SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Consumed with much bigger national news this week, most folks likely missed local headlines.
Jam-packed with high-interest races and happenings, it was easy to miss or tune out local ongoings over the past several days.
Film’s resurrection
The pandemic dampened the Cape Fear region’s film industry positioning, previously poised to make a big comeback beginning earlier this year.
But in recent months, the industry has bounced back, taking on major, multi-million projects, all while incorporating new Covid-19 safety procedures.
A revisitation of industrial development rules, three years after code change
Before the hospital sale, before major development projects along the Military Cutoff corridor, local officials and stakeholders spent an inordinate amount of time studying the county’s industrial use code.
The 2017 rule changes and years-long effort that lead to them flew somewhat under the radar.
So we took a deep dive into exploring what led to the changes, and why a host of environmental and civic groups are asking the county to revisit these rules now:
Many Gen Z voters just cast their first ballots. What matters to them?
Many members of Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, voted for the first time this week. We checked in with what impacted the youth vote as demographic voting data is still being analyzed during the vote history period.
One party celebrated at a yacht club. The other mulled over results on Zoom.
The election night experience of both local Democrats and Republicans was drastically different in New Hanover County.
Results were a mixed-bag for all, as local voters continue to steer purple, rather than leaning too heavily either way across the entire ballot.
We live in a purple county, in a reddish-purple state. What does that mean?
Current election results revealed a slight shift in county-level politics, with voters choosing a Democrat for president for the first time in at least 20 years, should current results hold.
But the move isn’t exactly indicative of a blue wave; local politics are still very much purple in New Hanover County, a region surrounded by steadily red-voting communities.
In a split vote, the new WAVE board voted to rehaul its transportation system.
The move split city and county officials; county representatives voted in favor of going with a consultant’s recommendations to redesign routes while city appointees had hoped to be more cautious before impacting current riders.
What’s next for local and uncounted absentee, provisional ballots?
You’ve no doubt been hearing a lot about uncounted absentee ballots.
Here’s a breakdown of exactly where things stand in New Hanover County, and which races may be impacted.
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