made the request.
A rally in support of the move, organized by a group called Hate Out of Winston, is also scheduled for Sunday.
City officials want to move the statue to historic Salem Cemetery. The statue has been vandalized twice, and the move would help keep it safe, Mayor Allen Joines says. He’s also worried about the potential for the monument to spark violent protests, citing a 2017 right-wing rally in Charlottesville that turned deadly.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy call the city’s demand “heavy-handed” and say they’ll fight to keep it in its current location, where it’s been since 1905.
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confederate monument #city of winston-salem #dtws #mayor allen joines #confederatestatuews
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WSPD Chief Catrina Thompson (L) and Bishop Todd Fulton (R). At a press conference held on Monday, April 2, 2018, city officials and ministry representatives talked about the shooting death of Edward Van McCrae by officer D.E. McGuire of the Winston-Salem Police Department. EDDIE GARCIA/WFDD
Winston-Salem officials say they’re looking into what happened after a white police officer shot and killed a 60-year-old black man on Friday.
During a traffic stop on Friday night, Winston-Salem Police Department Officer D.E. McGuire shot and killed 60-year-old Edward Van McCrae.
According to the police report, McCrae was reaching in areas of the car that the officer couldn’t see. Officer McGuire ordered McCrae to exit the vehicle. After McCrae was removed from the vehicle, a physical struggle ensued. Officer McGuire says he saw a handgun. McGuire ordered McCrae to "stop reaching," and when those calls were ignored, McGuire shot McCrae.
Edward Van McCrae. Credit: WSPD/AP
The officer did activate his body camera at the beginning of the stop. But it’s still unknown when the public will get to see the footage.
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines says it may take some time.
“The body cam information is part of the overall investigation, that the district attorney has to have all that information before he agrees to let any of it be released incrementally, if you will," says Joines. "And the primary holdup piece of it is the toxicology and autopsy results.”
Local ministry groups are asking for peace in the aftermath of the shooting.
Bishop Todd Fulton is social justice chairman with The Ministers’ Conference of Winston Salem and Vicinity. At a press conference held at the Winston-Salem branch of the NAACP, he said he supports the community’s right to peaceful protest, but urges patience.
“The most integral part of trust building has been our police department and our chief, to ensure we communicate, that we collaborate before there’s a problem," Fulton said. "The police department, the city of Winston-Salem, the Ministers' Conference, the NAACP, has been intentional about building bridges, rather than building walls.”
The State Bureau of Investigation is overseeing Officer McGuire’s case. City officials pledged transparency and stressed that retaining public trust is of the utmost importance.
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winston-salem #shooting #police #handgun #mayor allen joines
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Alda Byrd (seated far left) awaits his bus at WSTA's Transportation Center downtown.
David Ford
For this edition of Carolina Curious, listener Dean Franco asks:
“Why are there so few bus shelters in Winston-Salem?”
In fact, only about 5 percent of bus stops in the city are covered. It’s a problem that has the attention of Winston-Salem leaders, and as WFDD’s David Ford reports, it’s one that can be vexing for the thousands of people who rely on public transportation.
“You Sit There And Wait”
To get an idea of how irritating this can be for bus riders, I give you this example: The WSTA bus stop location near the intersection of University Pkwy. Blvd. and Coliseum Drive in Winston-Salem.
There’s a small, metal sign that simply reads: “Bus Stop” – no benches, no cover, and no indication as to when the next bus arrives. Only a thin stretch of grass separates a handful of people from eight lanes of traffic, whizzing by at highway speeds. And like many stops across the city, this one provides no protection from the summer sun.
The WSTA Bus Stop sign on University Pkwy. Blvd. bakes in the July sun. DAVID FORD/WFDD
“It’s just baking, scorching hot. I need cold water,” says Roy McGilvary. But he says, after years of using public transportation, he’s become used to dealing with inclement weather. “Well, if there’s no shelter nearby, I just have to deal with it. I just come prepared. If it says rain in the forecast, I bring my umbrella.”
At the Transit Authority’s Transportation Center downtown, riders are less optimistic.
