Bob Liepa

1 week ago | stateportpilot.com | Bob Liepa

Questions about city services and staffing were kicked around during a recent Southport Board of Aldermen budget workshop. Alderman Frank Lai summed it up in a nutshell. “We got people that want a lot of things done, but they don’t want to pay for it,” he said April 29 during the fifth workshop of its kind during this budget cycle. “It’s a delicate balance there.”That is what the board is wrestling with as it strives to come up with a budget for the 2026 fiscal year that starts in July.

1 week ago | stateportpilot.com | Bob Liepa

Three St. James men who live on the same block and share a military background shared something else on April 26 — an experience they will never forget. Frank Greco, Dave Roche and Frankie Schumaker were among the record 81 veterans who took part in the fourth annual Honor Flight of the Cape Fear Area that day. The organization does not release the names of flight participants in order to protect privacy.

2 weeks ago | stateportpilot.com | Bob Liepa

One person has been airlifted and another charged with failure to yield the right of way after a collision on Wednesday involving a passenger car and a motorcycle on Old Long Beach Road in Southport, according to law enforcement authorities. The driver of the motorcycle suffered serious injuries and was placed on a Novant Health helicopter and taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, said North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper Matt Johnson. No other injuries were reported.

2 weeks ago | stateportpilot.com | Bob Liepa

Surrounded by beautiful trees with birds chirping and the sound of a church bell tolling in the background, land surveyor Owen Gidlow was at peace, doing what he loves. All was well that April afternoon except for the nuisance gnats he had to fight off when the breeze died down. Gnats aside, Gidlow could feel good about the work he was doing at the John N. Smith Cemetery in Southport. A project to mark gravesites at the cemetery with small, granite gravestones was nearing the final stretch.

2 weeks ago | stateportpilot.com | Bob Liepa

Franklin Square Park was in all its green glory when it hosted the Southport Forestry Committee’s Arbor Day celebration last Friday. “We echo what citizens of Southport have always known,” said Southport Alderman Karen Mosteller, the master of ceremonies, from the gazebo stage. “Trees are valuable and important assets in our community.