Delaware

Today in Delaware County history, May 31

Published

9 months ago

May 31, 2025

Today in Delaware County history, May 31

100 Years Ago, 1925: The dedication of the new Plush Mill bridge, originally planned for last Armistice Day and which was postponed and scheduled to take place Saturday has been postponed a second time. Last year’s drawback was caused by the delay experienced in preparing the bronze tablets and the second postponement is due to the same cause. Those in charge hope to hold the dedicatory exercises on the coming Armistice Day.

75 Years Ago, 1950: Hundreds of veterans of the Chester Veterans Council, families of the city’s war dead, and spectators, heard Judge Henry G. Sweney, a veteran of World War I, pay the community’s respects to the dead heroes of the nation at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Chester Rural Cemetery Tuesday afternoon. Warmed by a tardy sun, which broke through lowering clouds just as the several-mile-long parade stepped off at Third Street and Highland Avenue at 1.30 p.m., the members paused in reverent commemoration at the monument surrounded by scores of flag-decorated graves.

50 Years Ago, 1975: A work stoppage continues today at Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s Power Generation division, Lester, after 4,000 hourly employees walked off their jobs or refused to report for work Friday. “The whole plant is down,” said a corporate spokesman Friday night. He said the action taken by the members of Local 107, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, is in connection with a three-day disciplinary furlough given to a worker in the heavy machining shop. The Westinghouse spokesman said the worker was given the furlough “for repeatedly violating work rules.”

25 Years Ago, 2000: As the observances of Memorial Day fade into memory, a major supplier of military personnel — the Selective Service System — approaches its 60th birthday. In its initial report card of state-by-state compliance with registration, Pennsylvania had 82 percent of its eligible men registered by the time they turned 20 years old, 1 percentage point below the national average. In Delaware County, 20,886 young men aged 18-25 registered through March 31 out of a total of 504,318 statewide, according to Selective Service spokesperson Lewis Brodsky in Washington,. No breakdown for the percentage of men registered in the county was available, he said.

10 Years Ago, 2015: It was a celebration 125 years in the making in Sharon Hill. A full slate of events was held this weekend to celebrate its landmark anniversary, pulling out all the stops with a parade, a formal banquet and a fireworks show. “It’s a tremendous experience for me,” said Mayor Harry Dunfee, a 55-year resident of the borough.

— COLIN AINSWORTH

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Delaware

A first in Delaware for energy-efficient affordable housing

Published

1 hour ago

February 20, 2026

Press Room

A first in Delaware for energy-efficient affordable housing

The first homes in Delaware to achieve one of the nation’s highest certifications for energy-efficient design were unveiled in Dover on Feb. 19.
An open house and dedication were held for the four Phius-certified homes on North Kirkwood Street.

The first residential buildings in Delaware to achieve one of the nation’s highest certifications for energy-efficient design were unveiled in Dover on Feb. 19.

The North Kirkwood Street “passive house project” features four homes that have been certified in Phius core prescriptive design.

Phius stands for “Passive House Institute United States,” a nonprofit that trains and certifies professionals to build highly energy-efficient and healthy homes, certifies energy-efficient building products and conducts research on energy-efficient construction.

So the homes will be more affordable each month with lower utility bills – and thanks to funding help from nonprofits and governments, the homes will have a more affordable price.

The houses cost an average of about $350,000 to build, but they’re being sold for $250,000 each.

Leading the project were three nonprofits:

NeighborGood Partners, which specializes in affordable housing counseling and development, financial education and lending

Energize Delaware, which promotes clean, efficient and sustainable energy solutions with energy-saving programs, rebates and financing

New Ecology, which helps energy-efficient construction with technical assistance, testing and verification services, project coordination, education and training

NeighborGood Partners is selecting the homeowners from those enrolled in the organization’s housing counseling program, with preference to those who already live in Dover.

“I just want to recognize all the different partners that we had because it took, in this case, a village to make this happen,” said NeighborGood Partners Executive Director Karen Speakman.

Along with the groups heading the project, additional funds came from the Delaware State Housing Authority, Healthy Communities Delaware and the city of Dover including a portion of the city’s money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

Construction was led by Green Diamond Builders with Cypress Construction and Architectural Alliance, with New Ecology overseeing the certification process.

How much energy do the homes save?

Phius-certified homes are designed to deliver healthy indoor air, consistent comfort and significantly lower utility bills to reduce monthly housing costs, according to the organization’s website.

