Delaware
Wilmington residents call for historic dam protection while environmentalists work to protect fish species
After the city of Wilmington removed a Brandywine dam in 2019, University of Delaware scientists discovered American shad returning to the area to reproduce. One fish the researchers tracked even made its way to Nova Scotia, Canada, and back, said assistant professor Ed Hale, who helped lead the research.
“[Dams interrupt] normal behaviors associated with animals and organismal level behaviors, but also with the flow of energy,” Hale said. “It’s really pretty cool that the year after we remove a dam, [we] actually see that natural function.”
Flood protection
In addition to improving fish passage, scientists say dam removal is sometimes necessary to reduce the impacts of storm flooding.
Removing dams that are damaged or falling apart is the top priority, said the University of Delaware’s Gerald Kauffman, who has researched the Brandywine dams for 20 years. Unlike neighboring states, Delaware law does not require regular inspection of smaller dams, said Kauffman, who directs the university’s Water Resources Center.
One of the Brandywine River dams approved for removal is marred with a 10-by-30 foot hole. If it breaks during a major storm, an estimated 75 million gallons of water could topple downstream, Kauffman said. The researcher and professor said he’s particularly concerned about residents in northeast Wilmington — many of whom have yet to return to their homes after being flooded by Hurricane Ida in 2021.
“[Ida] was a lesson to me that we need to address [dams] now. Otherwise when the next [storm] comes down, it could be a catastrophe,” Kauffman said.
Intact dams built before the 1980s also have potential to lift already-rising water levels upstream during storms, he said, depending on a number of factors.
The dam behind Brandywine Falls appears to be in healthy condition, Kauffman said, which could mean the Army Corps of Engineers recommends stakeholders preserve it.
Brandywine Falls’ Ursomato said he would like agencies to focus on other flood-reducing infrastructure efforts instead of dam removal.
“Let’s assume you took all the dams out of the river, and the river still flooded … that would be a tragedy,” he said.
Preserving history
Brandywine Falls residents say they’re not against fish passage efforts, but are fearful they might lose a piece of Delaware history.
The dam is a remnant of Joseph Bancroft, a businessman who established a cotton mill in the area in the 19th century, taking advantage of the Brandywine’s water power.
Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co. is considered to be the most significant and longest lasting textiles company on the Lower Brandywine, according to University of Delaware historians. By the early 20th century, it became one of the world’s largest textile finishers, introducing synthetic materials to the market. Bancroft Mills is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and may also include the dam behind Brandywine Falls.
“I feel very impassioned about the history of the area, the famous families in this area,” said Brandywine Falls resident Jim Carrington.
Bancroft Mills is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the dam behind Brandywine Falls is considered a “contributing element” of the historic district. The dam is eligible for an individual listing under the registry, but hasn’t been nominated, according to the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs.
A national register listing does not preclude a dam from removal. However, agencies involved, such as the Army Corps of Engineers are required to consult state historians and other stakeholders to determine whether the dam should be preserved due to its historical significance. If they decide a dam should remain, alternatives such as a partial removal, or a rock ramp, can be considered.
In addition to evaluating the structural condition of the dam behind Brandywine Falls, the Army Corps of Engineers will also consider its historical significance, and other fish passage options.
Hagley Museum and Library owns four dams on the Brandywine that were previously operated by the DuPonts. The famous family located their gunpowder mills along the river to take advantage of water power. The museum’s leaders have not granted permission for dam removal because they’re pursuing a historical designation for them.
“The predominant use of the powder here at Hagley was used for things like westward expansion … and so it’s a really important chapter in the history of our country,” said Jill McKenzie, the museum’s executive director.
Hagley continues to use water power to this day to keep the museum’s 1870s machine shop off the electrical grid.
The museum is partnering with the Army Corps of Engineers to determine an alternative way to improve fish passage without removing the dams, such as potentially installing a rock ladder.
David Keller, head of the fisheries section at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University, said dam removal is sometimes the most effective way to improve fish passage. However, stakeholders must also evaluate potential risks, he said.
School board elections are one of the highest-leverage, lowest-participation decisions in Delaware. Turnout is low. Margins are small. In some cases, candidates run without a real contest. When voters do not engage, leadership is not selected. It is decided by default. When governance is decided by default, the system performs accordingly.
It’s clear that when residents fail to vote, it can have consequences — ones that most people recognize, but rarely connect to the ballot box. It shapes whether schools are focused on clear priorities or pulled in competing directions. It determines whether resources are invested in what improves student outcomes or spread thin. Those decisions show up in real ways: in the preparedness of students, the confidence of families, and the strength of Delaware’s workforce and economy.
In 2024, fewer than 5% of eligible voters cast ballots in Delaware school board elections, even as concern about outcomes, funding, and district leadership remained high across every sector of public life. The disconnect between what communities demand and how they participate is one of the most significant, and most solvable, barriers to progress in our state.
