Sophia Schmidt

The pandemic has disrupted every aspect of life, including it turns out, how much Halloween candy people bought.

A recent survey conducted by University of Delaware shows people are celebrating Halloween differently this year because of COVID-19.

One of the study’s authors is Brandon McFadden, an assistant professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Statistics at UD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Leadership at the Wilmington Housing Authority is again under scrutiny after the agency's Board of Commissioners passed a resolution of no confidence in its executive director this week.

New Castle County is looking to use its federal coronavirus relief funds to buy a hotel. 

A clearly conservative-leaning Supreme Court will likely hear the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act next month.

Sea levels are rising in the Delaware Bay faster than in other places. Experts are sounding the alarm about the threat to historic resources. 

The federal government announced settlements with opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma and the family that runs it this week. The First State still has its own suits pending against them. 

Republican State Rep. Kevin Hensley faces a Democratic challenger for the third election in a row. The Democratic registration advantage in the 9th House District has only grown since he was elected. 

The state Republican party is taking aim at state environmental regulations ahead of next month’s election. 

The Delaware National Guard has been activated to support the cybersecurity of the upcoming election. It’s the first time the Guard has been activated for this role.

The City of Wilmington is recruiting its next class of firefighters.

The City of Dover plans to buy power from a pair of solar projects expected to be the biggest in the state to date.

New Castle County is sharing more than a third of its federal CARES Act funds with the state for various assistance programs. 

The Wilmington Mayor’s latest attempt to address the City’s housing stock through legislation has failed. 

The November 3rd General Election will likely see an unprecedented level of mail-in voting in Delaware and nationwide.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly made unfounded claims about its vulnerability to fraud, has raised doubts about whether he would accept election results—and has called on supporters to watch the polls.

All of this worries Delaware’s former election commissioner, Elaine Manlove, who oversaw voting and elections in the First State for 12 years.

Delaware Public Media’s Sophia Schmidt talks with Manlove about what she’s watching.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday to suspend a lower court decision forcing the Census Bureau to keep counting through the end of the month. The Bureau will stop accepting self-responses over the internet Oct. 15 at 11:59 p.m. Hawaii time. 

Health policy researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia predict a second wave of COVID-19 nationwide. But they note transmission rates are growing slower in the northeast than in the middle of the country. 

The state is gearing up for a high turnout in next month’s General Election.

The suit seeking to reshape education funding in the First State will not go to trial. The state and education advocates announced a settlement Monday.

Delaware is one step closer to finishing a plan to guide the low-lying state through the impacts of climate change. Officials are almost finished gathering public input. 

This week, Delawareans who already requested vote-by-mail ballots for November’s general elections started receiving them and could begin filling them out and sending them in.

The state’s new vote-by-mail system created in response to the pandemic has now withstood two legal challenges. A Chancery Court judge denied a bid by two non-profits to extend the ballot return deadline Friday.

Delaware Public Media’s Sophia Schmidt has more on the path taken to bring mail-in voting to the First State.

Following a parent protest earlier this week, the state’s largest school district has modified the online offerings for its next phase of reopening.

Planners took the document that could guide changes to the 202 corridor in northern New Castle County to the public for a final look this week. 

Parents protested the state’s largest school district Tuesday over its plan for the next stage of reopening. 

The U.S. Supreme Court started its 2020 term Monday hearing arguments in the challenge to Delaware’s judicial balance rule.