The News Journal
B E AU T Y, B O U N T Y A N D B I R T H D AY
K I C K I N G O F F A M E R I C A’ S 2 5 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Demolition on Rehoboth boardwalk getting a pause
The north side of the boardwalk and Rehoboth Avenue will remain half-demolished this summer. Demolition efforts to make room for the planned One Rehoboth hotel will be delayed until September, Rehoboth Beach officials announced. Two buildings, a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Lawsuit seeks halt on animal adoptions
A recent federal lawsuit asks a judge to bar Delaware and its animal welfare contractor from adopting out any more of the nearly 100 animals seized in September from a backyard animal rescue near New Castle. The lawsuit was filed just before Christmas...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
New Kent Family Court nearing its completion
A new Kent County Family Court in Dover is just months away from completion, with more space and more security features, and it might give some people a sense of déjà vu. That’s because it’s similar to the Sussex County Family Court that opened in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Dead humpback washes up near Bethany Beach
A dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach on Jan. 8, according to the nonprofit Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute. The juvenile male was first seen Jan. 6, floating at sea about 2 miles off the Indian River Inlet, a MERR...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Concord Mall is looking past its ‘quieter period’
Concord Mall lures shoppers across the border with its tax-free shopping, but the mall has long struggled to attract and maintain tenants within its walls. The shopping center along Concord Pike in Brandywine Hundred is the state’s second-largest mall...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Your daddy was a hero’
Josh Snook was nervous to speak in front of thousands of people on Jan. 5. Looking over a podium at rows and rows of uniforms that packed the Bob Carpenter Center, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to find the right words to describe the other Cpl....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Smyrna landmark is closing for 2nd time
ASmyrna landmark, a garden center for 55 years, is going out of business for the second time. h Homestead Gardens is closing about five years after reopening the former Ronny’s Garden World site on Route 13 North between the Smyrna Rest Area and Wawa....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Meet Voight, growth and development reporter
It’s been over a month since I traded the view of the Mississippi River along Wisconsin’s western border for an entirely different waterway, the Delaware River. In that time, I’ve learned a lot about my new state. For instance, Wawa is the regional...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Trump vows U.S. action if Iran kills protesters
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump vowed the United States will intervene if Iran kills peaceful protesters as demonstrations in Iran prompted by the country’s struggling economy entered its sixth day. “If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
White Clay Creek Country Club in Stanton shuttered
White Clay Creek Country Club, an 18-hole championship golf course in Stanton, was set to close on Jan. 1, according to a letter sent to its members. In a Dec. 30 letter to its members, General Manager Ryan Kidwell said the club was closing, but they...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Big events on calendar for 2026
As a new year dawns, many Americans are reflecting on 2025, a year marked by historic events including the inauguration of a president, the appointment of the first American pope, and major pop culture moments like the release of “Wicked: For Good” and...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Hundreds remember fallen state trooper
Delaware State Police Cpl. Matthew T. “Ty” Snook was remembered at a vigil on the Georgetown Circle on Dec. 28. The 34-year-old Hockessin resident was killed Dec. 23 by a gunman at the Division of Motor Vehicles near New Castle. Another candlelight...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NEW IN TOWN
Along Middletown-Warwick Road on Middletown’s west side, new businesses seem to be popping up every month following additions in the past year or so like Target, Hobby Lobby, Sprouts, PetSmart, Outback Steakhouse and Chili’s. Now in the next several...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
New face behind the lens
I’ve always had a passion for creating videos. It started when I wrote crime dramas in sixth grade, filmed on an iPod touch and edited in iMovie. I’ve been telling stories most of my life. I was excited to turn this passion into a career, and that...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Turning Point USA picks up ground on campuses
Apair of students stood in the Indiana University Indianapolis student center asking a simple legal question: “Is ‘hate speech’ protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution?” Students slowed to read the white board, and many shuffled toward...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
State trooper killed at DMV identified
Delaware State Police have identified the trooper who was shot and killed at a DMV south of Wilmington on Dec. 23 as Cpl. Grade One Matthew T. “Ty” Snook, a 34-year-old man from Hockessin. Snook, who went by Ty or Tyler, was working an overtime...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Angel Tree program sees giving boost
During the holidays, some enjoy passing out presents while others choose to volunteer. This year, a social media trend encourages people to do a mix of both. People have flocked to stores to participate in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, a...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Hockessin offers rural scene for home buyers
While just minutes from Wilmington, Newark, I-95 and U.S. Route 1 in Pennsylvania, the Hockessin area in northwestern New Castle County has a more rural setting, dotted with neighborhoods, stores and restaurants. Existing homes or move-in-ready new...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sulfur dioxide leak continues trend
After more than 30 pollution incidents this year, over 20 of which the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control deemed “extremely hazardous,” another sulfur dioxide incident has occurred at the Delaware City...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Delaware reassessment reporting falls in a cycle of lessons unlearned
