Rebecca Hersher (she/her) is a reporter on NPR's Science Desk, where she reports on outbreaks, natural disasters, and environmental and health research. Since coming to NPR in 2011, she has covered the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, embedded with the Afghan army after the American combat mission ended, and reported on floods and hurricanes in the U.S. She's also reported on research about puppies. Before her work on the Science Desk, she was a producer for NPR's Weekend All Things Considered in Los Angeles.
State lawmakers voted last year to create a new position - an independent Inspector General - designed to detect fraud, waste and abuse in state government.Gov. Matt Meyer signed that bill into law last August and last month, he nominated Robert Storch to be the state’s first IG. Storch previously served as inspector general in the federal government with the Department of Defense and National Security Agency - as well as holding senior positions with the Dept. of Justice.Storch was confirmed by the State Senate this month and is now getting down to the business of building the office from the ground upAnd this week he sat down with Delaware Public Media political reporter Bente Bouthier to discuss delivering an Office of Inspector General to the First State.
This week is Delaware’s first Heat Awareness Week. And it seems especially well-timed.This week saw higher than average temperatures for this time of year. Maximum temperatures this week averaged over 80 degrees with the first three days seeing highs over 90 degrees, including record breaking highs in Wilmington and Georgetown.The creation of Heat Awareness Week in Delaware is the culmination of an effort by a group of Univ. of Delaware students in a class taught by Vaishnavi Tripuraneni, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences. Two of them - Katherine Turner and Jennifer Barbour - joined Delaware Public Media’s Jay Shah to explain why heat awareness matters and efforts to address heat-related issues.
The Wilmington Drama League closes out its current season with a musical adaptation of the hit movie "Sister Act."On this week's Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny speaks to two people involved with the production - Patrick Murray, the show's director and choreographer, and Kathy Buterbaugh, a cast member and the Wilmington Drama League's production manager.