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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Civil Rights, Community, Mayor, New Bern, Police Department, Public safety
With: 5 Comments

In December 2012, An officer from City of New Bern, NC Police Department pulled a gun out on me, I was 13 years old, walking to the post office to mail a Christmas present, if I was Black I would probably be dead. 2012 was the year that New Bern Chief of Police Toussaint E. Summers Jr assumed his position as Chief of Police. Over the past 8 years it has become increasingly evident that under Mr. Summers Leadership that The New Bern Police Department has operated in a culture that is at best disorganized, and at worst, a calculated effort of community intimidation. InRead More →

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In: Civil Rights, Commentary, Community, Community issues, Parks and Recreation
With: 3 Comments

After working diligently with community leaders from the Duffy field area for two years, receiving 8 million dollars in grant money from FEMA, and designing/quoting the project with an architect in totality, members of the New Bern Board of Aldermen want to re-locate the Stanley White Recreation Center. This may seem small if you are outside the community, but believe me when I tell you just how much this land means to the people who have grown up in the facility. I am seriously shocked at the city’s adamant attempts to relocate this major asset seeing as every opinion that they have carefully considered hasRead More →

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In: Civil Rights, Community, New Bern
With: 0 Comments

When I cut on the TV I see an illusionary model of black people that this is Black people. I stepped off the porch as a young black male and tried to reenact the sequel. In 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson proved that we are not equal. How is it that every portrayal of a black man is nefarious, criminal, evil. In schools we are taught that Black People didn’t contribute to America. We are falsely taught about slavery, Dr. King, only to prove we are inferior. My worse fear is to be pulled over because I fit the criteria. Why is it that a blackRead More →

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In: Community, Community issues, Downtown New Bern, History
With: 2 Comments

The city is proposing that Stanley White Recreation Center be moved to a new location with Broad Street frontage so that it won’t be further damaged by future flooding. Here’s why it’s important to do as much as humanly possible to keep it exactly where it is. In a map of the predominately black Duffyfield area of New Bern, Stanley White Recreation Center is located toward the center. The city proposes moving the center to Duffyfield’s very edge. It would be more of a Broad Street-oriented structure, almost right next door to the tony, nearly all white DeGraffenreid neighborhood. Stanley White Recreation Center was builtRead More →

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In: Community, Community issues, Hurricane, New Bern, Parks and Recreation
With: 4 Comments

The city of New Bern has about $8 million at its disposal to spend on the Stanley White Recreation Center, which has sat unused and moldering while awaiting decisions on its fate since it was flooded during Hurricane Florence in September 2018. Some city leaders say the existing facility is too vulnerable to flooding. Rebuilding it would be putting good money after bad. In fact, the city had just put $1 million into the facility just before Hurricane Florence. To move things forward, the city spent about $440,000 to purchase several lots between Broad Street, Gaston Boulevard, Third Avenue, and Elm Street. Mayor Dana OutlawRead More →

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In: Community, Entertainment
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RiverTowne Players is holding a 10-minute Summer Play Contest for New Bern area teenagers, with cash awards for the top three finishers. It is open to any New Bern area resident ages 13-18. Here are the details. Jury: Author and playwright Leslie Tall Manning and Author and screenwriter Ted Peterson Theme: Write a 10-minute (approximately 10-15 pages) play with no more than five characters and minimal set changes. Play must be original, unpublished and never performed publicly. Play subject matter should be age appropriate for all teens. Submission Deadline: July 15, 2020 Applicants may submit only one play. Attach a cover sheet with name andRead More →

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In: Community, Economy and Employment, Health, New Bern, State news
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North Carolina’s combination of trends (COVID-like syndromic cases, lab-confirmed cases, positive tests as a percentage of total tests and hospitalizations) over 14 days remain stable overall and North Carolina will move into Safer At Home Phase 2 on Friday, May 22 at 5 p.m. See the Phase 2 FAQs. As of this morning, NC has 20,122 positive cases, 277,603 completed tests, 554 hospitalizations, and 702 deaths. Restaurants, swimming pools and personal care businesses, such as salons and barbershops, can re-open at 50 percent capacity, with distancing and cleaning requirements. These businesses will have face covering and cleaning requirements, while also reducing the number of peopleRead More →

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In: Business, Community, Craven County, Health, New Bern, State news
With: 1 Comment

This week, the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed to join seven other Governing Boards in Central Eastern North Carolina to request that Gov. Roy Cooper repeal Executive Order 135, known as the “Stay at Home Order.” The Governing Boards for Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pamlico and Wayne counties cited the extreme economic hardship on their local economies as a major reason for the request. In the letter, the boards of commissioners thank Gov. Cooper for his leadership during this tenuous time in our history and for the governor’s efforts that have helped to save lives and flatten the curve throughout NorthRead More →

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In: CarolinaEast, Community, Health
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Craven County’s COVID-19 case count has reached 39, an increase of three over the past few days but a smaller increase than has been experienced in Pitt, Onslow, and Lenoir counties, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services statistics. Still, among its neighbors, Craven County continues to have more COVID-19 deaths, with four, twice as many as Pitt, Carteret, and Jones counties.   The Craven County Health Department still reports 36 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 12:30 p.m. on April 23, 2020. The state does not report specific county data, but the county Health Department does. Based on its count of 36Read More →

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In: CarolinaEast, Community, Craven County
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Three New COVID-19 Cases Confirmed in Craven County Three new cases of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Craven County residents. This brings the total positive case count to 10 in Craven County. Of the 10 cases, five have been related to out of state travel, two are from community transmission, and two are a direct contact with a previously confirmed positive. Craven County Health Department Communicable Disease staff has yet to determine where the third individual contracted COVID-19. The new individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 are adults.  Two of the individuals were tested at CarolinaEast Medical Center for COVID-19 on MarchRead More →