North Carolina’s ports are making hefty infrastructure improvements, and now they’re looking for a return on those investments.   “We’re having the largest ships that are calling on the East Coast … coming to this port. We’ve invested in new cranes. We are investing in other infrastructure that we’re able to do the same typ ...

Not long after educator Tikisha-Michelle Johnson and her family moved from Dallas to the Wilmington area about six years ago, they decided to attend an outdoor concert at Mayfaire Town Center.   “Wherever we move, I always try to get involved,” said Johnson, whose husband’s company had transferred him here. “So we went to the concert, and I t ...

One local company is hoping to put a leash on the clean-dog market. Leland-based K9000 Dog Wash USA LLC formed last year between Australia-based Tru Blu K9000 Dog Wash and Manufacturing Methods. Through a multi-year contract with Tru Blu K9000, the Leland operation builds self-serve dog wash machines (like the one pictured above on Oleander Drive) and handles sales and ...

A robust craft brewing community now exists in the Wilmington area where once there was only one brewery, Front Street Brewery, which opened in 1995.   These days, the local region boasts nearly 20 breweries.   “To go from very little beer culture here in Wilmington to what we have now, it’s pretty unreal,” said Michelle Savard, who owns Wil ...

Donna Girardot has a history of making things happen. Currently, she’s in her second year as chairwoman of the Wilmington International Airport’s authority board and is helping the airport’s expansion project, estimated at about $60 million, to move forward.   In addition to keeping up with the project’s progress – Phase II is well unde ...

Crew members for Hulu’s Reprisal are shown working on Castle Street this summer. The drama series was given the green light to film nine episodes after the pilot was shot in Wilmington last year. DC Universe’s Swamp Thing and independent film Uncle Frank also brought jobs to the area this year. Though Swamp Thing was not picked up for a second season, mor ...

How would you like to earn an extra $100,000 a year?   The key is incremental improvements over the course of a career, just as the key to building a vibrant and resilient Southeastern North Carolina is tackling both the small and large projects. From 2010 to 2016, over half the employment growth in North Carolina came from businesses with between five and 500 emplo ...

It’s 9:12 a.m. Sept. 16.   In about three hours we send to this issue off to the printers.   Four or so hours later, the New Hanover County commissioners will take up a resolution about whether to explore a sale – or some other form of management shakeup – of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, the region’s largest employer and a majo ...

How Wilmington develops economically will continue to be shaped by a report commissioned by New Hanover County several years ago, officials said recently.   It’s been five years since the county received its economic development target analysis from Atlanta-based consultant firm Garner Economics LLC. The firm released the report titled “Pathways to Prosp ...

In mid-September, I attended the conference of the Southeastern members of the Angel Capital Association in Durham to represent the Wilmington Angels for Local Entrepreneurs (WALE) and to play the role of the fox in the hen house for the entrepreneurs of Wilmington to meet more regional investors.   I had the “luck” of intentionally sitting next to the l ...