A routine chore involving a camel turned fatal for a Delaware man this week. State police say a 65-year-old man died Tuesday evening in Felton after the animal fell onto him while he was tending to it, NBC Philadelphia reports. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The San Diego Zoo says most domesticated camels are dromedaries, which can weigh up to 1,320 pounds when grown, per WBOC. Longtime friend Torres Hector identified the victim to the Delaware News Journal as Juan Caride, who ran a pawn shop in Dover with his wife, Toni Caride.

In 2014, the News Journal reported on the Carides’ farm, home to 20 horses, nine donkeys, and three camels named Batman, Bubbles, and Chocolate. Tori Caride told the newspaper that the camels, which they had raised since they were babies, were her husband’s idea. “My husband just thought it would be neat to get a camel and he bought Batman,” she said. “He was about a week old when we got him and we felt that he was lonely, so he said I better get a couple more for him. So we went and found two females that were the same age and we got those for him.” Michael Lewis at the state Department of Agriculture says camels are treated like regular livestock in Delaware, meaning no special permit is required.

WILMINGTON, DE – The Delaware State Fire Marshal is investigating a four-alarm fire that broke out Thursday, July 2, damaging six homes and displacing 20 people on the 1500 block of Clayton Road in Wilmington.

What we know:

The fire was reported shortly after 3:00 p.m. and quickly escalated to four alarms due to the heat, according to the Delaware State Fire Marshal. 

Multiple fire companies responded and found heavy fire at the rear of the residences.

Several firefighters were evaluated by EMS and New Castle County Paramedics at the scene.

One firefighter was taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion.

Deputy State Fire Marshals determined the fire started under a deck at the rear of one of the homes. 

The fire displaced 20 people from their homes and required a large emergency response, highlighting the risks firefighters face during extreme weather.

The American Red Cross is providing support to the families who lost their homes, showing the importance of community resources during emergencies.

What’s next:

The Delaware State Fire Marshal’s office is continuing to investigate the cause of the fire. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

What we don’t know:

The specific cause of the fire has not been determined, and the names of the families affected have not been released.

• A New Castle County councilman says he brokered a non-binding handshake deal to pause a data center project near Newark.
• The deal depends on the county approving an exploratory plan that would grandfather the developer into previous zoning rules.
• The developer, Shelbourne, has not commented on the informal agreement to consider other uses for the site.

This story was produced by Spotlight Delaware as part of a partnership with Delaware Online/The News Journal. For more about Spotlight Delaware, visit www.spotlightdelaware.org.

New Castle County Councilman Tim Sheldon says he recently brokered a handshake deal to pause a data center development project near Newark. 

Sheldon, who represents the Newark area, said the deal followed private negotiations with the developer’s prominent Delaware attorney, Shawn Tucker, who told him the New York-based developer behind the project, Shelbourne, agreed to consider the Newark site for uses other than a data center. “This is my art of the deal,” Sheldon said.

But the deal is dependent on the county finalizing an approval for an exploratory plan application from the developer, which would grandfather the land into zoning rules that existed prior to this year, Sheldon said.

That means the developer would not have to follow the county’s recently-passed data center regulations if the company ultimately decides to build a data center there. Since the property’s zoning already allows data center projects, the county likely does not have the legal authority to deny that exploratory plan application. An email sent between Sheldon and Tucker, dated June 10, shows that Tucker agreed to pause the data center project under those conditions. 

Neither Tucker nor Shelbourne representatives responded to requests for comment about this deal.