In the name of social experiment (and delegation), I have turned over the opening paragraph of this latest editor’s letter to those in my immediate vicinity. Here’s what they came up with. “It was a dark and stormy night.” -husband, go-to storytime start “Editing is confusing.” -daughter, 10, wise beyond her years “As the ...

High demand from a growing population and limited land availability have led to a supply-demand imbalance of enormous proportions in Wilmington and New Hanover County.  The urgency is acute for a segment of our community not considered the traditional face of affordable housing: police officers, teachers, firefighters and health care support workers. It is time to ...

There is no doubt that the Wilmington region’s growth has received considerable attention as a result of the pandemic-driven migration.  An assessment of the region shows that New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender all experienced fast growth not only in the previous two years but also in the preceding decade.  Between 2010 and 2020, New Hanover County&rsq ...

Wilmington-based Summit Logistics was established in 2016 as an asset-based, third-party logistics firm. “We originally started out shipping kegs for our sister company Edward Teach (Brewery),” said Daniel Fountain, Summit’s director of logistics. “Shortly after was the focus of expanding our services here on the East Coast and then eventually all a ...

On the corner of South Third and Castle streets rests Olivero, a new restaurant venture from James Beard nominee Sunny Gerhart and co-executive chef Lauren Krall Ivey.  It features Italian- and Spanish-inspired dishes and cocktails; it has a rich, familial story at its heart; and best of all it is currently and officially open for business. After two successful ...

Artificial intelligence isn’t new (how long have WE been GRILLING Alexa and Siri?), but the growing popularity of chatbots this year has accelerated talks on everything from efficiencies, ethics, oversight and how businesses can best leverage the technology. From OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Google’s Bard to the expanding slate of plugins and extensions, the la ...

Is it possible to grow a community of inventors that, in turn, nurture an entrepreneurial environment? “I think so; I always encourage people to take advantage of the ideas they have,” said Tom Carter, who holds patents on a number of products, from trade show display materials to his newest invention, CoopWorx, a feeder for backyard chickens. Gloria Monr ...

If you’ve been to a concert merch table this summer, there’s a chance you’ve seen one of Tom Shaw’s designs. From his Wilmington studio, Shaw, owner of T. Shaw Designs, creates handmade, silkscreened art prints and concert posters for national touring musicians. “I sell them to the bands wholesale, and they sell them at their merchandise ...

Every day, at least 65,000 cars, trucks, vans, SUVs, 18-wheelers … you get the idea … rumble across the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge on their way to and from Wilmington. Over the next decade, that number is expected to increase to at least 82,000.  “I feel confident we’ll get there before 2045,” said Chad Kimes, the N.C. Department o ...

Construction – and negotiations about construction – took place this year on spaces for industrial, commercial and office users. To fill those spaces, various job incentives and training programs looked to attract more employees. Here is a look at economic development trends in the Cape Fear region. MORE INDUSTRIAL SPACE   Demand for large industrial ...