September 3, 2026 Fellow Patriots, September 2nd was the first day of Early Voting for the Delaware Primary Election. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity, for a number of reasons. Reason 1 We never know what the weather will be on Primary Election Day, Sept 15th. With the crazy weather we have been having, one never knows. Reason 2 It's usually less crowded at the polls. Remember, you can vote at any of the 9 Early Voting locations in Sussex County. I

September is National Preparedness Month. Being ready for unexpected events--whether storms, power outages, or other emergencies--can make a critical difference when a crisis strikes. Emergency planning experts emphasize the importance of evaluating personal risk, understanding whether one lives in an evacuation zone, considering the needs of all household members (including pets), and developing a communication plan in case of separation during an emergency. Sussex County

August 31, 2026 Republicans added 10 candidates after Aug. 1, including eight during the final week before the deadline; Democrats added two By George D. Rotsch, Editor, Delaware LIVE DOVER, Del. — Delaware’s November ballot became considerably more competitive during August as the Republican Party nominated candidates for 10 offices that otherwise would have lacked a Republican contender. Eight of those nominations were filed during the final week before Delaware’s Sept. 1 d

August 31, 2026 Karl Baker, Spotlight Delaware Elon Musk featured prominently in several mailers and online ads as part of the Working Families Party's Delaware campaign. | SPOTLIGHT DELAWARE GRAPHIC Why Should Delaware Care? Delaware campaign finance rules require political organizations to disclose donors so that voters can know who is trying to sway elections. A recent ad blitz from the national Working Families Party is countering messaging from law firms, but it is not i

August 27, 2026 38th District Republican Club How secure are Delaware's elections? According to The Heritage Foundation's Election Integrity Scorecard, Delaware scores just 52 out of 100 and ranks 35th in the country. There are several areas where Delaware receives full credit, but there are also some pretty basic election safeguards that Delaware doesn't have. We think Delaware can do better. And here's the important part: you can tell the Delaware State Board of Elections w

August 26, 2026 The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced the Delaware hunting season for deer, Canada goose and mourning dove will open on Tuesday, September 1, marking the start of the overall 2026-27 hunting season. For a complete list of season dates and regulations for all species throughout the rest of the season, refer to the annual Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide. Recent legislative and regulatory changes present new opportunities for t

August 25, 2026 Delaware State Senate, Republican Caucus DOVER, DE — Legislation sponsored by State Senator Eric Buckson (R – South Dover) and State Representative Lyndon Yearick (R – Camden, Woodside) that gives Delaware drivers greater flexibility in choosing window tint for their vehicles has been signed into law. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill 255 (SB 255) changes Delaware's vehicle window tinting requirements, allowing darker tint on the front side windows of mo

August 24, 2026 Michelle Parsons, M.D., Caesar Rodney Institute Board Chair Delaware just protected patients from artificial intelligence using medical titles. Now it should make sure patients know the credentials of the humans diagnosing and treating them. Earlier this year, Delaware lawmakers acted to prevent patients from mistaking artificial intelligence for a healthcare professional. House Bill 191, signed into law on April 23, prohibits a nonhuman entity—including an AI

August 24, 2026 Today, we can all agree that our towns, our counties, our state, and our nation are faced with a myriad of problems that we all wish to solve. Whether it is homelessness, the economy, jobs, the cost of goods and services constantly rising, our schools getting worse instead of better, energy prices, overdevelopment, crime, corruption, etc., etc., etc.! We expect our governments at every level to solve them all! We ask them, beg them, sometimes harass them to fi

August 21, 2026 Rianna Moses, WDEL Sen. Gerald Hocker has filed a complaint against Delaware’s State Election Commissioner over state's permanent absentee voting system. The Delaware Constitution permits absentee voting only for qualified voters who meet specified circumstances, such as illness, disability, certain work or public-service obligations, vacation, or religious reasons. Delaware statutes allow some voters to obtain permanent absentee status which means the depart

