All in Politics

Candidate Interview - Nancy Gilmore for School Board

Nancy Gilmore for Board of Education joins Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy to discuss today's issues ahead of the General Election. Gilmore is running as an At-large write-in candidate for one of two seats on the Lenoir County School Board. Topics discussed include challenges facing public schools, in-person learning, stakeholders' influence on your decisions, funding from Lenoir County and the State, and more.

Candidate Interview - June Cummings

June Cummings joins Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy to discuss today's issues ahead of the General Election. Cummings is running for the District 3 seat on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. Topics discussed include hiring and retention, economic growth, rural broadband access, flood mitigation and more.

City confirms time and a half for two new holidays, $53,604 daily payroll

During Monday night’s City Council meeting, motions were unanimously passed proclaiming the November General Election Day and Juneteenth as city holidays, starting with 2020. City manager Tony Sears confirmed the two additional city holidays would be paid and later confirmed to Neuse News that “the salaries for a single day across all budgets is $53,604.17.”

Statements during the meeting attested there would be no “extra cost” to the taxpayers for the two new annual holidays. Citizens took to social media following the meeting suggesting that emergency services employees should get paid time and a half for holiday pay, which potentially would be an extra cost for the city in direct contrast to the vote’s portrayal.

Candidate Interview - Jimmy Parks

Jimmy Parks joins Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy to discuss today's issues ahead of the General Election. Parks is running for the District 3 seat on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. Topics discussed include hiring and retention, economic growth, rural broadband access, flood mitigation and more.

Candidate Interview - Tiffani Koonce-Crawford

Tiffani Koonce-Crawford joins Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy to discuss today's issues ahead of the General Election. Koonce-Crawford is running for one of two At-large seats on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. Topics discussed include hiring and retention, economic growth, rural broadband access, flood mitigation and more.

Candidate Interview - Steve Saint-Amand

Steve Saint-Amand joins Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy to discuss today's issues ahead of the General Election. Saint-Amand is running for one of two At-large seats on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. Topics discussed include hiring and retention, economic growth, rural broadband access, flood mitigation and more.

Kinston City Council creates two additional paid holidays, "not costing the city any extra money"

The Kinston City Council passed two motions on Monday evening declaring two additional paid holidays for city staff. The first motion makes General Election Day a paid holiday, falling this year on Tuesday, November 3. The second motion creates Juneteenth as a paid city holiday backdating to June 19, 2020.

Councilmember Sammy Aiken said, “For the public’s information, this is not costing the city any extra money.” Then he followed up with the question, “Is that correct?”

“That’s correct, Mr. Aikens,” said Mayor Don Hardy.

Candidate Interview - Linda Rouse Sutton

Linda Rouse Sutton joins Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy to discuss today's issues ahead of the General Election. Mrs. Sutton is running to retain her At-large seat on the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners. Topics discussed include hiring and retention, economic growth, rural broadband access, flood mitigation and more.

Letter to the Editor: Dr. Janet Stivers-Blaebaum in support of Steve Saint-Amand

“I had a preconceived notion of Steve Saint-Amand as a redneck character running a redneck school. That notion couldn’t be further from the truth…For two years, I have witnessed Steve Saint-Amand go the extra mile for ANY of his students. Didn’t matter where they lived, didn’t matter who their people were . . . he was ready to be there for them.” - Dr. Janet Stivers-Blaebaum