Benjamin Schachtman

Elections Director DeNay Harris was placed on administrative leave and then fired after a series of high-profile clashes with the county and local elections board. The state upheld her termination for failing to perform her job duties, making false statements, and other issues. Harris accuses the state and local elections board of retaliation and violating her state constitutional rights.

Editor's notes on a week packed with news stories: The DSA’s homemade bus-stop benches cause different flavors of furor, a former Wilmington councilman has some harsh words after the city cuts down oak trees on his street, and the state’s film grant program has spent through its reserve fund – now what?

In February, Wilmington City Council awarded a contract to Saffo Contractors, Inc. for construction on the Front Street Bridge. (Connor Smith) Earlier this year, a firm owned by Mayor Bill Saffo's brother was awarded a $2.4-million contract. The city initially said there had been a lower bid from a contractor that dropped out. Public records, delivered over four months later, show there was more to the story: the city told the contractor it wasn't eligible to bid, but apparently later changed its mind. That wasn't publicly acknowledged or shared with city council.

In New Hanover County, as in many places across the country, residents are growing anxious, frustrated, and angry over the proliferation of Flock cameras. But the automated license plate readers are just one form of surveillance technology — and one part of the larger debate about surveillance and data collection by both the government and private companies. In a lot of ways, that conversation comes down to trust and transparency more than technology itself.

Over forty public speakers signed up to voice concerns about Flock cameras during this week's meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.

On this episode, WHQR's Benjamin Schachtman and Rachel Keith dig into the latest season of the Scene on Radio podcast. .Co-hosts John Biewen and

There's been plenty of discussion about Flock cameras and other automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) over the last few weeks. An interesting addition to that conversation: a list of questions sent by New Hanover County Commissioner Stephanie Walker to Sheriff Ed McMahon, whose office has a contract with Flock.

Campaign season is heating up, and fundraising operations are in full swing. The amount of money, at both the local and federal levels, is pretty staggering — but it's worth asking: why do people give? What do they think their money accomplishes, and what, if anything, do they think they'll get in return?

Q: Why does it seem like container traffic has slowed down at the Port? Are there long-term concerns about the downturn, and does it impact plans to dredge the Cape Fear River?

Recently, there's been heated discussion over the use of Flock cameras and other surveillance technology in New Hanover County. Now, County Chairwoman LeAnn Pierce says the county will review concerns about the technology before spending more public money on it.