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The Bidens head to Rehoboth Beach house this week - Helicopters like the Marine One were seen flying over Sussex County and at Rehoboth Beach. Photo from Wikipedia Commons. President Joe Biden seems set to hit Rehoboth Beach this week arriving as early as Wednesday. Three Marine Ones have been seen flying over Sussex County, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is closing parts of the Gordon Pond trail and local airports just received directives creating a temporary flight restriction from Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday. No planes are allowed within 7.6 nautical miles of the private North Shores community and beach where… Continue Reading
Helicopters like the Marine One were seen flying over Sussex County and at Rehoboth Beach. Photo from Wikipedia Commons.
President Joe Biden seems set to hit Rehoboth Beach this week arriving as early as Wednesday.
Three Marine Ones have been seen flying over Sussex County, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is closing parts of the Gordon Pond trail and local airports just received directives creating a temporary flight restriction from Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday.
No planes are allowed within 7.6 nautical miles of the private North Shores community and beach where the Bidens house is located.
While CNN has reported Biden will go to Rehoboth Beach Wednesday, the White House hasn’t released the president’s schedule.
The News Journal pointed out Tuesday that First lady Jill Biden turns 70 on Thursday.
DNREC said Tuesday that the Gordons Pond parking area, pavilion, beach area and surf fishing vehicle crossing at the southern end of Cape Henlopen State Park will be closed on Wednesday, June 2 and on Friday, June 4 for a security event coordinated among local, state and federal authorities.
There will also be intermittent periods on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday when the southernmost portion of the Gordons Pond trail within the park will be closed.
That goes along with people posting about an increase in helicopter traffic.
Posts on the NextDoor app in the last week had people spotting large black helicopters and wondering.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control later confirmed there was a test run at the Gordon’s Pond parking lot for landing a helicopter like Marine One, a Sikorsky VH-92A helicopter. DNREC has not commented on whether the parking lot needed renovations or extra supports put in to create the landing space.
So, convoys of big black SUVs, police cars and ambulances may occasionally take over the Coastal Highway with longer lines at ice cream stores (a favorite stop in warm weather for the president).
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
Can declining numbers at Food Bank drive-thru mobile pantries be another sign the economy is coming back?
The Food Bank of Delaware says that number of families picking up food at its monthly drive-thru mobile pantries has dropped in half since January’s round.
The numbers have dropped so steadily that after the July round, the Food Bank will re-evaluate whether to continue them.
The mobile pantries started in all three counties right after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring 2020 and tens of thousands of Delawareans lost their jobs. Even into January 2021, they were serving as many as 1,400 families at a single county site.
Last month, though, about 700 people took advantage of the drive-thru in their county, said Kim Turner, spokeswoman for the Food Bank.
“Numbers are dropping, which we are happy to see,” she said. “We are planning to hold the monthly distributions through July and then we will re-evaluate.”
As the number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are dropping and the number of those vacacinated has risen, restrictions have changed and many businesses are operating more fully. Restaurants are allowed to bring more people inside, movie theaters are opening and travel and rental agencies say business is hopping.
With businesses complaining they can’t find people to fill jobs, and many blaming it partly on high unemployment payments, Gov. John Carney has told the Delaware Department of Labor to reinstitute the requirement that someone on unemployment must prove that they have looked for a job in order to stay on unemployment.
Many businesses are offering signing bonuses and more. The Delaware Restaurant Association — hardest hit by pandemic layoffs — has started a service that matches workers to restaurant jobs.
All of that may add up to more opportunities for jobs, fewer people on unemployment and fewer people in line for help with food.
Here’s what the Food Bank’s site breakdown looked like in 2021:
January: Kent County, 1,000 (food ran out and was upped for next events); New Castle County, 1,234; Sussex Coun ty, 1,356.
March: Sussex, 1,109; Kent, 1,264; New Castle, 1,109.
April: Sussex, 827; Kent, 840; New Castle, 613.
May: Sussex, 700; Kent, 771; New Castle, 649.
February’s pantries were snowed out.
June’s mobile pantries will be the week of Monday, June 7.
The Sussex County event at Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown will start at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 7. Register in advance here.
The Kent County site will be at Dover International Speedway in Dover starting at 11 a.m, Wednesday, June 9. Register in advance here.
The New Castle County site will at Frawley Stadium and start at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 11. Register in advance here.
The Food Bank will be prepared to serve up to 1,000 households at each pantry. While drive-up is available, receipients are asked to register and bring proof of ID and that they live in Delaware t to receive assistance.
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
(Photo by Marc Schulte from Pexels)
Most Delaware places famous for their Fourth of July fireworks shows have decided the shows will go on.
But some related events have been scratched. Of course, organizers will follow pandemic guidelines as they exist on the day of the fireworks.
Here’s the latest.
Bethany Beach will takes two days for its celebration. Fireworks will be at 9:15 p.m. July 5, preceded by music from local favorite Love Seed Mama Jump at the bandstand. The 287th Army Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. July 4 at the bandstand. There will be no parade.
Dewey Beach: “We are doing the fireworks, as in the past, on July 4th,” businessman Alex Pires said.
Dover’s Fourth of July Celebration on July 4 will feature “a patriotic parade sponsored by the American Legion and a fireworks display. We … hope to add some additional surprises,” according to the organizers’ website.
Hockessin has announced its 2121 fireworks will be back, after April posts said the Fourth of July events would be canceled. Fireworks will happen Friday, July 2 at dusk.
