Delaware

Dover lawmakers are testing Meyer. They need to come together for Delaware | Editorial

Published

10 months ago

February 9, 2025

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Dover lawmakers are testing Meyer. They need to come together for Delaware | Editorial

3-minute read

A News Journal Editorial | USA TODAY Network Delaware Editorial Board
| Delaware News Journal

Gov. Matt Meyer has always billed himself as an outsider — he ran and was elected as New Castle County Executive as such and did so again last year as he sought his party’s nomination for governor.

It’s a calling card for Meyer — and one we broadly admire. As Meyer raced toward the general election’s finish line last fall, we asked the consummate Dover outsider, who has never been elected to a seat in the General Assembly nor served in a gubernatorial administration, if he could win over his Democratic colleagues who control Delaware’s House and Senate.

Meyer was confident, pointing to the squabbles he overcame in his early days in the county executive’s office. He also acknowledged that forging relationships in the General Assembly would take both time and patience.

“We’ll have a legislative strategy,” Meyer told our DelawareOnline/News Journal Editorial Board in October. “Legislatures are complex. The House and the Senate are extremely complex now. I think the spectrum of political views, just among Democrats, is probably as wide as it’s ever been.”

As his administration begins, Meyer’s observation about the atmosphere in Dover has proved prescient.

Meyer and the General Assembly’s leadership are already dueling

As he took office on Jan. 21 at Delaware State University, Meyer took responsibility for a great many things in the First State, not the least of which is the complex administration of the Port of Wilmington. The Port has now become the Meyer administration’s first big challenge as Meyer battles with his fellow Democrats who control the General Assembly.

In the week before Meyer arrived in Dover, Democrats in the General Assembly appeared to take steps to limit his administration’s capacity to manage and influence the board of the Diamond State Port Corp., the public entity that oversees the privately run port:

On Jan. 15, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend introduced a bill that would, in part, strip Meyer of the ability to nominate a chairperson for the board. Townsend’s bill would give the board the power to select its own leadership.
Then, a day before Meyer took office, former Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, in her capacity as acting governor, nominated a slate of new board members for the port — a move seen as a repudiation of Meyer, who defeated Hall-Long in the bruising gubernatorial primary.
Days later, Meyer, now governor, withdrew Hall-Long’s nominees — former Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock, the long-time chair of the port board; Robert Medd, former chair of the Board of Pilot Commissioners; and three labor leaders, James Ascione, William Ashe and Curtis Linton.
In turn, Meyer met resistance from leaders of the Senate. Senate President Pro Tempore David Sokola, D-Newark, said he believed that Hall-Long’s candidates for the port corporation board were “viable nominees.” The Meyer administration pushed back, and, in turn, the Senate, through a concurrent resolution, asked the Delaware Supreme Court for “an advisory opinion … regarding whether a Delaware Governor can withdraw nominations submitted by the preceding Governor that otherwise are properly before the State Senate.”

In short, Meyer’s opening days in Dover have been filled with push-pull tumult with colleagues in his own party. It’s frustrating — surely for all those involved at Legislative Hall — but even more so from our vantage point, which sees a Delaware electorate exhausted by the contentious primary and ready for a new day.

Meyer has to break Dover Democrats’ instincts to retaliate

Meyer, now, must live up to his reputation as an outsider and break the political culture of a General Assembly that would re-litigate a primary on behalf of Hall-Long, a much-loved figure in Dover.

While the Supreme Court mulls its advisory opinion on how pending nominations are reviewed by the Senate, we advise Meyer to summon leaders of both houses to find ways to put this spat behind them and to find a compromise on who will be seated on the port’s board. And even if Meyer’s political calculus is such that he’d prefer to wait for an opinion, the reality is that his efforts to build relationships in the General Assembly must move into hyperdrive.

And, at the same time, Democrats in power in the House and Senate must acknowledge Meyer’s election as governor by a majority of voters who want to see Delaware move forward.

The nominations for the port board, of course, come at a moment of considerable uncertainty for the facility. In October, a federal judge vacated multiple federal permits that would allow for the construction of a $635 million terminal in Edgemoor, a development that would quadruple Wilmington’s capacity for container cargo and allow the port to welcome larger classes of container ships. Supporters of the terminal believe its construction is essential to the future of Delaware’s economy.

Delaware expects its governor and its legislature to work together to advance progress on all manner of public needs. That expectation is not met with ruling Democrats engaging in internal warfare like this flap.

“We can’t play politics with the port or people’s livelihoods,” Meyer said. “For too long, insiders have been cutting deals on the backs of Delawareans, and it’s time we put the best interests of the people of this state first. This is an unprecedented obstruction of the will of the voters, and the law is on our side.”

Governor and leaders of the General Assembly, we expect you to move past this disagreement with compromise — and speed. It’s no time to be distracted by internal squabbles.

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Delaware

Search Warrants in Dover Lead to Arrests for Drug and Gun Offenses – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware

Published

9 hours ago

December 13, 2025

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Search Warrants in Dover Lead to Arrests for Drug and Gun Offenses – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware

Date Posted: Saturday, December 13th, 2025

The Delaware State Police have arrested 39-year-old Neal Barnes, 52-year-old Anthony James, and 51-year-old Kevin Walker, all from Dover, Delaware, for felony drug and gun charges following three search warrants in Dover.