Delaware was caught “failing the test of fairness.” So read the hammer on a special report from The News Journal in 1995, commanding the Sunday edition front page in April. A staff reporter, Robert Moore, broke down results of analyzing some 250,000...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Plan to repurpose historic Montchanin inn blocked
A doctor’s plan to buy the historic Inn at Montchanin and convert it into a long-term rehabilitation center for brain-injured patients was denied Dec. 18 by the New Castle County Board of Adjustment. The board voted against granting an area variance...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Health care partnership dropped
Six months following their announcement, ChristianaCare and Virtua Health have “mutually agreed” to terminate an expansive multistate partnership. The two health care networks first entered into a nonbinding letter of intent back in July to “explore...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Christmas miracle’
A month after she was hired as a seasonal sales associate at Burlington, Shatyra Streeter was called into the department store manager’s office and began thinking she was maybe in trouble. But what was awaiting the Wilmington single mother was a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Offshore wind farm project scores legal wins
Plans for a wind farm located off the Delaware coast may soon see the light of the day. Throughout the course of the last legislative session, state Democrats pushed for a bill to overturn a recent Sussex County Council decision to reject a permit...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Georgetown facilities to receive upgrade in 2026
By this time next year, the Georgetown Police Department will move from an old button factory on North Race Street to a brand-new building on University Drive. “It’s going to be like night and day,” Georgetown Police Chief Ralph Holm said. The Sussex...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Some holiday traditions are made to be broken
The holiday season is all about family … and for many families, that means rich traditions passed down through generations. Well … this is not one of those stories. One of my proudest holiday moments was actually killing a family tradition. Let’s...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
New ownership revives Ladybug Music Festival
The Ladybug Music Festival, once thought gone, is preparing for a comeback after it was announced Dec. 12 that the festival has been sold by cofounder Gayle Dillman. The new ownership is under I.D.E.A. (Igniting Delaware Edutainment Association) to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Beebe Healthcare adds 3 mobile clinic vehicles
To serve Sussex County’s 950 square miles, Beebe Healthcare’s mobile fleet has expanded from one vehicle to four. Transportation barriers, housing instability and limited access to traditional health care facilities have made mobile health care a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A familiar face will stay on as UD leader
Delaware’s largest university has appointed its 29th president, now just the second woman to hold the post in its nearly 282-year history − and her name should come as no surprise. Laura Carlson will officially assume the title, as approved in a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
354 townhomes being planned along Route 13
A proposed 354-lot townhouse development near Smyrna received compliments from Kent County Regional Planning commissioners, but the plan may lead to another stoplight on Route 13 because of the additional traffic. Commissioners voted 6-0 for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Beacon Inn mural gone due to water damage
A $20,000 mural on the side of the Beacon Inn in Lewes is gone after the wall suffered water damage around Halloween. “We’re very saddened by it; there’s no question about it,” said Ed Zygmonski of Lewes Art in Bloom, the group responsible for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Government transparency law in Delaware is in need of reform
As a person who is biased toward government transparency, I believe it’s past time for lawmakers to consider reforms to Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act. The act is the law that, in theory, requires the government to be open to the public through...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Inn neighbors oppose recovery center plans
Neighbors worried about increased traffic and safety issues, and preserving the integrity of a historic Delaware site, have voiced their concerns about a proposal to convert the 18th-century Inn at Montchanin Village into a recovery center for...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Lone grocery store prepares opening
Every time Wilmington developers Buccini Pollin Group poll the 4,000 residents living in their city apartment and condominium buildings, they hear the same thing: a neighborhood grocery store is needed downtown. Over the past 11⁄ years, a small team...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Popular Canadian eatery prepares for Dover launch
A restaurant chain with a huge following in Canada has been growing in the United States, and now a franchise is opening in Delaware with more planned. Tim Hortons, serving coffee, donuts and sandwiches, is nearly finished in Dover at 737 N. Dupont...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Tariffs hit harder for immigrants’ businesses
Consumer goods have been rising in price for many Americans, squeezing household budgets and forcing families to cut back. For small businesses that rely on imported products, the strain is even greater. Immigrant restaurateurs and shop owners in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Massive Delaware data center project in limbo
There has been high interest in New Castle County about a potential data center opening near Delaware City. h While the data center’s developer has filed paperwork and begun the approval process, shovels might not hit the dirt for a year or longer. h...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Wawa stores are everywhere
Three of the most common things you will find while driving around Delaware are traffic lights, street signs and Wawas. Especially in New Castle County, it feels like a Wawa is always in your peripheral vision. The redundancy is almost comforting....
