Delaware
Fall in love with Joella’s charming characters set in Delaware – Bonita Springs Florida Weekly
“The Same Bright Stars” by Ethan Joella is a well-written novel with deeply fleshed-out characters and complex relationships. I was completely immersed in this story and Jack’s dilemma right from the get-go.
You see, I grew up spending summers at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. It was less than an hour from my home. When I found out Joella was from Rehoboth, I asked him a couple of years ago when he would write a book that takes place at Rehoboth, and here it is. He has outdone himself.
Throughout the novel, you’ll find snippets from a guidebook to Rehoboth Beach. I love this. It puts substance to the locale:
You enter Rehoboth Beach over a drawbridge and instantly feel as if you have been transported. There is a welcome sign and a lighthouse in the middle of a traffic circle, and as you drive the main street, you see boutiques and restaurants and a local bookstore with a wide green awning.
In the summer, the shops have geraniums and impatiens spilling out of window boxes, and people leave their rescue dogs waiting for them by the parking meter as they buy croissants or coffee in the morning.

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The beach is wide and generous with striped metal sheds that rent umbrellas and chairs in the summer, and there is a mile-long boardwalk with ice cream places and souvenir shops. The rides at Playland Pier have been around since your parents and grandparents were young. And there are games like Skee-Ball and Whac-A-Mole and Frog Bog.
Rehoboth Beach is a mix of yesterday and today, at once a small town and a city. Planes creep by in the sky trailing banners, and you will look up and read their messages and feel as though the words were written just for you.
Jack Schmidt is 52 years old and in the midst of a midlife crisis, so to speak. He’s taken over his family’s restaurant after his grandmother and dad passed away. It’s his entire life.

Jean Lewis is a veteran bookseller who visits book clubs throughout Southwest Florida, speaking about the best new books of the season. She lives in Cape Coral with her husband, Jack, and their three spoiled cats. Maurice was their Siamese cat who lived to be 22 years old and loved sitting on books. Jean can be reached at www.mauriceonbooks.com.
He’s realizing he’s missing out on so much. He’s lonely, never married, no kids. He watches his friends with their families and thinks he might just take Deldine up on their offer. Deldine is a conglomerate buying up successful mom-and-pop restaurants along the coast. They have deep pockets but are hard-hearted. Jack can’t be sure they would actually keep his employees even though they promise they would. His employees are family to him, and most have been there forever. So, what’s a guy to do?
The story begins on the day before Thanksgiving. Jack pulls up to the restaurant and you begin to feel his angst. He’s thinking of the mounds of potatoes to peel, the dozens of turkeys defrosting. And knows the phone will be ringing off the hook with people hoping for a last-minute reservation. Suddenly, it’s just all too much.
There is so much local color in this novel. You will feel the sand between your toes and smell the briny aroma of the sea. For me, it brought back memories. The first time I visited the beach was as a kid. I recall how big everything on the boardwalk seemed. There was a ride with small boats floating in a circle and I honestly thought the water was as deep as the ocean. The sweet aroma of the candy corn roasting, the sight of the floss being whipped onto a cone. And, of course, since it was Rehoboth, the Grotto pizza.
Joella’s characters are so realistic. These people could be your friends, your neighbors, or even your own family. But Jack is thinking he needs more. He wants a family. Is it too late? He has a lot to contemplate.
Just when you think Jack’s decision cannot possibly become more complicated, his old girlfriend, Kitty, is suddenly back in town to help care for her ailing mom. And this is when everything begins to go off the charts.
I think you’ll enjoy following Jack as he has all sorts of barriers tossed at him that will ultimately influence his final decision. Hop on board and enjoy the ride. I loved this small novel with a big message.
Joella is also the author of “A Little Hope,” which became a Jenna Bonus Pick, and “A Quiet Life.” He lives in Rehoboth Beach with his wife and two daughters. My review copy was provided by Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. Honestly, one of the most original and refreshing books this year. I loved it! ¦
Delaware
Young humpback whale washes ashore in Delaware after possible ship strike, officials say
A young 32-foot humpback whale washed up on shore along the Delaware coast last week after it may have been struck by a large ship, according to the MERR Institute, a rescue and care facility for marine mammals in Lewes, Delaware.
