The News Journal
Director of visuals must think ahead, react quickly
Most people plan their day that morning, but I plan a visual journalist’s day weeks in advance and sometimes months, depending on the assignment or event they are covering. I not only plan their day, but I also manage their schedule and breaking news....
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The high cost of U.S. health care
IBut it also reflects a complex system fraught with competing interests – and the fact that patients, hospitals, health insurance companies and drug manufacturers change their behaviors in conflicting ways when faced with new rules. Soaring...
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Top homes
After one of the worst winters in Delaware in years, you may be dreaming of a beach getaway. But if you can’t leave now, you can still enjoy a tour of these top homes for sale in Rehoboth. Buyers and vacationers are attracted to “The Nation’s Summer...
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Board votes to allow Jackson Inn demolition
The Jackson Inn, a landmark bar and restaurant whose current building has been a part of the Wilmington area’s Lancaster Pike since 1959, will soon face the wrecking ball. New Castle County’s Historic Review Board unanimously voted April 7 that the...
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Residents voice concerns over apartment proposal
A local developer wants to build a nine-story apartment building along Bancroft Parkway in Wilmington, but some residents are worried it will disturb the quiet feel of their neighborhood. Newark-based developer Tsionas filed a rezoning application...
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Mother sues Delaware City Refinery over emissions
A Delaware mother is suing Delaware City Refinery over pollution she believes impacted her child’s health and their ability to enjoy their home. Brittany Steward, who lives in Delaware City with her son, who was born in 2020, filed a complaint against...
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Downtown building adding 202 apartments
Another downtown Wilmington building is shedding its office space in exchange for apartments. Wilmington-based real estate developer Buccini Pollin Group will transform five stories of Bracebridge I at 1100 N. King St. into 202 market-rate apartments....
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Why does extra daylight still feel like a gift each spring?
Many years ago, an editor handed me an assignment for a story on daylight saving time. I’ll be honest – it felt more like a punishment than a real news story. It was a topic I’d never given much thought to, and I had zero interest in it. After a...
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1 rescued after U.S. jet goes down over Iran
One crew member of a U.S. F-15E fighter jet that went down over Iran on April 3 has been rescued, according to a U.S. official. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the jet, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement...
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Residents, protesters push back on new tents
Wilmington’s effort to build citybought tents in Christina Park met resistance from park residents and some protesters on a hot afternoon on April 1. The city of Wilmington purchased 105 tents to land on wooden pallets that will replace the existing...
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New tents, showers on way to Christina Park
Christina Park has been host to a temporary tent village for people experiencing homelessness in Wilmington for the past few months. New tents are coming for park residents, whether they want them or not. Mayor John Carney announced a plan in 2025 to...
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ALAW STUDENT REBUILT HIS LIFE
Fifteen years after making the worst decision of his life, James Elliott was suddenly overwhelmed just when he was set to officially make his case that he had paid his debt to society. The convicted-felon-turnedscholar was 19 when he found himself at...
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Wilmington wants to stabilize housing prices
If you were in the building for Wilmington Mayor John Carney’s March 19 budget address, you were able to hear his speech at the same time as you heard protesters outside chanting, “The rent, the rent, the rent is too damn high!” That chant has been...
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The Queen brings in new leadership
Over the past 15 years, The Queen in Wilmington has hosted hundreds of national and local music acts, even as management morphed from World Cafe Live to Live Nation to the current operators, building owners and developers Buccini Pollin Group. There...
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There is no offseason for Philly sports fans
I get this question a lot: “So, what do you do during the Eagles’ offseason?” Usually, I respond with, “What offseason?” Because covering the Eagles, there isn’t an offseason. Except for maybe a month between the end of spring practices in mid-June...
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GOP reps push back at DHS funding measure
WASHINGTON – An 11th-hour Senate agreement to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, securing a path to ending the weekslong shutdown that has left airports in turmoil, hung in the balance March 27 after GOP representatives pushed...
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West Center City has 8 shootings this year
Fear and concern have become a familiar presence for residents of Wilmington’s West Center City neighborhood, which accounts for about onethird of the city’s shootings so far this year, according to a Delaware Online/ The News Journal...
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Budget plan includes property tax increase
The New Castle County government no longer has much of a choice: A property tax increase could be coming your way. County Executive Marcus Henry presented his budget proposal to the County Council on March 24 in the Louis L. Redding City/County...