Read Full Story (Page 2)
‘ TIPPING POINTS’ TOO RISKY TO IGNORE
As the planet warms, it risks crossing catastrophic tipping points: thresholds where Earth systems, such as ice sheets and rainforests, change irreversibly over human lifetimes. Scientists have long warned that if global temperatures warmed more than...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Still shopping for Thanksgiving? Food Lion pledges to feed 10 for $40
With Thanksgiving upon us, a new survey reveals what side dishes Delawareans love most, while another grocery store steps in with discounts to help families celebrate without breaking the bank. Budgets may be tight, but Delawareans remain loyal to...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
TThhee
FEAST OF FUN Check out our giant crossword and Thanksgiving playlist, along with fresh ideas for your leftovers. Get a jump on holiday shopping with our gift guide.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FRESH FINDS
Just in time for holiday shopping to get underway, Christiana Mall has added some new retailers. Savvy shoppers may have noticed two new retailers pop up at the mall and a popular store reopen after some renovations. Here’s a look at the new retailers...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Comprehensive care to be available in Middletown
ChristianaCare’s cancer care operations are expanding to southern New Castle County as part of a new health center. ChristianaCare announced on Nov. 20 that the comprehensive cancer care that Delawareans are familiar with at the Helen F. Graham Cancer...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Lawmakers’ task: Patch $400M hole
Delaware lawmakers will gather Nov. 13 to fix an unexpected $400 million shortfall in the state budget. h In October, the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council predicted the state would lose about $400 million over the next three years due...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Supermarket to open north of Middletown
The first store is nearly ready for business in the nearly 280,000-squarefoot Bayberry Town Center on Boyds Corner Road at Jamison Corner Road north of Middletown. A Weis Markets grocery store, the largest building in the shopping center, is scheduled...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Delaware Jamaicans rally to send relief
After Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica as one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic, members of Delaware’s Jamaican American community are rallying to send aid to loved ones back home. The Category 5 hurricane pounded Jamaica’s...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
New twist for an odd season
The Delaware Supreme Court is holding a special meeting Nov. 10 to hear arguments that will affect how much school property tax people in New Castle County will owe this year. The arguments pertain to the legality of lawmakers’ effort to cut...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
How potlucks, shared recipes have shaped my time in the newsroom
When I think of gatherings, I often think of food. It’s long been the touchstone of family events, friend catch-ups, and even workplace bonding. I have my first job at the Albany Times Union to thank for that last one. That’s because once a month,...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Trump appeals order to pay full SNAP aid
The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge’s order that it was to provide full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food aid to states by Nov. 7. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal Nov. 6 – the same day federal Judge John...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Employee faulted for hotel chaos
A “rogue” employee was to blame for a string of last-minute cancellations last summer at a Dover hotel ahead of Phish’s Mondegreen music festival, according to the Delaware Department of Justice. The Attorney General’s Office closed its investigation...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Legislature could extend deadline for NCCo taxes
A bill introduced Nov. 4, ahead of an upcoming Delaware legislative special session, would push the tax deadline for New Castle County property owners to the end of the year. This legislation comes days after President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Landlords’ attempt to halt tax bills fails
A judge has rejected another motion to stall school tax bills in New Castle County tied to the recent property values reassessment. The ruling issued Nov. 4 rejects the request by a coalition of local landlords and lodging businesses to further delay...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Educators picket at HS football game
Every day of this new school year in Smyrna School District has come with “silent protest” for many. That’s because even just two months in, public school educators are staring at a long, grim wage forecast. Make that 0% for increases this year and 0%...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NCCo hasn’t decided who will run the NOMA Library
In late October, the glass windows of Wilmington’s new $22 million North Market Street library gleam as the prismatic purple and gray tones of its facade shift with the changing light. The building, originally called the Think. Do. Hub and now named...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Lovingly prepared
We are headed into the foodiest months of the year, and I’m already hungry. And plotting which day I can spend making dozens of homemade pierogi with my best friend. Sure, summer is amazing with all that fresh sweet corn and crab cakes and strawberries...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
Trump targets filibuster as bypass to shutdown
WASHINGTON – As the shutdown drags on, President Donald Trump is urging Senate Republicans to go around Democrats to break an impasse with growing ramifications. Millions of Americans were poised to lose federal food assistance, but two federal judges...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Monster mashup: Prof on cultural role
