Local

The Primary Election is less than eight weeks away, and new rules will be in place at the polls this May. 

Chris Andrade calls himself "a different kind of Republican".

Industrial businesses looking to call New Hanover County home may soon be required to hold public meetings as part of the special use permit -- or SUP – process. And the SUP is what they need to launch or expand operations. This is one among several changes that the county planning board unanimously recommended at last night’s public hearing on the most recent SUP draft—an update of a version that was tabled in January. And community stakeholders on both sides of the issue—business leaders and environmental advocates—say this new draft presents a compromise they can live with.

A group of Hampstead citizens has organized to oppose a proposed interchange along Highway 17 that would bisect their town. Construction of this thirty-million-dollar ramp is slated to begin in 2023; however, the local group is already fighting the six-lane interchange, saying the project will disrupt local business and the environment.

Like most people, today’s elderly citizens are using Facebook, Craigslist, online dating sites and email—which leaves them more susceptible than ever before to scams and fraud. Nowadays, 1 in 20 older persons nationwide indicate some form of recent financial mistreatment.

As New Hanover County launches its comprehensive plan to accommodate the region’s projected growth, leaders are looking into the future of open spaces and parks. Tuesday night, the Cape Fear Economic Development Council, or CFEDC, assembled a panel of green space proponents from the county--as well as from the City of Wilmington--to discuss ideas for new and improved public spaces.

In gearing up to apply for a ninety-million-dollar grant to revitalize a huge swath of the city, the Wilmington Housing Authority made a loud plea for citizen involvement. And it’s now being answered. Nearly one hundred people—from public housing residents to local business leaders—are volunteering to serve on sub-committees dedicated to making Wilmington’s application as competitive as it can be.

David Rouzer, a native of Johnston County and former State Senator, is battling Woody White, also a former State Senator and current county commission chair, for the Republican nomination in North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District. 

Talk of regional branding, what to do about gang violence, how to re-write New Hanover County’s special use permit… it’s all part of the current public dialogue.