Delaware

Inside the monumental effort in Wilmington to ‘Resurrect Riverside’

Published

2 months ago

October 21, 2024

Inside the monumental effort in Wilmington to ‘Resurrect Riverside’

Markevis Gideon lived in Riverside as a child in the 1980s.

“It was a lot of crime, a lot of violence for me,” Gideon recalled recently. “For me, when I got punished, I had to sit on the front steps to try to be acclimated with the environment. But it was something I just thoroughly didn’t enjoy. I hated it.”

Wenona Sutton of REACH Riverside grew up in the Bronx, which is perhaps New York City’s roughest borough, but was stunned by life in this part of Wilmington when she arrived a few years ago.

“One of the saddest things I saw when I came in this area was the Riverside housing community,” Sutton recalled. “There are boarded-up homes, living conditions that are a norm for community members that should not have been a norm.”

“And then when you hear the stories of how long this community has been sitting and how long help has not come, it just really makes you wonder how and why something like that could happen.”

As CEO of WRK Group and REACH Riverside, longtime Kingswood Community Center director Logan Herring is leading the multifaceted revitalization effort. (“Resurrecting Riverside”/WHYY News)

City leaders embrace ‘Purpose Built’ model

Two decades ago, though, developers tore down and rebuilt Eastlake, across the boulevard from Riverside.

Although no comprehensive project to revitalize the entire area took place, Eastlake’s transformation did become somewhat of a delayed catalyst for Riverside’s rebirth in recent years.

“What we saw in Eastlake was that it’s possible, right?” Herring said recently. “A mixed income community in a community that used to be notorious for crime and poverty. And so the work that we’re doing right across the boulevard, we believe, is going to highly complement what was done in Eastlake.”

The other seeds of rebirth were planted around the turn of the 21st century when EastSide Charter School opened on the site of a long-mothballed public school that borders Riverside.

When the students at EastSide struggled, school leaders sought ways to improve their performance.

They studied a housing- and education-focused initiative that had dramatically revitalized one impoverished area in Atlanta and was being replicated in New Orleans, Tulsa, Birmingham, Omaha and other cities.

Known as Purpose Built Communities, the redevelopments are funded with a mix of tax credits and public and private investment, plus unrelenting will.

Leaders in Wilmington visited the Purpose Built Communities’ comprehensive revitalization project in Atlanta. One of Purpose Built’s donors and boosters is billionaire investor Warren Buffett. (“Resurrecting Riverside”/WHYY News)

Among Purpose Built’s financial backers is billionaire Omaha resident Warren Buffett. During a 2017 Purpose Built forum, the CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway investment company raved about the Atlanta project, which revitalized an area where barely 1 in 10 people had a job.

“There hadn’t been a building permit issued in 30 years,” Buffett told the audience. “The fifth graders — 5% were reading at grade level. It was just a disaster.”

But after several years of investment, planning, construction, and collaboration, Buffett said, “there’s full employment. There’s a mixture of incomes. There’s a mixture of races. The school scores in the top 10 of that area.”

In 2014, Mike Purzycki joined a contingent from Wilmington that visited Atlanta to see that city’s revitalized area, also known as East Lake. At the time Purzycki headed the public-private group redeveloping Wilmington’s riverfront, where the new Blue Rocks stadium is an anchor. Purzycki was elected mayor in 2016 and is finishing up his second term.

“We came back pretty enthralled by this whole concept of building a project, but building supports and community centers and schools and the works,’’ Purzycki said while standing on Bowers Street, where the old Riverside ends and the new Imani Village begins.

“It’s a magnificent example of what happens when people have this indomitable will that says we are going to do this project. And all you gotta do is look around here and if you are not impressed, you just don’t have a pulse.”

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Delaware

Delaware regulator clears Capital One’s $35.3bn Discover acquisition

Published

3 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Delaware regulator clears Capital One’s .3bn Discover acquisition

As of 30 September 2024, Capital One Financial reported $486.4bn in total assets. Credit: Tada Images/shutterstock.

The Office of the Delaware State Bank Commissioner has approved Capital One’s $35.3bn acquisition of digital banking and payment services company Discover Financial Services and its subsidiary, Discover Bank.

This approval marks a key step towards completing the merger. The deal, valued at $35.3bn, was initially announced in February 2024.