Laurel’s leaders voted in March to host only fireworks on July 3, without vendors and entertainment. When the town wrote about it on Facebook, the post asked for donations to help cover the $17,500 cost.
Lewes’ fireworks will occur, Go Fourth Lewes promises, without giving details. The Chamber of Commerce said that the boat parade will start at 2 p.m and that children’s activities have been canceled.
Newark’s Freedom Fireworks will occur about 9:15 p.m. July 2 from the University of Delaware athletic complex. The event features just fireworks – no vendors and entertainers. Free parking is available in multiple nearby lots. There will be no lawn or grass viewing areas in these lots. The rain date is July 5.
Rehoboth Beach’s fireworks are planned July 3, with the Zambelli display due at 9:30 p.m. from the beach south of Rehoboth Avenue. “Please be in town early,” the city asks. “Depending on the weather, the fireworks may be launched any time after 8 p.m.”
The Smyrna/Clayton July 4th Foundation will host fireworks at dusk on July 4, from the Little League fields on Duck Creek Parkway. The group – Delaware’s oldest at running fireworks – will also sponsor a parade starting at 9:30 a.m. July 3.
Wilmington “will present fireworks on July 4th. However, we probably won’t stage them in a central location but rather in a few locations around the city,” said John Rago, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Mike Purzycki. “Details are being developed and will be announced as soon as possible.”
Other fireworks
New Castle is hosting Separation Day fireworks on June 12. They start at 9:30 p.m. from Battery Park. Most other events commemorating when the three lower counties separated from Pennsylvania to form a colony are cancelled.
The Wilmington Blue Rocks host fireworks after their games on June 4, June 18, July 3, July 16, Aug. 6, Aug. 13 and Aug. 27. They’re mostly Fridays.
Hagley runs members-only fireworks shows in August.
Elsmere’s fall festival will have fireworks, council member Marianne Skipski said.
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
President Joe Biden is coming home this weekend, and you know what that means.
If it’s Friday at 5 p.m. and the traffic is bad, it can only mean one thing. And it’s NOT happy hour.
It’s “Joe Jam” time.
That’s the kitschy name for the traffic congestion that occurs around Route 141, 48 and Centreville Road when President Joe Biden heads home from D.C. to Greenville, Delaware.
With Biden returning home many weekends, like he is for Memorial Day weekend, the traffic alerts have been received with a range of emotions for Delawareans – everything from helpful and proud to funny and annoying.
“I think it is pretty amazing that he comes home so often and speaks to the type of person and President he is,” said Gina Castelli of North Wilmington. “The president of the United States lives in our county and state. That is pretty phenomenal. It will happen for four years. Let’s celebrate it!”
Wilmington resident Ashley Sabo is not a fan of the frequent homebound trips.
“His trips home cost taxpayers a lot more money as president than they did when he was in the Senate,” said Sabo, who says she’s more frustrated than upset. “I would prefer if his timing took into account busy times of travel for residents of the area.”
The President’s public schedule notes what the time his aircraft plans to arrive at New Castle Airport – usually around 5 p.m. on Fridays and what time he departs (7 a.m.-ish) on Mondays.
With each trip, he is accompanied by a motorcade of vehicles, and commuters traveling near or around Point A (New Castle Airport) to Point B (around the perimeter of Biden’s home – and all roads leading to and from) find themselves stuck in traffic for at least an additional hour, give or take an hour.
That means that people on their way home or to day cares after a long week or people heading to work or school drop-offs can suddenly find themselves in stand-still traffic and late for pick-ups and drop-offs.
Media sites such as WDEL radio and First State Update have been the most popular Delaware news outlets to inform the public about when the President is due into town and which roads will be impacted.
Micahel Loughery of North Wilmington said he likes the updates even though the delays don’t affect him too much.
“I think it’s so funny how people get twisted about all this,” he said. “What did they think would happen when he got elected?”
It’s not that Biden wants to return, but the frequency of his return was a surprise for many.
But not Margaret Jenkins of Wilmington.
“He’s always been a homebody — coming home while he was in the Senate,” she said. “Why should that really change?”
Jenkins is impacted by the president’s travel plans because she lives on Route 141, but says that so far, she has not been stuck when his caravan comes to town.
“So far I have missed it. But, I think we can cope,” she said. “I never thought I’d live four miles from the president of the United States.”
And then, there are those like Faith Coco of New Castle, who are wishing for Option B.
“Can we start a Go Fund Me account for a helicopter landing pad in his backyard?”
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
The Bidens head to Rehoboth Beach house this week
Food Bank: Drive-thru pantry numbers down 50%; will re-evaluate
Most traditional Fourth of July fireworks displays are on this year
Who knew having a U.S. president meant traffic woes when he comes home?
Delaware Botanic Gardens ready for a real First State summer crowd
Need a computer, Wi-Fi? Now you can check them out at the library
Government
Republican bills would cut taxes in wake of state’s revenue windfall
With 18,000-plus case backlog, jury trials to resume next week
Ben Addi leaving cabinet for DSU; Eugene Young picked to replace him
Food and dining
Greek favorites fill menu of Wilmington’s Festival to Go
Proof we love BBQ: Stuck with only takeout, sales rose for this restaurant
Health
With COVID cases lowest since August, first DE WINS! drawing Monday
Delaware’s vaccine goal in June: Adding 17,000 more people
Sports
Caravel wins marathon softball championship game
DMA bats come up big as Seahawks beat Appo for 1st baseball state title
Padua wins 3rd straight girls DI soccer championship
Tower Hill wins fifth straight team championship, Sussex Academy Lydic wins individual
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