Delaware
More fallout from bogus degree of Del. school therapist charged with child rape
No action after hospital psychologist questioned credentials
Arnold’s arrest also spurred Brandywine to re-examine his nearly three years with the district.
Officials learned that two months before Arnold’s arrest, a psychologist at Nemours Children’s Hospital near Wilmington had alerted four administrators from Lombardy and the Brandywine district that the qualifications Arnold claimed might be bogus.
The district launched an investigation in July and suspended the four officials with pay while an outside attorney reviewed the matter. The four officials included Lombardy principal Michael McDermott, assistant principal Cara Beach, and Nicole Warner, district director of special education, WHYY News has learned from officials familiar with the matter.
Brandywine Superintendent Lisa Lawson, who was promoted from deputy superintendent days before Arnold’s arrest, told WHYY News earlier this month that officials made serious missteps, such as not notifying human resources officials about the Nemours complaints.
Beyond questioning Arnold’s credentials, the Nemours psychologist told Brandywine that Arnold had been confrontational with a hospital intern after insisting, even though he was not a licensed psychologist, that a young boy he was counseling had a mood disorder, Lawson told WHYY News. The hospital had diagnosed the child with autism.
Yet none of Nemours’ concerns reached Brandywine’s HR office, or Lawson herself, she said.
At Brandywine’s board meeting last week, members discussed the actions of the four employees behind closed doors in executive session, and later approved the district’s disciplinary recommendations at the public session.
Though the board didn’t name names and merely voted to “approve employee matter” 25-005, 25-006, 25-007, and 25-008, sources familiar with the matter said the members voted to terminate Warner, whose old post has been filled on an interim basis by Josette McCullough.
The sources said the board voted to dock pay fromMcDermott and Beach, who are back at work running Lombardy, where classes started Monday. The district took no action against the fourth, unidentified employee.
Lawson would not confirm who was disciplined.
“What I can say is that, based on the third party investigator’s recommendation for disciplinary consequences, we moved forward accordingly based on those recommendations,’’ Lawson said Monday.
Lawson added that employees have 10 days to request a hearing on the district’s decisions.
The superintendent also said Arnold was fired in July and could have sought a hearing from prison, but did not. No date for his criminal trial has been set.
Before the board vote, Lawson apologized and expressed her “deep regret” to members and the public about the district’s mishandling of the Nemours complaint.
She promised “accountability for those actions” as well as “consistent and fair consequences for all employees.”
Lawson also said the district would be “revisiting our hiring processes in collaboration’’ with the state, enhancing training on “ethical conduct and students safety, and creating more robust channels for reporting concerns directly to human resources.”
What are journalists missing from the state of Delaware? What would you most like WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
Is Delaware’s “acting” U.S. attorney, a loyalist of President Donald Trump who chaired the state Republican Party immediately before her appointment, serving in the post illegally?
That’s a question now being asked about Julianne Murray as federal courts around the country have ruled that five other U.S. attorneys were unlawfully put in their posts on an “interim” or “acting” basis by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi installed Murray as Delaware’s “interim” U.S. attorney in July. The 120-day limit for interim appointments ended this month, when Bondi changed Murray’s status as Delaware’s chief federal law enforcement officer to “acting.”
But U.S. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that vets candidates for U.S. attorney posts, told WHYY News he thinks the steps Bondi took to keep Murray in the post are “probably illegal.”
The nation’s 93 U.S. attorneys are critical law enforcement administrators who guide prosecutions in their jurisdictions for a wide range of federal cases, including gang violence, narcotics trafficking, firearms crimes, kidnapping, bank fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
Under the U.S. Constitution, federal law and longstanding practice, U.S. attorneys are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Bondi, however, has chosen a nontraditional route with some appointments, only to have her end-around maneuvers declared unlawful in New Jersey, Virginia, Nevada, New Mexico and California.
The latest reversal came Monday. In a dramatic decision, a judge ruled that former Trump personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan — an insurance lawyer with no prosecutorial experience before Bondi made her interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in September — was illegally installed. Bondi immediately pledged to appeal.
Perhaps more importantly, the judge’s order that Halligan’s appointment was unlawful also dismissed two high-profile cases — the criminal indictments against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump had publicly called for their prosecutions and Halligan, within days of taking the job, obtained grand jury indictments against them.
