Port City Daily
Boundaries of the Juniper Swamp tract, one of two sites that Surf City uses for wastewater collection. (Port City Daily/Courtesy Onslow County GIS)
SURF CITY — A council candidate has brought to public attention a sewer system that has reached capacity and recent findings that most of the town’s 2,220-acre Juniper Swamp property cannot be used for its intended purpose as wastewater spray fields.
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The attorney for Surf City mayor candidate and sitting councilman Jeremy Shugarts, pictured here at a candidate forum last week, said the state’s investigation report “did not reveal any way that Shugarts would’ve benefited by using his old address.” (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
SURF CITY — A five-month investigation into election violations by Surf City Councilman and mayoral candidate Jeremy Shugarts revealed that he did not benefit from using an old address when filling out past voter forms and a notice of candidacy. The investigation did find evidence Shugarts had violated election law.
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Surf City Mayor Doug Medlin at a meeting earlier this year discussing the town’s plans to rebuild sand dunes damaged by Hurricane Florence. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
SURF CITY — After weeks of unanswered questions, Surf City Mayor Doug Medlin broke his silence about an altercation over the summer between his personal assistant and the town manager, albeit not to Port City Daily directly.
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The DEQ found that North Carolina oysters, pictured here, were not consumed by the Cary man who died from the bacteria. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
After a man died after eating raw oysters and clams in a Wilmington restaurant, state agencies could not determine the exact source of the contamination due to a market that has diversified over the past two decades.
Horror film character Michael Myers stands on the sidewalk of Pender Avenue during a scene shot in the Carolina Place neighborhood near Wallace Park last weekend. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — Weeks ago residents of Carolina Place received notice that a 100-member production crew would be shooting a few scenes for a film entitled “MOB Rules” in the area.
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Surf City Town Manager Ashley Loftis, front center, speaks during a special meeting in August. Earlier in the summer, Loftis had a dispute with the personal assistant to Mayor Doug Medlin, pictured opposite on the right. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
SURF CITY — A week before a closed meeting vote to hire a new town manager, Surf City Police officers were dispatched to a verbal altercation between the current town manager and the mayor’s personal assistant.
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A collection of 1970s and 1980s board and card games, from Panzer Blitz on the left to G.I. Anvil of Victory on the right, is valued at $260. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — A local game store has been awarded consignment rights to a collection of rare and antique games, valued at more than $1 million, from the Washington estate of a former Stanford University and Microsoft engineer.
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There is “substantial public interest” in protecting 110 acres of undeveloped land on the southern point of Topsail Island, pictured here facing north from New Topsail Inlet. The Serenity Point townhome community is seen in the distance. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Topsail Island’s last chunk of undeveloped land was listed for $7.9 million. Although the town of Topsail Beach and the N.C. Coastal Federation hope to preserve it, the state said it has no funds to purchase property that is “not nationally significant.”
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Coast Guard Machinery Technician Third Class David Patnaude on board a 45-foot response boat as it returned to the Wrightsville Beach station after the crew checked all navigation buoys on the Cape Fear River. Each was in their proper position, and the call was made to begin re-opening the Port of Wilmington. (Port City Daily/Mark Darrough)
As the Wilmington area awoke to minimal damages from Hurricane Dorian, one Coast Guard Crew took to the Cape Fear River to make sure all navigation buoys were in their proper positions before re-opening the Port of Wilmington.
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Last Monday morning the front page of the website showed a photograph of Surf City councilman and mayoral candidate Jeremy Shugarts — the same used on Shugarts’ Facebook campaign page. By Monday evening the photograph had been removed, and by Tuesday morning, the website was taken offline. (Port City Daily photo / File)
Chris Medlin refused to deny creating a website that defamed his father’s political opponent, while local and state authorities say there are currently no indications of a campaign violation or any legal issues.
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Impermeable surfaces at low sea levels cause flooding and stormwater problems all around the Cape Fear Region. (Port City Daily photo/Michael Praats)
The second in a two-part series examines a disconnect between developers and “green infrastructure” approaches that reduce stormwater runoff while bringing economic benefits to the table.
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An oyster lease near Permuda Island in Stump Sound. With no nearby inlets to flush out stormwater runoff, Stump Sound is less resilient to the impacts of rainfall than Topsail Sound to the south, causing an increase in state shellfish closures. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
The first in a two-part series examines the impact stormwater runoff has on the waterways near Hampstead and Holly Ridge as development pushes north from Wilmington.
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More than 100 acres of open land on Topsail Island, which has slowly built up sand coming from the north end over the years, has been listed for sale at $7.9 million. This aerial image was taken by photographer Betsy Knapp in 2016. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy Betsy C. Knapp)
After the land on Topsail Island's southern tip was listed for sale last week, conservation groups say there are no current efforts to protect it.
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Freddie Fralin looks back at family members after receiving a sentence of 25 to 31 years imprisonment for the murder of Montez Greene in 2017. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — Freddie Fralin was sentenced to 25 to 31 years imprisonment for a fatal shooting in the Northside district two years ago.
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One of seven horses rescued from the Woody family’s farm in Wilmington last month. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy Horton’s Rehab Ranch)
Seven horses were found in severely malnourished condition on a Wilmington-area horse farm. Experts say, in general, these conditions wouldn’t have happened overnight. Some in the horse community think it was the result of selective neglect.
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New Anthem's second brewhouse ties Wilmington Brewing's as the largest in the city, with a 30-barrel brew system and ten 30-barrel fermenter tanks. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — With eyes on the Raleigh and Charlotte markets, Wilmington’s New Anthem Beer Project has finished its first test batches as it shifts a majority of its beer production to a new 15,000-square-foot facility in the South Front District.
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BURGAW — More than 10 months after Hurricane Florence caused widespread flooding to large portions of Pender County, officials released an internal report documenting lessons learned after the county’s response during and after the storm.
Read MoreWILMINGTON — A mile south of downtown Wilmington there’s an on old dive bar where — even if the air conditioning isn’t working on a Tuesday night — musicians take the stage for an open blues jam.
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Four new 20-barrel fermentation and carbonation tanks at Waterline Brewing Company have doubled the brewery’s cellar space as it aims to increase local distribution of its flagship Kölsch beer. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
WILMINGTON — In a craft beer market crowded by variations on the India Pale Ale (IPA), Waterline Brewing Company is expanding production of its flagship Kölsch ale to meet a growing local demand for a beer known for its lightness and drinkability – a ‘gateway beer’ for those accustomed to traditional domestics.
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Beachfront just north of the Surf City Pier that sits in a non-smoking zone encompassing a stretch of beach between Kinston and Greensboro Avenues. Mayor Doug Medlin is considering options to include more non-smoking zones to the town’s beaches. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
SURF CITY — Although a beach smoking ban has not yet come to a vote before Town Council (nor is one currently scheduled), Mayor Doug Medlin said he is considering the town’s options after receiving significant feedback from residents who have complained of cigarette butts littering the island’s beaches and nearby streets.
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