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LAWSUIT TRIES TO STOP WIND FARMS

DE ART MUSEUM’S “JEWELBOX” OF A GALLERY

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Delaware Live @DelawareLive

August 29, 2021 • Vol. 2, Issue 35

Photo by brian k. leonard

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If a new anti-wind farm coalition is successful with a federal lawsuit to halt an offshore wind farm in Massa-chusetts, the court decision could force federal regulators to reanalyze projects across the Eastern Seaboard, including one off the Delmarva coast.

That could halt or significantly slow their development and construction.

“It’s going to affect all of the offshore wind projects,” said Dave Stevenson, director of the Center for Energy & Environment at the Caesar Rodney Institute, a conservative think tank in Delaware. “This is the first industrial-sized offshore wind project to be approved and the environmental impact statement is seriously

Federal lawsuit attempts to halt, slow all East Coast wind farm approvals

BY CHARLES MEGGINSON

HEADLINES

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flawed, the record of decision they used to get the permit is seriously flawed, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management used those flawed documents to approve this project.”

Wednesday’s press conference to announce the lawsuit aimed at the Vineyard Wind turbine farm off Nantucket also served to launch the alliance of advocacy groups—including one from Delaware—who oppose development of similar wind farms along the East Coast.

The American Coalition for Ocean Protection includes groups from Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina, as well as a group in Michigan.

The Caesar Rodney Institute is an organizing force

behind the coalition, Stevenson said. It hopes members will serve as “watchdogs against misguided federal and state offshore wind policy,” according to a press release.

The coalition says wind projects, including the proposed Skipjack wind farm off the shores of Ocean City, Maryland, are moving forward without adequate studies of potential impacts on the beach, environment, fishing economies, and critical animal species.

It says the federal government has rushed offshore wind projects through the regulatory process without consideration for the detrimental impacts of wind farms on the environment and economy.

“President Biden is publicly pushing his administration to ‘cut the red tape’ to get going on constructing these offshore wind projects without any thought to the potentially destructive consequences these wind turbines may cause or have proven to have caused in Europe,” the coalition’s website says.

When Donald Trump was president, additional envi-ronmental reviews were added for existing projects, delaying development of wind farms authorized during the Obama presidency. Trump’s 2020 executive order to ban offshore oil drilling in several states also halted the issuance of new offshore wind leases.

During Biden’s first week in office, he issued an execu-tive order to fast track the approval process for offshore wind leases and environmental impact studies with the goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030.

Administration officials said that would create 77,000 jobs, power 10 million homes and cut 78 million metric tons in carbon emissions.

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A Wilmington non-profit organization hosted a movie screening Friday with race- and gender-based ticket prices.

Tickets for the event ranged from free to $7, depending on your gender and racial identity.

Black Mothers in Power, founded in 2019 by Wilm-ington city councilwoman Shané Darby, will present “Chocolate Milk: The Documentary” at Penn Cinema Riverfront IMAX Theatre.

The film follows three women to explore the racial di-vide in breastfeeding, trying to decipher why more Afri-can American women are not breastfeeding. The docu-mentary is being presented in partnership with Nemours

WILMINGTON FILM SCREENING BASES TICKET COST ON RACE, GENDER

BY CHARLES MEGGINSON

HEADLINES

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Children’s Health System and the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium.

Free tickets were “encouraged to be reserved by Black Women (Trans, Cis, Queer, & POC),” according to the organization.

Darby said the pricing structure was designed to en-sure that Black women are supported. She said the $7 ticket should have been purchased by anybody who doesn’t identify as a “Black birthing person, or a woman, whatever term you want to use, but birthing person is the most proper term to use.

“We’re asking for people who aren’t Black women—so Black men, Hispanic men, Hispanic women, anyone who doesn’t fit that criteria—to make a donation toward the movement,” Darby said. “A lot of times Black women, our labor is for free and it should not be for free.”

She said non-Black people, especially White people, often come into Black spaces and take information and knowledge and drain the community.

“We’re looking for that not to happen and asking for donations, for volunteers and for people to contribute, instead of just coming to suck in knowledge and drain communities,” she said.

