NCCo impact fees

New Castle County raises impact fees for new construction

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Government, Headlines

The impact fees New Castle County charges developers to partly pay for the resulting increased costs of public services are going up significantly for the first time since 1999. A bill just passed by New Castle County Council will index the fees, by 2028, to the annual Engineering News Record Construction Cost Index. “As numerous developments have come online over …

pay board members

NCCo Council votes to pay board members $100 per meeting

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

New Castle County Council has voted 7-3 with one abstention to expand payments to the board members who serve on the county’s boards, committees, and commissions. “At a time when it is difficult to find residents to serve on these important boards, compensating members will increase participation,” said council member Dee Durham, who sponsored the bill to pay them $100 …

DelShakes -- Toby Blech

DelShakes thinks outside the box for summer show

Ken MammarellaCulture, Arts Spotlight, Headlines

  Delaware Shakespeare (DelShakes) will present a summer production for the first time that is a musical, partly in Spanish, and includes words written by people not named William Shakespeare. “Twelfth Night O Lo Que Quieras” was initially presented in DelShakes’ 2022 community tour. Artistic director Mariah Ghant said she was “really blown away” by the 2022 production and wanted …

Delmarva Power redesigned bill

Delmarva Power redesigns its bills

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Headlines

Delmarva Power has reformatted its bills to make them easier to understand. The new design started in November for all of the utility’s hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial customers in Delaware. Zach Chizar, a senior communications specialist, said the redesign is based on feedback from customer focus groups. “It’s all about how to understand the bill better, in …

Gingerbread man -- Joe Daigle

DE Gingerbread Man runs, runs, runs as fast as he can on Food Network

Ken MammarellaEntertainment, Food, Headlines

This article contains spoilers (down at the end). BRANDYWINE HUNDRED — Delawarean Joe Daigle, who in 2022 with a friend won $10,000 from the Food Network for his gingerbread skills, was invited back by the cable channel for another challenge. Alone. “No pastry chef this time,” Daigle said, referring to friend Sean McGovern, who has that job at the Urban …

Claymont master plan

Claymont master plan thinks tall and welcoming

Ken MammarellaHeadlines, Business, Government

          CLAYMONT — Residents and other stakeholders in the future of the community prefer a wide-ranging Claymont master plan that allows buildings up to four stories in two areas, multiple ways to slow traffic, and a roundabout at Philadelphia Pike and Gov. Printz Boulevard that could be a welcoming gateway. The Wilmington Area Planning Council in …

A letter like this is telling all New Castle County property owners their "new tentative assessed value."

NCCo property reassessment letter goes out. Unwarranted fury ensues.

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

Homeowners throughout New Castle County have just received property reassessment letters giving them the “new tentative assessed value” of their property. And they’re mostly upset, judging from comments on Facebook, because the change is huge and they fear their taxes will go up as much. That’s wrong. “The tax rate will decrease; therefore, DO NOT multiply your new tentative assessed …

Paula Janssen with her parents, Eileen and Joseph Jr. Janssen’s Market was founded by Joseph’s father. Courtesy of Paula Janssen

Paula Janssen relies upon families for Janssen’s to prosper

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Headlines, Women Owned Businesses

One key to the success of Janssen’s Market is “family.” Sure, it’s a family-owned business, run by three generations of the Janssens since 1952. Over the decades, “our staff has become like family,” said Eileen Janssen, who joined her husband Joseph Jr. in the business in 1984 after teaching at A.I. du Pont High. The Greenville market closes on major …

Cora Castle co-founded OmniPotential Energy Partners, a company that has an unusual angle on charging electric vehicles (EVs). Courtesy of Cora Castle

Cora Castle charged up about OmniPotential’s neighborhood EV chargers

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Headlines, Women Owned Businesses

WILMINGTON — Half of Americans could be the market for Cora Castle’s idea for curbside charging of electric vehicles, and her first customer is a Greenville museum. The Delaware Museum of Nature and Science signed on with OmniPotential Energy Partners in October. Installation is expected in the first quarter of 2025. “I met Cora at a chamber of commerce meeting about two years …

The Melting Pot gets the prime spot, under the spire. Michael Emmons photo, courtesy of the University of Delaware Center for Historic Architecture and Design

Independence Mall headed for national historic registry

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Headlines

Independence Mall, the Concord Pike shopping center modeled after Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and other historic structures, is on its way to joining the National Register of Historic Places. “Everybody is super-excited,” said Joe Capaldi, manager of the North Wilmington shopping center and grandson of Emilio Capaldi, who designed and built it. “It’s a big deal.” The nomination form calls it …