The whale, estimated to have weighed at least 20,000 pounds, washed up in the Bethany Beach community on Jan. 8 after it had been floating at sea for a couple of days.
Whale likely struck by a ship
The MERR Institute said the humpback whale was in the surf zone throughout Thursday night before heavy equipment moved it to the shore the next day.
Marine officials said the tossing and churning in the surf caused gases to form and inflate the tongue. MERR Institute’s necropsy team then performed a post-mortem examination on Friday, Jan. 9.
Officials said the whale had subdermal hemorrhaging and a broken jaw on the right side, and that an injury of that nature is often associated with a large ship strike. Officials said the whale was likely still alive when it was struck by the ship.
MERR Institute officials said the whale was buried on the beach, which is “the most common practice for the disposition of the body. These large whales cannot be safely towed out to sea, so burying them on the beach allows them to become an important part of the beach ecosystem.”
“This was a tragic event, and we would like to thank everyone who helped to support us in our examination of this whale,” said MERR executive director Suzanne Thurman. “MERR’s volunteers were as wonderful as ever, and worked tirelessly to assist in examining the whale in a very short window of time. We would also like to thank DNREC for providing heavy equipment resources for towing and burial of the whale. They were able to tow the whale up onto the beach so we could safely examine it, and their staff was indispensable in helping us to position the whale so that we could get as much information as possible.”
Thurman continued, “And last but certainly not least, we would like to thank the very kind homeowners in Ocean Ridge. They looked out for our volunteers by sending down coffee and doughnuts, letting us use their bathroom, and for showing so much caring and compassion for this beautiful animal. We always appreciate the fact that we live in a community that cares so much about the ocean and its creatures.”
Delaware
See how much homes prices fell in Sussex County recently
Can anything fix the US housing crisis?
Will 2026 bring an affordable housing fix, or are high prices the new normal for buyers and renters?
Newly released data from Realtor.com for October shows that potential buyers and sellers in Sussex County saw slightly lower home sale prices than the previous month’s median of $475,000.
The median home sold for $472,500, an analysis of data from Realtor.com shows. That means October, the most recent month for which figures are available, was slightly down from September.
Compared to October 2024, the median home sales price was down 4.1% compared to $492,450.
Realtor.com sources sales data from real estate deeds, resulting in a few months’ delay in the data. The statistics don’t include homes currently listed for sale and aren’t directly comparable to listings data.
Information on your local housing market, along with other useful community data, is available at data.delawareonline.com.
Here is a breakdown on median sale prices:
- Looking only at single-family homes, the $490,000 median selling price in Sussex County was up 3.2% in October from $475,000 the month prior. Since October 2024, the sales price of single-family homes was slightly down from a median of $490,445.Fifty-four single family homes sold for $1 million or more during the month, compared to 36 recorded transactions of at least $1 million in October 2024.
- Condominiums and townhomes is the same sales price during October to a median of $450,000 from $450,000 in September. Compared to October 2024, the sales price of condominiums and townhomes was down 9.1% from $495,000. Ten condominiums or townhomes sold for $1 million or more during the month, compared to 14 recorded transactions of at least $1 million in October 2024.
About recorded home sales in Sussex County in Delaware
In October, the number of recorded sales in Sussex County dropped by 10% since October 2024 — from 482 to 434. All residential home sales totaled $285.4 million.
Across Delaware, homes sold at a median of $399,995 during October, up 2.6% from $390,000 in September. There were 1,072 recorded sales across the state during October, down 15.8% from 1,273 recorded sales in October 2024.
Here’s a breakdown for the full state:
- The total value of recorded residential home sales in Delaware decreased by 3.4% from $553.6 million in September to $534.7 million this October.
- Out of all residential home sales in Delaware, 6.72% of homes sold for at least $1 million in October, up from 5.11% in October 2024.
- Sales prices of single-family homes across Delaware increased by 2.8% from a median of $408,500 in September to $419,900 in October. Since October 2024, the sales price of single-family homes across the state was up 5% from $400,000.
