100 Years Ago, 1924: Receiving complaint that drug addicts, one of them wanted by the Wilmington, Del., authorities, were in a shack at the rear of 9 Jeffrey St., Sgt. Miley and Officers Petersons, Bradley, Owens and Handy descended upon the place about 5 o’clock this morning and took into custody four persons. All denied the charge of drug addict, but were ordered held pending further investigation.
75 Years Ago, 1949: Fire which authorities believed was started by fumigation candles caused an estimated $2,000 worth of damage in an apartment in the Fifth Ward Friday afternoon. Firemen had to don masks and ease their way through the thick yellow, sulphuric smoke to fight the blaze in the second floor apartment located at 924 Walnut St. The blaze was discovered shortly before 3 p.m. by Mrs. Dorothy Chapman, who lives next door at 926 Walnut St. She reported she saw smoke seeping from windows on the second floor and she telephoned the Moyamensing Fire Company.
50 Years Ago, 1974: Delaware County employees have been given numbered tickets to attend a Republican organization rally at 8 tonight at the Alphine Inn, Springfield, the reason for the numbered tickets is to “keep out hecklers and anybody who might cause a disturbance,” according to Robert F. Kelly, county Republican chairman. He pointed out the rally was being held in the home town of the major anti-organization candidate, incumbent U.S. Rep. Lawrence G. Williams (R-7).
25 Years Ago, 1999: Baldt Anchor will be among 11 Pennsylvania companies accompanying Gov. Tom Ridge as he embarks on a trade mission to Asia, his second trip there in 18 months. Baldt, a century-old company, today only employs 30 workers at the Chester facility where it manufactures ship anchors and does a lot of business with the Navy. But Baldt is seeking to resume what was once an extensive overseas business. Baldt marketing director Karen Kelly said Baldt is looking to establish contacts in the Asian regions.
10 Years Ago, 2014: Authorities are investigating a carjacking Wednesday night involving the wife of Chester Mayor John Linder, according to a report by 6ABC “Action News.” Mrs. Linder was forced at gunpoint to exit her gold-colored 2005 Ford Taurus at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. After Mrs. Linder got out of her vehicle, the two men jumped inside and drove toward I-95, according to authorities. Mrs. Linder reportedly escaped without injuries. According to Chester Police Commissioner Joseph Bail, three suspects were detained for questioning and the vehicle was recovered.
— COLIN AINSWORTH
What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.
This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Delaware Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long has contradicted a new state Department of Elections report that found she and her husband were paid $33,000 more than they reportedly loaned her campaigns; however, her two opponents in the Democratic gubernatorial primary on Friday said that the report shows she’s corrupt and unfit for state government’s highest office.
The report and related documents that were released late Thursday — including copies of canceled checks — concluded that Hall-Long’s political campaigns repeatedly violated state law from 2016 to 2023 by not disclosing nearly $298,000 in payments to her husband Dana, who had been her campaign treasurer, or reporting $266,000 in loans to the campaign.
Hall-Long is embroiled in a three-way primary race with New Castle County executive Matt Meyer and former state environmental chief Collin O’Mara. The election is Sept. 10 — less than seven weeks away.
Despite the harsh report, state elections commissioner Anthony Albence, whose office had hired former Philadelphia FBI chief Jeffrey Lampinski to investigate the matter, told Hall-Long in writing that he was not referring the findings to Attorney General Kathy Jennings for possible criminal prosecution. Jennings said she concurred and pledged to work toward strengthening election laws so that similar issues don’t arise in the future.
Jennings issued a written statement that said if charges were brought, a defense attorney “could credibly attribute the committee’s errors to carelessness. We cannot pursue charges where the law does not provide the standards to do so; but neither should we abide a precedent that flouts the spirit of the law when committees demonstrate negligence.”
Hall-Long received the report last week and had urged Albence in writing not to release the investigatory files, arguing they were not public documents, “until such time as we can discuss our concerns with you.” Albence responded in an email that he did “not intend to publicly post or release” the report unless a public records request was made.
WHYY News made a Freedom of Information Act request last Tuesday for the files upon learning that the report had been completed after a six-month investigation, and Albence’s office released it late Thursday afternoon, nine days later. Sources have said Jennings had prodded Albence to make the report public.
