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Note: This article has been revised since first posting after taking a closer look at the data. The New Bern (North Carolina) Post has been live since mid-October and now, thanks to Quantcast, it is accumulating some interesting intel about its readers that I am sharing: New Bern dominates: No surprise there — 31.9 percent come from New Bern. Charlotte comes in second at 8.54 percent. Rounding out the top five are Havelock, Raleigh, and Greenville. They’re Democrats and independents: 40 percent are Democrats and 40 percent are independents. The balance, 20 percent, are Republicans. They are mostly women: 67 percent of Post readers areRead More →

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The board of aldermen without a ward system might as well look like this photo, taken just before new board members took their seats on Dec. 12. Post photo   I keep hearing that New Bern’s ward system is outdated and unnecessary, and that all members of the Board of Aldermen should be elected at-large, the same way the mayor is elected. Getting rid of the ward system would accomplish two things: It would put serving on the board out of reach for all but anyone who is wealthy enough to buy their way into office. It would leave New Bern’s less affluent neighborhoods withoutRead More →

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Odds and ends I’ve collected over the past week. Could it be? In October, aldermen approved $15,876 to allow for New Bern Police special operations to attack the opioid epidemic. I sent an inquiry to the city for additional information about this. Here is the response: Chief (Toussaint) Summers is at a conference & I (city public relations director Colleen Roberts) wanted to make sure to touch base with him about the New Bern Police Department budget and your inquiry.  He has responded that the money will be used for special investigative purposes. That is all the detail that can be provided. Well that wasn’t very informative,Read More →

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In: New Bern Post, News Media, Opinion
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You should know that the original version of this article has been taken down following a cease and desist demand from GateHouse Media. I was the executive editor at the Sun Journal until October 2017, when I resigned for personal and professional reasons. Once I discovered that at least one Sun Journal telemarketer was misrepresenting the circumstances of my departure from the company, I posted my resignation letter along with a memo  I wrote just prior to my resignation. A short time later, GateHouse Media sent me a cease and desist demand, which I present here in its entirety: December 14, 2017 Mr. Randy FosterRead More →

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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 →

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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 →