Good morning Wilmington!

It's always a good week when we have friends in town. On Saturday we wandered the German Christmas Market at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church—brats, spiced wine, local vendors, and the Harbour Towne Fest Band playing Christmas classics. Sunday we traded lederhosen for a long coastal drive, heading three hours south for Coastal Expeditions’ Beach Drop on Bulls Island. A quiet shoreline, whelk shells in hand, and good company all weekend long. Not a bad way to roll into the week.

In today’s Port City Pulse:

• Carolina Beach Launches Major 4–5 Week Nourishment Project

• NHRMC Holds at ‘C’ in Latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety Repor

Carolina Beach Launches Major 4–5 Week Nourishment Project

WECT
Carolina Beach has launched a multi-week shoreline nourishment project, with sand placement beginning Nov. 15 and continuing for 4–5 weeks depending on weather and equipment conditions. Heavy machinery and large pipes are already staged at Freeman Park and the North Pier area, where crews will begin pumping sand from the inlet before shifting to an offshore borrow site once the inlet supply is depleted. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says residents should expect truck traffic across Pleasure Island as work progresses south along the beach. Additional dredging along the Intracoastal Waterway is scheduled for winter. The nourishment cycle is set to repeat every three years.

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NHRMC Holds at ‘C’ in Latest Leapfrog Hospital Safety Report

WECT
New Hanover Regional Medical Center has once again received a “C” from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report—its third consecutive rating at this level since dropping from a “B” last fall. Leapfrog evaluates hospitals on patient safety, infection prevention, communication, and leadership using both federal data and self-reported information. Hospital leaders acknowledged community concerns but emphasized that some metrics are several years old and don’t reflect current improvements. NHRMC says its internal data shows better performance than the score suggests and reaffirmed its goal of achieving a Leapfrog “A” by 2030. Nearby facilities saw mixed results: Brunswick Medical maintained an “A,” while Columbus Regional stayed at a “C.”

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News Roundup

Local News

North Carolina has detected preliminary cases of bird flu in wild geese near Wilmington, raising concerns for residents who own birds or pets. Officials advise avoiding contact with sick birds, securing backyard animals, and disinfecting gear until USDA lab confirmation is complete. WECT

Downtown Wilmington will offer free holiday parking from November 27 to November 30. Street parking rates will return to normal on December 1, giving residents and visitors a chance to save while traveling downtown. WECT

What You Should Know

Europe has proposed a counter–peace plan that would allow Vladimir Putin back into the G8 and cap the size of Ukraine’s army, offering major concessions to Russia. The plan, drafted after Trump’s Russia-leaning proposal, also calls for elections that could remove President Zelensky, while U.S. officials signal they are adjusting their own plan as negotiations continue. The Telegraph

National News

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff has died at 81 after suffering a seizure followed by pneumonia, his wife Latifa announced. Cliff, known for classics like “The Harder They Come,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” was remembered for his global impact on music, his breakout film role, and a career that spanned from his teenage years through multiple international hits. TMZDon’t Miss

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