Delaware
Spirit Halloween stores in Delaware open in August for early costumes
Rehoboth Beach celebrates Halloween with the 33rd annual Sea Witch Parade
Rehoboth Beach’s Annual Sea Witch Parade was held in Downtown Rehoboth Beach on Saturday October 28, 2023
Halloween candy is already in grocery stores.
So you know it wasn’t long before the pop-up costume stores started to open.
While some of us may still be lounging on a beach or having a brat summer, others are making Halloween plans even though the spooky holiday is months away.
Spirit Halloween, the nation’s largest Halloween retailer, is expected to open 1,500 stores in the U.S. in 2024, according to a news release. They also plan to look for 50,000 seasonal sales associates and store managers.
The stores sell costumes, décor and animatronics and pop up in strip centers and malls across North America.
When is Spirit Halloween opening in Delaware?
The Spirit Halloween website indicates that the three Delaware stores would open in August, but doesn’t give an exact date. The stores include:
- A former Walgreens at 261 N. Dupont Highway in Dover.
- A former Walgreens at The Grove shopping center, 241 Grove Lane, Newark.
- A former Mandees at Midway Plaza, 4703 Kirkwood Highway, Milltown.
New decorations at Spirit Halloween?
The “Carnevil” is coming to town this Halloween season with Spirit Halloween’s 2024 lineup.
Creepy clowns, a raucous ringmaster and popular horror properties abound, as Spirit’s animatronic props this year are a mix of ornery original characters and beloved figures from classic horror cinema.
While the collection was previewed in June, not all products will be available for sale until August, when the Carnevil officially opens in stores. Early shoppers will be pleased to find there is no shortage of options, including some side oddities and return favorites to round out the main attraction.
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When should you start looking for a Halloween costume
According USA Today Reviewed story that looked at 2022 data from the National Retail Federation (NFR), people get a major head start on Halloween, planning costumes and searching for decorations as early as the first week of September. In 2022 alone, Americans spent more than 10 billion dollars on Halloween.
USA TODAY reporters Mike Snider and Mary Walrath-Holdridge contributed to this article.
Delaware
Democrat Matt Meyer and Republican Michael Ramone square off in Delaware's gubernatorial contest
Ramone has argued that Delawareans would be better served by restoring political balance to state government. Known for his willingness to work across party lines, he has won reelection several times in a district where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans. His reputation for bipartisanship could help him appeal to moderate Democrats and unaffiliated voters, but he faces an uphill battle in solid-blue Delaware, where voter registration numbers favor Democrats.
Both Meyer and Ramone focused heavily on education during the gubernatorial campaign. Meyer, a former middle school math teacher, says his priorities include increased funding for public schools, particularly for low-income students, students with disabilities and English language learners. He also has called for universal prekindergarten and higher salaries for public school teachers.
Ramone supports performance-based incentives for Delaware teachers, expanded access to voucher programs and more money flowing to classrooms instead of school administration.
Ramone, who was elected to the state House in 2008, became the GOP gubernatorial nominee after winning 72% of the vote in a three-way GOP primary.
Meyer advanced to the general election contest against Ramone after defeating Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and former state Environmental Secretary Collin O’Mara in a Democratic primary. Meyer, who took 47% of the vote, led all candidates in fundraising, but he also was helped by a scandal involving Hall-Long’s campaign finances and reports about her office staff being used for non-government work.
Outgoing Democratic Gov. John Carney, who is prohibited by law from seeking a third term, appeared poised to become mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city, after winning a September Democratic primary.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
MANCHESTER, Iowa (KCRG) – According to Carla Becker, Delaware County Auditor, the 2024 election is “just a strange little election.”
She said there are a couple of reasons for that.
One—the window of time to apply for a mail-in absentee ballot was shorter than in years past. She said people also seemed to be cagier about the mail in general.
“There’s a little—I don’t want to say distrust, but [people are] just a little worried about the the mail and how long it’s taking our out-of-state mail,” said Becker.
Other reasons that make this a “strange” election also had to do with trust.
“We’re trying to reestablish trust in the process,” said Becker. “I think [people] lost that a little bit. I think, you know, through the the activities that happened in ’20 and after the election was over.”
Becker was talking about the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 by some supporters of former President Donald Trump. The attack disrupted Congress as it began the process to certify the results of the 2020 election.
Becker wasn’t the only person to talk about trust.
TV9 posted up in front of the Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids and stopped a few people on the street to hear their perspectives.
“There’s not a lot of trust, I don’t think, on either side. Doesn’t matter who you’re going to vote for. So that’s disturbing,” said Lori Mitchell of Cedar Rapids.
“I hope it doesn’t cause an uproar. You know, I hope that people stay sane. Either way, whoever wins, you know?” said Ayanna Quinn.
“I’m pretty nervous about all of it. I think there’s a lot on the line right now and — kind of nervous about all the division and everything,“ said A.J. Truelove of Marion.
Voters were rattled by the past and anxious about the future, but Becker said she and other election officials were doing their part to rebuild a sense of trust.
“Just building that confidence again in elections,” said Becker.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Delaware
Governor Carney Releases Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board Report – State of Delaware News
WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney, on Monday, released the eighth annual report of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board. Governor Carney established GEAR under Executive Order #4 in February 2017 to identify ways for state government to sustain its culture of continuous improvement. Specifically, GEAR aims to improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of public services, while reducing costs.
