We start this week with the ongoing process of exploring a potential sale of the New Hanover Regional Medical Center. We get into some of the issues the hospital is facing that might lead officials to seek a sale — and why Wilmington City Council the process slowed down.
Next, a Wilmington man purchased a house with the intent of turning it into a short-term rental (STR). The man worked with city staff to make sure he would be able to rent it under the city’s new STR ordinance — and was told he was good to go. Then, after receiving a permit, a neighbor applied for a permit. The city stripped the man of his permit and gave it to the neighbor.
How — and why — did this happen? And how is the city still regulating rentals when two different state laws appear to prohibit that? We get into it.
Lastly, we spoke with Wilmington Police Department Chief Ralph Evangelous this week about a related series of 11 assaults in downtown Wilmington. After a press release earlier in the week — which did not include many details — we had more questions than answers, including: why were we just now hearing about assaults that dated back to 2018? Were the assaults targeting military men? And do the police have any more information and what happened and their suspect?
The Chief addressed all these questions, and more, but there are still plenty of unknowns.
If you missed any of these stories you can catch up below, then take a deeper dive with our weekly podcast.
City Council not sold on hospital sale, passes resolution to ask county to slow down
Wilmington granted a homeowner a short-term rental permit only to strip it from him after closing