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A graphic depicting rows of uniformed police officers wearing pointed white hoods that was posted by Wilm-ington City Council member Shané Darby came up twice during Thursday night’s council meeting.

Darby originally posted the graphic on Aug. 17, and, according to comments from a videotape of the council meeting, reposted it Thursday, along with more comments about police. Later in the day, she took it down.

The caption above the graphic reads, “The Blue Klux Klan” and “Based on a true story.”

Darby said earlier this week the post was meant to convey the history of policing in America, one she said is embedded in anti-Blackness.

Shané Darby’s ‘Blue Klux Klan’ post draws fire from mayor, police, council

BY CHARLES MEGGINSON

HEADLINES

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“The history of policing in our country is embedded in anti-Blackness, it’s embedded in the oppression of Black people,” Darby said. “So when police were estab-lished, it transferred from it being KKK members to police officers so the mentality of how they operate is similar to the KKK. A lot of members of the KKK are part of the police department.”

Darby said that policing practices are “embedded in the same anti-Blackness and the same oppression of all Black people and Brown people that this country is founded on, and still embraces today.”

Darby said she didn’t know of any specific members of the Wilmington Police Department who were members of the KKK but said the system as a whole was anti-Black.

“Police departments are not there to prevent crime but to solve crime and they’re trying to do crime- prevention but they’re destroying communities, because they’re not trying to prevent crime but to solve crime, and to react to crime,” Darby said.

Asked whether the Wilmington Police Department, which Darby oversees as a city councilwoman, is a racist organization, Darby said, “Yeah, it’s a system that is racist, that is embedded in racist ideology, so it can’t escape it. The very founding of policing is anti-Black.”

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The Playhouse on Rodney Square will reopen in No-vember and feature two beloved musicals, Riverdance’s 25th anniversary show and—hot stuff—a musical featured Donna Summer’s disco tunes.

The 108-year-old Playhouse, located in the Hotel Du Pont and operated by the Grand Opera House, will start its 2021-22 series on Nov. 18 with “Waitress.” The movie- turned-musical was brought to life by an all-female creative team and includes music and lyrics by singer Sara Bareilles.

The show revolves around Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage. Pouring her heart into her pies, she crafts desserts that mirror her topsy-turvy life such as “The Key (Lime) to Happiness Pie” and “Betrayed By My Eggs Pie.” When a baking contest in a nearby county

PIE, ANYONE? PLAYHOUSE’S LONG INTERMISSION ENDS WITH ‘WAITRESS’

BY BETSY PRICE

offers Jenna a chance at a fresh start, she must find the courage to seize it. The show will run Nov. 18-21.

The musical is one that the Playhouse has wanted to present and hoped to have last year, “but this season was the first opportunity we had,” said spokesman Andy Truscott.

“Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” will run Dec. 4-5 and feature the disco hits of a woman who rose from gospel choir to dance-floor diva. The store focuses on how Summer fought to break through barriers to become the icon of the era and inspire future music divas. The show will include 20 of her hits, including “Love to Love You Baby,” “Bad Girls” and “Hot Stuff.”

CULTURE

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Hockessin’s Mt. Cuba Center is breaking ground on a new, sustainable greenhouse and plant production space.

The organization plans to use the space to conduct native plant research, propagation, and production.

Mt. Cuba’s current greenhouse was completed in 1962 to produce floral plants for Pamela and Lammot du Pont Copeland’s home. In the early 2000s, the greenhouse transitioned to being used to produce native plants.

“While Mt. Cuba grows plants for its gardens, it is also involved in growing plants for other research studies and institutions,” said George Coombs, director of horticulture at Mt. Cuba. “Greenhouse technology has also changed greatly, becoming much more efficient

MT. CUBA TO ADD HIGH-TECH GREENHOUSE, WELCOME CENTER AND PARKING

BY CHARLES MEGGINSON

and sustainable. New facilities will help Mt. Cuba to contribute and share knowledge with the native plant community.”

In addition to the greenhouse, construction will also begin on a new Woodland Glade garden, welcome center and guest parking lot to open in spring 2022. Comple-tion of the greenhouse is expected for winter 2022.

