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In: Craven County, Infrastructure, New Bern, State news, Transportation
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N.C. Department of Transportation contract crews plan to close two U.S. 70 ramps in New Bern midweek as part of the highway improvements project in Craven County. The U.S. 70 East ramps at the Country Club Road interchange – signed from the highway as N.C. 55 West/Pembroke Road/Trent Woods – will be closed between 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and 7 p.m. Thursday. Crews will pave both ramps to interstate standards. Those needing access to U.S. 70 East from Country Club Road will be detoured onto U.S. 70 West and travel about 1.5 miles to the Business 17 exit, turn left at the stop light, go underRead More →

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City of New Bern solid waste collection will be on a regular schedule. There is no change for the July Fourth holiday. Craven County Recycling will be on a regular schedule, as well. There is no change for the July Fourth holiday. Recycling will continue with the current program until citizens are notified otherwise. There are details still to be worked out with contractor. Craven County Convenience Sites will operate on a regular schedule for the July Fourth holiday. Operating hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 7 a.m.-6:30 P.m. and Sunday 1-6:30 p.m. Citizens need to be unloaded and off premises by 6:20 p.m. to allow the attendants toRead More →

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New Bern received a mediocre score for family friendliness in North Carolina from WalletHub, a website that produces data-driven articles ranking various subjects in various categories. In ranking North Carolina cities for “2019’s Best Places to Raise a Family in North Carolina,” New Bern ranked 56th out of 87 cities. The top-ranked city was Cary, while coming in at 87th was Laurinburg. In Eastern North Carolina, Havelock — you read that right — was the highest rated city in the survey, coming in at 35th. Other Eastern NC cities were Wilmington (44th), Greenville (53rd), Jacksonville (59th), Wilson (70th), Elizabeth City (75th), Tarboro (77th), Goldsboro (81st), andRead More →

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In: Board of Aldermen, Boating, Business, Craven County Board of Commissioners, Downtown New Bern, Economy, Economy and Employment, FEMA, Hurricane, Infrastructure, New Bern, New Bern business and commerce
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Six months after it made landfall, Hurricane Florence’s impacts on New Bern’s economy are still being felt throughout the city, but a new development may delay full recovery for some time. Hurricane-damaged DoubleTree Riverfront hotel is closed indefinitely over insurance coverage issues related to the hurricane. Downtown New Bern will continue to face its worst economic crisis since 2008-10, when access to downtown was crippled by a bridge replacement and road construction projects. “Business is definitely down,” said Lynne Harakal, director of Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corporation, said about Hurricane Florence recovery. “The best information I can provide is revenues are down about 15-20 percentRead More →

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In: Achievements, Community, Community issues, Craven County, Economy, Economy and Employment, Environment, Hurricane, Infrastructure, New Bern
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The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of New Bern (UUFNB) received a $50,000 grant from the national Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Disaster Relief Fund to aid in disaster recovery in New Bern, primarily in the Duffyfield area.   UUFNB has partnered with the Craven County Disaster Recovery Alliance (CCDRA) and will coordinate efforts with the Duffyfield Phoenix Project, (DPP). Individual Unitarian Universalists locally, and from various parts of the country, sent unsolicited donations for UUFNB disaster relief efforts shortly after Hurricane Florence created such devastation in the area.   UUFNB formed a committee to distribute the funds to UUFNB congregants impacted by the storm and in mostRead More →

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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Downtown New Bern, Economy, Economy and Employment, Elections, FEMA, Infrastructure, Mayor, New Bern, New Bern business and commerce, Planning and Zoning
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The Board of Aldermen meets Tuesday for two separate sessions, a regular meeting starting at 6 p.m. and a work session covering utility rates starting at 3 p.m. During Tuesday’s regular meeting, here are some of the more interesting agenda items: 10. Presentation on NC Global TransPark Authority. Allen Thomas, Director of the North Carolina Global TransPark (“GTP”), was scheduled to make a presentation before the Board last July, but cancelled due to illness. He has rescheduled that presentation for this meeting. 11. Presentation by Craven County Board of Elections. Melani Wray, Director of the Craven County Board of Elections, will make a presentation thatRead More →

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In: Duke Energy, Infrastructure, New Bern, Utilities
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Update: According to Alderman Sabrina Bengel, “Getting ready to come hot with the repaired line but we may still have to work through some issues as a result of this outage. “Main reason is it is cold … because of that people’s water heaters and heat strips tend to kick on once power is restored so we have to slowly energize feeders. “Thank you for your patience. “Also please note that there was a rumor on facebook that the power outage was due to a substation exploding and would be days to repair… this is NOT TRUE. “Thankful for our City workers out there.” Update:Read More →

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In: Infrastructure, New Bern, Utilities
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A power outage in New Bern affected more than 1,700 customers. The city’s outage map acknowledged the problem but none of the city’s online or social media outlets explained the cause or said when power would be restored. Affected areas are shown in red on the map. Power was restored to all but five customers by 5:30 a.m.Read More →

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In: Board of Aldermen, Community issues, Hurricane, Infrastructure, New Bern, Utilities
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The City of New Bern will resume certain utility fees that were suspended during hurricane Florence. Due to the storm’s widespread impact across our area, the Board of Aldermen unanimously agreed in September to temporarily suspend late fees, delinquencies and shutoffs for nonpayment.  The Board also agreed to waive new deposits for current customers until mid-November.  These actions effectively extended the due date of unpaid bills until such time that the City could recover from the hurricane. All past due amounts must be brought current by close of business on Friday, Dec. 7.  If customers are unable to get caught up or current, they areRead More →

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In: FEMA, Housing, Hurricane, Infrastructure, New Bern
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Approved counties: Currently nine North Carolina counties are approved for Direct Housing: Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Duplin, Jones, Onslow, Pender and Robeson. FEMA understands that rental resources and housing are limited in some areas. FEMA is working closely with the State of North Carolina to implement a targeted strategy to provide other forms of temporary housing to best meet the needs of displaced survivors. FEMA has been participating in the state-led housing task force since Hurricane Florence first made landfall in North Carolina. The state and FEMA are implementing a multi-pronged approach to temporarily house displaced survivors. Solutions are tailored to the individual needs andRead More →