Delaware
Delaware Valley residents, businesses find loopholes to survive scorching heat
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Delaware Valley is dealing with scorching temperatures during yet another heat wave this summer.
One of the only spots to get some relief from the excessive heat was down the shore.
The beach at 12th Street in Ocean City looked more like a Saturday or Sunday.
Joseph Ferrante and Cindy Galasso were sitting right by the water.
“The breeze makes all the difference in the world and hearing the ocean makes it feel cooler too,” said Ferrante.
“This weather is absolutely gorgeous here, today. It’s breathtaking,” said Galasso.
Ferrante and Galasso were just two of the many people who drove down the shore for the day on Tuesday to escape the brutal heat back home.
“It’s oppressive at home, I mean compared to here, there’s a nice breeze. And it’s fun to see little kids on the beach and just the sound of the ocean …. there’s nothing better,” said Donna Leeson.
The Ocean City Beach Patrol said lifeguards have seen more people recently on the beach midweek than normal, and with the ocean temperature hovering in the low 60s, it’s an easy way to cool down.
“You know you go in and then you actually get pretty chilly, so you have to come out to the beach and warm up,” said Lt. Kelly Catania of the Ocean City Beach Patrol.
“I’ve just been dipping in the ocean every couple minutes, juggling my soccer ball and every time I get hot I just like to go for a nice little dip,” said Brody Kaplan, who was on vacation with his family.
There was a big difference between how it felt on the boardwalk and the beach, and that’s why Galasso said she was staying put on the sand.
“The ocean breeze, the salt air, the sun, sand in between my toes, sun on my face …. this is my happy place,” Galasso said.
Lifeguards with the Ocean City Beach Patrol are in the stands from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. They say they want you to be safe, and remind everyone not to swim when the guards are off duty.
While many people escaped the heat by flocking to the shore, some Philadelphia business owners took a different approach.
Amid the high temperatures, outdoor-only restaurants are struggling. The oppressive heat is keeping many customers away.
For the last few days, Morgan’s Pier on Christopher Columbus Boulevard at Penn’s Landing has been emptier than usual, despite the restaurant being right on the Delaware River with beautiful views of the Ben Franklin Bridge. The restaurant has no indoor seating.
“We are on the water, so it is 10 degrees cooler,” Dana Canalichio, director of operations for FCM Hospitality, said. “Being an all-outdoor restaurant, obviously, you know, people are very hesitant to come down, to come out to outdoor restaurants because it is so hot.”
Business has been sluggish because of the heat wave. But for customers willing to brave the scorching temperatures, the restaurant is taking precautions to keep them safe.
“We have fans, we have misters. And then we set up water stations for all the guests so they can hydrate at their own leisure,” Canalichio said.
Employees are working shorter shifts to minimize exposure to the heat.
“Trying to keep staff motivated, that’s a little bit of a struggle,” Canalichio said. “You know, ’cause they’re also extremely hot and they have to be in the weather.”
At Walnut Garden in Rittenhouse Square — owned by the same company as Morgan’s Pier — the restaurant had to push back its opening from noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesday to avoid the hottest part of the day. The heat wave is also affecting other restaurants within the hospitality group.
“Liberty Garden, which is our newest location, located next to Liberty Bell, we did close for the day because there’s not a lot of shade down there and it’s extremely hot,” Canalichio said.
The restaurants are doing the best they can, Canalichio said, while hoping for relief.
The Hagley Museum and Library houses a collection of patent models
The Hagley Museum and Library houses the nation’s second-largest collection of patent models, many of which the public never gets to see.
For most, 41 years of service is more than enough. For State Librarian Annie Norman, though, even retirement can’t slow her down.
“The work is never done; there’s always something to do,” she said. “I’m going to have to continue to help in other ways.”
Norman will step away this fall after 24 years as the Delaware state librarian and director of the Delaware Division of Libraries.
Throughout her tenure, Norman made waves; the director helped create the Delaware Library Consortium, which allowed all of Delaware’s Public libraries to share items, and brought the library system along during a wave of technological change. For these achievements, she was named to the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame in 2016 and appointed by President Joe Biden as a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board.
We spoke with Norman as she wraps up an accomplished career about her proudest achievements, and the state of libraries in 2026.