It’s the latest in a series of upgrades and redos announced by area attractions that are former du Pont estates or tied to the family. They include:

• Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, building $250 million expansion of greenhouse

• Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington putting in a new $2 million permanent exhibit “Nation of Inventors” and closing for several months for estate infrastructure upgrading

• Delaware Museum of Natural History in Greenville closing for a complete $9 million redo inside

Mt. Cuba’s greenhouse will run primarily on renewable energy with the aim of achieving net zero energy status, meaning it will create as much energy as it uses over the course of the year.

“Picture a huge glass box that you want to keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and you can easily imagine why this is difficult,” said James Rockwell, greenhouse and nursery production manager.

CULTURE

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More than 500 American flags are flying on the Wilmington Riverfront again.

For the second year in a row, the Rotary Club of Wilm-ington has installed the flags to honor the U.S. military, first responders and front-line workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, the flags will be up on Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks of the World Trade Cen-ter, Pentagon and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The flags are scheduled to stay up through Sept. 20.

AMERICAN FLAGS LINE WILMINGTON RIVERFRONT

BY BETSY PRICE

Photo by Brian K. Leonard

CULTURE

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One of the Delaware Art Museum’s seminal collec-tions has a new home in the building. a few new pieces and new interpretations designed to put the art. artists and models into context.

“Radical Beauty: British Pre-Raphaelites,” has moved into the galleries off the entrance hall that once held a collection of American art. It’s a smaller space, but a vibrant setting that offers more connections to a viewer in a single glance.

The new exhibit was built partly on the reactions of the public and about 100 people who were invited to com-munity salons to talk about what they liked, didn’t like and didn’t understand about the Pre-Raphaelite gallery.

Those artists were considered a rebellious splinter group of artists who rejected the trends embraced by the Royal Academy of Art in London. One of its focal points was the work of Italian Renaissance painter

DELAWARE ART MUSEUM PRE-RAPHS MOVE INTO ‘JEWELBOX’ OF A GALLERY

BY BETSY PRICE

Raphael, who painted in the early 1500s.The Delaware collection was given to the museum by

Wilmington mill owner Samuel Bancroft. It’s consid-ered the largest collection of PreRaph artwork outside of England. Bancroft’s collection, and a huge collection of work by Wilmington illustrator Howard Pyle, formed the basis for the Delaware Art Museum.

“One of the most important things for me as a curator was understanding what they didn’t get in the previous installation and what they were interested,” said Margaretta Frederick. the Annette Woolard-Provide curator of the Bancroft Pre-Raphaelite Collection. “And we’ve done a lot of stuff to kind of change that. I think the biggest thing is that people really related to the things that were similar to today.”

CULTURE

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A 46-foot fin whale, dubbed Willy by locals, has died after being stranded and then beached near Lewes Thursday.

The MERR Institute and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control re-sponded to reports of the endangered fin whale, or ra-zorback, swimming inside of the breakwater near the East End Lighthouse.

Officials hoped that the whale would swim away during high tide, but it ended up beaching near Cape Henlopen State Park. The animal likely was injured or sick, officials said Thursday.

DNREC says blood samples will be taken and an au-topsy will be conducted to determine a cause of death. Heavy equipment will be used to dig a trench to bury its remains.

The whale got quite a bit of attention on Thursday.Videos and photos of the visitor were trending on so-

cial media locally, with guests aboard Cape Water Tours’ dolphin watching trip and nearby boaters getting a clos-er look under the watchful eyes of DNREC enforce-ment.

MERR says it could take several weeks before a cause of death is determined.

Fin whale that died near Cape Henlopen will be autopsied

BY JONATHAN BUDLER

CULTURE

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The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control say the number of songbirds who were dying from a mystery illness has gone down enough that residents can go back to using bird baths and feeders.

The state on June 10 asked people to stop using the baths and feeders because no one was sure how songbirds were getting sick.

Delaware was one of 10 states and Washington, DC, reporting sick birds. In Delaware, there were 150 reports.

STATE SAYS IT’S NOW OK TO USE BIRD FEEDERS AND BATHS

BY BETSY PRICE

Affected birds typically exhibit symptoms including eye swelling and squinting, crusty discharge around the eyes or neurologic symptoms such as erratic flight and stumbling, often followed by the death of the bird. Juve-nile birds appear to be more affected than adults, with European starlings, blue jays, northern cardinals and American robins the most reported affected species.