Albence had not responded to requests for interviews about Hall-Long’s campaign finances since issues arose publicly last fall following a revolt within her campaign over more than $200,000 in unreported payments to Dana Long. Albence similarly has not made any comment since the report’s release.
Hall-Long would not agree to an interview about the report, but continued her practice of releasing written statements about the controversy, as she has over the last nine months.
The statement Hall-Long released late Thursday night reiterated that she “voluntarily disclosed discrepancies with previous campaign finance reports” in the fall and since then has cooperated with Albence’s office “on a confidential process to amend previous campaign finance reports.”
Hall-Long’s statement added that she will always “address any bookkeeping discrepancies head on” and noted that “none of this will be referred to the attorney general.”
In November, Hall-Long amended seven years of campaign reports to disclose $308,000 in loans and $207,000 in repayments to herself — not her husband. Her 2023 report, filed in January, forgave what the campaign said was an unpaid loan balance of more than $100,000.
She added that “contrary to the Lampinski preliminary report, our family has loaned the campaign more money than we have been reimbursed and we have forgiven that remaining loan balance.”
Lampinski’s report said that based on the bank records, finance reports and documents provided by Dana Long and the campaign, “I cannot account for the difference in their public reporting and my findings.”
Hall-Long’s categorization of Lampinski’s report as “preliminary” stands in contrast, however, to what Albence informed her Tuesday about the 16-page document.
“Please be advised that the report, dated and issued to me on July 13, 2024, by Mr. Lampinski, is his final report, not a draft. … this final version of the report is not subject to change,” Albence wrote in an email, adding that her attorney could feel free to respond to him.
In light of Lampinski’s findings, Albence also directed Hall-Long to further amend her reports to “to ensure all committee transactions … are accurately and fully reported.”
Today, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department of Commerce and NOAA have recommended $1.97 million for a project including Delaware to make the state’s coast more resilient to climate change and other coastal hazards. The project encompasses rural coastal communities in the Delmarva region of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The awards are being made under the Biden Administration’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, a competitive, $575 million program funded through the nearly $6 billion total investment under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.
“As part of President Biden’s commitment to combating the climate crisis, we are investing $575 million to help make sure America’s coastal communities are more resilient to the effects of climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “As part of this historic investment in our nation’s climate resilience the Biden-Harris Administration is investing $1.97 million to help underserved communities in Delaware develop and implement new strategies to protect themselves from the impacts of climate change.”
Administered by the Department of Commerce and NOAA, the Climate-Ready Coasts initiative is focused on investing in high-impact projects that create climate solutions by storing carbon; build resilience to coastal hazards such as extreme weather events, pollution and marine debris; restore coastal habitats that help wildlife and humans thrive; build the capacity of underserved communities and support community-driven restoration; and provide employment opportunities.
“To be a climate-ready coast and nation, the issues facing our farmers must be met,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “This project will help ensure the continuation of our food supply and farming as a means of supporting families.”
The recommended project and $1,973,267 in total funding will be led by Virginia Tech. The project, Leveraging Cooperative Extension to Build an Enduring Capacity for Equitable and Inclusive Resilience in Rural Agricultural Communities across Coastal Delaware, Maryland and Virginia will be a joint, multistate effort that includes establishing a regional collaborative to support climate resilience in rural communities in the Delmarva region, where agriculture plays a key role in the local economy and culture. Project partners will conduct a needs assessment and a series of community listening sessions to identify current capabilities, challenges and opportunities to increase resilience – particularly in low-income, minority and agricultural communities.
This project will also support an educational component that will strengthen the capacity to initiate and participate in climate adaptation and resilience projects. Challenges addressed with this project include sea level rise, temperature changes, changing precipitation patterns and the impact on communities and agriculture.
Additional information is available on the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge website.
Climate, weather, and water affect all life on our ocean planet. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict our changing environment, from the deep sea to outer space, and to manage and conserve America’s coastal and marine resources.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/GYNBFVX3RJFONASKO5EMISYHTE.jpg "Police recover man’s body from Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia")
Police recovered the body of a man from the Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia Thursday afternoon.
The body of the man, described as in his 40s, was recovered around 3:30 p.m. by the police Marine Unit near the Linden Avenue Boat Ramp in the city’s Torresdale section, police said,
The man was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m. by fire department personnel at the scene.
Police said the investigation into his death was ongoing.
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