It’s budget season, and local governments are deciding spending priorities for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. On Monday, New Hanover County Commissioners approved a $458 million budget for 2021-22. The budget included a property tax rate of 47.5 cents per $100 valuation, compared to last year’s 55.5-cent rate. That was not considered a revenue ...

Tuesday marked the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. On the heels of an active season last year and forecasters’ prediction for another above-average season during the months ahead, this week’s WilmingtonBiz Talk was a talk with the area’s top emergency officials on preparations.   The panel was Tommy Batson, Pender County’s emergency m ...

Cape Fear Community College's Wilson Center has been coming back to "real life" after its pandemic hiatus from performances in front of live audiences, welcoming theatergoers to the venue in April, a first time since the pandemic began last year. The center has also announced some upcoming in-person events, including the Price is Right Live in September an ...

Memorial Day is around the corner and with it the unofficial start to the summer tourism season. But as visitors already start flocking to the area, area restaurants are navigating shortages in available workers, changes in COVID-19-related rules and additional SBA loan options for restaurant owners. On Thursday's WilmingtonBiz Talk, two local owners discussed those i ...

The Wilmington Arts Summit takes place next week with a focus on arts venues that are reopening or opening for the first time with new projects – all against the backdrop of easing COVID-related restrictions and with safety in mind. Joining us for this week's WilmingtonBiz Talk to preview the summit was Rhonda Bellamy, executive director for The Arts Council o ...

This week the Wilmington City Council approved a $1.3 million sponsorship agreement with nCino for a proposed youth sports complex.   The complex, off U.S. 421, was part of the city’s parks bond, and the $10 million project is expected to include multi-purpose fields for soccer, football, lacrosse, Ultimate Frisbee, rugby and more. In 2019, the city accepted 6 ...

Wilmington International Airport is in the middle of a $61 million, multiyear terminal expansion project – an undertaking that started before COVID-19 impacted the airline industry last year and that's slated to wrap up at the end of next year. According to a recent Greater Wilmington Business Journal cover story, the terminal expansion and renovation, the lar ...

From retail to restaurants, Help Wanted signs abound in the Cape Fear region right now. And as the area gets ready for tourism season, the lack of people filling hospitality-related jobs could put a crimp on businesses. For Thursday's WilmingtonBiz Talk, a panel talk on jobs with representatives from the area's hospitality sector discusses what’s driving t ...

With the announcement Thursday morning that Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to buy Wilmington-based PPD for $17.4 billion, this week’s WilmingtonBiz Talk looks closer at the deal.   Deutsche Bank analyst George Hill, who follows PPD as well as the health care technology and services sectors, joined the Business Journal to talk more about Thermo Fisher, why the ...

With North Carolina’s legislative session in full swing, this week’s WilmingtonBiz Talk is a check-in with local lawmakers. Members from the area’s legislative delegation talk about key bills, state budget priorities and the outlook on redistricting during which the GOP-led legislature will redraw political maps. They also fill us in on measures wit ...