August 21, 2026 State of Delaware, House Republican Caucus Earlier this week, the governor signed legislation to allow some young Delawareans to hunt and target shoot independently. Sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R-Townsend, Smyrna, Clayton), House Substitute 1 for House Bill 427 (as amended), allows 16 and 17 year-olds to target shoot or hunt without the direct supervision of an adult over the age of 21. Under the measure, qualifying youths must have the permis

August 20, 2026 State Rep. Valerie Jones Giltner, Newsletter Georgetown Police announced the return to The Circle this week of two monuments honoring two fallen law enforcement members. The monuments honor Georgetown Police Chief Harvey Gregg and Georgetown Police Patrolman Chad Spicer. According to Georgetown Police, "Their return marks the conclusion of a long-awaited and carefully undertaken process following motor vehicle crashes that struck and damaged the monuments.

August 18, 2026 Brandon Ferguson, Matthew Hipsman for Coast TV Thank you to CoastTV for covering the Forum. Click the photo above to view the CoastTV newscast on the Forum that aired at 11pm, Monday evening. Below is the article taken from that same link. MILLSBORO, Del. — Three Republicans hoping to become the next state representative for Delaware’s 41st District made their case to voters Monday night during a candidate forum at the Indian River Senior Center. The distric

August 17, 2026 Julia Morola, Spotlight Delaware Why Should Delaware Care? Delmar Middle and High School is the most overcrowded high school in the state. | SPOTLIGHT DELAWARE PHOTO BY JULIA MEROLA Pressures from overcrowding and inflation are continuing to burden Delaware schools, particularly in Sussex County. Last fall, officials from the Delmar School District said they would need to pass a referendum to ease those pressures, but residents of the small, working-class comm

August 17, 2026 Jennifer Antonik, Delaware Business Times Henry Bennett shows off peaches that were damaged by this year's frost in April versus peaches that were protected by wind machines during the same frost. l DBT PHOTO BY JENNIFER ANTONIK FRANKFORD — Henry Bennett said this year has been a particularly hard one for Delaware farmers, between changing weather patterns, a damaging April frost and rising input costs. But technology is helping Bennett Orchards protect the pe

August 16, 2026 With the start of deer hunting season less than a month away, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has adopted emergency regulations to try to limit the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The fatal illness was first confirmed in Delaware earlier this year in a deer harvested in lower, central Sussex County. CWD has been reported in animals in 37 states. Internationally, it has been reported in deer, elk, reindeer, and moo

August 15, 2026 State of Delaware, House Republican Caucus IN PHOTO, FROM LEFT: State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn and State Reps. Danny Short, Valerie Jones Giltner, and Tim Dukes. Seaford City Council Chamber was unable to accommodate the overflow crowd that came to City Hall today to pay homage to State Rep. Danny Short (R-Seaford). Seaford Mayor Matthew MacCoy issued a proclamation declaring August 14, 2026, as "Danny Short Day" in the city in recognition of Rep. Short's decades

August 14, 2026 State of Delaware, House Republican Caucus On August 15th Delaware sheds a dubious distinction as a new law takes effect, allowing some wine producers to ship their products directly to Delawareans. Delaware had been one of only two states in the nation that entirely prohibited the practice. House Substitute 2 for House Bill 187 (as amended) was a long time coming. Various proposals sponsored by House Republicans to legalize direct-to-consumer wine sales in th

August 12, 2026 State Rep. Jeff Hilovsky joined U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials and nutrition advocates in Washington, D.C., on Monday for an event announcing two food-policy initiatives. Other participants and speakers included Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Kyle Diamantas and cardiologist and Food Is Medicine Institute Director Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian. The first development is a proposed rule on food addit

August 12, 2026 The County’s Business Services Office has begun issuing tax bills for the Fiscal Year 2027. Each August, Sussex County government sends bills to the owners of approximately 206,000 parcels. Bills can be viewed online at: https://sussexcountyde.munisselfservice.com/css/citizens/RealEstate/Default.aspx. Annual bills include county property taxes, county sewer and water, tax ditch, and street lighting fees, where applicable. Additionally, tax bills include loca