Domestic visitors to and within Craven County spent $155 million in 2019, an increase of 4.3 percent from 2018. The data comes from an annual study commissioned by Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “Tourism has an enormous effect on New Bern and Craven County and we are thrilled with the continued growth in our area.” Judy Avery, marketing director, New Bern-Craven County Convention and Visitor Center. Tourism impact highlights for 2019:• The travel and tourism industry directly employs more than 1,180 in Craven County. • Total payroll generated by the tourism industry in Craven County was $31.16Read More →

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State asks for court to reinstate North Carolina’s decision to reject consistency certification N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina will continue to fight against seismic testing along the state’s coast. The State of North Carolina has filed an appeal of the decision by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to override the state’s objection to WesternGeco’s plan for offshore seismic testing. “North Carolina has been clear, we do not want seismic testing in our coastal waters, or the damage from offshore drilling that could follow,” said Governor Cooper. “The studies of our waters show little prospect for drilling, and the environmental damage to ourRead More →

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With 2.1 million more unemployment claims filed this week despite all U.S. states starting to reopen, WalletHub released updated rankings for the States Hit Most by Unemployment Claims, and North Carolina ranked poorly, coming in at 9th. Since North Carolina is the 10 largest state by population, 9th would indicate it is doing slightly worse than it should for a state its size. To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt the most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims during the latest week for which we have data (May 18) and overall sinceRead More →

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WalletHub | North Carolina has the 10th biggest increase in unemployment claims due to COVID-19 With nearly 39 million Americans now jobless as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but many people actually making more money while unemployed, WalletHub released updated rankings for the States Hit Most by Unemployment Claims. To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt the most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (May 11) and overall since the beginningRead More →

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Phase 2 of lifted COVID-19 restrictions would allow restaurants with outdoor seating, and the city is being asked to close parts of some downtown streets to make room for street cafe setups. At its Tuesday, May 12 Zoom meeting, the Board of Aldermen will consider the request to temporarily close portions of Middle Street, Pollock Street, and Craven Street to Vehicular Traffic. This resolution would permit closures of one side of the 200-300 blocks of Middle Street, 300 block of Pollock Street, and the 200 block of Craven Street from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. accommodating street cafes between May 22, and Aug. 1, 2020.Read More →

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The New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce is joining the county board of commissioners in asking Governor Roy Cooper to relax COVID-19-related restrictions on Craven County. In a letter submitted to the New Bern Sun Journal, Chamber of Commerce leaders said the following: As we are all well-aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious public health crisis. Fortunately, the New Bern area responded strongly and appropriately when asked to do so in mid-late March. Under direction from our leadership, New Bern residents have diligently shuttered their businesses, closed their schools, and practiced social distancing, all in the name of public health. Everyone accepted that theseRead More →

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The federal government is sending out a $1,200 Federal Economic Impact Payments (otherwise known as a federal stimulus payment) for a qualifying adult. There is also an additional $500 stimulus payment available for each qualifying child under the age of 17. While people who receive Social Security (SSI) will receive the full $1,200 stimulus payment automatically, those who didn’t file federal tax returns in 2018 or 2019 will need to use the IRS online tool to register to receive an additional $500 stimulus payment for each qualifying child. People in that group can visit this website to receive the payment.  For more information on whether some oneRead More →

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The Pamlico News, the Oriental-based weekly newspaper that has covered local news since 1968, is temporarily shutting down due a severe slowdown in advertising revenue. Businesses have stopped advertising, sapping the paper of operating funds, the paper said in a front-page article. The article said the paper would return in three weeks. Meanwhile, the County Compass continues to be chock full of advertising surrounding its stridently right-wing coverage of the pandemic. In New Bern, the Sun Journal laid off it’s last sports reporter, Jordan Honeycutt, whose last day was Friday. Honeycutt has been dividing his time between New Bern and Kinston, one person doing theRead More →

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The U.S. unemployment rate is still on an upward trend, with roughly 30.3 million Americans now having lost their jobs since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite the fact that some states have already begun to selectively reopen businesses. WalletHub released updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to the Coronavirus as a follow-up to our report on the Cities with the Biggest Growth in Unemployment Due to COVID-19, along with accompanying videos. To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We usedRead More →

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Adam McCann, Financial Writer  •  Apr 16, 2020  •  As the U.S. economy has slowed to a crawl due to COVID-19, countless businesses have shut their doors in accordance with the resulting social distancing policies. Consequently, many businesses have furloughed or laid off employees, and 22 million Americans have found themselves temporarily or permanently out of a job since the week of March 16. While Americans have started to receive their government stimulus checks, those who are jobless will likely still struggle. However, not all states have experienced the same levels of unemployment due to the pandemic. To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt mostRead More →

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