At close, shareholders of Capital One will own around 60% and Discover shareholders will own nearly 40% of the merged entity.

The deal is expected to create the sixth largest bank in the US by assets and a global payments platform at scale.

Planned to be completed in early 2025, the transaction awaits approval by the shareholders of both companies, as well as the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

As part of the acquisition, shareholders of Discover Financial Services will receive 1.0192 Capital One shares for each share held.

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Capital One founder, chairman and CEO Richard Fairbank said: “Through this combination, we’re creating a company that is exceptionally well-positioned to create significant value for consumers, small businesses, merchants, and shareholders as technology continues to transform the payments and banking marketplace.”

In July 2024, Capital One unveiled a five-year, $265bn community benefits plan tied to the acquisition.

As of 30 September 2024, Capital One Financial reported $353.6bn in deposits and $486.4bn in total assets.

The company is engaged in providing a wide range of financial products and services to small businesses, consumers, and commercial clients through multiple channels.

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Delaware

McDonald’s McRib becomes crime fighting tool for Delaware County officer; find out how

Published

11 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

McDonald’s McRib becomes crime fighting tool for Delaware County officer; find out how

McRib sandwich becomes crime fighting tool for Delco officer

A tense encounter for a Delaware County police officer who used an unusual but tasty method to help a disabled man get the help he needed.

PROSPECT PARK, Pa. – A tense encounter for a Delaware County police officer who used an unusual but tasty method to help a disabled man get the help he needed.

The crime fighting tool? A McDonald’s McRib sandwich.

“He was a little bit excited when we got there,” explained Prospect Park Police officer Samuel Willis, when he was dispatched to Witmer Memorial Field for a man causing a disturbance Wednesday afternoon.

Willis didn’t know what to expect when he arrived.

“It was a subject with disabilities and also suffered with some mental health problems,” he said.

Willis says the disabled man, who was with two aides, was in severe mental distress and yelling. But, instead of responding with handcuffs, a stun gun or a gun, Officer Willis offered the man a meal.

“I asked him if I would be able to get him a McRib and maybe some fries, if that would be able to defuse the situation,” explained Willis.

Willis hopped in his patrol car and drove to McDonald’s on Lincoln Avenue to buy the man a McRib sandwich, fries and a chocolate milkshake. He went back to the park and delivered the meal along with some frank conversation.

“I was able to go back, bring the food to him. You know, kind of sit him down and be like ‘Hey listen, you need to treat your aides with respect,’” said Officer Willis.

And that’s all it took. A boneless pork patty smothered in barbecue sauce with a side of compassion.

“At the end of the day, the least force outcome is the best,” added Willis.

His boss, who trains de-escalation techniques, says the interaction was a veteran move by the officer with about two years with the Department.

“I’m extremely impressed by what he did. I’m extremely proud of what he did. You know, it speaks well for the entire police department and I couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Prospect Park Police Chief Dave Madonna.

It turns out, even McDonald’s got into the act. Once they heard the officer was helping someone in need they donated the meal. “I’m really happy to hear that our food can make a difference in somebody’s day,” said McDonald’s manager, Alexis King.

The man was eventually able to get the help he needed and get home safely. As for the limited time sandwich helping law enforcement?

“Hopefully they’ll keep it on the menu longer,” said Madonna.

According to McDonald’s website, the McRib will only be available until January 28th, 2025.

Delaware CountyFood and DrinkBusinessNews

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Delaware

Is Big Lots closing in Delaware? Company announces ‘going out of business’ sales

Published

19 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

Is Big Lots closing in Delaware? Company announces ‘going out of business’ sales

Going-out-of-business sales are expected to begin at all Big Lots stores – including those in Delaware – in the coming days as the company closes its businesses, according to an announcement Thursday.

The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September and closed 340 stores, though none in the First State. The closures were part of a sale agreement with an affiliate of Nexus Capital Management LP, which Big Lots has since announced likely will not be completed.

The company said it still “continues to work toward” an alternative going concern transaction with Nexus or another party. CEO Bruce Thorn said the closures could be reversed if a company sale is completed.

Big Lots has five Delaware stores located in the Wilmington area, New Castle area, Seaford, Dover and Milford. The stores are still open, and no exact closure dates have been released.

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