Housing and homelessness

Hearing on housing, homeless leads to promise of attention

Betsy PriceGovernment, Headlines

A joint legislative hearing held by Delaware Senate and Housing committees Wednesday started picking threads out of the tangled wad of factors affecting affordable housing and homelessness in Delaware. The convening of the joint session was clearly a shot across the bow of the state political ship and a forerunner to more state, local and community action on the topics. …

Pokorny Adams Street

More fines for Pokorny, whose rentals were closed in 2022

Staff WriterGovernment, Headlines

The city of Wilmington  had impossed $33,000 fines agaisnt the man whose seven Adams Street properties were summarily shut down in 2002, dumpling dozens of people onto the streets. The move agaisnt Adolf J. Pokorny’s property shocked much of Wilmington and Delaware.. Now, the city says, the property owner has made virtually no progress in 18 months to correct structural …

City of Wilmington residency

Wilmington city, council lash out in fight over job residency

Peter OsborneGovernment, Headlines

Mob rule? Or B.S.? A weeks-long debate over Wilmington residency requirements for non-elected city employees has deteriorated into what might generously be described as “frosty” exchanges between Mayor Mike Purzycki and a pair of Wilmington City Council members. After a month of bitter debate, the 13-member council on Nov. 16 passed a five-year residency law for new hires that will …

Veterans will be able to explore benefits and new eligibility at the virtual event.

Virtual event to connect Veterans to new benefits

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Government

Military families will have a three-day opportunity to explore Veterans benefits and new eligibility requirements at a one-stop-virtual-shop. From Dec. 12 to Dec. 14, between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Delaware vets can take advantage of 1-on-1 assistance and can connect with Veterans Affairs, state and community partners to obtain claim status updates, file claims, enroll in …

DNREC regulations electric vehicles

DNREC finalizes EV regulations. Critics are not impressed

Betsy PriceGovernment, Headlines

DNREC has finalized state regulations about electric and other zero emission vehicles it says will help Delaware achieve lower air pollution caused by light- and medium-duty cars,. Instead of demanding that by 2035 all new car sales in Delaware must be electric, the program will end in 2032 when sales are expected to hit 82%. That will address many of …

New Castle County Hope Center

Hope Center plans to face budget questions with facts

Peter OsborneGovernment, Headlines

As homelessness increases in Delaware and COVID-related support dries up, the New Castle County Hope Center plans to roll out its new long-term sustainability strategy in January. It will include a companion dashboard demonstrating how big a dent in the problem the center has made over the past three years. New Castle County purchased the former Sheraton Hotel on Airport …

An Ocean View wife and husband both will serve prison time for selling meth.

Ocean View wife follows husband to prison for selling meth

Betsy PriceGovernment, Headlines

An Ocean View woman was sentenced to 42 month in prison for distribution of methamphetamine. It’s a family affair for Melanie Mitchell, 35. Her husband, Vincent Mitchell, 35, was sentenced in September to 48 months for the same offense. Both were sentenced by Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. He allowed …

A New Castle man who robbed multiple tobacco stores over 10-days is going back to prison.

Cigarette thief sent back to prison, where he can’t smoke

Betsy PriceGovernment, Headlines

A New Castle man who robbed a string of tobacco stores over 10 days in spring 2022 has been sentenced to federal prison for 160 days for each of those 10. Donald Gladden, 57, will spend 53 months — or nearly 4 and one-half years — back in prison after being sentenced by Judge Colm F. Connolly of the U.S. …

A new study will focus on traffic and development along and near Kirkwood Highway. (Photo by Dough4872 from Wikimedia)

Planners: How would you like Kirkwood Highway to change?

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

A regional planning agency wants your opinion on the future of Kirkwood Highway in its first comprehensive review of eight miles of the retail and business corridor. “We have never looked at the full Kirkwood Highway/Capitol Trail Corridor for both transportation and land use, in this way,” said Dave Gula, principal planner for the Wilmington Area Planning Council. “To our …