- Across the state, the sales price of condominiums and townhomes dropped 7.4% from a median of $345,450 in September to $320,000 during October. The median sales price of condominiums and townhomes is down 5.9% from the median of $340,000 in October 2024.
The median home sales price used in this report represents the midway point of all the houses or units listed over the given period of time. The median offers a more accurate view of what’s happening in a market than the average sales price, which would mean taking the sum of all sales prices then dividing by the number of homes sold. The average can be skewed by one particularly low or high sale.
USA TODAY Co. is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Realtor.com. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu. Our News Automation and AI team would like to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us.
Delaware
Delaware Department of Technology & Information implements CloudNuro SaaS Management Platform
Written by
Distributed by EIN Presswire
Delaware Department of Technology & Information implements CloudNuro to improve its SaaS (Salesforce) governance, cost allocation, and chargeback automation.
— Pratul Patel, Chief Product Officer, CloudNuro
CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, January 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — CloudNuro, the leader in the Public Sector, State and Local Government for the enterprise SaaS, Cloud, and AI governance, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the State of Delaware Department of Technology & Information (DTI) to modernize and unify Salesforce management across the state agencies.
Under this initiative, CloudNuro will deliver a comprehensive SaaS governance using the FinOps Foundation framework – FinOps-for-SaaS for Salesforce license visibility, cost allocation, and chargeback management. The platform will streamline contract ingestion, automate license-to-usage mapping, and support configurable cost models, including markup, license-based allocation, usage-based chargeback, and hybrid structures. The result is a clear, defensible, and auditable view of technology spending across the state environment.
By adopting CloudNuro’s automated workflows and intelligence-driven governance, the State of Delaware is expected to reduce manual administrative effort. The initiative also creates a single source of truth for Salesforce utilization across agencies and departments, strengthening financial oversight and enabling data-driven budgeting.
Key capabilities Delaware will gain include:
• Single-pane-of-glass view of Salesforce subscriptions, usage, users, and costs across the state
• Centralized ingestion of Salesforce contracts, entitlements, and renewals
• Automated mapping of licenses to actual usage patterns
• Configurable chargeback models (license-based, consumption-based, or hybrid)
• Agency-level dashboards for cost transparency and optimization
• Cross-agency visibility into unused, underutilized, or misaligned licenses
• Standardized governance to support audits, procurement workflows and renewal planning
“We’re proud to support the State of Delaware in bringing financial discipline and transparency to Salesforce governance across agencies,” said Shyam Kumar, CEO of CloudNuro. “This engagement reflects the growing need for accountable, data-driven technology management in the public sector.”
This engagement reflects CloudNuro’s expanding role in supporting public sector digital modernization. By providing automated governance, FinOps-ready cost insights, and seamless alignment with procurement, IT, and finance operations, CloudNuro helps government organizations strengthen accountability, reduce waste, and streamline complex technology environments. The CloudNuro FinOps platform is used by several large public-sector agencies, including Los Angeles Metro, Cook County, DuPage County, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, and the City of Aurora.
For public-sector IT leaders, CloudNuro delivers a modernized approach to SaaS and cloud governance – purpose-built for the scale, rigor, and compliance needs of state operations.
About CloudNuro Corp:
CloudNuro is a leader in Enterprise SaaS Management Platforms, giving enterprises and government unmatched visibility, governance, and cost optimization. Recognized twice in a row by Gartner in the SaaS Management Platforms Magic Quadrant and named a Leader in the Info-Tech SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant, CloudNuro is trusted by several public sector and government agencies, including Cook County, DuPage County, City of Aurora, Los Angeles Metro, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, State of Delaware, and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
As the only Unified FinOps Platform for the Enterprise, CloudNuro brings AI, SaaS and IaaS management together in a unified view. With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value.
For more information, visit www.cloudnuro.ai.
Media Contact
Shyam Kumar
CEO, CloudNuro
📞 +1 630-347-0833
✉️ shyam.kumar@cloudnuro.com
🌐 www.cloudnuro.ai
Shyam Kumar
CloudNuro Corp
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