Frankenstein’s monster is a Halloween icon that’s tall, dark and ransoms the hearts of his fans, in hopes that they’ll pay him lots of attention. But under the creature’s fresh-to-death appearance lies a deeper conversation about what it means to be a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Reassessment panel is short on answers
These last few weeks haven’t been the most predictable for lawmakers on Delaware’s special reassessment committee. Following a special session this summer, the committee planned a four-part meeting series to delve into the recent statewide property...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Former DuPont site to host spin-off Corteva
With up to $1 million in grants, a business that was once part of the DuPont Co. is planning to move into the building that was home to DuPont in Wilmington. Corteva, an agriculture technology company that was a spinoff of DuPont, is keeping one of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
$1K reward offered in campus shooting
Community members gathered at Lincoln University on Monday, Oct. 27, in the wake of a shooting that left a Wilmington man dead and six others injured during late-night homecoming festivities on the evening of Oct. 25. The gathering, described as a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
END OF AN ERA
A customer hasn’t walked through the doors of the old ChesDel Restaurant off Route 13 (Du Pont Parkway) in more than seven years. Weeds snake up the side of the abandoned building, and more choke the parking lot. Some windows are boarded shut, and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
IF IT’S LOCAL YOU WANT, WE’VE GOT IT.
Our Sunday refresh offers more local news and sports, as well as “Weekend Exclusive” content to help you navigate your lives. So enjoy your Sunday reading filled with stories that will inspire, educate, inform and entertain you.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Persistent inflation rises again in Sept.
Inflation rose again in September, revealing the persistence of rising prices as the job market showed signs of cooling and consumers begin to think about the holiday season. Consumer prices increased 3% from a year earlier, slightly up from 2.9% in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Governor asks Trump to restore DE beaches
Gov. Matt Meyer sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Oct. 21, asking him to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore Delaware beaches after significant storm damage. Storms such as Hurricane Erin in August and a nor’easter earlier this...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Sussex delays vote on shopping center
Opposition to the proposed shopping center with Costco near Rehoboth focused on one main issue at the five-hour Sussex County Council public hearing Oct. 21. h Traffic congestion on already inadequate roads was mentioned by the majority of people...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Bayhealth plans additions at Dover, Milford campuses
As Bayhealth prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first hospital in 2027, the nonprofit health care provider is planning a major expansion at its Dover and Milford campuses to start the next 100 years. Called “The Next Wave,” the plan...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Long overdue
Terri Hancharick is all about building community. The Newark resident has long looked to ensure her daughter, Brigitte, who has cerebral palsy, has access to the community around her. Sometimes, doing that requires space for an accessible van with a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Deal would turn historic inn into brain injury rehab center
Plans are in the works to sell The Inn at Montchanin Village, located in the heart of Delaware’s Chateau Country, and convert it from a luxury, historic hotel to an inpatient recovery site that will treat brain-injured patients. The potential new...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Focus on local artists
“Art matters because it is the one true great connector in a world that seems to be very unconnected, and it’s important now more than ever to shine a huge light on that connectivity that we have, that we often forget.” Josh Groban, in an address to...
Read Full Story (Page 2)
‘CHEMICAL OF CONCERN’
Microplastics seem to be everywhere – in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. They have turned up in human organs, blood, testicles, placentas and even brains. While the full health consequences of that exposure are not yet known,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Christina board declares a vacancy within its ranks
The Christina school board pushed out a fellow board member who has been living in Pakistan for well over a year. The board officially declared the seat of Naveed Baqir – representing District F since 2021, working virtually since early 2024 – vacant...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Brandywine educator ‘humbled’ by honor
There could be only one. h Twenty educators across the state were nominated in their school districts or the Charter School Network over the past year due to “exemplary demonstration of professional traits and strong sense of dedication and devotion to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Santa Claus Express, fall rides are back
The iconic steam whistle will soon echo in northern Delaware as the Wilmington & Western Railroad is plotting to get back on track with rides starting this fall. “We’re Back!” Wilmington & Western Railroad announced Oct. 10 in a Facebook post. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Nor’easter floods, erodes DE beaches
Coastal flooding and beach erosion caused by a nor’easter continued to impact Delaware on Oct. 13. High winds, 12- to 18-foot waves, substantial beach erosion and dune breaching were expected, a National Weather Service report said. The state...
Read Full Story (Page 1)