Congress passes water bill with study for Wrightsville Beach
Congress last week passed legislation that includes provisions that could help area beaches compete for federally funded U.S. Army Corps of Engineering projects, most notably coastal storm damage reduction funding. The Water Infrastructure Improvements Act for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which included the 2016 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), passed both chambers with large margins, but still requires a signature from President Barack Obama.
Marketing committee approves spring campaign
The Wrightsville Beach Marketing Advisory Committee on Tuesday approved a $60,000 budget for its February to May 2017 campaign to attract tourists to the town. The campaign will focus 60 percent of its spending on in-state markets while 40 percent will target out-of-state areas. The campaign will focus on several online platforms to reach the target audience, including social media and “native” advertising designed to attract readers through specialized content. Meanwhile, the New Hanover County Tourism Development Board announced the county’s room occupancy tax collection hit a historic high in October, exceeding 2015 totals by more than 13 percent, while Wrightsville Beach was up more than 8 percent over October 2015. Overall, county collections of the hotel and boarding tax are up 11 percent over last year, board officials said, while Wrightsville Beach room occupancy tax collection is up 5.6 percent over 2015.
County confirms election results
After a delay for a recount, the New Hanover County Board of Elections on Thursday, Dec. 8 confirmed the results for the Board of Commissioners race. After the recount, incumbent members Woody White and Jonathan Barfield Jr. were the top two vote getters, while Republican Patricia Kusek won the right to join the board, edging out Democratic candidate Julia Boseman by 360 votes. Repeat Republican candidate Derrick Hickey was also close in the tally, trailing Boseman by just 65 votes. The new board is scheduled to be seated at the next meeting, set for Dec. 19., after the transition was delayed at the Dec. 5 meeting due to the recount.
