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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT
WHQR is your source for the 2015 Municipal Elections in the Cape Fear Region. We are bringing you the CoastLine Candidate Forums live from the MC Erny Gallery each Wednesday at noon from September 16th to October 28th as well as candidate profiles and general election coverage.Here's how you can participate:1. Be part of the live studio audience. Arrive at WHQR's MC Erny Gallery between 11:30 AM and 11:55 AM on the Wednesday of your municipality's race so you can settle before our hard start time of noon.As part of the audience, you'll have the opportunity to ask a question of the candidates.2. Send your question at any time to coastline@whqr.org. Just make sure it fits these basic guidelines: It's applicable to all the candidates in that race.It's in the form of a question.It fits within a 30-second time frame.We reserve the right to edit questions for broadcast standards and brevity.3. Tweet us during the live broadcast (12-1PM on Wednesdays) at coastlinehqr or email us during the broadcast at coastline@whqr.org.4. Stream the live radio signal from your computer. Just click the "Listen Live" button in the upper right-hand corner of the home page. It’s your town. Make your voice heard. THE 2015 COASTLINE CANDIDATE FORUM SCHEDULE:September 16, 12:00pm-1:00pm — Kure Beach Mayor & Town CouncilSeptember 23, 12:00pm-1:00pm — Oak Island MayorSeptember 30, 12:00pm-2:00pm — Oak Island Town CouncilOctober 7, 12:00pm-2:00pm — Wilmington City CouncilOctober 14, 12:00pm-2:00pm — Carolina Beach Town CouncilOctober 21, 12:00pm-1:00pm — Carolina Beach MayorOctober 28, 12:00pm-1:00pm — Leland Mayor & Town CouncilVoter Information:For more information about the 2015 election, voter registration, and polling places in your area visit the Board of Elections website for New Hanover County & Brunswick County.

Kure Beach Candidates Call for New Hanover County to Support Beach Nourishment

Pier at Kure Beach
Visit Kure Beach NC (http://www.visitkurebeachnc.com/)
Pier at Kure Beach

Without the assurance of federal money, funding beach nourishment and shoreline stabilization is one of the most critical issues facing beach towns.  During the first CoastLine Candidate Forum of 2015, all Kure Beach Mayoral and Town Council candidates agreed on one thing: New Hanover County needs to contribute more toward beach nourishment. 

Mayor Dean Lambeth says that he doesn’t think federal funding for beach nourishment will disappear any time soon, but he does want the county to contribute more:

"The county, of course, contributes nothing. They actually take part of the salaries for three employees of the county out of the beach nourishment funds. What we’re trying to do, we’ve put a coalition of the beach clerk from Kure Beach and the two town managers of Wrightsville Beach to actually start working with the county and try to get a funding stream to start some beach renourishment."

Lambeth’s challenger, current Commissioner Emilie Swearingen, agrees that the county needs to step up and dedicate part of their budget toward beach nourishment.

Commissioner David Heglar says it’s only fair for county support to be proportional to the economic benefits that the beaches provide:  

"If you look at the driver for the economy in New Hanover County, a large portion of that is the beaches. If you look at studies from UNCW, that drives our economy. I think all of the beach towns would say, if it’s that big of a driver, we need the help of the county."

First-time Town Council candidate Joseph Whitley agrees. He says it’s important to work with the other beach towns and the county to ensure funding for beach nourishment.