Good morning, Leland.

Accessibility advocate John Williams Jr. toured Belville Riverwalk Park on Oct.

22, 2026, and said steep ramps, missing handrails, converted handicap parking and loose sand make several routes unusable for people using wheelchairs, even though the park recently added an ADA kayak launch.

Pawz in Park will take place Saturday, Oct.

31 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) at Long Leaf Park in Wilmington, featuring pet contests, raffles, adoptable animals, vendors, food and drinks with free admission, and proceeds will benefit local rescues; organizers are seeking rescue groups, vendors, sponsors, and food trucks.

At the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce Power Connections meeting in Leland, John E.

Jacobs American Legion Post 68 and Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve presented Patriot Employer awards to Patriot Roofing & Exteriors for hiring veterans and helping vets with roofing needs, with owner Stephanie Bolton and VP Cassandra Barba accepting a certificate and lapel pin.

Publix opened on Oct.

28 at a southern Brunswick County shopping center that will soon welcome Walmart, which plans its grand opening on Nov. 4.

Dozens of Halloween events will run Friday, Oct.

30 and Saturday, Oct. 31 in Wilmington, from family trick-or-treating and kid-friendly shows to adult costume parties and spooky concerts at venues across downtown and the riverfront.

UNCW plans to add 550–575 new parking spaces for the 2027–28 academic year — including 300 at the park-and-ride, 50–75 at DeLoach, and about 200 tied to a roadway connector — and is proposing a separate multilevel deck for roughly 500 more.

Permit costs (Zone 1 $473; Trask $410) would stay unchanged, and students say affordability, not supply, remains the bigger issue.

Researchers are studying coastal black bears' genetic health and say lower diversity could raise disease and reproductive risks as development fragments habitat in the Cape Fear region; wildlife officials are monitoring the population and promoting habitat connectivity & movement corridors.

NCDOT will inspect the Heide Trask Drawbridge on Monday, Nov.

2 and Tuesday, Nov. 3 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), closing the westbound outside lane and leaving one lane open, so drivers should expect delays and allow extra travel time.

Brunswick County commissioners approved an ordinance to protect known and suspected burial sites that halts work if human remains or markers are found, establishes a 50-foot buffer, and shortens funerary object reporting to 10 days + they authorized a cemetery committee whose structure and role will be decided later.

CFCC women's soccer will travel to Florida to play host Pensacola State College on Friday, Oct.

30, at 5 p.m. in a South District semifinal. A win would send the Sea Devils to Saturday's district championship, where an NJCAA Division II national tournament berth will be at stake.

UNCW athletics received a $3 million gift from Michael McCarley and Nancy Langevin that will fund a six-court on-campus tennis facility with locker rooms and seating and create an endowment for the men’s basketball program.