WILMINGTON — The unemployment rate for New Hanover County held at 9.3 percent in July, according to figures released Friday by the N.C. Department of Commerce.

The county posted the same rate in June, but it’s a 1.1-percentage-point improvement over July 2011.

In the labor force of 106,328, there were 9,927 persons unemployed in New Hanover County, the report showed.

The Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which covers New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, posted a 10.1-percent unemployment rate in July—little difference from the 10 percent rate recorded for June.

Brunswick County saw little change, worsening to 11 percent from the prior month’s 10.8 percent rate. The latest number is unchanged from the county’s July 2011 figure.

Pender County also saw little change, increasing 0.1 percentage points to 11.3 percent for July. The new rate is, however, a 1.5-percentage-point improvement from its July 2011 posting.

DOC says unemployment rates dropped in 47 of North Carolina’s 100 counties in July. Rates increased in 26 counties and were unchanged in 27. Deputy Commerce Secretary Dale Carroll called that good news overall.

“Rates either dropped or remained the same in most of North Carolina in July,” Carroll said in a news release. “Compared to the same time last year, nearly all of the state’s counties have a lower unemployment rate.”

At 4.7 percent, Currituck County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in July. Scotland County had the highest at 17.6-percent, according to DOC.

The state will release unemployment rates for August on September 21.

BOLIVIA—Rex Gore, former district attorney for Brunswick, Columbus and Bladen counties, maintains he did not benefit financially from an arrangement with one of his former assistant district attorneys as alleged in a recent indictment.

Gore was indicted Monday, August 20, by a Brunswick County grand jury. The charge, conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense, stemmed from acts alleged to have occurred between May 2005 and December 2010.

The indictment charges Gore and former Assistant District Attorney Elaine Kelley with conspiring to submit $14,000 worth of false expense reports “seeking monetary reimbursements for travel expenses that she did not incur and therefore was not entitled to receive reimbursements.”

Kelley has been indicted on two charges—obtaining property by false pretenses and felonious conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses.

“I have no reason to doubt that each week she claimed that mileage; she consistently traveled at least that many miles.”

Gore, 64, of Shallotte, turned himself in to the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance.

Gore hired Kelley in 2005 to supervise prosecutions in Bladen County. Since she was to commute more than 500 miles each week, Gore included a travel component in her compensation—a choice he believed he could make as elected district attorney.

“I had several options available. In the end, I chose a travel mileage plan that limited her to 125 miles for commuting. I have no reason to doubt that each week she claimed that mileage; she consistently traveled at least that many miles,” Gore said in a written statement.

Gore said Kelley continued with this compensation package until 2010, when District Attorney Jon David replaced Gore.

“Even though we have entered this current phase, I still take comfort in three things:  I received no monetary benefit from my choice; Ms. Kelly received no more money than she would have had I chosen a different compensation package method; and Bladen County had one of the most aggressive, effective prosecutors in the state when she was there,” Gore said.

The investigation into Gore and Kelley was launched in January 2010 at the request of a superior court judge, though N.C. Department of Justice spokeswoman Noelle Talley declined to name the judge.

In December 2011, the findings were forwarded to special prosecutors in N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office.

Attorneys James Payne and Mike Ramos of Brunswick County will represent Gore.

“We would like to say that we are disappointed that a question arising from an administrative decision made in 2005 has been turned into a criminal case over seven years later. We look forward to letting a jury hear the facts and clear him of all charges,” Payne and Ramos said in a joint statement.

James Coman has been named special prosecutor by Cooper’s office.

Coman also served as special prosecutor in the matter of former state Sen. R.C. Soles Jr., when he pleaded guilty to shooting Kyle Blackburn at Soles’ Tabor City home in 2009.

WILMINGTON — The City of Wilmington has extended its contract for mounted red-light cameras—those devices that flash-photograph vehicles as they blow through stoplights—at an estimated cost of $480,000.

The Wilmington City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a one-year extension to the deal with American Traffic Solutions of Scottsdale, Ariz., for the SafeLight program that Mayor Bill Saffo praised as a lifesaver.

The cameras, mounted in 2000, have reduced red-light-running crashes by nearly 60 percent at the tight intersection of Market and 23rd streets and by more than 63 percent at the heavily commercial Market Street and New Centre Drive intersection, according to city officials.

SafeLight cameras at 13 intersections around the city automatically photograph the license plates of vehicles that roll through red lights. The offending vehicle’s speed and time of violation are also recorded, and the owner receives by mail a $50 citation.

Not only is the technology able to reduce red-light violations, it can save money, says the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). “Economic analysis showed that red-light cameras saved society $39,000 to $50,000 annually at each intersection where they are installed,” according to FHA. Those figures account for hospital bills, vehicle damage, insurance and “value of lost quality of life” among other costs.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a nonprofit research organization, said a study conducted at Fairfax, Va., before the use of red-light cameras in that city, found that on average a motorist would run a red light every 20 minutes at each of the five intersections observed.

