The New Bern Post will be acquired by Peletah Academic Center for Excellence (PACE). PACE is grateful to Randy Foster for allowing this transfer to happen. We will continue to serve the community by providing pertinent coverage of local events and issues concerning not just New Bern but all of Eastern North Carolina. Student reporters and freelance writers will support New Bern Post. The editor will be Spencer Baldwin, II. We look forward to serving the local community and becoming a trusted source of information for all that seek honesty and truth in journalism.Read More →

A tax credit opportunity zone designated for New Bern due to a purported high level of poverty is mostly made up of a decidedly well-to-do historic neighborhood, the city’s thriving downtown, and two major city parks. The zone also includes the New Bern Grand Marina, home port of some of New Bern’s nicest yachts. The zone also includes Trent Court and a rundown section of town between downtown and the Riverside Historic Neighborhood. “I believe we initially learned of the Opportunity Zones program from Alderman Jameesha Harris,” Colleen Roberts, New Bern public information officer, told the Post in an email.  “She was briefed about theRead More →

The City of New Bern will receive $475,000 to begin Phase I of Martin Marietta Park located on S. Glenburnie Road.  This funding will help kick off creation of the city’s largest ever park. The Governor’s Office released a list of 27 parks and recreation projects across the state that will receive funding through the NC Parks & Recreation Trust Fund, including Martin Marietta Park.    New Bern Parks & Recreation staff applied for the NC PARTF grant in May and learned last week that the City would be awarded funding.  The money will be used to install a children’s playground, boat launch, fishing pier,Read More →

GateHouse Media, the company that owns the New Bern Sun Journal, is closing the pressroom where the Sun Journal is printed and shifting printing to Fayetteville. According to Mike McHugh, a Jacksonville Daily News reporter who resigned on Tuesday in protest of the cuts, closing the pressroom as well as a call center based in Jacksonville will cost 40 people their jobs. There was no response to an email requesting more information and comment from Mike Distelhorst, the GateHouse regional publisher in charge of newspapers in Jacksonville, New Bern, Kinston, and Wilmington. The newspaper industry has been struggling for years due to increased competition onlineRead More →

OK, it’s New Bern. Here’s what the venerable magazine says: New Bern, the adopted hometown of famed romance author, Nicholas Sparks, was settled by a Swiss baron three centuries ago. The town is full of history throughout its walkable downtown full of tree-shaded homes, centuries-old churches, and historic cemeteries. Make time for a visit to Tryon Palace, a historic site surrounded by gardens, and embark on a cruise of the Neuse and Trent rivers. Don’t miss the most iconic book set in every state. Here’s the link.Read More →

Second Eddie Ellis presentation added The New Bern Historical Society is pleased to offer a second presentation of Tales of Espionage in Civil War Craven County featuring historian and author Eddie Ellis, on Aug. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center.  Tickets are $10 and are available at 252-638-8558 or www.NewBernHistorical.com/tickets. In eastern North Carolina during the Civil War, Union occupiers existed alongside Southern civilians. Military leaders struggled to capture territory, railroads, waterways.  One of the most sought-after commodities was information.  Ellis explains, “The Burnside-created enclave of coastal forts strung from New Bern to Fort Macon wasRead More →

Editor: I read a letter regarding New Bern’s utility department (Sun-Journal, June 15) with keen interest. The letter reminded  me of those written by Billy Smith a few years ago.  Smith, an avid preservationist and lover of New Bern, felt the city’s  alder men and women’s ability to do anything right ranked below John Kennedy’s Bay of Pigs committee.  May I offer a response to the points raised in the recent letter.   The reward the city provides utility users who pay on time is negative — that is the shiny truck does NOT show up to shut off your meter — as it does for non-payment.   But the ideaRead More →

The city inched forward in a process that could lead to an 80-unit apartment complex off Carolina Avenue that would house some Trent Court residents to enable the New Bern Housing Authority to begin razing and replacing buildings in Trent Court. The Housing Authority has offered $200,000 for an 8-acre parcel off Carolina Avenue, which is off Trent Road. Aldermen voted 6-1 to have the parcel appraised, a non-committal way of keeping the concept alive without actually approving it. Baby steps … baby steps. The motion was made by Ward 6 Alderman Jeffrey Odham and seconded by Ward 3 Alderman Bobby Aster. What’s interesting aboutRead More →

As school begins, school supply lists are made available to students and parents, but not all students are able to arrive the first day of school with the items required to put them on the road to success; some parents simply can’t afford to purchase the items needed. To assist those students, Partners In Education (PIE), in partnership with Craven County Schools, will have bright yellow school buses and colorful totes set up in front of the three Walmart stores in Craven County on August 25, 2018, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm (New Bern – 3105 Dr. M.L. King, Jr., Blvd. and 2915 NeuseRead More →

Aldermen meet on Tuesday. Here’s the full agenda with background information (downloadable PDF). Among items on the agenda are: Presentation on the North Carolina Global TransPark. Presentation by the Housing Authority of the City of New Bern on a Proposed Offer to Purchase 703 Carolina Avenue. Here’s the basic agenda: CITY OF NEW BERN BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING JULY 24, 2018 – 6:00 P.M. CITY HALL COURTROOM 300 POLLOCK STREET 1. Meeting opened by Mayor Dana E. Outlaw. Prayer Coordinated by Mayor Outlaw. Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Roll Call. Consent Agenda 3. Consider Adopting a Proclamation Recognizing Tabari Wallace. 4. Consider Adopting a Proclamation forRead More →