The sluggish economic recovery in Delaware and around the United States leaves many non-profit museums and attractions seeking creative ways to manage their bottom lines.

10 Brandywine Valley area museums and attractions making up the the Brandywine Museums and Gardens Alliance (BMGA) continue to pull together and cooperate – rather than compete – for visitors and support.
DFM News sat down with Hagley Museum and Library executive director Geoff Halfpenny to discuss the issues facing non-profits like those that comprise the BMGA and the importance of cooperative ventures to keep these venues on solid footing.

The sluggish economic recovery in Delaware and around the United States leaves many non-profit museums and attractions seeking creative ways to manage their bottom lines. 10 Brandywine Valley area museums and attractions making up the the Brandywine Museums and Gardens Alliance (BMGA) continue to pull together and cooperate – rather than compete – for visitors [...]

Two relief organizations in Delaware and Pennsylvania are collaborating with three hospitals in an effort to save the sight — and the life — of a Haitian toddler who is believed to be suffering from a cancerous plum-sized tumor on her left eye.

If all the logistical details fall into place, 21-month-old Melissa Chery and her mother, Adimene Exile, will arrive in Delaware on Sunday or Tuesday, following a flight from Port au Prince, Haiti, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, said Lynn Shapira, president and co-founder of the Haiti Family Initiative, a group founded last year in response to the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that devastated the island nation in January 2010.

Governor Jack Markell discusses the importance of local agriculture to the state’s economy. Agriculture in Delaware generates 8 million dollars in economic activity. The Delaware State Fair has been showcasing the skills of the state’s farmers and future farmers for the past ninety years. The Governor expresses a new commitment to agricultural preservation and commends the newly launched Delaware Young Farmer Program. He stresses that farmland is a wise investment that will create Delaware jobs and support the Delaware economy.

Thousands of Delawareans and others in the Delmarva region are visiting Harrington this week for the 2011 Delaware State Fair. While many attendees visit for the food, rides, and musical performances, others still consider the agricultural and livestock exhibitions the fair’s centerpiece.

In an effort to continue the tradition, over 1,000 youth members of Delaware’s 4-H club are participating in over 30 different agricultural and livestock exhibit categories. DFM News followed some members of the New Castle County 4-H Sheep Club to see what it takes to go from the farm to the fair.

Robert W. Jackson III has become the first inmate to be executed in Delaware since 2005, following a flurry of 11th hour court appeals.

According to witnesses in the execution chamber at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna, Jackson went to his death maintaining his innocence in the 1992 ax murder of 47-year-old Elizabeth Girardi during a botched burglary at her Hockessin home.

“This isn’t justice,” Jackson said as part of his final statement, according to witnesses.

Outside in the pouring rain, some demonstrators held candles and signs protesting capital punishment. In a separate area nearby, one local resident who had been following the case was glad to see the execution finally take place.

A Delaware teen’s tragic loss in a battle with childhood cancer has been turned into inspiration and hope for dozens of children through the B+ Foundation.

This year, the foundation has taken its message and work to the race track where DFM News’ Patrick Mairs found they’ve created a one of a kind way to advance the fight against cancer and save lives.

The debate over raising the nation’s debt ceiling and what deficit reduction measures should be attached to any decision to raise the debt limit remains at an impasse with a week to go before the current ceiling is hit and the U.S. starts to fall short of the funds needed to meet its obligations.

DFM News sat down with Delaware State University political science professor Sam Hoff for analysis of the debate and its implications for the First State.

The debate over raising the nation’s debt ceiling and what deficit reduction measures should be attached to any decision to raise the debt limit remains at an impasse with a week to go before the current ceiling is hit and the U.S. starts defaulting in its obligations.

In Delaware, Senator Chris Coons (D), who sits on the Senate Budget committee, has weighed in on the debate in multiple forums – including a YouTube video on the implications of a U.S. default. Senator Tom Carper (D) has also offered his perspectives on the issue, including the recent “Gang of Six” Senate plan offered. Congressman John Carney (D) tackled the topic recently in an editorial in the Wilmington News Journal. DFM News caught up with members of Delaware’s congressional delegation to further discuss the implications of the debt ceiling debate. DFM News also sat down with Delaware State University political science professor Sam Hoff for analysis of the debate and its implications for the First State.

For seven aspiring principals in Delaware’s high-need public schools, this summer has been just the beginning — a very intensive beginning.

“The information and experience I’ve gained in the first four weeks far surpasses what I picked up in traditional pathways,” said Reshid Walker, one of seven participants in the Delaware Leadership Project (DLP), a 14-month training program financed primarily by federal Race to the Top education reform funds and a grant from the Rodel Foundation.

Walker, who has worked in the Capital School district and in the New York City Department of Education, already is certified as an assistant principal and principal, but was attracted to the program by its rigor and the opportunity for hands-on training while building a strong relationship with a mentoring principal.