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Apprehensions by ICE doubled last year in DE
Under President Donald Trump’s immigration policies in 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehended more than double the number of people in Delaware than in 2024 – and that’s with two-and-a-half months of 2025 data missing. In 2024,...
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NORDSTROM’S EXIT
As high-end retailer Nordstrom prepares to shutter its Christiana Mall location next month, questions circle around what could replace the anchor store. After 15 years in Christiana Mall, Nordstrom’s last day is April 30. Nordstrom Grill and Ebar also...
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Land for RV park may go to auction
Land that was once publicly owned and later became the focus of plans for a private RV park within the state’s Fort DuPont redevelopment project could now be headed for a sheriff ’s sale. In 2021, the publicly funded Fort DuPont Redevelopment and...
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Welcome to the 2026 Most Influential & Inspiring Delawareans series
Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us. Wilma Rudolph, American Olympian (1940–1994) As soon as we spring ahead, it means...
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Carney budget targets housing, public safety
Wilmington Mayor John Carney has housing and safety on his mind as he proposed his budget for the next fiscal year. Carney addressed the City Council in Old Town Hall on Market Street, which was built in 1798. The location switch from regular council...
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Famous Jackson Inn sign gone, family says
The iconic sign that beckoned visitors to Wilmington’s landmark Jackson Inn for more than 60 years is likely gone for good, a member of the Bourdon family told Delaware Online/The News Journal. A question regarding the sign that hung on the Lancaster...
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Hospital to build up as court nears completion
Along with new shopping centers and housing developments, expansion of health care services and courts are among major projects we’re watching in Kent County in 2026. 6-story hospital expansion Bayhealth is planning a major expansion at its Dover...
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Hollins honored for decades of service
In a room named in his honor, and in the presence of family, longtime supporters and colleagues, New Castle County Councilman Penrose Hollins received the state of Delaware’s highest civilian recognition, the Order of the First State, for more than 35...
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UD’s online nursing program up 99 spots
The University of Delaware’s online master’s nursing program jumped 99 spots in rankings within the past year. An increase like this is quite a feat for an online degree, and people involved with the program have some ideas about what makes UD’s...
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History of site has roots going back to late 1700s when a public house operated there
Citing safety, environmental and preservation concerns, neighbors who live near Wilmington’s historic Jackson Inn are opposing a plan to raze the 67-year-old building for the construction of a Dash In convenience store with a dozen gas pumps. Dash In,...
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Ryan Cormier fields questions on state of entertainment and more
Every few months, each reporter at Delaware Online/The News Journal writes about their life in the newsroom. Some have had columns about specific stories; others have been Q&A style. This time around, I field questions about recent articles and more...
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SULLY’S PREPS FOR ST. PADDY’S DAY
When thinking about the oldest bar in Delaware, high-profile historic spots such as Kelly’s Logan House in Wilmington or Newark’s Deer Park Tavern may come to mind. But the state’s oldest watering hole actually can be found on West Main Street in...
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Iran’s new leader vows to avenge dead children
In a defiant first message to Iranians as the country’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei promised revenge for Iran’s “martyrs,” including the many children killed in an apparent U.S. strike on a school, and said the critical Strait of Hormuz would...
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NCCo Council approves rules for data centers
The New Castle County Council approved regulations on the development of data centers on the night of March10. They won’t apply to the massive proposed data center complex of Project Washington, which continues to fight through state-level...
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Ex-superintendent’s case against district thrown out
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the former Christina School District superintendent claiming sever al board members were destroying his reputation and violating his due process and contractual rights when they ousted him in 2024. In...
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3 reasons fuel prices differ across stations
As the war with Iran continues pushing gas prices up, there are certainly cost-conscious motorists who have no ticed the differences in fuel prices from one service station to another. For example, a gallon of regular gas at the Exxon station on...
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New Castle County projects to watch
A flurry of development activity is happening in New Castle County this year, with a number of projects starting up and making big moves this year. Construction will continue on Wilmington’s Riverfront with a luxury apartment building coming to the...
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F-BOMBS. PROFANITY. POLITICS.
While political rhetoric has long been harsh and occasionally led to violence, experts warn that social media conveys vitriol faster and wider at a time when weapons are more accessible.
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Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’
President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a social media post the morning of March 6, insisting “there will be no deal” to end his 7-day-old war with the battered Persian Gulf power. The president added in a social media...
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Judge: Expanded backyard not a valid squatter claim
A Delaware Chancery Court magistrate has issued an opinion in a five-year-long squatter’s rights feud among neighbors over a backyard-oasis-turnedanimal-sanctuary that was the site of one of the largest animal welfare raids in state history last...
