Sunday Reader, which debuts today, is a curated collection of what people were talking about in New Bern this past week. It appears first thing Sunday mornings. By Randy Foster of New Bern Post The VOLT Center is an acronym in search of a meaning. Or it’s a stylized word that harkens to a previous use of the facility as the city’s electrical generation plant. The old power plant is bordered by Country Club Road, First Street, Spencer Avenue, Park Avenue, and Rhem Street. It was an eyesore being used as storage and a fueling station.  After Dana Outlaw was elected mayor in 2013, theRead More →

By:
On:
In: Craven Community College, VOLT Center
With: 5 Comments

By Mike Duffy I am very happy to have found a new home in New Bern. As I have been treated so well here, I have come to care about all the rooms in my home. I learned since I moved here, that the Black Community suffered a dual Holocaust in the 1920s due to the rise of racial hatred led by the Klan and the Great Fire of 1922, that destroyed so much of the Black Community. The City and Community Leaders have been working toward redevelopment, but in order to be successful it must include redevelopment of the Business Community in that partRead More →

By:
On:
In: Commentary, Letter
With: 0 Comments

By Jameesha Harris I serve as the Ward 2 Alderwoman for the City of New Bern’s Board of Aldermen. I am writing out of concern for my experience at the April 13, 2021 City of New Bern Board of Alderman meeting regarding the 4-3 decision to change the scope of work on the City Market/VOLT Center. When the original planning meetings were conducted regarding the grants and funding needed to build and operate the City Market/VOLT Center on First Street, there were many community representatives at the table at the CCDRA in the O. Marks building. Some vital and trusted community reps included Corey PurdieRead More →

By:
On:
In: Commentary, Letter
With: 5 Comments

Hey you, yes … You. You know who you are. You’re the one who sent letters to the editor back in the day when newspapers cared about letters to the editor. I remember those days. I was a newspaper editor back in those days. There was a direct correlation back then: Vibrant opinion section, vibrant newspaper. A month ago New Bern Post and New Bern Now merged operations. It makes a lot of sense that we share resources. But it left us with a question: How do we share resources. Long story short, New Bern Now will focus on covering news and information about theRead More →

By:
On:
In: New Bern Post, Opinion
With: 0 Comments

Some of our elected officials on the County Commission are currently pushing a proposal to make our county School Board partisan. Those promoting this plan are Republicans. Turning ALL elections partisan is currently a stated goal of the NC GOP. Those commissioners promoting this proposal claim their intention is to help voters know “who they are voting for.”  Since many Republicans in Craven County prefer to do straight-ticket voting, I’m guessing this stated intention is shorthand for supporting easy, straight-ticket voting for loyal Republican voters. My mom used to say “penny wise, pound foolish” when I had a bright idea that was probably going to workRead More →

By:
On:
In: Commentary, Letter, New Bern
With: 2 Comments

Henry Lee Foster Jr. was many things, a father, a cousin, and an uncle to some. He was born on the first day of 1926, near Abilene, Texas to Lee Foster and Lela Mae Richardson where he would grow up during the the Great Depression in severe poverty. “H.L.” as he is known by his Texan relatives and his nieces was a man of great conviction. He did not let his circumstances define him. He worked hard and smart and scored the highest ever score for the United States radioman test. He served this country during World War II in the Navy on the PacificRead More →

By:
On:
In: Obituary
With: 7 Comments

New Bern Now and New Bern Post are merging operations, using the name New Bern Now. New Bern Now publisher Wendy Card and New Bern Post publisher Randy Foster reached the agreement on Friday, March 19, 2021. “We’re always looking for ways to improve our services and connect people with our community,” Card said. “This was the perfect time to join forces for the greater good.” “New Bern Post and New Bern Now have been working collaboratively since New Bern Post started in 2017,” Foster said. “We sometimes have the same or similar content, and sometimes original, unique content. It was just a natural andRead More →

By:
On:
In: New Bern, New Bern Now, New Bern Post, News Media
With: 3 Comments

Middle and high school students will return to school four days a week called Plan A starting on Thursday, April 15, 2021. The four days a week for in-person learning will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Wednesdays will remain a remote learning day (asynchronous) for students. This transition was enabled by the passage of Session Law 2021-4 by the North Carolina General Assembly, which was signed into law by N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper on March 11, 2021. Under the legislation, all K-5 schools in North Carolina must open under Plan A. Local boards of education may decide for grades 6-12 to operate in either Plan A or Plan B forRead More →

By:
On:
In: Craven County Schools
With: 0 Comments

People with high-risk medical conditions or who live in certain congregate settings now eligible for vaccination North Carolina continues to focus on distributing vaccines quickly and equitably. To date, the state has administered over 3.4 million doses. 25.7 percent of those 18 and up is at least partially vaccinated, and 16.5 percent of those 18 and up have been fully vaccinated. N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. gave an update Wednesday on the state’s current data, trends and vaccination progress. Wednesday also marks the opening of vaccine eligibility for people who have a medical conditionRead More →

By:
On:
In: Health, Non-local news, State news
With: 1 Comment

The COVID-19 pandemic’s negative impact on the nation’s mental health is not likely to abate even after the pandemic is over. Now is the time not only to help those currently in crisis, but also to plan forbetter access to mental health services in the future. The pandemic has exacerbated already high rates of mental illness and substance use. In North Carolina, thisis playing out in emergency departments where overall visits are down, but, of those visits, there has been asignificant increase in patients needing psychiatric care. “Just as the pandemic has highlighted racial inequities in our health system, so, too, has it shed lightRead More →

By:
On:
In: Health
With: 0 Comments