The city of Wilmington has paid $900,000 for the elegeant Gibraltar mansion on Pennsylvania and will work to preserve it for future generations, Mayor Mike Purzycki announced Friday. There are no definitive plans at this time for the property, Purzycki said in a press release. The property, the focus of both commercial and cultural interest for decades, hasn’t been able …
Wilmington considering $3.5 million subsidy plan for EMS services
The Wilmington City Council discussed a proposal Monday night to contract with St. Francis Hospital to subsidize emergency ambulance service through 2024. The service mostly is used by the most vulnerable residents of the city, according to St. Francis. It had about 20,000 EMS runs in Wilmington in 2023. In the council’s Joint Finance & Economic Development and Public Safety …
Wilmington announces HBCU Week schedule of events
Wilmington’s seventh annual HBCU Week and college fair kicks off Sunday, Sept. 17. It hopes to add to the 6,500 admissions and $60 million in scholarships that have been granted to city students since its inception in 2017. City mayor Mike Purzycki and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith – Wilmington’s HBCU ambassador – this week detailed the schedule of events celebrating …
Study concludes Wilmington isn’t paying employees enough
Wilmington has released a citywide classification and salary compensation study that recommends increasing pay across the board. The $85,000 project resulted in four reports, for executives and managers, nonunion staff, AFSCME Local 320 and AFSCME Local 1102. Mayor Mike Purzycki is asking City Council to amend the fiscal 2024 general operating budget to include new salary ranges from the study …
Wilmington project to make city more accessible for disabled
Teams of engineers will be spending the next few weeks focused on Wilmington sidewalks, as part of a larger effort to make the city safe and accessible for people with disabilities. The goal is to be in complete compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was enacted in 1990 to ensure that people with disabilities are guaranteed access to …
Bancroft School’s new name may be Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy
The first new school in Wilmington in 50 years is expected to officially receive its highly anticipated naming in September. The board announced Tuesday that the naming committee’s final recommendation for what is now known as Bancroft School is Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy, in honor of a former Bancroft principal. On Sept. 12, Christina’s school board will officially vote on …
Bill could stack Dems on Wilmington Housing Authority board
A bill that could sway the political power of the Wilmington Housing Authority is moving on after little discussion in the Senate Housing and Land Use Committee Tuesday. Senate Bill 177, sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Wilmington and committee chair, deals with the partisanship of the nine commissioners of the Wilmington Housing Authority. If passed, more than five commissioners …
Awards Gala raises $343,000 for Wilmington HBCU week
An event this month raised $343,000 for Wilmington’s 2023 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week. The 4th Annual HBCU Week Awards Gala, held June 9 at the Hotel Dupont in downtown Wilmington, raised money to support the city’s annual HBCU Week initiative. The dates for this year’s HBCU week have not been announced, but more info is expected to …
Leaning Collab bylaws outline procedures, stagger board terms
The Wilmington Learning Collaborative has finalized its bylaws, a foundational document in the group’s operations on which the governing council has worked with an attorney for months. Bylaws are established to set rules, regulations and policies for an organization to help it regulate itself. In part, the bylaws act as a higher authority that all members of the collaborative – …
Tatnall School breaks ground on $1M modern library
The Tatnall School in Wilmington is transforming its library this summer to include STEM technology, 3D printers, robotics, a new media bar and more. “The library was incredibly underutilized as stacks of books,” said Patrick Manahan, director of advancement for Tatnall. “The resource books which had long been a hallmark of the library space were all moving online.” School and …