On December 11, 2025, members of the Kent County Drug Unit executed search warrants at three residences on the 60, 70, and 100 blocks of Vanessa Drive in Dover. The search warrants were obtained following an investigation of Neal Barnes, Anthony James, and Kevin Walker for the distribution of illegal narcotics from their residences. During the search warrants, all three suspects were detained inside their respective homes without incident, and a child was present in Walker’s residence.

During a search of Barnes’ residence, detectives found the following items:

Approximately 2.76 grams of cocaine
Approximately 99.76 grams of crack cocaine
9mm handgun and ammunition
.38 caliber handgun and ammunition
Digital scales
Drug paraphernalia

During a search of James’ residence, detectives found the following items:

Approximately 19.88 grams of crack cocaine
Approximately 52.59 grams of cocaine
Drug paraphernalia
$2,472 in suspected drug proceeds

During a search of Walker’s residence, detectives found the following items:

Approximately .69 grams of heroin
Approximately .35 grams of methamphetamine
Approximately 11.77 grams of crack cocaine
Approximately 31 ecstasy pills
Approximately 14 acetaminophen and oxycodone hydrochloride pills
Approximately 21 buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual films

Barnes was arrested and taken to Troop 3, where he was charged with the crimes listed below, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $57,000 cash bond.

Neal Barnes

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Tier 3 (Felony)
Possession of a Controlled Substance, Tier 3 (Felony)
Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance (Felony)
Possession of a Firearm/Destructive Weapon if Previously Convicted of a Violent Felony (Felony) – 3 counts
Possession of a Controlled or Counterfeit Substance except Human Growth Hormone without a Prescription
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

James was arrested and taken to Troop 3, where he was charged with the crimes listed below, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $146,000 cash bond.

Anthony James

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Tier 3 (Felony)
Possession of a Controlled Substance, Tier 3 (Felony)
Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Tier 2 (Felony)
Possession of a Controlled Substance, Tier 2 (Felony)
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

Walker was arrested and taken to Troop 3, where he was charged with the crimes listed below, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $39,500 secured bond.

Kevin walker

Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Tier 2 (Felony) – 2 counts
Possession of a Controlled Substance, Tier 2 (Felony) – 2 counts
Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance (Felony) – 2 counts
Possession of a Controlled or Counterfeit Substance except Human Growth Hormone without a Prescription – 5 counts
Endangering the Welfare of a Child by Committing a Drug Offense with a Child in the Dwelling

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Disclaimer: Any individual charged in this release is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Delaware

PennDOT, hardware stores prepare for first snow of season in Delaware Valley

Published

21 hours ago

December 13, 2025

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PennDOT, hardware stores prepare for first snow of season in Delaware Valley

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Crews and customers across the Delaware Valley are gearing up for the region’s first accumulating snowfall of the season, expected late Saturday into Sunday morning.

PennDOT says it has more than 100,000 tons of salt ready and plans to deploy over 400 trucks across the region for this event.

Road crews began brining operations Friday, which will continue through the weekend with plowing on Sunday.

READ MORE | Accuweather Alert: Light snow to blanket the region Saturday night into Sunday morning

“Maybe 1 to 3, maybe a little bit more depending on how the storm tracks,” said Brad Rudolph of PennDOT.

He added that timing is key with the snow beginning to fall on Saturday night, while many may be out and about, and with thousands expected to travel to Lincoln Financial Field Sunday for the Eagles game against the Raiders.

Preps underway for first snow of the season in Delaware Valley

“People are going to travel, they’re going to need to take it slow. We’re going to push back snow from travel lanes, we’ll make the roads passable. They may not be completely clear of snow and ice, something to consider,” Rudolph said. “We expect this storm to push out relatively early Sunday, well before that Eagles game, but we still might have some cleaning up to do. We’ll be working long after this snow is done.”

At Stanley’s Hardware in Roxborough, workers spent Friday unpacking boxes and moving thousands of pounds of salt and other supplies to fill commercial and individual orders.

“Our aisle is filled right now. We have tons of skids of rock salt, ice melter, shovels,” said Joe Jaconski of Stanley’s Hardware.

Customers were already stocking up.

“We have food, we have shovels, just had to get some salt just to make sure we’re keeping the sidewalks nice and safe for everyone,” said Matt Skomsky of Roxborough.

Customers were steady at Stanley’s Friday, and business is expected to pick up through the weekend, but managers say don’t wait to get ready.

“I recommend just being ahead of it. Try to beat the storm because when the storm comes, it gets very busy in here-the lines wrapped around,” Jaconski said.

PennDOT urges drivers to keep their distance from plow trucks and check the forecast before heading out.

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Delaware

Done Deal: 695 Delaware Avenue – Buffalo Rising

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Done Deal: 695 Delaware Avenue – Buffalo Rising

Ellicott Development has expanded it local property portfolio. Ellicott’s 4628 Group Inc. purchased 695 Delaware Avenue on Wednesday for $1.025 million. Fred Kaplan Living Trust was the seller. The 8,454 sq.ft., three-story barn-like structure with mansard roofed addition is occupied by media production and marketing firm Crosswater Digital Media. It was the home of WKBW radio for a number of years. The property totals 0.4 acres in size with a large parking lot fronting Delaware Avenue.

The property is bookended by the Westbrook Apartments and Wilcox House apartment buildings, both ten-story structures. It sits across the street from 700 Delaware, the former Computer Task Group Building Ellicott purchased in 2018 and is now occupied by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.