“Oh, it’s terrible, man,” says construction worker Charlie Stephens. “It’s depressing. You sit there and wait for the bus and you’re hot –me and my wife both ride the bus, and we sit, and we’re depressed."
There are approximately 40-50 shelters scattered about town, but that’s a small fraction of the roughly 800 bus stops in Winston-Salem. Transit Authority General Manager Art Barnes says he wishes there were more.
“Well, of course we would like to have bus shelters at every stop that we have,” he says. "But we are limited – like everyone else is – by available funds, so what our strategy is, is to place those bus shelters where we have the most traffic.”
According to Barnes, the problem is the price tag: about $8,000 apiece. That money comes from federal grants, capital spending, and of course, from taxpayers – and convincing the public can be a tough sell.
Seeing The Problem
Salem College sociology professor Kimya Dennis says when neighborhoods are segregated, like some in Winston-Salem, the cost to the community can be hidden from view.
“For many people, this may not be on their top of the list of ‘To Dos.’ The outcome though, is that it negatively impacts lower income people – mostly Black and Hispanic – who rely on public transportation.”
Dennis adds similar conflicts are playing out across the country. “A lot of times people will say things like ‘this has nothing to do with race,’ because what they’re looking for is much more overt, obvious connections.”
Winston-Salem is creating new bus routes and will spend $1.2 million on new bus stop shelters.
This is a conversation Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines has been having for years. Yes, he says, public transportation has been a money loser for the city. But a new system will benefit everyone.
“You know we get complaints, pushback from individuals who say ‘well, I don’t use the public transportation system so why should I subsidize it?’ I say ‘Well, you drive on the roads. Not everybody drives on the roads, and we subsidize those as well.’”
Promising Changes
Winston-Salem Councilman Dan Besse chairs the Public Works Committee, and he says the attitude on the council towards the importance of the city’s public transit system has improved markedly over the past decade, leading to incremental, but systematic changes to the city’s busing operation.
New diesel-electric hybrid buses hit the streets in 2010, and weekend bus services were expanded three years later. Last year, a comprehensive review of the entire route system was initiated and beginning in the fall, the city will spend approximately $1.2 million dollars to improve hundreds of stop locations throughout Winston-Salem, including new bus stop shelters, benches, and signage.
“We’re trying now to bring our public transit system in Winston-Salem into the twenty-first century; make it a good system that people ride both because it is their most reliable way to get where they need to go – to work, to shop, to church – but also, because it is an attractive system,” says Besse.
Tenisha Mack and Tony Chambers chat while waiting at the WSTA for their bus.
He hopes to draw additional discretionary riders to further bolster the transit system for those who rely on it every day. He cites other benefits to Winston-Salem citizens, too, like increased travel options, less congestion on the roadways, and improved air quality.
For bus rider Tracy Houston, the changes can’t come soon enough. She’s a certified nursing assistant, and her commute to the hospital frustrates her.
“I work on my feet all day long – in the evening all night – I need that extra coverage to keep me from being exhausted when I get to work,” says Houston. “I feel burnt out almost before I can even start my day. I’m tired.”
But she’s prepared. In hand, she has a bottle of water, an iPod to help pass the time, and other provisions tucked away in her backpack. For now, she’s hopeful that her wait time for the bus, and more bus shelters, won’t be a long one.
winston-salem #transportation #minorities #economy #public transit #mayor allen joines #dan besse
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Rachel Desmarais (left) with Forsyth Technical Community College, Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines (center) and Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke announced the new education initiative in city council chambers on Dec. 3, 2015. Credit: Keri Brown
A new scholarship program in Winston-Salem aims to give the poorest residents a chance to attend college. City leaders are providing money to start the scholarship program.
Mayor Allen Joines and Mayor Pro Tem Vivian Burke are putting about $4,000 dollars of their own money to create this scholarship program. It will allow low-income students or those in public or subsidized housing to attend Forsyth Technical Community College.
It will pay tuition for up to six semesters and provide up to $200 dollars for books. One student will be selected next month for the scholarship. Mayor Joines wants other people in the community to step up and fund more of these next year.
“We like to vision this as a pebble dropped in a pond that the ripples will go out ,” says Joines. “ As we hopefully demonstrate the success of these young people that other businesses and organizations will want to step up and do some additional scholarships.”
