Don't miss the Island of Lights New Year's Celebration

Carolina Beach and Kure Beach are proud to offer the Island of Lights celebration each holiday season. The event(s) features a host of activities: a flotilla, a Christmas parade, a homes tour and much more.

New Year's Eve will be celebrated Pleasure Island-style with the "dropping of the lighted beach ball." (And we in Raleigh thought our Acorn was nifty.) The beach ball drops at midnight followed by "spectacular" fireworks.

This free family-friendly event will feature a DJ and dancing with refreshments available for purchase.

In an Island of Lights tradition, there will be a raffle, with the winner taking home the original artwork for the Christmas card and ornament.

Bring the family to the Boardwalk at 9 pm to join the festivities.

Sorry -- Our Beach Place is already reserved for this wonderful event. Maybe next year ... Of course, you could try to catch the fashion show in the spring. If interested in renting our unit, email us at collards12@yahoo.com or call us at 919-325-2941.

(Photo of the flotilla from islandoflights.org)

Extended hours for the Boardwalk?

"The Ferris wheel and other rides have been gone for months, but a new form of family entertainment is taking shape on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk long before summer's return," says the Star-News.

"An empty lot on the south end of the beachfront business district now holds a 26-foot lighted tree, and more lights are going up all around. About a dozen local businesses are pitching in to decorate the coves leading to the ocean, some with clever themes to combine the holidays and their products.

"It's all part of Christmas by the Sea, the first-ever Christmas celebration on the Boardwalk, an area that in previous years has been all but barren during the off-season.

"The Boardwalk Makeover group, a nonprofit organization started in late 2007 to revitalize the once-booming locale, is hoping to build on the success of the rides last summer that brought to the area a number of visitors unprecedented in recent decades."

Hey, in this economy, if you can capitalize on any momentum, by all means, go for it.

“I wonder if we can fit anymore people on the island than we did this year,” said Dan Wilcox, Carolina Beach town councilman and founder of the Boardwalk Makeover group. “Our goal is to maintain momentum during the peak season and then move on to find ways to enhance our shoulder season.”

Fort Hood hero has strong CB ties

Sgt. Kimberly Munley is the "hero cop" who brought down Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan last week after he had opened fire on the base at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and wounding more than 30 others.

Munley is the daughter of former Carolina Beach Mayor Dennis Barbour.

Munley, according to reports, has been credited with shooting Hasan four times "despite being wounded herself.

For a few minutes on Thursday, Fort Hood Texas was a war zone. Those who were caught in the crossfire say the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychologist, was calm and methodical as he shot at fellow soldiers.

Army Combat Engineer Howard Appleby was on his way to treatment for post traumatic stress disorder when he stopped to help the wounded.

He said people were, “Using shirts to ties up legs - it was busy - just like back in Iraq.”

12 soldiers and one civilian died in the assault. Major Hasan, was among the more than 30 wounded. He was a practicing Muslim. Some soldiers say he shouted “Allah Akbar”, an Arabic phrase meaning “God is Great” before opening fire.

However, it’s still not clear why he did it. Army Chief of Staff George Casey said, “This was a kick in the gut, not only for the Fort Hood community, but for the entire Army.“

Civilian Police Officer Kimberly Munley stopped the bullets, shooting Hasan four times.

But it was too late for some, like 21 year old Private First Class Michael Person, who was set to deploy to Iraq.

Jessica Koerder is a family neighbor. She said, “That family lost their gem.“

As for the heroics, of Officer Munley, her step mother told Wilmington media that she has great spirit and that she knew Munley was involved when she heard a female officer shot and wounded major Hasan.

Officer Munley is in stable condition recovering from her injuries and her family is headed out to see her.

Bowman's: Even the waitresses like it

The Wilmington Dish blog has a nice review of Bowman's Seafood in CB.

"This is where the Carolina Beach locals eat seafood. FRESH seafood! Though the curb appeal might not lure you in, their food will have you hooked," says the site.

Bowman's family atmosphere just makes you feel right at home. Even the waitresses love working there. One said, "If you want a job here, one of us will have to die first." If a seafood platter is screaming your name, you will get bang for your buck here. Very reasonably priced food for the amount you get! And you'll be temped to eat it all...though you shouldn't...because they feed you well! Make sure to check out the hallway headed back to the restrooms - they walls are covered with postcards, pictures, and hurricane history of Carolina Beach.

One more cool thing about Bowman's: they deliver. Nice.

Masonboro to remain open

Masonboro Island has a habit of getting, um, colorful during summer holidays. But the barrier island won't be closed to the public anytime soon.

The Star-News of Wilmington reported Friday that the North Carolina Coastal Reserve program held a hearing in Wilmington to hear from the public about how to protect the island from holiday revelers.

Hope Sutton with the program says people have enjoyed walking, kayaking, surfing and sunbathing at the island, but in recent years, the number of visitors has increased dramatically. Trash covered a quarter-mile stretch of beach after the July 4th holiday.

Meeting held to clear up re-nourishment confusion

From the Star-News:

Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers, a private engineering firm and New Hanover County met with Carolina Beach and Kure Beach officials Tuesday to discuss the details of beach nourishment in the island towns.

The meeting was intended to clear up confusion about the current Carolina Beach project, including the re-nourishment scheduled for 2010, as well as options available to the town after the federal project expires in 2014, said Town Manager Tim Owens.

Concerns had been raised about the scope of the re-nourishment planned for 2010; though mobilization costs will be combined where possible, the scope has been scaled back and will likely not include parts of the beach originally planned to receive nourishment, town officials had previously said, as a variety of factors have combined to raise cost estimates above those previously expected. ...

CB approves new towing ordinance

When we were first looking at our soon-to-be-our condo in Carolina Beach, one thing no one mentioned was just how fast "they" are to tow at our location. It was only after we bought it and started having guests that a neighbor stopped us in the covered parking area (we must have had that new neighbor look about us) and told us that cars get towed with the quick-fast. She even suggested that we make sure to put a temporary tag in our car first thing when we or anyone else arrives.

She wasn't kidding. One of our first renters had their car towed, and a couple of weekends ago, our neighbors below our unit -- who were just stopping in for a bit -- had to go from CB to Monkey Junction to retrieve their vehicle.

Well, at least now it looks like there may be some slack on this issue.

According to the Star-News, "Carolina Beach passed a new towing ordinance Tuesday night restricting towing companies, but not requiring individual signed requests for each tow."

The new ordinance contains several measures intended to protect town residents and visitors from perceived predatory towing. Lots must have specific signs posted warning of parking and towing practices. Towing companies must release vehicles on site for a fee of $25 and must release a car that is on the truck but not to the lot for a fee of $50; lots may not be more than 20 miles from town limits. A representative must be available at all times to release a vehicle in a timely manner.

However, the new ordinance does not contain one of the more controversial measures, which would require a signed request by the property owner or representing party for each individual tow.

While many people spoke at the town’s last meeting about perceived predatory towing in the town, representatives from condo buildings and associations asked that the burden of enforcing parking regulations not be left to private citizens. Several said signing individual towing requests for each vehicle towed put an unfair burden on homeowners. Others said that confronting illegal parkers could be dangerous for residents.

It is important that visitors and homeowners follow the rules and make sure it's obvious that they are allowed to park where they are staying. But they should also be give a fair amount of time before their car is towed away. At the same time, it's vital that the "first come, first served" or "you snooze you lose" attitude with regards to close-to-the-beach parking be addressed.

(Image from fotosearch.com)