The first thing Rachel Hilburn told me when I approached her about this article is that she’s “not a very interesting person,” which to me sounded absurd. I listen to her show “Coastline” almost every week—in the car on the way to work, walking to class or making my morning coffee. The show covers an expansive array of topics. From being queer in Wilmington to escaping from Nazi Germany, Hilburn never ceases to find interesting people and stories to highlight. Though the show is always centered around her ever-fascinating guests, the relaxed precision in her voice invites listeners in. She has a particular talent for allowing people to become great storytellers. As someone who regularly conducts interviews, I wondered, how does she do it?

On Jan. 10, Wilmington’s city council voted unanimously to purchase The Salvation Army’s N 2nd St. property for $4.8 million. The city is currently leasing the property to the organization until its eventual closure in May of this year. A new facility off Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy. is still under construction and will not be completed for at least a year.

No one seemed to have expected the grocery wars to come to the Cape Fear region as soon as it did. With the population boom well underway throughout the Wilmington metro and surrounding counties, grocery...