How much lower bills?

With 1,680 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, the all-electric homes in Dover are designed to use about 7,500 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, about 625 kilowatt hours per month.

That’s about 30% less than what the average home uses – 10,791 kilowatt hours per year or 899.25 kilowatt hours per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Norm Horn, New Ecology construction project manager, outlined the key components in the energy-efficient construction including:

continuous insulation around the outside of the home, higher levels of insulation in the walls, under the floors and in the attic and “significant attention to how that insulation was installed so it works”

a thermal airtight building enclosure that requires very little energy to heat and cool

highly efficient heat pump systems for heating, cooling, the water heater and clothes dryer

dehumidifier system to control moisture

continuous mechanical ventilation with heat recovery that provides fresh, filtered air

New Ecology Chief Executive Officer Kim Stevenson said the construction techniques used in these homes help the owners in several ways.

Utility bills can spike during winter’s cold and summer’s heat if homes don’t have good insulation, good windows and doors or proper sealing around them.

“That forces families to make impossible tradeoffs between paying utility bills, rent or mortgage, food and health care,” Stevenson said.

The Phius homes can decrease monthly utility bills while also improving residents’ health with moisture control to prevent mold along with top-quality air circulation for cleaner, healthier air.

These four homes will be examples for others to follow in trying to make homes more affordable, more energy efficient and healthier, as the nonprofits leading the effort expand the training to more builders.

Tony DePrima, Energize Delaware treasurer and former executive director, said the homes will be part of a research project, comparing data including utility bills to more typical homes to see the cost savings over time.

Energize Delaware is “trying to figure out how do we make this work for the people who need it most,” DePrima said.

Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate and development news. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.

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Delaware

Who has the best pizza in Delaware? Is it Grotto or another shop?

Published

13 hours ago

February 19, 2026

Press Room

Who has the best pizza in Delaware? Is it Grotto or another shop?

The News Journal/Delaware Online is hosting a “Munch Madness” tournament to find Delaware’s best pizza.
Readers will nominate their favorite pizza places, and the top 42 will compete in a single-elimination bracket.
Cafe Napoli in Milltown is the reigning champion from the last tournament held in March 2023.

The hunger games are returning to Delaware, where your favorite pizza spots from all three counties across the state will step into a saucy arena, armed with lots of cheese, and not a shred of fear.

It’s been nearly three fully baked years since readers crowned Cafe Napoli in Milltown as Delaware’s best pizza place in Delaware Online/The News Journal’s annual Munch Madness tournament in March 2023.

We’re not sure if another pizzeria is worthy of a seat on the mozzarella throne of glory because (once again) that’s not our call. It’s your job to vote and ultimately crown your cheesy champion.

We’re just here to count the votes, one slice at a time.

How does the tournament work for the best pizza in Delaware?

Readers will kick things off by filling out an easy survey below, which simply requires you to provide the name and city/town of the Delaware place that makes your favorite pizza.

From there, we’ll tally up the top 64 pizza contenders for this single-elimination showdown. Each week, pizza shops will be cut in half, based on reader votes. The bracket will look like this: Round 1 (64 contestants), Round 2 (32), Round 3 (Sweet 16), Round 4 (Elite 8), Round 5 (Final 4) and Round 6 (the winner).

Now, let’s paint the town red like Ragu.

Cafe Napoli is the reigning pizza champion in Delaware

This Milltown shop on Kirkwood Highway has been in the pizza game for over 30 years, and the pizzeria hangs its hat on authentic Napoletano cuisine and Southern Italian hospitality.

Cafe Napoli was founded by four brothers: Domenico, Antonio, Pasquale and Mario. They left Italy and decided to run a winning restaurant.

Although this pizza shop is defending its throne, one bite at a time, that doesn’t mean you should leave your guard down around their mozzarella sticks. Those bad boys are light, yet they’re deceptively filling.

In 2023, during their epic Munch Madness run, General Manager Tim Widdoes, who has worked at Cafe Napoli for 30-plus years (though you’d never guess it), told us the top pizza his customers dream about.

“Our most popular would probably be the chicken bruschetta. That’s our breaded chicken, homemade bruschetta, on a white garlic pizza, topped with a little bit of ranch dressing,” Widdoes said.

ORDER FROM UBER EATS

The pie is on point like a Katniss arrow aimed straight at your appetite.

“People love that pizza.”

If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters

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