Delaware invested over $8 million dollars across more than 60 development projects through the state's Downtown Development District program in FY 2025 with an additional $5.5 million set aside for another 15 large projects.The Delaware State Housing Authority administers the program and earlier this week, Delaware Public Media’s Isreal Hale sat down with DSHA director Matthew Heckles to learn more about how those dollars ar working and plans for the program's future.

So called “Granny crafts and hobbies” are seeing a surge in popularity, but not where you might expect.Young people, including high school- and college-aged students, are turning toward knitting, baking and painting and away from screens in their free time.Crafts can have immediate benefits for adults, including a decline in symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression. They can also significantly increase life satisfaction.Delaware Public Media’s Abigail Lee sat down with University of Delaware’s Center for Counseling and Student Development associate clinician Brooke Kohler to talk about the growing interest in granny crafts among young people.

Art and beauty can be found all around. You don't necessarily need a sweeping landscape; sometimes a simple dumpster can spark joy.That's the thesis behind "For Granted," a new exhibition of works on display now at the Delaware Division of the Arts' Mezzanine Gallery in Wilmington.The photographer behind the exhibition is Delawarean Christopher Starr, and in this week's Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny talked to Starr about finding beauty in the scenes we often take "for granted."

This week, we head back to UD – but this time if for more in-depth piece produce by a student journalist as part of their semester-long independent study project.It comes from Katie Santoro, who set out to understand something many of us feel but rarely talk about, how social media is shaping the way we think, feel, and see ourselves.Katie spoke with a principal, a digital culture professor, a TikTok creator, and someone who stepped away from social media completely.What she found is a story about identity, pressure, and the search for something real in a world that’s always watching.

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Delaware recently released its updated Climate Action Plan, building on the first version of the plan unveiled five years ago.Among the issues the plan revisits is sea level rise – its impact in Delaware and how the state can respond.One possible response added to this version of Climate Action Plan is a recommendation to start planning to retreat from areas most vulnerable to chronic flooding from sea-level rise and the bigger storms coming with climate change.This week, contributor Jon Hurdle takes a closer look at this part of the Climate Action Plan and what it could look like.

The best way to improve student learning is in the classroom. But the second best way is through school leadership, according to a report on decades-worth of research on principals.The University of Delaware’s Principal Preparation Program keeps that in mind when training educators for school leadership.The 18-month program combines coursework and on-the-ground learning to best serve adult learners and their future students and colleagues.It includes at least two internships, a research project and mentors that remain accessible after the program’s completion.Delaware Public Media’s Abigail Lee sat down with program leader Alison Travers to talk about the powerful effects principals can have on their schools, like improving student outcomes, absenteeism and teacher retention.

The Delaware Symphony Orchestra returns to the stage at the Grand next week for a concert titled "Waltzing through Winter."On this week's edition of Arts Playlist, Delaware Public Media's Martin Matheny speaks to the orchestra's conductor Michelle Di Russo about the program and the wealth of musical diversity that can be found in a fairly simple dance.

The Delaware Public Archives has a new director.Maegan Peterman is now in charge of leading the Archives’ mission to preserve, provide access to and promote the understanding of the state’s public record and history.Peterman is familiar with the Public Archives. She’s worked there since 2015 when she began her career as a processing archivist.In this edition of History Matters, Delaware Public Media’s Joe Irizarry speaks with Peterman about her vision for the Delaware Public Archives as well as plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding.

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