“One of my first actions as Governor was to establish GEAR as an ongoing effort to contain government spending growth, improve the effectiveness of our service delivery, and better meet the needs of the citizens we serve,” said Governor Carney. “Over the past eight years, GEAR has played a crucial role in saving money and promoting a culture of continuous improvement across state government. Delaware residents and businesses have seen the benefits of their hard work.”
More than 100 practitioners from 23 state organizations are executing projects within a portfolio of 147 initiatives to improve efficiency. The savings from this work are estimated to total $101 million over the life of projects underway.
The report highlights key accomplishments and ongoing efforts across state government in 2024, including:
- Saving taxpayer dollars by restructuring leases, establishing a state land use inventory, streamlining the process of registering trade names, modernizing the client experience at State Service Centers, expanding broadband access across Delaware, enrolling more school libraries in the Delaware Library Catalog and Consortium, modernizing the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program with digital payments, optimizing long-term care delivery, and continuing to streamline financial, human resource, criminal justice, and information technology systems.
- Recognizing state employees who do this innovative and cost-saving work through the GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency and Trailblazer Award programs.
- Modernizing our public schools through EdGEAR, focusing on student enrollment, school finance, and unit count information systems.
- Recruiting and retaining professionals who specialize in this work by establishing job classifications for project managers, business process analysts, change management specialists, and specialists in continuous improvement.
The 2024 Annual Report also provides policy and budgetary recommendations aimed at continuing government efficiency and accountability initiatives.
“With more than 150 state employees engaging in training, practicing Lean philosophy methods, and working on projects as part of GEAR across Delaware Government – the Carney administration built a very strong foundation for driving greater efficiency and effectiveness, and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement”, said the GEAR Program Management Team led by Charles Clark and Daniel Madrid, Executive Director and Deputy Director of GEAR respectively and Bryan Sullivan, OMB’s Director of Management Efficiency. “Now we are poised to accelerate these efforts and achieve even greater measurable outcomes. GEAR looks forward to continuing these efforts with the guidance of a new Governor and his Cabinet, the Chief Justice, State Treasurer, Controller General and other members of the GEAR Board as the State strives to continue to support an adaptive, highly effective, and efficient Delaware State government for generations to come.”
GEAR’s accomplishments were recently included in Results for America’s “2024 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence,” a nationally recognized state benchmarking program.
Related Topics: GEAR, GEAR Board, Government Efficiency and Accountability Review Board
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney, on Monday, released the eighth annual report of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) Board. Governor Carney established GEAR under Executive Order #4 in February 2017 to identify ways for state government to sustain its culture of continuous improvement. Specifically, GEAR aims to improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of public services, while reducing costs.
“One of my first actions as Governor was to establish GEAR as an ongoing effort to contain government spending growth, improve the effectiveness of our service delivery, and better meet the needs of the citizens we serve,” said Governor Carney. “Over the past eight years, GEAR has played a crucial role in saving money and promoting a culture of continuous improvement across state government. Delaware residents and businesses have seen the benefits of their hard work.”
More than 100 practitioners from 23 state organizations are executing projects within a portfolio of 147 initiatives to improve efficiency. The savings from this work are estimated to total $101 million over the life of projects underway.
The report highlights key accomplishments and ongoing efforts across state government in 2024, including:
- Saving taxpayer dollars by restructuring leases, establishing a state land use inventory, streamlining the process of registering trade names, modernizing the client experience at State Service Centers, expanding broadband access across Delaware, enrolling more school libraries in the Delaware Library Catalog and Consortium, modernizing the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program with digital payments, optimizing long-term care delivery, and continuing to streamline financial, human resource, criminal justice, and information technology systems.
- Recognizing state employees who do this innovative and cost-saving work through the GEAR P3 Innovation and Efficiency and Trailblazer Award programs.
- Modernizing our public schools through EdGEAR, focusing on student enrollment, school finance, and unit count information systems.
- Recruiting and retaining professionals who specialize in this work by establishing job classifications for project managers, business process analysts, change management specialists, and specialists in continuous improvement.
The 2024 Annual Report also provides policy and budgetary recommendations aimed at continuing government efficiency and accountability initiatives.
“With more than 150 state employees engaging in training, practicing Lean philosophy methods, and working on projects as part of GEAR across Delaware Government – the Carney administration built a very strong foundation for driving greater efficiency and effectiveness, and sustaining a culture of continuous improvement”, said the GEAR Program Management Team led by Charles Clark and Daniel Madrid, Executive Director and Deputy Director of GEAR respectively and Bryan Sullivan, OMB’s Director of Management Efficiency. “Now we are poised to accelerate these efforts and achieve even greater measurable outcomes. GEAR looks forward to continuing these efforts with the guidance of a new Governor and his Cabinet, the Chief Justice, State Treasurer, Controller General and other members of the GEAR Board as the State strives to continue to support an adaptive, highly effective, and efficient Delaware State government for generations to come.”
GEAR’s accomplishments were recently included in Results for America’s “2024 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence,” a nationally recognized state benchmarking program.
Related Topics: GEAR, GEAR Board, Government Efficiency and Accountability Review Board
Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.
Here you can subscribe to future news updates.
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