While investigators said they still don’t know why that happened, none of the birds seemed infected by salmo-nella and chlamydia, avian influenza virus, West Nile and other flaviviruses, Newcastle disease virus and other paramyxoviruses, herpesviruses and poxviruses and Trichomonas parasites.

Whatever was happening did not spread to humans, domestic livestock or poultry, the state said.

Anyone who sees a sick bird should contact Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research at 302-737-9543. Additional information can be found on the organization’s website: www.tristatebird.org.

Anyone who sees a dead songbird that displayed any of the symptoms should report it to the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife at 302-735-3600.

BUSINESS

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Rep. David Bentz, D-Christiana, announced Tuesday that he won’t run for re-election in 2022.

“For the past six years, I’ve had the privilege and honor to serve the residents of the 18th District in the

House of Representatives,” he said in a press release is-sued by the House Democratic Caucus. “Starting out as a legislative aide for the district gave me perspective into the issues facing the community, and I worked to address those problems every day as a representative.”

Now, he said, “After careful consideration and consul-tation with my family, I have decided that it would be best to step away from elected office.”

It wasn’t an easy decision, but was right for him and his family, he said.

Bentz said he wanted to announce early so potential candidates had time to plan.

He’s one of several legislators who has announced he will not run for re-election. They include Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Rehoboth Beach and Rep. Gerald Brady, D-Greenville. Brady announced he would not run after he was caught

BY BETSY PRICE

REP. DAVID BENTZ ANNOUNCES HE WON’T RUN FOR RE-ELECTION

using an racist slur against Asian women, prompting calls for him to resign and to face an investigation by the state House Ethics Committee. That process is se-cret, and legislators and staff are not even allowed to acknowledge it happening.

The General Assembly will meet later in the year to discuss redistricting, based on populations shifts in the federal 2020 Census. Some districts are expected to shift from New Castle County to Sussex County, based on the population growth there.

Bentz didn’t mention any of that in his statement.“Since I was first elected, I have always been focused

on results,” he said. “In addition to addressing the ev-eryday issues affecting my constituents, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to combat gun violence through the Beau Biden Gun Violence Prevention Act and the Lethal Violence Protection Order, and to improve the quality, affordability and accessibility of healthcare to Delawareans.”

He said he was pleased to codified telehealth services in Delaware and help improve access to critical primary and mental health care services.

BUSINESS

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Schwab to fund DSU institute designed to help minorities build wealthBY BETSY PRICE

A four-year grant from Charles Schwab will allow Delaware State University to launch a Financial Literacy Institute that will work with thousands of students a year from high schoolers, to DSU students, to graduates.

The goals are to help minorities learn more about how to build wealth, as well as beef up financial investment and certified financial planning classes into a major that will provide minority candidates for an industry that is largely White.

The four-year partnership with Schwab Advisory Ser-vices and Charles Schwab Foundation will help hire faculty and staff expected to serve up to 1,500 college freshmen throughout their career, 2,500 upper classmen

and 2000 graduates, as well as reaching out each year to 1,500 high school juniors and seniors from New York to Washington, D.C.

Neither the school nor Schwab would say how much the grant is, which is Schwab’s custom. For comparison purposes, DelTech last week announced a $400,000 Barclays grant that will put 200 students through certification courses to help them get a job, or better job.

“This partnership is exciting because the need to improve the financial planning and wealth management skills of our students is essential to our core mission of changing their life trajectories,” said University President Tony Allen in a press release.

EDUCATION

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EDUCATION

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Watching all the suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Lakima Mcilver of Wilmington to jump from her job as a credit analyst to become a certified nurse assistant.

“It’s something that opened my eyes,” she said. “And it’s a scary thing with a lot of people worrying and they don’t know how to be able to help others. I wanted to help. I wanted to give back to my community.”

She is one of the people that a new Barclays grant to Delaware Technical Community College is designed to help.