Question: As you look back on your tenure, what was your proudest accomplishment?
Answer: What I’ll be known for more than anything is probably the statewide library catalog and consortium. The politics of bringing all of those libraries together, after years of there being four separate library catalogs in Delaware, took about eight years. More recently, I think bringing the school libraries into that catalog is going to be really significant. We’ve got more than 50 school libraries to be a part of the statewide catalog, something we think can really help with the literacy crisis in this state.
One of the biggest challenges of your tenure was adjusting to the large wave of technology that came about. How have you and the Delaware libraries handled it?
It’s been very systematic. We have a great IT team that helps manage for us, as well as the state funding 100% of library technologies. The growth of the iPhone has certainly had a huge impact on literacy, but we’re really just working hard to bring back the excitement of reading.
The Delaware libraries’ programming have always been a popular resource. How important do you view these offerings to local communities, and will they continue to expand?
Yes, libraries are about enrichment, which means helping support people in things like entrepreneurship, education and innovation. We’ve had libraries start up job centers, which were so successful we could expand to entrepreneurship, and even help with more basic social needs, by starting a “social innovation team” to help with more of the social services-type work.
Where we still struggle is we can only help people access Delaware systems to help with their needs, not fix things within those systems. For that reason, we always encourage these systems to work with us, so the Delaware library system can fit everyone’s needs.
Cuts toward libraries just occurred in New Castle County, with the potential for more to come. How will the library system look to stay afloat?
Because of the economy, because of federal changes, things can get difficult, it’s not the first time we’ve experienced budget cuts. We’ve progressed significantly over the years, but there is much more work to do, and I don’t know that the public understands how critical libraries and librarians are to literacy.
The power of walking into a library and being able to choose what you want to read for a child is powerful, and until people understand that, we can’t achieve our literacy goals.
Adam Denn is an intern reporter for Delaware Online/The News Journal. You can reach him at apdenn@delawareonline.com.
Inspiration
Do you have a suggestion for our Inspiration page? E-mail Tammy Paolino at tpaolino@usatodayco.com
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — People in Delaware County said it feels like new housing developments are popping up on every corner.
WSYX
“What haven’t you noticed, right? The whole area just exploded,” said Scott Shonebarger.
Scott Sanders, the executive director of the Regional Planning Commission, said companies like Intel and other industries are a main driver for thousands of people moving to Delaware County.
With the big boom comes an urgent need for more housing.
John Wicks is the developer at Real Property Design and Development.
He has spent over a decade building homes for families in Delaware County.
Wicks said the Olentangy School District is one of the hottest spots for new homes.
“I started with one high school up until the 90s, then now we’re up to four up to five different high schools so it’s just a big draw,” said Wicks. “It’s a beautiful community.”
The district has grown into the fourth largest in Ohio with a new elementary school opening next year, and a fifth high school in 2028.
Wicks said the growth has presented some challenges over the years like labor shortage and some opposition.
“It’s become a big issue for a lot of people that live in and around these areas. They tend to oppose new growth and new development, so restrictions have gotten a little bit harder. Costs have obviously gone up over the last 20 years,” said Wicks.
The planning commission says between 275,000 and 350,000 people could call Delaware County home by 2040.
That’s up from 214,000 in 2020.
Scott Shonebarger said he supports growth but wonders when is enough.
“I mean to a certain extent I think you know at some point right you have to have some sort of boundaries I think, getting into the fact that now you have five high schools,” said Shonebarger. “What’s the limit?”
Police in Wilmington, Delaware, shot and killed a 19-year-old man Wednesday night.
The incident happened in a residential area near 24th and Jessup streets just after 11 p.m., Wilmington police said in a news release. The person who was shot has not been publicly identified.
Officers were monitoring a large crowd gathered outside when they saw a man exit a home with a handgun and point it toward the crowd, police say.
When officers approached the man, he ran away and a foot pursuit began, police say.
At some point in the chase, an officer fired their weapon and hit the 19-year-old. The man was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
Police say they recovered a loaded gun from the man and that the officer was not injured.
Video filmed at the scene shows a crowd of residents gathered outside after the shooting.
Police are asking anyone with more information to come forward. The shooting is under investigation by the Delaware Department of Justice and Wilmington police.
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