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Committee Endorses Winston-Salem 'Welcoming City' Resolution

The "Welcoming City" resolution was proposed by Council Member Dan Besse. Photo courtesy of Councilman Dan Besse

A Winston-Salem city committee has endorsed a “Welcoming City” resolution on a split vote.

The resolution reaffirms Winston-Salem's commitment to provide a “safe and welcoming environment to immigrants, refugees and other newcomers.”

The statement stops short of declaring Winston-Salem a “sanctuary city,” a designation that could invite financial penalties imposed by state lawmakers.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the resolution, proposed by Council member Dan Besse, passed on a 3-1 vote by the general government committee.

Council member Robert Clark, the committee's only Republican, dissented, calling it a partisan document designed to create division between the city and lawmakers in Raleigh and Washington.

City attorney Angela Carmon says Besse's resolution would not technically violate a state law against sanctuary ordinances, but added that some people might interpret it that way.

The resolution will go before the full city council on Monday.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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