Data from the 2026 Delaware Opportunity Outlook reinforce this disconnect. A majority of Delawareans believe school board members have a direct influence on the quality of K–12 education, yet far fewer report understanding how improvement efforts are being carried out, or how decisions are made at the local level. In other words, people believe boards matter, but are not consistently using the one mechanism they have to influence who serves and how decisions are made.
What governing actually requires
A strong board member asks clear, outcome-focused questions and expects specific answers. They connect decisions to priorities, work through tradeoffs with colleagues, and ensure decisions are understood before the board moves forward. They listen for whether information reflects progress or activity, and press for clarity when it does not.
These are not intuitive responsibilities. They require preparation. School board governance is often treated as something individuals can step into without training, but these are complex roles that involve setting priorities, interpreting data, making tradeoffs, and ensuring decisions lead to results over time.
The Delaware Opportunity Outlook suggests that this is not how the role is widely understood. While Delawareans recognize that school boards influence the quality of education, far fewer identify training and professional preparation as essential.
That gap has direct consequences. As the state advances new priorities, the effectiveness of those efforts will depend on whether local board members are prepared to implement them, monitor progress, and make results visible.
Delaware’s moment
Delaware has established a clear direction for public education: defined priorities, a statewide literacy commitment, and a funding reform that will place significant new responsibilities on local boards. Plans set direction. Boards determine whether those plans turn into results.
What happens next will not be determined by those plans alone. It will be determined by how effectively school boards translate those priorities into decisions, how consistently they track progress, and whether they make results visible to the public.
Candidate evaluation
Evaluating a candidate is straightforward: Can they name a small number of district priorities and explain why those matter? Can they describe what data they would review regularly and how they would use it? Can they explain how resources should align to outcomes and what they would do if results do not improve? Candidates who can answer those questions demonstrate an understanding of the role. Those who cannot speak to governance beyond the issues that brought them to the race may find the role more demanding than they anticipated.
Make your voice heard
Voting in a school board election is one of the few places where individual participation has a direct and immediate impact on how the system performs. School board elections are decided by small numbers of voters. Your decision to engage, or not, determines who governs. Choosing not to participate is not neutrality. It is a choice, and it carries the same weight as the vote itself.
Today, a decision will be made about who governs Delaware’s schools. You can be part of that decision, or it will be made without you. Either way, the results will show up in classrooms, in communities, and in the long-term strength of this state.
Find out who is running. Evaluate them on the work the role requires, not only on the positions they hold. Vote, and encourage others to do the same.
For more details about voting in today’s elections, visit First State Educate’s 2026 School Board Elections page.
Read more from Spotlight Delaware
Monday, May 11, 2026 10:57AM
TRAINER BOROUGH, Pa. (WPVI) — A person has died after being hit by a vehicle in Delaware County.
It happened around 2:45 a.m. on Monday in the 4300 block of West 9th Street in Trainer Borough.
Police and fire crews were called to the Parkview Mobile Home community for reports of a pedestrian hit by a car.
Officials say the victim went into cardiac arrest immediately after the crash.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
LAUREL, Del. — Delaware State Police are investigating a shooting in Laurel that left a 19-year-old man injured Friday afternoon and resulted in firearm charges against a Georgetown man, authorities said.
Troopers responded around 3:20 p.m. Friday to TidalHealth Nanticoke after the victim arrived at the hospital in a personal vehicle with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to police. Investigators said the man had been shot in front of a residence on Portsville Road near Randall Street in Laurel.
Police said the victim was transported to the hospital in a blue Mazda 3 driven by 20-year-old Alexison Amisial of Georgetown. Troopers later located the vehicle and Amisial at First Stop Gas Station, where investigators said he was found carrying an untraceable firearm concealed in his waistband.
Amisial was taken into custody without incident and charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon and possession of an untraceable firearm, both felonies, police said. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 3 and released on a $3,500 unsecured bond.
The Delaware State Police Troop 4 Criminal Investigations Unit continues to investigate the shooting. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Detective R. Mitchell at 302-752-3794 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-847-3333.
-
Pittsburg, PA4 minutes agoDragon softball sweeps Kansas City Piper
-
Augusta, GA10 minutes agoBrent McMillian named as Augusta University’s new Athletics Director – AOL
-
Washington, D.C16 minutes agoNonprofit sues the federal government over plans to paint Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue
-
Cleveland, OH22 minutes agoPaint the Town: Sherwin-Williams Opens Massive 36-Story Headquarters in Cleveland – Scioto Post
-
Austin, TX28 minutes agoMan fatally shot during dog walk in Northwest Austin, neighbor arrested
-
Alaska40 minutes ago10 Reasons the 2026 Princess Cruises Season Is the Ultimate Alaska Power Move – AOL
-
Arizona46 minutes agoArizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #40: 5/11 @ Rangers
-
Arkansas52 minutes agoSax star Merlon Devine joins Lupus Foundation of Arkansas to jazz up awareness month