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How might DE cash in on World Cup tourism?
With close to $1 billion in an estimated regional economic impact coming to the tri-state area (Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) for the FIFA World Cup 2026 this summer, it begs an important question: What will Delaware do with the profits it...
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Philly’s top-rated pizza coming to Wilmington
One of the top-rated pizzerias in Philadelphia – so popular that the lines of customers have caused neighborhood grumbling – is coming to the First State. The Michelin-recognized Angelo’s Pizzeria will replace Pizzeria Bardea in the DE.CO food hall in...
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Homes, commercial sites are planned near U.S. 301
Construction is set to begin this spring on a mixed-use development on Bunker Hill Road in Middletown, with plans for five commercial buildings, 465 homes plus athletic fields that are already being used by town. St. John Properties, a commercial real...
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Rodney statue will move to Washington
The Caesar Rodney statue, removed from downtown Wilmington’s Rodney Square in 2020, will be moved to Washington, DC, for the nation’s 250th celebrations. h The Trump administration plans to take the Caesar Rodney statue out of storage and temporarily...
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We do a lot of stargazing in the interest of journalism
I’m a lifelong Muppets fan, so I was more than a little excited to hear Disney Plus had dropped a brand-new episode of “The Muppet Show,’’ a 2026 reboot of its classic variety show that ran from 1976 to 1981. If you haven’t seen it yet, everything is...
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Clinton grilling reveals a change among Dems
WASHINGTON – In late February 2016, Hillary Clinton cruised to an overwhelming victory in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary – an unambiguous statement of the former first lady and secretary of state’s dominance over her party as she...
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I-95 cap-and-park plan has yet to move ground
A potential cap and park over I-95 through downtown Wilmington has yet to move ground. The project, which has been researched and conceptualized since 2021, is still in a “concept design” phase, according to a Delaware Department of Transportation...
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Wilmington’s Penn Cinema losing theaters
Wilmington’s independently owned and operated Penn Cinema Riverfront 14 + IMAX may have the biggest movie screen in Delaware, but the cineplex is about to get smaller. The multiplex will shrink from 12 screens down to 10, while retaining its showcase...
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Oysters for the guys, shrimp for the ladies
For around 90 years, the last Friday in February has been the time for anywhere from 900 to 1,000 men to stand (and sometimes do jigs) on a sawdustcovered floor, drink gallons of beer, and shuck and slurp thousands of oysters at the Georgetown Fire...
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Snowstorm brings foot-plus totals and massive outages
Thousands in Delaware — and throughout the region — experienced power outages and other issues Feb. 23 as a powerful winter storm blasted the area, leaving more than a foot of snow in certain spots across the state that impacted roads throughout the...
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Cancer diagnosis, fire hit Middletown eatery
Fire struck a Middletown restaurant two months after one of the owners was diagnosed with cancer, but support from customers and other restaurants is helping the family carry on. “The community has been amazing,” said Ashley Stratton, co-owner...
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Journalism means evolving as tech, audiences change
Hello, everyone! I am Damian Giletto, a multimedia reporter at Delaware Online/The News Journal. I was hired in August 2004 to help launch the online multimedia content that would be published daily on DelawareOnline.com. When I started here 21 years...
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New energy-efficient homes unveiled in DE
The first residential buildings in Delaware to achieve one of the nation’s highest certifications for energy-efficient design were unveiled in Dover on Feb. 19. The North Kirkwood Street “passive house project” features four homes that have been...
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New beer garden eyes opening in the spring
These days, a bitter cold wind blows over the snow-covered plot of land on Wilmington’s Riverfront at Justison and West streets. But in a few months, the barren field is scheduled to transform into the new Constitution Yards Beer Garden, complete with...
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Italian Americans call for statue’s return
Wilmington’s Italian American community appears united in its desire for the return of the Columbus statue. There was a meeting at St. Anthony’s Lodge No. 3012 in Wilmington’s Little Italy neighborhood on the night of Feb. 17 to present the history of...
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Civil rights icon ‘kept the dream alive’
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering civil rights icon who battled alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., negotiated global hostage releases and shamed corporations for their lack of diversity and failure to support voting rights, died on Feb. 17. He...
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SHOVEL BRIGADE
The meows came from a cluster of boulders at the bottom of a small ravine. Buried under snow and ice from a late-January winter storm, the dens created by cats at Valley Run apartments in Brandywine Hundred were impossible to make out. But the cries...
