By:
On:
In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Mayor, New Bern, New Bern business and commerce
With: 0 Comments

The city and N.C. Railroad Company are extending an agreement to allow refurbishment of the disused Union Station Train Depot off Queen Street until 2021. The project began in 2009 with “a couple of hiccups” along the way, said Alderman Dallas Blackiston, who has been involved in the project from the start, predating his term as alderman, which began in 2013. New Bern Preservation Foundation is in charge of the project and funding. It has a goal to raise $1.2 million to pay for a five-phase project to rehabilitate the railroad station, which, for a time, was the hub of transportation in New Bern thatRead More →

By:
On:
In: New Bern
With: 1 Comment

CITY OF NEW BERN BOARD OF ALDERMEN WORK SESSION NOVEMBER 21, 2017 – 6:00 P.M. CITY HALL COURTROOM 300 POLLOCK STREET   1.  Presentation of Recommendations from the Master Parking Plan Advisory Committee.  2.  Presentation on Financial Software System. (See Backup) 3.  Consider Adopting a Resolution Approving a Contract with Tyler Technologies, Inc. for a Financial Software System. (See Backup) 4.  Consider Adopting a Budget Ordinance to Establish the ERP Project Fund. (See Backup) 5.  Consider Adopting a Resolution Approving a Declaration of Intent to Reimburse for the ERP Project. (See Backup) 6.  Adjourn.Read More →

By:
On:
In: New Bern Post, News Media
With: 0 Comments

It’s been about a month since I launched my local news site, https://www.newbernpost.com, as a hobby and as a personal mission to keep a journalistic watch over local government since that responsibility has been shirked by the local corporate-owned news media, including the Sun Journal, where I was executive editor until last month. I don’t post every day … early on, I posted once or twice a week. This week, it looks like I will be posting most days. But this is a hobby, a spare time thing, and I have a day job and other responsibilities. Over the last two weeks of October, startingRead More →

By:
On:
In: New Bern
With: 2 Comments

By the time you read this, the City of New Bern should be the owner of 55 acres that will added to a planned mega-park off South Glenburnie Road that will total 888 acres with an amphitheater that seats at least 3,500 people. As announced in September, Martin Marietta has agreed to donate 55 acres of property at the quarry site off South Glenburnie Road for a park and outdoor amphitheater. Aldermen accepted the agreement Tuesday and the deal was expected to close on Wednesday. The agreement includes the following provisions:  the park will be known as “Martin Marietta Park” and the name of theRead More →

By:
On:
In: Craven County Board of Commissioners, New Bern
With: 1 Comment

This article is a stub while I wait to receive the news release from Billy Joiner. Meanwhile, here is his bio from the Town of Trent Woods website: Commissioner/Mayor Pro Tem “Resident for 39 years” Worked for Sprint for 37 years Married with 2 daughters, sons-in-law and 4 grandchildren Retired from the West of New Bern Volunteer Fire Department with 20 years Active member of Tabernacle Baptist Church Crossing Guard of Bangert Elementary School 20 years as a referee for youth basketball & umpire for youth baseball Serves on Town’s Citizens Emergency Response Team Shriner & Mason Serves on local Community Watch program Retired military E-8Read More →

By:
On:
In: New Bern
With: 2 Comments

New Bern Ward 3 Alderman ET Mitchell says she is running for the District 4 Craven County commissioner seat that Scott Dacey is giving up in his run for Congress. Mitchell said she would be a “voice of reason and common sense” on the Craven County Board of Commissioners. She joins Trent Woods Town Commissioner Billy Joiner in the District 4 race. Unofficial word of Mitchell’s candidacy has been spreading for about two months now. In fact, on my last day as executive editor at the Sun Journal on on Oct. 13, I alerted reporters there to keep an ear out for her announcement alongRead More →

By:
On:
In: New Bern
With: 0 Comments

Stories that matter Other stories I am working on for later this week (links to be added as the stories are filed): Details about downtown parking lots and how they will be used … but will it be enough? The city gets more time to renovate the old New Bern Train Depot. The city moves forward to develop Martin Marietta Park, which will become the city’s largest park. Wreaths Across America: Group plans to place wreaths on the gravestones of veterans across the United States, including 1,517 at New Bern National Cemetery. City gearing up for a frickin awesome holiday season, including something new this year.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Craven County Board of Commissioners, Mayor
With: 0 Comments

Sometime soon, when you call 911 in New Bern for an ambulance, the 911 dispatcher may ask a lot of questions that, in the heat of the moment, may seem beside the point. But the questions 911 dispatchers ask, and the answers they get in return, will save lives. New Bern’s 911 dispatchers are rolling out a system called “Emergency Medical Dispatch.” The system is a combination of software and training that allow 911 dispatchers to ask medically pertinent questions and then give medical advice about how to save that person’s life. The program was hatched in New Bern earlier this year, and in OctoberRead More →

By:
On:
In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Mayor, New Bern, New Bern business and commerce
With: 0 Comments

In its final meeting Tuesday before all hell breaks loose, the Master Parking Plan Advisory Committee (it only took me three weeks to get the full name right) plowed through last week’s draft of recommendations and added several more. The committee is delivering its recommendations to the Board of Aldermen at a workshop the board has scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 21. One new addition to the recommendations is that the Board of Aldermen not take any action, but leave the public hearing and final decisions to January 2018, after new board members take their seats and have had a chance to get settled in andRead More →

By:
On:
In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Mayor, New Bern, New Bern Post, News Media
With: 0 Comments

Coming up Tuesday in the New Bern Post: Full coverage of the last Parking Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon and its final recommendations to the Board of Aldermen, and top-story coverage of Tuesday evening’s Board of Aldermen meeting. Later this week, I’ll drill down into the minutiae. Because I’m not looking to build an audience. I’m looking to build community awareness and civic involvement. ~ Randy Foster, New Bern Post Got tips or comments?Read More →