Delaware considering mileage-based user fee

Drivers, get ready for a mileage-based user fee

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

As state and federal leaders push to get more electric vehicles on the road and lower the consumption of fossil fuels, a reckoning will come about how to pay for roads if nobody is buying gasoline at the pump. Taxes on the sale of gasoline fund a huge portion of roadwork, including repaving and safety concerns, and the push is …

Delaware state fair

Butter sculpting among new fun at 2022 state fair

Ken MammarellaCulture, Headlines

More than 2,000 pounds of butter that will become art, a Wild West show and a BMX stunt show are some of this year’s additions to the Delaware State Fair. The 103rd edition of the fair runs July 21-30 at the state fairgrounds in Harrington. “We’re chock full of entertainment,” said Danny Aguilar, assistant general manager and director of marketing. …

Clankers Casho Mill

DelDOT’s clankers hope to cut Casho Mill crashes

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

Seven large red balls hanging on chains above Casho Mill Road are the talk of the town in the Newark area. The balls were recently installed by the Delaware Department of Transportation to reduce the number of too-tall trucks hitting a nearby railroad underpass. Instead, the clank of the balls should warn the driver to turn around. Anthony Merlino posted …

The crowd at a DelDOT open house on plans for Foulk Road (Ken Mammarella photo)

Foulk Road reconfiguration draws intense interest

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

An open house that was billed the “absolute beginning of the process” to reconfigure Foulk Road generated intense interest from neighbors and owners of local businesses. It did not, however, generate a lot of answers. Nor did it generate a large number of people favoring the project to cut the road from four lanes, improve it for cyclists and pedestrians …

DelDOT wants to reduce the number of lanes on Foulk Road (Photo by Dough4872, from wikimedia)

Delaware wants to put Foulk Road on a diet

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

  State officials want to increase safety by reducing the number of lanes on Foulk Road. The idea is drawing a lot of interest on what the project entails – and a visceral outcry. The Delaware Department of Transportation “wants to reconfigure Foulk Road the same way it has Philadelphia Pike,” Mike Lang wrote on the Take Back Claymont Facebook …

Offshore wind Indian River Bridge

Delaware state parks offer after-dark fun

Ken MammarellaCulture, Headlines

Delaware state parks are typically open 8 a.m. to sunset, but they also host interesting evening events. Three types of nighttime events – lantern tours, full-moon hikes and hikes looking for nocturnal creatures – occur at several of the state’s 17 parks. A fourth – to marvel at the beauty of the Indian River Inlet Bridge – is a specialty …

Lesser vinca Delaware invasive plants

Delaware bans 37 invasive plants (with more to come)

Ken MammarellaCulture, Government, Headlines

Delaware has banned 37 invasive plants, and the number will grow. The hit list in a law that became effective July 1 includes plants often sold to homeowners or shared among gardeners and weeds that just seem to be all around that no one today likes. They are: (1) Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora). (2) Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). (3) Oriental …

pexels towfiqu barbhuiya 11921157

Water firm invites customers to buy coverage on e-devices

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Headlines

The company that provides water to about 100,000 people in New Castle County is known for regularly sending out snail-mail letters advocating that customers buy some financial coverage for their sewer lines in case they break. It now is suggesting something similar for electronic devices. “Veolia believes in bringing our customers the best in service and value,” it explains in …

An abandoned Burger King in Concord Mall (photo by Jonathan Pruitt, in a Reddit thread)

Abandoned Burger King found in Concord Mall sends Internet wild

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Headlines

  “A fully intact vintage Burger King was found behind a wall at the Concord Mall,” a Twitter user posted Tuesday. And by Wednesday, the tweet had gone viral, with more than 15,000 retweets, more than 160,000 likes, a Reddit thread and an article in India. Another Reddit thread about the photo started Monday. All the attention sparked a visit …

Fireworks over Rehoboth Beach (city of Rehoboth)

Your guide to Delaware fireworks, and so Fourth

Ken MammarellaCulture, Headlines

  Most Delaware places known for Fourth of July fireworks and other Independence Day activities have announced their plans. Organizers consistently ask for people to arrive early and leave late, and the Delaware Department of Transportation warns that many events close roads, too. Dusk is about 9:05 p.m. on the Fourth, but fireworks could start as late as 9:30. Here’s …