Julia Olson-Boseman

Monday night, New Hanover County Commissioners decide the future of New Hanover Regional Medical Center.  Since Commissioners announced the potential sale more than a year ago, opponents have argued the county should not let go of its single most valuable asset or control of local healthcare. 

More than a billion dollars in public money could wind up under the control of an 11-member foundation board that is not overseen by the Local Government Commission – or open to the public. 

  At Monday's August 24th meeting, the County Commissioners approved a mask mandate for all county buildings and voted to purchase equipment for the County’s drug-testing lab. But as WHQR’s reports, the main order of business was the selection of The Healing Place as the operator for the County’s addiction treatment center.     

  At Monday afternoon’s meeting, New Hanover County Commissioners unanimously approved $1.3 million in CARES Act funding to create two new programs: child care support, and housing assistance. The meeting also ended with a motion not on the agenda.

The public transit system in the Cape Fear region is facing criticism from the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County – the two local governments that created it.  Last week, County Commission Chair Julia Olson-Boseman declared at a press conference that it’s time for a reboot as she has no confidence in Wave Transit’s leadership.  But one Wave official says the Board had no notice of the briefing or its content. WHQR speaks with Wave Transit Vice Chair Steven Kelly about a communication gap that has spanned years.

Public transportation in the Cape Fear region is about to get a reboot.  That’s the word New Hanover County Commission Chair Julia Olson-Boseman used to describe the revision of the Wilmington / New Hanover County joint WAVE agreement.  

It was a surprise to Wave Transit officials and to some fellow Commissioners when Julia Olson-Boseman, Vice Chair of the New Hanover County Board, made a motion to end the County’s agreement with Wave.  

New Hanover County voters have created a Democratic majority on the Board of Commissioners.  And they’ve added a few to what was a fully Republican Board of Education.

Julia Olson-Boseman is running for one of two open seats on the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners.  The Democratic challenger is in a field of four candidates:  two incumbents – Republican Skip Watkins and Democrat Rob Zapple – and a Republican challenger – Eric Lytle.  

Republican incumbent Skip Watkins is running for a second term on the Board of Commissioners in New Hanover County.  He’s in the race for the two seats with Democratic Incumbent Rob Zapple, also a Board member of WHQR, and two challengers:  Democrat Julia Olson-Boseman and Republican Eric Lytle.  

Julia Olson-Boseman served as a New Hanover County Commissioner from 2000 until 2004 -- then won three terms as a North Carolina State Senator.  As she tells WHQR’s Rachel Lewis Hilburn, she’s proud of her work on film incentives for the state and bringing Verizon Wireless to Wilmington.