A $400,000 grant from Wilmington’s Barclays U.S. Consumer Bank will put 200 students in 13 subject areas through intensive training to help them land good- paying jobs in healthcare, education, technology and construction.

The workforce development program will specifically target ethnically diverse, low-income students. Its goal

BY BETSY PRICE

is to prepare them for careers that will allow them to provide for their families.

Mcilver is two weeks into a program that now is studying the body and its various systems, but will end with an internship at an area hospital or long-term care facility.

She’s not sure where she’s interested in working right now, but does know she’d like to go on to become a nurse.

One of the points of the program is to provide the members with things like helping to decide where they would like to focus as well as how to get that job.

DelTech’s Workforce Education director Rachel Anderson said the program will help Mcilver and her fellow students define their career goals.

“This the funding, we’re able to provide additional services such as the soft skill interview development, access and kind of increased awareness of the health-care field to help us students build those career goals together through a coaching process,” Anderson said.

In Mcilver’s case, she could have finished the 180- course by the end of the year. Some of her classes, such as labs and skills, will be in person. Some will be virtual.

Other programs planned for the grant include com-munity health worker, pharmacy technician, heavy equipment operator, construction technician, training for early childcare, and network +.

The Barclays grant will fund programs at all four of Delaware Tech locations including that at Reach River-

side, which is revitalizing Northeast Wilmington with housing, youth programs and more.

The grant is part of Barclays’ Citizenship strategy, focused on helping to build skills and break down barriers to work to enable people to succeed now and in the future. By 2022, Barclays’ programs in the community will help place 250,000 people around the world into work.

BARCLAYS GRANT WILL PAY STUDENT WORKFORCE TRAINING

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EDUCATION

Parents who don’t want their kids going back to school wearing masks heard about a variety of options Thursday night during a town hall meeting at Milford Senior Center.

The choices included traditional education alternatives, including private and parochial schools, homeschooling, learning pods and even “unschooling.”

The town hall discussion was hosted by the conservative group Patriots for Delaware, which describes itself as a coalition whose members believe in constitutional values and family.

About 30 people attended, including two families with children. Some appeared to be grandparent age.

Gatherings like Thursday’s have been happening with increasing frequency after Gov. Carney and the Division of Public Health announced Aug. 10 that masks would be required in schools for staff and students over the

BY CHARLES MEGGINSON

Among education options is ‘unschooling,’ anti-mask parents told

age of two to try to slow the spread of the COVID-19, particularly the Delta variant.

The ruling set off protests from parents who believe masks are harmful to their children and believe masks also reinforce an environment of stress and fear.

While masks were the catalyst for the shift away from traditional education methods, the town hall also uncovered a barrage of other complaints parents have against public schools—or “government schools,” as many called them.

Materials provided to attendees featured explanations of critical race theory, LGBTQ+ related definitions, and a lesson plan for children in grades K-5 on the book, “I Am Jazz,” a first-person account of a 6-year-old trans-gender girl. Organizers say all of these things are being taught in Delaware schools.

“I want an entire history lesson for my kids,” said James Davidson, who organized the event. “I want history—the good, the bad and the ugly—taught. I don’t want one side pushing propaganda on my children.”

Instead of teaching critical race theory, schools should be teaching the Constitution, he said.

He said another reason parents should pull their kids out of public schools is that they let boys into girls’ bath-rooms.

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Indian River School District on Monday voted “no confidence” in the governor’s school mask mandate and agreed to submit a petition urging the order to be recon-sidered or revised.

The Sussex County meeting, held outside on the foot-ball field to avoid the mask requirement, attracted well over 100 hundred people.

Gov. John Carney on Aug. 10 ordered that all Delaware K-12 school staff and students wear masks indoors, including athletes at games and matches. The order also requires staff and children over two in childcare to wear masks indoors.

During the public comment portions of Indian River’s meeting—one at the beginning and one at the end—

BY CHARLES MEGGINSON

INDIAN RIVER VOTES ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ IN MASK MANDATE, TO PETITION FOR CHANGE

comments were universally critical of the governor’s mandate. The public comment period was extended twice to accommodate the list of individuals who signed up to speak.

In his report, superintendent Dr. Jay Owens explained the mask mandate, including a provision which exempts students with medical conditions from wearing masks during the school day.

