Connect with us

Delaware

Delaware Arts Aliiance releases CREATE plan to support arts and tourism in Delaware

Published

on

Delaware Arts Aliiance releases CREATE plan to support arts and tourism in Delaware


The Delaware Arts Alliance releases a new plan to support arts and tourism as part of the state’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

The Creative Economy Advancement and Tourism Expansion, or CREATE Plan, is the first of its kind in the nation. The plan tackles post-pandemic challenges and provides actionable solutions to strengthen Delaware’s creative economy.

DAA Executive Director Neil Kirschling explains they formed the plan with feedback from over 600 Delawareans through online surveys, stakeholder focus groups, and events conducted last year, producing an economic impact analysis of the creative economy in Delaware.

“We heard over and over again that there is a lot of excitement and energy coming out of the pandemic,” Kirschling says. “Arts organizations survived a really difficult time for their budgets and are now looking at this new reality post-COVID, looking to us for recommendations to the state for ways to support them, and thinking about how they can do business differently.”

Advertisement

DAA also designed an online asset map – a searchable index of more than 2500 creative economy assets in Delaware.

Finally, DAA crafted an action plan with 25 policy recommendations for strengthening the state’s arts and tourism sectors.

“We hope that those who see these recommendations will agree with us on these goals of stimulating economic activity, putting cultural tourism at the heart of Delaware’s brand, providing more equitable access to arts education in public schools, breaking down silos and catalyzing cross-sector collaboration and really tackling some inequality that exists currently within the creative economy,” Kirschling says.

Those recommendations cover arts funding, education, industry support, and more. The action steps are designed for everyone – government, businesses, artists and community members alike.

For example, Kirschling says the plan suggests updating event licensing and permitting – noting feedback from focus groups often mentioned the process for obtaining special event permits is difficult. This would include creating a statewide “one-stop-shop” for licensing and permitting, a “best practice” that Kirschling says is happening nationwide.

Advertisement

Kirschling says the plan also calls for the creative economy to be included in statewide business and economic development communications and programs.

“In polling our artistic businesses we learned that they all need financial support, business support, legal support, copyrights training, and these are the sorts of things that could be offered in statewide business and economic development programs,” Kirschling says.

Kirschling also highlighted modernizing Delaware’s media and film industry to encourage and attract film opportunities.

DAA’s plan recommends the state find more revenue streams to support creative businesses through grants for health, professional development, and education.

On education, Kirschling says they are hoping to secure arts funding for every student in public education and promote arts degrees in higher education.

Advertisement





Source link

Delaware

Delaware state police trooper killed in active shooter incident at DMV facility; suspect also dead

Published

on

Delaware state police trooper killed in active shooter incident at DMV facility; suspect also dead


This story originally appeared on 6abc.

Delaware state police say a trooper was killed in what officials said was an active shooter situation at a DMV facility in New Castle on Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect in this incident is also dead, Gov. Matt Meyer said.

State police said they are “are continuing to assess additional injuries.” There is no official word yet on the exact number of people injured.

Advertisement

Police say the active shooter incident is now over.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. at the facility on Hessler Boulevard.

No further details have been made available.

Police are asking residents to avoid the area.

Stay with Action News and 6abc.com as this story develops.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Delaware

2 hurt after car crashes into building in Talleyville, Delaware

Published

on

2 hurt after car crashes into building in Talleyville, Delaware


Two people were hurt after a car crashed into a building in Talleyville, Delaware, Monday morning.

The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. along the 100 block of Brandywine Boulevard. Police said a woman was driving a light-colored vehicle when she somehow lost control and crashed through the first floor of a realty company.

A fire station is located across the street from where the crash occurred. Firefighters responded in less than a minute and the driver as well as another person were both taken to the hospital. Investigators told NBC10 both victims suffered minor injuries and are expected to be OK.

Crews removed the vehicle and boarded up the damaged building. They continue to investigate the cause of the crash.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Delaware

Delaware-based dark money group ‘Alabama Patients First’ unleashes TV, digital attack on Blue Cross Blue Shield 

Published

on

Delaware-based dark money group ‘Alabama Patients First’ unleashes TV, digital attack on Blue Cross Blue Shield 


A brand-new, out-of-state dark-money group launched an attack on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama over the past week, and has already invested over $320,000 in negative television advertising alone. 

During some of this weekend’s largest SEC football matchups, including Alabama vs. Oklahoma, the group ran a shock-style message that is now being pushed to Alabama voters more aggressively than any political campaign could afford to spend on television at this point in the 2026 election cycle. 

According to business filings, “Alabama Patients First LLC” was formed in Delaware on December 11. The state is known for its Teflon business privacy laws. LLCs are not required to publicly list their ownership or members, making it an ideal vehicle for dark money to reach its target. 

Since its formation, the group has been busy in Alabama.

Advertisement

Using a “Paid for by Alabama Patients First” disclaimer, the group aired television advertisements, launched a website, and directed SMS marketing campaigns directly to voters, igniting a costly media attack against the state’s leading insurer. 

“They make a killing off telling you ‘No.’ Blue Cross Blue Shield: ‘No.’ That’s Blue Cross “B*******,” the ad says.

A station-by-station breakdown of the Alabama Patients First TV buy across multiple Montgomery-area outlets, including WSFA, WAKA, WCOV-TV, WNCF, and others, totals $226,071. 

The group also spent $102,000 across Birmingham, Huntsville, and Dothan media markets.

The buy spans six weekends, ranging from its first airing on December 14, with a much smaller spend scheduled after January 1, to a wind-down on January 18, 2026. 

Advertisement

By comparison, in the Montgomery media market, the group spent $211,633 in December and just $14,438 in January.

In total, the out-of-state group has spent at least $328,071 on pushing the TV spot to Alabama residents. 

Alabama Patients First’s TV spend isn’t the whole tab, either. The professional fees required to deploy such an operation likely reach into the millions – and the timing is striking.

The attack on Alabama began the same week that Jackson Hospital and Clinic, Inc. initiated a high-visibility litigation campaign against BCBS of Alabama. 

Jackson Hospital and its lender, Atlanta-based Jackson Investment Group, are on the clock for a December 31, 2025 bankruptcy court deadline to secure $100 million in public funding, which would help satisfy a debtor-in-possession (DIP) agreement the two signed earlier this year. 

Advertisement

Yellowhammer News requested information from officials at Jackson Investment Group, Jackson Healthcare, and Jackson Hospital to confirm or deny a connection between the hospital’s lending relationship and the creation of Alabama Patients First. 

At the time of publication, those requests went unanswered.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama did respond to the negative ad blitz in a statement on Monday afternoon.

“The ads are an intentional misrepresentation of how we do business,” Sophie Martin, Director of Corporate Communications for BCBS of Alabama, said.

“Based on the timing of the ads, we believe they are nothing more than an improper attempt by Jackson’s investor-lender to improperly influence litigation.”

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending