Wilmington, NC News

Things can change a lot in a decade, and as we ring in a new one, I decided to see how the price of enjoying our “local flavor” has changed.

In 1999, boarding the Battleship North Carolina cost six dollars for adults, and three for children. Ten years later, those prices have doubled.

Prices have gone up to ride the Henrietta down the Cape Fear River.

“We were ten dollars in 1999, and we’re 15 dollars now for an adult ticket. But we were five dollars in 1999 for children, and we’re still five dollars for children,” said Carl Marshburn of Cape Fear Riverboats.

A donut at Britt’s in Carolina Beach cost 50 cents in ‘99. Now, the sticky sweetness will cost you a whole 75 cents, but the famous taste, hasn’t changed.

Ticket prices for the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry haven’t changed in ten years, but a round trip pass to Bald Head Island will cost you a dollar more today.

Harrell’s Department store in Burgaw has been around for more than a century. It’s carried the same pair of men’s dress shoes since the 20’s. From 1999 to 2009, the price of those shoes went up fifteen bucks.

Paul’s Place Hotdogs has been a staple of the Rocky Point community since 1928. The price of those famous dogs, made all the way with mustard, relish, and onions, has gone up 40 cents in the past 10 years.

As long as we’re talking about local food, we gotta figure in oysters. Atlantic Seafood in Hampstead charges five dollars more per bushel, than in 1999.

A daily fix of Port City Java costs about a dollar more than it did 10 years ago.

In 1999, a horse-drawn carriage ride through historic downtown Wilmington cost nine dollars for adults, now it is twelve.

2009 saw some pain at the pump. The average price for a gallon of regular jumped to $2.57 in our region; compare that to $1.23 ten years ago.

Home buyers in Wilmington paid an average of $170,000 in September of ’99; that average rose by $100,000 this year.

As expected, most prices have gone up in the last ten years, leading us to wonder what’s in store. Thanks to inflation, it takes about a dollar thirty to buy what one dollar bought in 1999.

2010 will bring new faces to the state senate for south eastern North Carolina.

In November Senator Julia Boseman announced she would not seek re-election in 2010. Wednesday R.C. Soles, the longest serving State Senator in North Carolina’s history made the same decision and Thursday Senator Tony Rand served his last day in the senate.

Political leaders say the loss of experienced senators could make it difficult for southeastern North Carolina to have its voice heard in Raleigh, but Senator Rand says new faces could actually *help* the region and the democratic party.

“The face of the senate in southeastern North Carolina is going to change rather dramatically, but I feel good about our party and the kinds of things that we work for: job creation, education, the things that really mean a lot to our part of North Carolina’” Rand said. “So I’m looking forward to the future and I think the new group will certainly do as well as we did and hopefully they’ll do better,”

Republican Party members say the big changeover could be their opportunity to gain a majority in Raleigh. Bettie Fennel is running for the eighth district seat which is now held by Senator Soles.

“I think it’s going to be a breath of fresh air for North Carolina,’ said Fennel. “They probably see the tsunami coming next year, because I expect republicans are going to win a great number of senate and house seats.”

Fennel says new senators will bring new ideas that could help the area grow. Although the new senators will lack the experience of Soles, Rand, and Boseman, Fennel says too many years in office, can be a bad thing. “Frankly, I think that creates a lot of corruption.”

For the Democratic Senators, 2009 was a year filled with questions and controversy. Senator Boseman had a very public child custody battle and dealt with several foreclosures. Since announcing his resignation, Senator Rand is under investigation for insider trading and Senator Soles is the subject of two investigations. The first involves a shooting that took place at his home, and the second is allegations of sexual molestation.

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

Human remains found along River Road yesterday have been sent to Chapel Hill, N.C.

Experts there will try to identify the person and determine how they died.

Wilmington Police detectives and crime scene investigators took down the yellow tape surrounding this wooded area today. A man walking in the area found the bones on Wednesday.

Local authorities were unable to determine the gender or race of the victim.

It’s not clear if foul play was involved.

A new law designed to help smokers put out their cigarettes is one of more than thirty laws taking effect in North Carolina as the New Year begins.

A ban on smoking in restaurants and bars begins early Saturday morning. Smokers could face $50 fines for lighting up and restaurants could pay $200 a day penalties for ignoring the law.

Other laws will help people looking for lost pets at animal shelters and crack down on drivers using handicapped parking permits inappropriately.

2010 is fastly approaching and there’s one thing you should know before you begin celebrating the New Year.

“If your going to drink tonight, do not drive at all,” said New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon.

Not all bar-goers share Sheriff Mcmahon’s sentiments.

A small gadget called a portable breathalyzer, is used to evaluate a person’s blood alcohol content. It’s available in stores and online. Some people use them to gauge whether it’s safe for them to drive after drinking.

“I think it’s a creative idea I think it’s a good idea to have these available to the consumer just as kind of a sanity check in terms of am I good to go on the road?” said Eric Lewis, who supports the portable breathalyzers.

But are these devices accurate?

Some are, some aren’t.

Sheriff McMahon says either way, people should not rely on personal breathalyzers when deciding to drive a car.

“Even with ours as dependable as they are we would never have someone blow in the Alcha-Sensor and say okay you’re drunk or you’re not drunk,” said McMahon.

Kaitlin Byers, who is 21-years-old, plans on celebrating the New Year downtown. She says she wouldn’t rely solely on what the portable breathalyzer registers, but it would be handy to have.

“I think it’s a good backup thing if people need it,” said Byers. “I think it’s definitely a safety issue.”

“I wouldn’t mind having one, if I’m at a party or something and I wanna make sure we’re okay,” said Lewis.

With or without this gadget, McMahon wants to remind New Year’s revelers– if you booze it, you will lose it.

“Dependable or not dependable, I’m sure they’d be a lot of fun and probably most times they’d be fairly accurate but if you’re going to be drinking at all, just don’t drive,” said McMahon. “You do not need to be driving.”

The ongoing saga involving State Sen. R.C. Soles was just many big stories that made news in the Cape Fear Region in 2009. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest.