A WGMD Local News Article
DE’s May Unemployment Over National Average
Delaware’s May unemployment rate is slightly higher than the national average at 5.9% – the national rate is at 5.8%. In Sussex County the rate is at 4.4% – a drop from 5.6% in April. During the pandemic lock-down in May of last year there were 63,000 Delawareans unemployed, but as the pandemic restrictions were…
Read MoreDays Are Numbered For Indian River Power Plant
The coal-fired Indian River Power Plant will be put out of service next year. NRG Energy made the announcement during an investor day presentation Thursday. The decision was made to retire several plants following the recent PJM Interconnection capacity auction. In a statement, NRG said closing the plants was a difficult but necessary decision in…
Read MoreDelaware Governor Visits Funland in Recognition of DE Wins!
Delaware Governor John Carney accompanied by Rep. Peter Schwartzkopf visited Funland on Friday to thank the staff of the popular Rehoboth Beach amusement park for participating in the state’s Covid vaccination incentive program known as DE Wins! They posed for several selfies and photo-ops including this one with the park’s staff. “DE Wins! is important,”…
Read MoreAuditor: Del. Prescription Program Overspent By $24.5-M
Delaware has been overpaying its pharmacy benefits manager for state employees’ prescription drug coverage over a three-year period. The overpayment amounts to $24.5-million taxpayer dollars, according to a special report from State Auditor Kathy McGuiness. “For fiscal years 2018 through 2020, the State of Delaware spent hundreds of millions of dollars on prescription drugs for…
Read MoreLighthouse Developers Announce Donation Following Arson Arrest
Rising out of the ashes, developers of The Lighthouse in Dewey Beach have announced reopening plans and have made a charitable donation following the arrest of a suspect in the April 2020 blaze that wrecked the property as it was being redeveloped. The Lighthouse was on the verge of opening at the time of the…
Read MoreDel. Equal Rights Amendment Could Expand
Delaware’s Equal Rights Amendment could be further amended to ensure that the rights of Delawareans are equally protected regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Thursday, state lawmakers and advocates gathered at Legislative Hall to unveil a proposal (HB 199) to add protections to the Delaware Constitution’s equal rights clause. Delaware would become the…
Read MoreVIDEO : Juneteenth Holiday Proclaimed
Today, Juneteenth is being celebrated to recognize the end of formal slavery in the United States. June 19th, 1865, enslaved people in Texas and other remote slave states were informed that they were free people. It is a state holiday in Delaware and Maryland, and many local governments will also not be open today. Worcester…
Read MoreDel. House Passes Minimum Wage Increase
After a series of failed amendments, the Delaware House of Representatives Thursday gave final legislative approval to an increase in Delaware’s minimum wage, to be phased in over several years until it reaches $15 an hour in 2025. The vote on Senate Bill 15 was 26-15. The minimum wage would rise to $10.50 per hour…
Read MoreGov. Carney Signs Bill To Require Black History Instruction In Schools
Delaware school districts and charter schools will be required to teach about Black History starting with the 2022-23 academic year. Governor John Carney signed House Bill 198 into law Thursday in Wilmington. Several organizations as well as Africana studies programs at the University of Delaware and Delaware State would be involved in designing the curriculum. Focal…
Read MoreDel. Bill Establishes Guidelines For Use Of Opioid Impact Fee
The State Senate has passed legislation to establish a prescription opioid settlement fund and a settlement distribution commission that would allocate collected funds toward addressing the opioid crisis. The measure formalizes a structure for administration of Delaware’s first-in-the-nation opioid impact fee. Senator Stephanie Hansen, D-Middletown and House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach are co-sponsors of…
Read MoreMissing Lewes Girl Found in Home after Massive 2-Hour+ Search
Around 10 p.m. Wednesday, a frantic search was initiated after a four-year-old girl was reported missing from her home on Creekside Drive just outside of Lewes. “Please help,” the father of the missing girl posted on Facebook around 11 p.m. “My little girl went missing from her bed about an hour ago. Police are here.…
Read MoreCommunity Organization Rallies Behind Survivors Of Cpl. Heacook
The family of slain Delmar Police Corporal Keith Heacook gets continuing support from the community, more than a month-and-a-half after he was murdered The Lord Baltimore Lions Club of Ocean View recently delivered a donation at the Delmar Police Department to benefit the survivors. Heacook leaves behind a 12-year-old son. The Lions Club says it…
Read MoreSalisbury Unveils Open Data Hub
The City of Salisbury has launched its Open Data Hub. Mayor Jake Day said the Open Data Hub serves as a central point of access to get information and data about Salisbury government, infrastructure, public safety, transportation and the local economy – as well as parks and recreation and more. “Transparency is an integral part…
Read MoreDel. Bill Supports Collective Bargaining For Delmar Police
Delmar Police deserve an opportunity to collectively bargain for better pay and safer working conditions, according to the sponsor of legislation that would clear the way for them to unionize. A bill introduced in the State Senate (SB 181) would clarify that the Town of Delmar is a public employer under the Delaware Police Officers…
Read MoreDE State of Emergency to be Lifted July 13
VIDEO : Md. COVID State of Emergency Ends July 1st
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Tuesday announced that the state’s COVID-19 State of Emergency will end July 1st. All emergency mandates and restrictions will be terminated that day. There will be no more statewide mask order for any settings, including schools, camps and child care facilities. “Thanks in large part to the hard work, the sacrifices,…
Read MoreRocket Launch This Morning From NASA Wallops
Weather conditions are improving for a launch this morning (Tuesday) from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia Eastern Shore. The Northrop Grumman Corporation Minotaur Rocket will be carrying payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office. Weather permitting, the launch may be seen across a wide portion of Delmarva. Currently the hope is to launch…
Read MoreRecommendations Released To Grow Volunteer Firefighting In Del.
Delaware’s system of volunteer firefighting companies would be strengthened under a plan produced Monday by a legislative task force. The panel has come out with a ten-point plan focused on recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Recommendations include enhanced tax credits and tuition reimbursement for volunteers. Also, a coordinated marketing campaign is being proposed that…
Read MoreLewes Boy Looking for Bone Marrow Donor
A bone marrow transplant needed for a 19-month old in Lewes. According to the Cape Gazette, Mylz Anderson-Finney was diagnosed in February with acute lymphoblastic leukemia – but your help is needed to find his perfect donor match. This is the most common type of cancer in children – however none of his family members…
Read MoreHistoric Town Clock Proposed for Lewes
Sussex Tech HS Due For Roof, Drainage, Track Improvements
Sussex Tech will be spruced up over the summer. The Board of Education has approved more than $500,000 allocated to replacing a roof, making drainage improvements under the main bus parking lot at the high school, and resurfacing the outdoor track. The track has not undergone a major improvement in its several decades of existence.…
Read MoreSussex County Council to Hear More on Reassessment Tuesday
The Sussex County Council meets Tuesday morning at 10am in Georgetown. They will have a presentation from Bayhealth Foundation on the Graduate Medical Education Program and discuss possible action related to the disposition of certain County property. There will be a public hearing on the proposed sewer district boundary in the North Georgetown area for…
Read MoreKent Co. Man Struck, Killed By SUV While Mowing Lawn
A Kent County man was struck and killed by a vehicle over the weekend while operating a push lawnmower at a ditch in front of his home. According to Delaware State Police, the 74-year-old man was about six feet from Westville Road in Camden-Wyoming Saturday evening when an SUV left the road, traveled onto the…
Read MoreFish Kill Reported in Canal Near Rehoboth Bay
A fish kill was reported in a canal near Rehoboth Bay Thursday. The Center for Inland Bays reports on its Facebook page that about 200,000 juvenile menhaden were left dead or dying. Experts with University of Delaware’s Citizen Monitoring Program found the fish were only 4 to 6 centimeters long. Water conditions showed that dissolved…
Read MoreOne Injured in Crash on Route 50 Bridge in Ocean City
One person was taken to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional Hospital with non-life threatening injuries after a 4-vehicle crash on the Route 50 Bridge in Ocean City Saturday morning just before 10:30. Ocean City Police tell WGMD that an eastbound vehicle rear-ended the vehicle in front of them. One of the vehicles was pushed into the westbound…
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