We start this week with a group of Ogden residents who recently tried to put the brakes on the development of a 30-acre parcel along Market Street.
It’s not the first time the location has generated concern — in 2005, Walmart proposed a store on the site. County officials, including then-Commissioner Ted Davis Jr., considered a number of different ways to slow down development and requested a public hearing. Ultimately, Walmart set its sights further north, in Porters Neck, and the site was left alone until now.
Now, a new proposal has residents concerned about old issues, including traffic (which hasn’t improved since 2005) and stormwater. And, despite a difficult SUP process — which has historically favored well-prepared developers and their lawyers over residents — Ogden neighbors won a temporary freeze on the project.
How? We get into it.
Next up, the City of Wilmington quietly posted a request for proposals this week, seeking a private management company to take over operations of the Hugh Morton Amphitheater at Greenfield Lake. We get into what this will mean for the venue, plus a look back at a behind-the-scenes conversation the city had in 2018 with Live Nation about taking over the amphitheater.
Then, this week three New Hanover County commissioners surprised their colleagues — and the general public — by effectively ending county funding for WAVE (the move is final, but won’t take place until summer of 2021). We get into what actually means, what the impact will be like, and what comes next.
Then, in beach-town news, we look at the latest on the election violation case against Surf City Councilman and mayoral candidate Jeremy Shugarts. We get into what’s taking the case so long, where the indictments came from in the first place. Plus, we address accusations from readers that we’re deliberately avoiding covering the case.
Lastly, big changes are proposed at Freeman Park, including scrapping season passes, limiting camping to the off-season, and banning alcohol completely. Perhaps needly to say, public reaction was not completely positive.
If you missed any of these stories you can catch up below:
County Commissioners put brakes on 30-acre Ogden mixed-use project for 90 days
New Hanover Commissioners voted to break ties with WAVE. What does that mean?
WAVE will hold public hearing in Wilmington to discuss reducing service hours
