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
Body cam video released of deadly police shooting in Wilmington, Delaware
WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) — The family of Kadir Skinner is calling for criminal charges against the police officer who shot the 19-year-old after the release of officer body camera footage that attorneys say contradicts the police account of the incident.
The shooting happened June 24 after 11 p.m. at 24th and Jessup streets.
Calls grow for body cam video in deadly Wilmington police shooting
Body camera video shows an officer drawing and firing his weapon while yelling commands. In the footage, officers can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun,” as they approach Skinner, who is on the ground.
Skinner repeatedly tells officers he is unarmed and says he cannot breathe.
“I don’t got nothing. I don’t got nothing,” Skinner says in the video.
Footage shows officers handcuffing Skinner and kneeling on him while he continues to say, “I don’t got nothing. I can’t breathe.”
Skinner was shot in the rear.
READ MORE | ‘We need answers’: Family disputes details after man killed in Wilmington police shooting
A second body camera angle shows a crowd forming as officers instruct people to back up.
Video from a third responding officer appears to show an officer picking something up from the grass and returning toward the crowd and the officers with Skinner.
In the footage, an officer can be heard saying, “Secure the gun,” and the officer wearing the body cam says, “I have it.”
Attorneys for Skinner’s family, along with family members and community supporters, gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington following the release of the video to demand justice.
“Regardless if he had a gun or not, he was still shot in the back, running from police, not having been a threat,” attorney Harry Daniels said.
SEE ALSO | Family releases witness video after 19-year-old fatally shot by police in Wilmington
Attorney Chance Lynch said the footage showed “an unjustified killing.”
“What we saw and what we witnessed was an unjustified killing,” Lynch said.
Attorneys for the family contend the video disputes the police version of events. Wilmington police previously said Skinner came out of a home armed and waved a gun at a crowd before officers opened fire.
“The video that I saw, I didn’t see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir coming out of a residence. I did not see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir pointing a firearm at a crowd,” Lynch said.
Attorneys and the family maintain that Skinner was running from a loose dog.
The family also announced a $25 million claim against the city of Wilmington for wrongful death. They are seeking criminal charges against the officer who shot Skinner.
The Delaware Department of Justice is investigating.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Delaware
Delaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes
Delmarva Power objects to applying legislation to interim rate
The debate among commissioners over the breadth of their oversight on utility rates comes as the company has pushed back on the group, limiting its interim rate increase to half of its total request, even while it faced criticism from commissioners that it is “cruel” and “tone deaf” for continuing to press for rate hikes.
Delmarva Power, an investor-owned utility, serves 344,000 residential and nonresidential customers in the state. Its parent company, Exelon Corporation, is the nation’s largest regulated electric and gas utility.
Its customers pay a supply and a delivery charge for gas and electricity. The supply of energy comes from PJM Interconnection, a regional grid serving Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and several other states. Delmarva Power profits through the distribution fee.
Delmarva Power Region President Marcus Beal said they need to file rate hike requests to recoup money it spends on improving and maintaining the infrastructure.
“Our equipment is extremely expensive, the items that we buy, the transformers, they’re very large, complex things to build,” Beal said. “Even something as simple as a treated pole of a certain size can be very pricey, so we spend a lot of money on the grid itself.”
Under Delaware law, interim rates can be approved seven months after a rate case is filed, while the full petition is being considered by the commission. Prior to the legislation, 100% of the rate request could be implemented. The bill caps interim rates at 50% and allows 75% of the ask to go into effect after 12 months. The bill also puts limits on Delmarva Power’s infrastructure spending.
Delmarva Power spokesperson Matt Ford said the commission overstepped its authority to cut the interim rate as much as they did and the company has argued in its PSC submissions that SB 326 did not apply to the rate increase request filed in December because it had yet to be signed into law. Meyer said he signed the bill Monday.
“Delmarva Power further reserves its objections to the applicability of the legislation, should it become effective, including its impermissible retroactive application,” the utility company said in comments filed Monday afternoon with the commission.
In addition, Delmarva Power has objected to halving $23.2 million in distribution system improvement charges as part of the interim rate commissioners approved. The fee allows utility companies to recover project costs and depreciation between full rate case proceedings.
“My suggestion is, if you don’t like it, appeal it,” Iorii said.
It’s unclear whether the utility plans to appeal the order. Ford said they were reviewing it and its implications.
Tweedie said he hopes they decide not to appeal.
“If they appeal this, what they are essentially saying is, ‘We want to extract more money from our customers than the commission intended to allow,’” he said.
Delaware
Delaware man identified after fatal pedestrian crash
Delaware State Police have identified the man who was struck and killed by a vehicle while lying on the roadway in Harrington, Delaware.
On Monday, July 13, 2026, Jimmy Burgess, 62, was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado driving westbound near the 1500 block of Whiteleysburg Road.
According to police, the Silverado, which was operated by a 17-year-old boy from Milton, Delaware, was unable to stop once he saw Burgess on the road, striking him. The driver of the Silverado was not injured during the crash.
Burgess was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, said police.
The roadway was closed for approximately three hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.
The Delaware State Police Troop 3 Collison Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this crash.
Troopers ask anyone with information about the crash contact Sergeant M. Long at (302) 698-8518.
Information can also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police, or by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-(800) 847-3333
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