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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, New Bern
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Who’s on the committee? In this corner, City Hall Dallas Blackiston, chairman, Ward 1 alderman. His ward includes Downtown New Bern. Leaving office in December E.T. Mitchell, Ward 3 alderman. Her ward neighbors Downtown New Bern. Leaving office in December Jeffrey Odham, Ward 6 alderman. His ward comes nowhere near Downtown New Bern.  Mark Stephens, city manager. His staff reports form the basis of committee discussions and decisions. Brenda Blanco, city clerk. Posts agendas, keeps minutes, distributes background material … and peculiarly, is a voting member of the committee. Downtown folks, sort of John Bircher, Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corporation president (day job, lawyer) KevinRead More →

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In: New Bern
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Various things I found interesting After sorting through a 300-page collection of background information and committee minutes (plus some odds and ends from last week’s committee meeting), I made the following notes: Committee member Leanna Tyson says she does not often visit downtown and was unaware city parking lots exist. E.T. Mitchell said she only goes downtown on weekends (although she does attend aldermen meetings, which are Tuesday evenings). Five voting committee members represent city hall including the city clerk. I can’t recall a city clerk ever having a vote. At any rate, it would be unsurprising if these five voted as a single bloc.Read More →

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In: Board of Aldermen, Craven County Board of Commissioners, New Bern
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Going into extra innings, the city Parking Advisory Committee is meeting Tuesday to iron out recommendations it will make at an upcoming Board of Aldermen meeting. The committee meets Tuesday afternoon at the Police Substation at New Bern Mall, because what better way to encourage public participation than holding a meeting in a police station? The committee was supposed to present its recommendations to the Board of Aldermen on Oct. 24 but has gone two meetings past that date, including the one scheduled for Nov. 7. It has until Dec. 12 to present its recommendations, after which it dissolves. Two aldermen on the committee vacateRead More →

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In: New Bern
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The New Bern Post staked out its territory early: I cover local government and policy. That leaves huge gaps all over the place, but there’s no point reinventing the wheel when there are great websites like New Bern Now providing comprehensive news and information about other useful, interesting and important things in our community. With permission from Wendy Card, founder of New Bern Now, I have added an RSS feed to newbernpost.com highlighting the most recent examples of New Bern Now’s great community coverage. The feed is located in the top right side of newbernpost.com web pages, We met over coffee at Bee Bops and agreedRead More →

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In: New Bern
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The city hired a South Carolina man as its new parks and recreation director, a position that pays $106,500 a year. Foster Hughes, former parks, recreation and tourism director for Conway, S.C., starts his new job in New Bern on Nov. 6. Hughes has 18 years of experience working in parks and recreation and extensive expertise in budget oversight, park and facility improvements, wellness and athletic programming, seasonal camps and programs, and special event planning, according to the City of New Bern website. City Manager Mark Stephens said the city received about 400 resumes for this position.  “Mr. Hughes distinguished himself among a large poolRead More →

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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Craven County Board of Commissioners, Mayor, New Bern, New Bern business and commerce
With: 7 Comments

City Manager Mark Stephens said his research leads him to believe downtown New Bern has had a parking problem for the last 100 years. A committee set up by the city seeks to solve downtown parking problems after about seven or eight meetings. Chaired by lame duck Alderman Dallas Blackiston as his swan song gig as alderman, the committee plans to recommend to the Board of Aldermen during an upcoming meeting that two-hour parking be enforced on downtown streets … … Except for two blocks of Broad Street, between the East Front Street traffic circle and Middle Street. That stretch of city streets would beRead More →

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In: New Bern
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A newcomer to this, I am playing catchup with this committee and plan to cover it on Tuesday. Here’s the agenda:   Master Parking Plan Advisory Committee Agenda Regular meetings are held each Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Development Services Conference Room at 303 First Street. CITY OF NEW BERN MASTER PARKING PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE OCTOBER 31, 2017 – 3:30 P.M. DEVELOPMENT SERVICES’ CONFERENCE ROOM 303 FIRST STREET   Approve Minutes. Report from City Manager on Potential Locations for Charging Stations. Report from Signage Subcommittee. Discussion with Stakeholders on Potential Recommendations for Broad Street. Adjourn.Read More →

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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Craven County Board of Commissioners, Mayor, New Bern, Opinion
With: 1 Comment

Alderman Bernard White was in charge of coordinating the opening prayer at the board meeting on Tuesday night. With the clock winding down until he leaves office after serving two terms, he let his wife of 47 years deliver the prayer. Later in the meeting, one-term Alderman Dallas Blackiston asked that the remaining thousand dollars in his discretionary fund go to Parks & Rec, specifically Thalmann Field, the ball field named after the New Bern policeman who was killed in the line of duty in 2014. Quarter-term Alderman E.T. Mitchell asked that the remainder of her funds (she did not specify how much that is) beRead More →

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In: New Bern
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Cheri Moyers lives downtown. For her, it can be a scary, dangerous place. Moyers, a professional singer, real estate agent and former publisher of the New Bern franchise of The Coffee News, is also a force to be reckoned with. Her failing eyesight has left her legally blind, and getting around downtown, especially crossing downtown’s busy streets, is a dangerous thing. She, along with other sight-impaired people (and perhaps every other pedestrian in downtown New Bern) have noticed a lack of pedestrian signals. Moyers is leading a project to encourage the city to install pedestrian signals at about 10 downtown intersections, at a cost ofRead More →

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In: New Bern, New Bern business and commerce, News Media
With: 1 Comment

The Sun Journal has a new advertising director, but you probably wouldn’t know that from reading the Sun Journal’s own article, here. (Note: The Sun Journal updated the linked article to make it more locally relevant.) The Sun Journal has a new executive editor, but you probably wouldn’t know from the Sun Journal’s own article, here, that his position is interim or why he is replacing me at the job. Newspapers pride themselves in covering local news, but when it comes to covering themselves, it’s hit and miss. Part of it is that journalists don’t like to write about themselves, even if the news isRead More →