Board member James Fritz asked Owens, “Did they dictate or list any of the medical conditions that would waive or allow a student to wear a mask, or did they just say, specifically, medical conditions?”

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EDUCATION

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The bonus: Several federal programs now are subsi-dizing the policies at high levels, meaning many lower- income people may quality for free or extremely inex-pensive premiums and more higher-income people than ever can qualify for cheaper premiums.

Those subsidy programs, which are paid directly to the insurer, are expected to last through 2022. U.S. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester said during the press conference that many national groups are pushing for the federal subsidies to be made permanent.

Policy navigators are needed and helpful because of the complicated nature of the Affordable Care Act Plans, also called Obamacare. The subsidies take into account income and many other factors, while the insurance policies are offered on several levels with different premiums, services and deductibles.

A navigator won’t recommend a specific policy, but will confer with people in person or remotely. They’re able to help clients fill out paperwork and narrow down policies—and avoid mistakes that can cause paperwork to get kicked back and delayed.

Most times, a navigator will spend a couple of hours or more helping a single person or family through the system to a decision point.

Two Delaware organizations will get $1.9 million to help people access health insurance through the Affordable Care Act plans.

Westside Family Healthcare, which for more than a decade has helped people wade through the pages of technical information and then the policy applications themselves, will get $1 million. It will be paid over three years.

Quality Insights Inc. of Middletown will get $856,770, its first federal grant to provide navigators to help people sort through ACA, Medicaid and the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The result, officials said during a press conference Friday at Westside, should be that the two organizations will help thousands of Delaware residents and families find a health policy, or find a more affordable one.

BY BETSY PRICE

$1.9 million headed to Delaware to help people navigate Affordable Care

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HEALTH

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HEALTH

Delaware’s COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitaliza-tions continue to rapidly rise with more than 354 new cases a day, as of Thursday.

The previous Thursday, it was 303 per day, according to a press release from the Division of Public Health.

In the last week, the state also reported 210 hospital-izations, up 45 from last week, and 24 deaths. Some of the deaths came from a review of vital records, the press release said.

Of the new cases, 77% were unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, and 62% of the deaths were, according to the state. It does not differentiate between unvaccinated and those who have only had one of a two-shot vaccine such as Pfizer or Moderna.

All that brings the the number of COVID cases reported in Delaware to 118,544.

At the same time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state’s vaccination rates are creeping up, following a national trend.

BY BETSY PRICE

Fueled by Delta, Delaware’s COVID cases continue to surge

click here to read more

In the First State, 75.6% of Delawareans ages 18+ have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 554,201 Delawareans 12 and up have received at least one dose of vaccine. That translates into 492,758 Delawareans being fully vaccinated by the end of the week.

The number of breakthrough cases also continues to creep up with 1,544 people who were fully vaccinated getting COVID-19. That is about three-tenths of 1% percent of vaccinated individuals, and the press release says that means breakthrough cases are extremely rare.

Of those breakthrough cases, 43 required hospitaliza-tions and 21 died.

For a state list of vaccination sites, go to www.de.gov/getmyvaccine.

HAVE A PLAN FOR YOUR PAIN

Learn the risksinvolved with prescription opioids.

Ask your doctor about alternative therapies.

Decide together on a pain management plan that works for you.

Opioids can be addictive, dangerous, and even deadly. But they aren’t your only option. You can always talk with your health care provider and choose a different path. HelpIsHereDE.com can help you start the conversation.

HELP IS taking control of your pain

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Photo by J&J Photography

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Most of us remember Elena Delle Donne from her time at Ursuline Academy or her tenure at the University of Delaware, where she led the Hens to their first Sweet 16 back in 2013.

However, the last few years have been a health struggle for Delle Donne. She has had to deal with not one but two back surgeries in only one full calendar year and has not played in a WNBA game since 2019.

That all changed on Sunday, as Delle Donne took the floor for the first time in nearly two years.

Washington Mystics head coach Mike Thibault said before the game that it “feels like Christmas” and it only took the two-time WNBA MVP a few minutes to get her first bucket.

