State of Delaware

U.S. Rep. John Carney is reaching across the aisle to help medicine reach the patients who need it. On Jan. 31, the Delaware Democrat introduced House Bill 3839, the Drug Shortage Prevention Act. Responding to the 230 drug shortages that occurred in 2011, the bill would aim to improve U.S. Food and Drug Administration communications and address drug shortages proactively.

DelDOT will hold a public workshop on Monday, Feb. 13, from 4 to 7 p.m. so citizens can receive an update on the status of proposed improvements south of Georgetown.

Mandatory mediation for foreclosures is now a reality in Delaware – at least for the next two years.

Delaware’s minimum wage rate could increase by $1 in the next two years, but it’s not likely to happen without a fight.

“This is Delaware’s time to lead,” said Gov. Jack Markell during his State of the State address recently. “Creating more and better jobs. Improving our quality of life. Providing the best schools and learning opportunities for our children. Getting the most out of each tax dollar. Strengthening the trust of our people in their government. These are challenges even in ordinary times.

After years of construction, delay and turbulent waters, the Indian River Inlet Bridge opened to traffic last Friday, with Gov. Jack Markell taking the maiden ride across its span.

An appeals process has begun for 24-year-old Derrick Powell, the man who was convicted in February 2011 of fatally shooting Georgetown police officer Chad Spicer on Sept. 1, 2009.

In an effort to move the Route 54 Improvement Project toward completion, the Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announced Thursday, Jan. 5, that contractor Mumford & Miller, will be doing paving operations this weekend.  Unseasonably warm weather will allow a portion of the project to be paved now instead of in the spring, officials said. 
 

NRG Energy, the parent company of Bluewater Wind, notified Delmarva Power this week it is canceling the long-term power purchase agreement with Delmarva Power, which the parties signed in 2008 to provide Delaware customers with up to 200 megawatts of offshore wind energy.

Most people at some point dream about getting married. Once they find the person they believe they’ll spend the rest of their life with, they want to celebrate that love with their family and friends in an official ceremony recognized by the state and/or their place of faith. And now, starting Jan. 1, that extends to all people in Delaware, regardless of who they love.

In keeping with the Civil War sesquicentennial commemoration underway since April 2011, the Delaware Public Archives has chosen to honor five men who served in Delaware units with a display that features artifacts and personal narratives. According to Curator of Archeology Charles H.

The Delaware State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit on Friday, Dec. 23, was investigating a single-vehicle crash in which two Millsboro residents were killed early that morning.

Delaware State Police troopers are investigating the armed robbery of Holts Liquors located on Route 26 on Friday evening.
 

In the age of seemingly unending financial uncertainty, the hits just keep on coming.

Bethany Beach officials on Dec. 15 announced the results, to date, from a survey the Town sent out to its citizens on Nov. 9 regarding support and opposition to the proposed Assawoman Canal Trail project, which would run along the Assawoman Canal, partly inside town limits.

Selbyville police arrested Jeffrey Paddock, 49, of Ocean View on Wednesday, Nov. 23, for his alleged involvement in a string of local burglaries.

In a letter to the Delaware River Basin Commission regarding natural gas development regulations, Gov. Jack Markell wrote of his plans to vote “no” on Nov. 17 on regulations permitting hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking,” as it is also known – in the Delaware River Basin.

Representatives from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) spoke to members of the Bethany-Fenwick Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 3 about the progress of both the Indian River Inlet Bridge project and the Route 26 Mainline improvements project.

An outside observer might think DelDOT employees were playing video games last week in Dover, but snowplow operators were actually using technology to prepare for winter. For the first time, the Delaware Department of Transportation used snowplow simulators to train drivers.

The Delaware State Police are asking the public to be on the lookout for two suspicious male subjects who have reportedly followed several female juveniles in the Keenwick by the Bay development near Fenwick Island.

Dressed in hardhats, gloves and reflective vests, a group of 20 civilians crossed the new Indian River Inlet Bridge, from end to end, for the first time. They grinned as a DelDOT tour guide led them across the newly completed 10-foot closure pour, which connected the two halves of the new bridge. Motorists had become accustomed to seeing the incomplete north and south sections move closer together until Oct. 18, when the closure pour was completed.

On Wednesday, Nov. 9, Delaware will join all other states in conducting the first nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) test. At 2 p.m., radio, television and cable stations will broadcast the familiar alert warning sound. Following the alert sound, the recorded message on broadcast media will state, “This is a test.” The audio message will be the same for both radio and television.

With autumn leaves beginning to fall, DNREC’s Division of Air Quality is reminding residents that burning leaves is prohibited statewide. The leaf-burning ban, in effect since February 1995, is important to protect people from harmful chemicals that are produced by open burning, officials said.

Delaware’s Department of Transportation has announced that beginning this evening, Wednesday, Nov. 2, there will be a shift in traffic patterns on Route 1 just north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge. The shift will be implemented to ensure continued road safety due to dune erosion adjacent to the northbound lanes, they said.

Both the northbound and southbound lanes of Route 1, near the Indian River Inlet will close at approximately 9 p.m. tonight, due to high storm tides, report  officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).

The Inland Bays Foundation had its first official meeting in October as an established 501(c)3 organization. Their mission is “to advocate and promote the restoration of the Inland Bays watershed by conducting public outreach and education, tracking restoration efforts, encouraging scientific inquiry and sponsoring needed research, in order to establish a long-term process for the protection and enhancement of the Inland Bays.”

It’s getting a lot harder for people driving across the Indian River Inlet Bridge to see through the gap between north and south sides of the new bridge as they drive past, with the time for the final concrete pour of the project nearing and just 10 feet of space remaining between the two cantilevered portions of the bridge deck.

The Delaware State Police have issued an Amber Alert for the Milford Police Department. The Milford Police Department is searching for a 4-year-old Milford boy and his 19-year-old mother after they were abducted Friday morning.

Despite long-running concerns about its stability, the 46-year-old Indian River Inlet Bridge came away from two natural disasters in a single week with a clean bill of health, as did its replacement.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper toured post-hurricane Sussex County on Monday, Aug. 29, under sunny skies, and in Fenwick Island, he found that no news is good news.