The program won’t stop there. Burke says it will provide mentoring and resources for students -- like babysitting and transportation while they go to class.
“We also want to make sure when we do this that these students who feel stressed because they don’t have what they need know there is support here,” says Burke. We want them to know that we are going to give them the opportunity if they are strictly business and they want to get that education.”
Besides meeting certain income requirements, applicants must be a senior in a Winston-Salem/Forsyth County High School, or be able to complete a GED before starting classes at the college.
Details of the application process haven’t been finalized, but will be soon.
*Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
mayor allen joines #mayor pro tempore vivian burke #winston-salem #forsyth technical community college
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photo credit: Paul Garber -- Winston-Salem mayor Allen Joines
Downtown Winston-Salem has undergone a major transformation over the past decade. Some might say it’s thriving.
Mayor Allen Joines says there’s been more than a billion dollars in investment in the city center over the past 15 years. He jokingly calls it Winston-Salem’s 20-year overnight success. But he admits there’s more work to be done.
WFDD’s Keri Brown sat down with Joines to talk about the latest downtown projects and what he sees for the future.
“In five years for instance, we want Winston-Salem to be one of the top 50 metro areas in the country, which means we have to increase the level of job creation here,” says Joines.
“If you look out a little more to the 10 to 15 year window I think you will see Winston-Salem as a city that’s growing on entrepreneurship, smaller companies growing and starting here. We won’t see as many large corporations here 10 or 15 years from now because the economy is changing that way,” adds Joines.
The city is also looking at partnering with existing businesses and organizations to help jumpstart various accelerator programs for entrepreneurs.
When asked about other economic development projects in the works, Joines says one to keep an eye on is the proposed Brookstown District development around the BB&T baseball stadium. The mixed-use center would include retail and housing.
Another major focal point is the former Whitaker Park site. Earlier this year, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. donated its Whitaker Park campus to Whitaker Park Development Authority Inc. (WPDA), a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation created in April 2011 by Winston-Salem Business Inc., the Winston-Salem Alliance and Wake Forest University.
Joines expects a major tenant announcement for Whitaker Park sometime next year.
But one major game changer for the downtown has been the development of Wake Forest Innovation Quarter.
"There are hundreds and hundreds of people employed there and revitalization projects like these were made possible by tapping into historic tax credits and other incentives," says Joines.
"We've got a lot of people in the city and community working hard rebuild after we lost a lot of manufacturing and industry. Those investments are now paying off," he adds.
As for managing the growing pains of economic development with more people living downtown and the expansion of the entertainment district, Joines says the city will continue to have conversations with business owners and residents.
He says one recent compromise involved street musicians and the hours of operation. The city made changes recently to its noise ordinance to create some guidelines, especially during late hours.
*Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
winston-salem #mayor allen joines #whitaker park #brookstown district
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Today is Veterans Day, the annual federal holiday to recognize those who have served in the armed forces. It’s also a time when many will be thinking about the 50,000 veterans who are homeless nationwide, according to estimates from the U.S Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.
Last year, Winston-Salem joined two national efforts to end veteran homelessness by 2015. Since then, the number of homeless vets here has dropped by about two thirds.
Mayor Allen Joines says the key has been collaboration among non-profits and veterans organizations.
“We’ve adopted a housing-first policy, and we came along that with programs by the VA, the United Way and others," he says. "We can assure that any veteran that comes in, their homelessness will be brief, non-recurring, and we can get them into housing”
Andrea Kurtz is the senior director of housing strategies for the United Way of Forsyth. The agency oversees the day-to-day activities of the city’s homelessness program. Kurtz says veterans often face challenges that may lead them down a spiral of homelessness.
“Sometimes those issues present immediately when they come back from service," she says. "Sometimes they’re able to come back and integrate for a while but then over time the post-traumatic stress or traumatic brain injuries sort of manifest itself and it makes it very difficult.”
She says the veterans program doesn’t mean that there will never be homeless vets in the city. Instead, she says there’s now a program in place which helps vets get assistance more quickly to help them get off the streets.
veterans #winston-salem #mayor allen joines
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