Delle Donne looked sharp in her return to action as she played 22 minutes in a loss to the Seattle Storm 85-78. She finished with 16 points on 5 for 11 shooting and hauled in 3 rebounds.

BY NICK ALESSANDRINI

Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne returns to Mystics for first time since 2019

SPORTS

The Mystics were back in action Tuesday and Delle Donne looked sharp again. The Mystics snapped a four-game losing streak behind Delle Donne’s 18 points in 18 minutes of play to beat the LA Sparks 78-68.

Delle Donne finished with five rebounds and a very impressive +36 in the box score in just her short time on the floor.

But it wasn’t all good news this week. Delle Donne had to leave the floor Thursday against the Dallas Wings in her third game back after playing just 12 minutes.

Mystic’s coach Mike Thibault labeled it as “precau-tionary,” saying Delle Donne “just didn’t feel right” battling for a rebound early in the contest.

“We’re at that point right now we’re not risking anything. We’ll see what she’s like tomorrow,” said Thibault. Neither provided any details after the game.

The loss Thursday drops the Mystics to 9-14 and 10th in the standings, but the most important thing is making sure Delle Donne is healthy.

Delle Donne is a six-time WNBA All-Star and the first WNBA player to join the 50-40-90 club.

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Special Olympics Delaware will send 29 athletes to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, Florida next summer.

The full contingent will include nine coaches, four staff members and two students from Caesar Rodney High School who will attend as part of the Unified Champion Schools Youth Leadership Experience.

The delegation will compete in seven of the 19 Olympic-type sports offered: basketball, bocce, bowling, powerlifting, swimming, tennis, and track & field.

Here’s who is going:Basketball: Jesse Benson (Dover), Malik Bradford (Wilmington), Eric Bruce (Wilm-

ington), Jayquan Butcher (Dover), Timothy Jones (Wilmington), Jeffrey Marconi (Hockessin), David McElrath (Wilmington), Anthony Thomas (Wilmington), Elerece Thomas (Dover), Jerome Watson (Seaford); Head Coach Kevin Koerner (Townsend), Assistant Coach Ed Capodanno (Wilmington), Assistant Coach Scott Tamblyn (Newark).

BY BETSY PRICE

Delaware is sending 29 athletes to Special Olympics

SPORTS Bocce: Nicole Baker (Newark), Rory DiLouie (Lewes), Charles Permint (Milford), Kimberly Strunk (Milford); Head Coach Pamela Cannon (Harrington).

Bowling: Allen Burke (Millsboro), Matthew Montgomery (Wilmington), Michele Ogden (Bear), Devin Wineland (Milton); Head Coach Rose Dagg (Newark).

Powerlifting: Sterling Johnson (Newark); Head Coach Terry Lemper (Townsend).Swimming: Christine Arancio (Ocean View), Austin Archer (Wilmington), Kristen

Hanifee (Millsboro), Brian Perry (Frederica); Head Coach Diana Behrens (Newark).Tennis: Katya Bowers (Millville), Carl Williams (Newark); Head Coach Jill Wallace

(Wilmington).Track & Field: Jillian Mathews (Felton), Deshawn Scye (Laurel), Christi Theron

(Wilmington), Steven Turner (Newark); Head Coach Kylie Lavelle (Wilmington).Youth Leadership Experience: Ammar McNair (Camden-Wyoming), Alex Failing

(Dover); Nate Threatts, mentor, SODE Manager of Unified Champion Schools (Dover).Athletes were selected for Team Delaware based on their performances at the most

recent state-level competitions. Athletes winning gold medals in the sport for which they applied were then randomly selected with the exception of basketball, which held an open tryout. Coaches were selected through an application process.

“Attending a USA Games is a great achievement for any Special Olympics athlete,” said Ann Grunert, executive director of Special Olympics Delaware. “It is a reflection on their commitment to their sport and their willingness to put the necessary work in during the months leading up to the Games while preparing to perform on what will be the biggest stage of their athletic careers.”

Official delegates include head delegate, Kylie Frazer of Bear, state director of sports; assistant head Cheryl Talmo of Newark, state director of sports training and health; and team fitness coordinator Rob Bailey of Millsboro, Sussex area director.

