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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Mayor, New Bern Post, Opinion
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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 Post photo   I keep hearing that New Bern’s ward system is outdated and unnecessary, and that all members of the Board of Aldermen should be elected at-large, the same way the mayor is elected.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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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Mayor, New Bern Fire Department, News Media, Opinion
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Alderman Sabrina Bengel takes the oath of office after being selected mayor pro tem. Alderman and former mayor pro tem Jeff Odham is in the background fuming. The two sit on opposite sides of the dais and, judging from their first meeting Tuesday, are on opposite sides of other things, too. It didn’t take long for four years of bad blood between Sabrina Bengel and Dana Outlaw/Jeff Odham to spill over into Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting. The question is, who started it? • Was it Ward 1 Alderman Bengel who, during her first meeting as alderman (this time around) and using a portion ofRead More →

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In: New Bern Post, Opinion
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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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In: Aldermen, Board of Aldermen, Craven County Board of Commissioners, Mayor, New Bern, Opinion
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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 →