Brian Freskos of Wrightsville’s Lumina News has been following Ilario Pantano as he seeks the GOP nomination in the 7th Congressional District. The result is an interesting piece with a sharp lede:
Ilario Pantano must’ve excelled in boot camp: his back is straight as a board. He talks fast, like a Gatling gun with infinite ammo [...]
With several former North Carolina sheriffs still working off their debt to society in the correction system, and controversial former sheriff Gerald Hege trying to get his job back in Davidson County after serving a prison stint, it’s no longer much of a surprise to hear allegations of corruption or criminality against a county top [...]
The Greater Wilmington Business Journal has reached the decade milestone. In a column, current publisher Rob Kaiser explains what led him to purchase the now-biweekly publication. In another, the founder and former publisher of the Business Journal, Joy Allen, describes the start-up phase and looks back on its editorial accomplishments.
I particularly like the way Kaiser [...]
The state just awarded an $82 million contract to build the next piece of the Wilmington Bypass through Brunswick County. The stretch is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
Actor Corey Haim, who just died of an apparent drug overdose, spent some time in Wilmington back in 1989 making the film Dream a Little Dream. WECT reported last night on some local reaction to the tragic news of his death:
Perhaps the most chilling memory shared with us came from Jennifer Hufham. 21 years [...]
Localities Show Different Spending Trends While city government growth in Wilmington tracked inflation and population growth pretty closely from 2002 to 2007, Jacksonville's revenues climbed 24 percent faster than inflation and population. A new John Locke Foundation Policy Report offers details.
Wilmington Drops In Tax-Burden Ranking Local taxes and fees in Wilmington topped $2,121 per person in the 2007 budget year, according to a new report from the Center for Local Innovation. Despite an increased tax burden, Wilmington's ranking among the state's largest cities dropped from No. 2 to No. 5.
Annexation Reform Needed Wilmington is only one of many N.C. cities that are using the state’s overly broad annexation law to harm local residents.
Time to Fix the Beach Plan North Carolina could face a "property insurance disaster" unless it takes steps soon to shore up its coastal Beach Plan, according to a new John Locke Foundation Policy Report.
Parent-Unfriendly Schools New Hanover County public schools and other North Carolina school districts are not very "parent-friendly.” No area school district earns a higher grade than the C assigned to Whiteville City Schools and Columbus, Onslow, and Pender county school districts. Brunswick matches New Hanover's D+ grade.
Wrightsville Beach groin ban ordinance takes aim at owners WILMINGTON — Deeming terminal groins and other hardened structures detrimental and unsightly in inland waterways, the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Thursday that town staff draft an ordinance restricting their erection. The measure would be aimed at individual landowners building their own structures in inland waterways. More restrictions would mean more control at the town level, Mayor David Cignotti said, giving residents a local body to come to with requests and concerns rather than appealing to the state.
Sediment could be hurting oyster population WILMINGTON — Unfortunately, Wilmington has an abundant reservoir of recent history as to how sewer spills can impact the health of a tidal creek. But as bad as a sudden shock of raw sewage could be to an oyster’s well-being, it might not be what’s hurting the bivalve mollusks the most in New Hanover County’s tidal creeks. Sediment, especially the fine particles that are hard to trap with current sediment-control measures, that washes into the waterways from new development could be stunting oyster growth and limiting their range.
Fewer ABC boards proposed RALEIGH — The state’s top liquor regulator on Wednesday proposed shrinking the number of local ABC boards in the state through mergers and putting them under the thumb of county governments. Local elected officials would have to answer for how well their liquor stores operate. Jon Williams, chairman of the state ABC Commission, also recommended allowing private retailers to sell liquor in areas where there is not enough business to support a profitable ABC store.
Wilmington’s liquor stores among priciest built in state WILMINGTON — New Hanover County’s four newest liquor stores are some of the most expensive in the state, costing on average 50 percent more than the average store cost statewide, according to a StarNews analysis. Only Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control built pricier stores than New Hanover County on a consistent basis, and Mecklenburg officials are under investigation by federal authorities for no-bid contracts surrounding the purchase and development of real estate for the stores.
Juggling Gypsy fined $400 for violating smoking ban WILMINGTON — Wilmington’s Juggling Gypsy hookah bar is the first establishment in the area fined for violating the state’s new indoor smoking ban. The Castle Street bar received two violations from the New Hanover County Health Department carrying a total of $400 in administrative penalties, under the ban that went into effect Jan. 2. Juggling Gypsy Manager Denny Best said the bar would appeal the fine and ask for a hearing with the health department.
New Hanover visitors spent $422 million in 2008 WILMINGTON — Tourism revenue has held up better in New Hanover County than retail sales in general, but they have both declined in the hobbled economy, says UNCW’s William “Woody” Hall. Despite the decline, though, tourism continues to have a major impact on the local economy, although that varies among the metro area’s three counties, he said. In New Hanover, tourists spent $422 million in 2008.
North Carolina's Beach Plan: Who pays for Coastal Property Insurance? North Carolina’s little-known Beach Plan imposes an enormous fiscal liability on the state. Intended largely to provide windstorm insurance for coastal residents unable to find coverage elsewhere, the Plan has grown to become one of the nation’s largest entities of its type.
By its own accounting, the plan does not have the capacity to survive a once-in-six-years storm without imposing significant taxes (called assessments) on North Carolina residents and businesses. One study from an independent actuarial firm shows that North Carolina could face liabilities of up to $6.2 billion from the plan — a figure that’s almost certainly low. In recent years, the Beach Plan has grown at a rate of roughly $1 billion a month, growth that shows no sign of stopping.
The Beach Plan’s growth stems from deliberate public policy decisions rather than North Carolina’s physical environment. By nearly all accounts, neighboring Virginia faces a greater economic risk from hurricanes than does North Carolina, but that state’s equivalent plan imposes essentially no burden on the state or its taxpayers.
The risk of special taxes — assessments — from the plan could result in higher insurance costs for nearly all North Carolina residents, lead to a massive withdrawal of insurance companies from the North Carolina market, and cause fiscal turmoil throughout the state. One major company, Farmers, already has withdrawn from the North Carolina market because of the Beach Plan’s liabilities, and others may follow.
The Beach Plan needs change, and, fortunately for the state, Insurance Commissioner-elect Wayne Goodwin seems committed to reform. A credible plan for change would consist of effort —mostly undertaken by the commissioner and Beach Plan Board — to stop the Beach Plan’s growth and stabilize it. Following these stabilization efforts, the legislature, commissioner, and board would do best to consider comprehensive reforms that would return the Beach Plan to its intended place as a true market of last resort for people who cannot find insurance anywhere else.
Author: Eli Lehrer
Does Onslow need a sales tax increase? The Onslow County commissioners are asking voters to approve a sales-tax increase on November 4. This report identifies almost $36.7 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs — more than nine times the amount that the proposed tax increase would produce.
Authors: Dr. Michael Sanera, Terry Stoops, and Joseph Coletti