The 2022 games are expected to be the largest humanitarian event in Florida’s history with more than 5,500 athletes and coaches from all 50 states and the Caribbean, with 125,000 family members, friends and spectators attended.

More than 10,000 volunteers will fill more than 20,000 volunteer shifts during the week.

The games will include 30 events at world-class venues across Orlando with a focal point at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World Resort.

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click here to read more

The winningest doubles tennis players in world history will be in Lewes on Saturday, Aug. 28 where they hosted two clinics to raise money for a local charity.

A second set of clinics will be hosted in Easton, Maryland on Sunday. Both events are sold out.

Identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan will return to the area Sept. 25 for RodneyStreet’s 2021 Annual Benefit at Brantwyn Estate in Wilmington.

The Bryans have won 45 Grand Slam trophies, 119 doubles titles together and have been ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 11 years. They have won Olympic Gold, dozens of Davis Cup match wins and an NCAA doubles championship.

Dr. Dave Marshall, owner of the Dave Marshall Tennis Facility located within The Plantations community in

BY CHARLES MEGGINSON

Bryan brothers, winningest doubles tennis players, headed to area

SPORTS

Lewes, has been coaching the Bryan brothers since 2016.“We’re so excited,” Marshall said. “They are the greatest

doubles players to ever play the game, so we’ll be working on ‘how to play like the Bryan brothers.’”

Marshall will also be on hand to show participants what it takes to train like the Bryans.

Marshall said net proceeds will benefit the Big Fish Charitable Foundation, Big Fish Cares, to start a new after-school tennis program for youth in need in Talbot and Sussex counties.

“We are thrilled to have Bob and Mike in our hometown,” Marshall said in a press release. “The Eastern Shore has a vibrant tennis community and bringing role models of this caliber to our area will have a tremendous impact on the future growth of the sport.”

Participants enjoyed a courtside lunch and session with the pair and their coaches. Time was allotted for photographs and autographs with the brothers.

“It’s been a special ride for me,” Marshall said. “We won the U.S. Open, we won Wimbledon, we actually won the world championships. The Bryans are fantastic.They’re just two of the nicest human beings you’d ever want to meet.”

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The Seattle Mariners currently sit at 69-58 on the season and sit six games behind the Houston Astros for the AL Central division crown and only trail the Boston Red Sox by three games in the AL Wild Card Race.

The Mariners are one of the feel-good stories in the MLB this year and were picked by very few, if any, experts to be in a post-season race in 2021. One of Seattle’s key pieces during this run has been Delaware and Caravel Academy’s own Jake Fraley, an outfielder for the team.

BY NICK HALLIDAY

Caravel’s Jake Fraley key part of Seattle’s playoff push

SPORTS However, over his next eight games he was mired in a 3-for-25 slump. In the midst of his slump in mid-July, Fraley contracted COVID-19, which forced him to miss another significant amount of time.

After missing 15 games in July, Fraley returned to the lineup on Aug. 2 and has been playing every day since. Fraley started off hot in his return, going 3-for-7 with two runs batted in over his first two games of August. Then he slumped again as we entered late August.

Fraley’s average sits at .208 currently, and his team is winners of three straight. He’s has shown signs that he can contribute offensively.

If Fraley could return to that form we saw in June through early July, it could be the shot in the arm the Mariners need to push them into the postseason and end MLB’s longest current postseason drought of 19 seasons.

Seattle has a three-game series this week against the Royals which should allow them to continue their win streak, then end August with a few games against Houston which will be huge in the division race.

It’s been a bit of an up and down season for Fraley, who’s getting his first real shot at being an everyday player in his third season. The first setback occurred on April 6 when he suffered what was originally called a mild hamstring strain. However, this injury kept him out of the lineup until May 31.

When he came back, Fraley started to get in a groove. In the first 26 games after the injury, Fraley hit seven of his eight home runs, drove in 20 runs and raised his average to a respectable .270 clip with a .454 on-base.

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Photo Credit: matt trucks

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Without these collaborators, this outlet would not be possible:

Bryan Shupe, CEOBetsy Price, EditorSonja M. Frey, Publisher

John Mollura Photography

Photo Credit: john mollura