Meanwhile, the status of Alina Habba, another of Trump’s former personal attorneys who Bondi put in the New Jersey post this year, only to have her actions declared unlawful in August, is also in limbo. The case is now before the 3rd U.S. Circuit of Appeals, whose decisions govern New Jersey and Delaware.
While no formal legal challenge has been brought against Murray’s appointment, the details surrounding her installation have similarities to the others that have been contested and ruled invalid.
Murray and the others have not been nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate.
And like Habba in New Jersey, the judges in the U.S. District Court for Delaware decided not to reappoint Murray to the post after her initial 120-day “interim” status ended Nov. 11.
Federal law says that after 120 days, a district’s judges may put someone in the post until the vacancy is formally filled.
In New Jersey, the judges named Habba’s top assistant to the post, but Bondi promptly fired her. Then, Bondi took several legal steps to make Habba the “acting” U.S. Attorney, using another federal law that lets someone fill a post for 210 days.
Even though a judge ruled Habba’s appointment unlawful in August, she remains in the post while the Trump administration appeals.
Mayor John Carney vowed to address homelessness in his first year in office. He is proposing allowing unhoused people to camp in one of the city’s parks. But all other encampments would be banned.
“As we attempt to provide support for the unhoused here in Wilmington, we have a responsibility on how, on behalf of the residents of neighborhoods, to ensure that Wilmington operates in an orderly and lawful way,” he said in October.
Raquel Cruz said she doesn’t think the mayor’s plan goes far enough.
“The mayor needs to do much, much more than just shuffle the unhoused around rather than try to pursue better outcomes for them,” she said.
Housing advocates argue a ban on sleeping outside criminalizes homelessness. They said Wilmington needs more shelter beds and affordable housing.
Carney said city officials would provide restroom facilities and clean water for Christina Park residents and will explore adding a shower facility there. On-site security is also part of the plan.
The city is also working with the Wilmington Housing Authority and the Ministry of Caring to open a dining hall for the homeless at the WHA site a block away from Christina Park.
The mayor has also argued that Philadelphia’s efforts to clean up Kensington, an area known for an open-air drug market and homeless encampments, is adding to Wilmington’s homeless population looking for shelter and services.
Whether you need to grab some last-minute Thanksgiving ingredients or are planning to indulge in the doorbuster deals on Black Friday, you’ll need to know the store hours of your local grocery stores, malls and retailers.
This year, Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 27, and the annual Black Friday shopping rush falls on Nov. 28.
Order from Instacart:
Here’s which Delaware stores and malls are open during Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
What are Christiana Mall’s Thanksgiving, Black Friday hours?
Christiana Mall near Christiana will be closed for Thanksgiving, but will have special expanded hours on Black Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
What are Concord Mall’s Thanksgiving, Black Friday hours?
Concord Mall in Brandywine Hundred is also closing its doors Thanksgiving, but will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Black Friday.
What major retailers are open on Thanksgiving, Black Friday?
Before racing off to find Black Friday deals, check when these major retailers are open.
- Target: Target stores will be closed on Thanksgiving and open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.
- Walmart: All Walmart stores will be closed on Thanksgiving and open the following day at 6 a.m. for Black Friday deals.
- Boscov’s: Boscov’s will be closed on Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday.
- Macy’s: Macy’s will be closed on Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday.
- Best Buy: Best Buy stores will be closed on Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday.
- Kohl’s: Kohl’s will be closed on Thanksgiving and reopen at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.
- TJ Maxx: TJ Maxx stores will be closed on Thanksgiving and open at 7 a.m. on Black Friday.
- JCPenney: JCPenney locations will be closed on Thanksgiving and reopen Black Friday at 5 a.m.
- Nordstrom: Nordstrom stores will be closed on Thanksgiving and open on Black Friday.
What grocery stores are open on Thanksgiving?
If you’re looking to get supplies for your Thanksgiving dish or you forgot a key ingredient before the big meal, here are Delaware grocery stores’ hours on Thanksgiving.
- Wegmans: Wegmans will close early on Thanksgiving at 4 p.m.
- ShopRite: ShopRite will close early at 4 p.m.
- Acme: Acme markets are open until 4 p.m.
- Giant Food: Giant stores are open until 5 p.m.
- Aldi: Aldi locations will be closed on Thanksgiving.
- Food Lion: Food Lion stores will be open until 3 p.m.
- Costco: Costco is closed on Thanksgiving.
Sophia Voight is a growth and development reporter. Reach her with feedback and story tips at svoight@delawareonline.com.
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