According to IIHS, 556 communities nationwide use red-light cameras. In North Carolina, only Wilmington, Raleigh and Knightdale currently employ them. Cary used them until August 18; its town council voted earlier in the month to halt the program, partly because too much staff time went into processing citations, handling affidavits of non-responsibility, and fielding complaints from residents.

Though red-light-running is far less frequent at busy Wilmington intersections thanks to the cameras’ presence, the violations do continue. The city does, however, make the most of the occasion. Mayor Saffo said that, per a legislative requirement, 90 percent of the money collected from the local citations goes to New Hanover County Schools. Last year alone, the school district received close to $790,000, according to the city.

“This is a win-win situation,” Saffo said. “We saved lives at those intersections, we reduced accidents at those intersections, and we also give the money to our school system. We’re doing our part as a community and as a city.”

Here is a map of the camera locations in Wilmington.

NEW HANOVER COUNTY — New Hanover County could borrow nearly $17 million to address septic tank failure in two area neighborhoods, a recurring problem with the potential to pollute local bodies of water and endanger human health.

A written briefing presented to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners on August 20 described the problem. There have been “numerous septic tank failures that impact the environment and pose a health risk, as well as a financial burden to the residents” in Heritage Park off of Castle Hayne Road and Marquis Hills off of Carolina Beach Road, the briefing said.

“Because the systems are so outdated, we have some washing machines that are discharging out to the property,” Assistant County Manager Tim Burgess told the commissioners.

The county has documented 67 failures in Heritage Park and 342 at Marquis Hills since 2007 and there could be more that have gone unreported or repaired by the property owners without permits, Burgess noted.

“Some of these failures are second and third failures for those communities,” he said.

After the briefing, the commission voted 4-1, with Commissioner Brian Berger dissenting, to pursue a loan for relief projects at each community. The estimated cost to build a pump station and sewer hookup-points at Heritage Park was $5.6 million; sewer at the larger Marquis Hills was estimated to cost $11.2 million. The work would decommission the septic tanks.

The county plans to borrow the total $16.8 million in separate loans from the N.C. State Revolving Loan Fund on a 20-year payback arrangement, though Community Development Block Grants could offset the local costs.

If approved for the funds, the county would hold meetings with the neighborhoods’ residents, likely by early 2013. And that’s where Commissioner Rick Catlin believes some anxiety will surface.

“I’m not sure that the residents out there are going to afford it,” Catlin told staff and fellow board members, as the affected residential and commercial property owners would be responsible for the roughly $2,500 system-development charges, plus varying plumbing costs.

“I don’t have a problem with applying for the loan,” Catlin said, “but it’s going to be a major economic impact on those residents.

“Public hearings are going to be a very, very important part of this, because otherwise it’s sort of like an involuntary … annexation that we’re imposing,” he added. “Some people might be totally happy with what they’ve got right now.”

Shawn Ralston of the New Hanover County Planning Department said the county does have a zero-interest loan program that could ease property owners’ plumbing burdens, though currently it only has about $70,000 available. The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), which would manage the sewer, has a payment plan available for the system-development charges, Burgess added.

Heritage Park has 283 parcels, 90 percent of which are residential; Marquis Hills has 697, 97 percent of which are residential, according to the county.

But officials have portrayed the scope of the problem as wide and not simply confined to those subdivisions.

Earlier during Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners heard a presentation on the vitals of area creeks and learned that some contain elevated levels of fecal bacteria. Readings were consistently high at Motts Creek, just south of the Marquis Hills area, though Brad Rosov of Coastal Planning and Engineering, the firm that studied the creeks, said the pollution’s source was unknown. Further investigation could determine whether flawed septic tanks are responsible, and Rosov noted the Marquis Hills area was one to monitor.

CFPUA ranked Marquis Hills and Heritage Park as the county’s top sites in need of the wastewater collection upgrades.

After the projects’ completion, which could come sometime in 2014 assuming all goes as planned, CFPUA would take over the systems, though the county would continue to pay the annual debt service. On that note, Catlin suggested the county try to improve its position and discuss more of a “business deal” with CFPUA, which stands to gain new customers and income through the projects.

The Town of Carolina Beach has instated a new director of recreation.

Lani Thompson has formally moved into the role after serving in an interim capacity. Since 2006, he was programs superintendent for the Carolina Beach Recreation Department. He has been with the town since 2004, according to a news release issued Tuesday.

Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree in parks and recreation management from UNC Wilmington, the release added.

“I would like to thank the Town of Carolina Beach for giving me this opportunity,” Thompson said. “I have really enjoyed working with this community as programs superintendent. I look forward to continue working to improve our parks, facilities and programs and as parks and recreation director.”

The town operates three parks: Mike Chappell Park, Carolina Beach Lake Park, and McDonald Park. The Snow’s Cut bike path is also part of the town’s recreation system.