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Microbrewery near Smyrna gets site OK
The proposal for a microbrewery and taproom near Smyrna met with “cheers” from the Kent County Regional Planning Commission on Feb. 12 at the county administration building in Dover. h Without any debate, the commission approved the preliminary site...
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A coastal favorite earns national praise
Lewes Oyster House standout seafood spot just went national — named one of USA TODAY’s top restaurants in America.
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McKean students protest change
Students at Thomas McKean High School hope the story isn’t over yet. h Red Clay Consolidated School District has laid out a vision to transition their nearly 60-year-old school into an “Innovation Campus.” That’s not a vocational-technical school,...
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DE students stage walkouts against ICE
Students across Delaware schools have been staging walkouts to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity under a second Trump administration. Young learners from Sussex Central High School joined the ranks on Feb. 11, alongside...
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Delaware’s mystery breakfast meat celebrates anniversary
RAPA Scrapple is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The regional breakfast meat that’s been produced in the Sussex County town of Bridgeville for a century is so beloved in the state that Gov. Matt Meyer has proclaimed February 2026 as RAPA...
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Pot company to make products in Newark
A marijuana manufacturing facility is coming to Newark. Loud Labs, a marijuana company operating in Colorado, Michigan and New Jersey, is expanding into Delaware’s fledgling market after Newark City Council approved plans for a manufacturing facility...
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Once ‘on verge of death,’ now a nurse
She looked in the mirror and spoke the same words as the day before: “I am a cancer survivor.” Zipporah Washington had just been diagnosed with a tumor on her heart. But even in the hospital, the 34-year-old knew she had to live, for her two kids,...
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Kent County could get microbrewery
Amicrobrewery is part of a small shopping center proposed on Route 13 just south of Smyrna town limits. h The application is on the agenda for the Kent County Regional Planning Commission meeting Feb. 12 at 6 p.m., in the county administrative...
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What this reporter learned from running the Boston Marathon
Runners approach each other with the same question: Do you have any races coming up? My answer for the last two years has been the Boston Marathon. I bring that up in this space not to search for praise but because the experience of training for and...
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Granary development to bring 1,350 homes
Most of Sussex County’s new housing developments are happening outside of municipalities, but The Granary, which rivals the size of any development on the county’s agenda, is being built within the town limits of Milton. The 1,350-home, amenity-laden...
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Delaware City data center hits a hurdle
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has put up a roadblock for the proposed data center near Delaware City. This one might be impossible to clear. The state environmental agency said the data center project, Project...
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Newark restaurant, bar is facing alcohol suspension
One of Newark’s newest bars might soon be suspended from selling alcohol a little more than a year after it opened. The Frida Kahlo-inspired Mexican restaurant and bar Casa Kahlo has already built up multiple violations from city and state code...
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FEBRUARY STARTS WITH ICE AND WIND
Ice covers the Christina River on Feb. 1, a frigid winter day that ranged between 13 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit with winds ranging between 14 and 25 mph along the Wilmington Riverfront.
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Indoor golf facility coming to Riverfront
Add a round of indoor golf to the list of things you can do on the Wilmington Riverfront. Wilmington developer Buccini/Pollin Group is adding an 8,000-squarefoot indoor golf venue at 401 S. Madison St. inside the same building as Penn Cinema....
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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.
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Shutdown still possible despite DHS agreement
Lawmakers appeared to be closing in on a deal endorsed by President Donald Trump to avoid an extended govern ment shutdown, but a key player said a brief government closure may be inevitable as there still was work to be done Jan. 30 as funding was...
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Takeaways as Meyer lays out $6.9B budget
Gov. Matt Meyer delivered his proposed budget to grow business and fuel education in the First State in the next fiscal year. The Democrat proposed a $6.9 billion spending plan on Jan. 29, infusing money into public education, housing, health care and...
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5 Iron Hill brewpubs transferred again
Four months after its locations stopped slinging beers, the oncemighty 19-restaurant Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant chain is still serving up post-bankruptcy twists and turns. For the second time in two months, some of the restaurants have a new...
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Development proposed on Frightland property
The huge farm that includes Frightland south of St. Georges could be turned into a housing development and a business park for distribution centers, warehouses or data centers. An exploratory plan has been filed with New Castle County for the...
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Delaware is coping with storm’s aftermath
First State records up to 10 inches of snow, Driving restrictions are lowered as storm passes, Bridge into Ocean City reopening to vehicle traffic,
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