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History from News Journal archives, June 1-7: Delaware Bible law, plans for nuclear plant
"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at June 1, 1925, The Evening Journal A legal test of the Delaware law providing compulsory reading of the Bible 'without comment' in public schools and colleges is being sought by the American Civil Liberties Union, according to Prof. Clarence R. Skinner of Tuft's College, chairman of the Union's Committee on Academic Freedom. Prof. Skinner states that 'the Delaware law, like the Tennessee anti-evolution law, which the Civil Liberties Union is fighting, strikes so serious a blow at academic freedom that we cannot let the issue rest until it has been passed upon by the courts.' The Delaware Bible law, which was first passed by the Legislature in March 1923, has recently been amended to impose a fine upon any teacher who shall fail to obey this act, and providing that such teacher shall forfeit his or her certificates. ... The law provides that 'no religious service or exercise except the reading of the Bible and the repeating of the Lord's prayer shall be held in any school receiving any portion of the moneys appropriated for the support of public schools.' It is believed that the Bible law and its amendments violate the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom and the Delaware Bill of Rights, according to the Civil Liberties Union…. Recent school news: DE state rep working with expired teaching license removed from House Education Committee June 5, 1975, The Morning News Delmarva Power & Light Co. already has awarded the construction contract for its proposed nuclear power plant near Summit, the General Assembly learned yesterday. DP&L confirmed last night that parts of the contract – worth an estimated $1.1 billion – were awarded in 1972 and last year to United Engineers and Contractors Inc. of Philadelphia. A spokesman said no announcements were made because 'we didn't think it was news.' Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt told a meeting of legislative leaders he had learned that the general contract had been awarded and was unhappy because none of the subcontractors were from Delaware. ... Rep. Joseph P. (Jody) Ambrosino Jr., R - Edgemoor Terrace, took to the House floor to criticize DP&L for advancing to this stage without all the required government permits. In response, DP&L said the contract was awarded because it takes awhile to do all the preliminary work necessary before construction can begin. Ambrosino said he would introduce a bill today that would impose a two-year moratorium on construction. He said questions about the plant's safety, efficiency, cost and disposal of radioactive waste haven't been answered adequately. The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of this power plant in February, although it said more information would be necessary before construction permits were issued. The two 766-megawatt nuclear generators will be built on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, just north of Summit, and are scheduled for completion in 1984…. There have been several public hearings and there is strong opposition to the project on the grounds that safety standards are inadequate both for construction and operation. DP&L says the plant is needed to meet the rising demand for electricity. It also says the project would boost Delaware's economy by providing hundreds of construction jobs…. Recent Delmarva Power news: How lawmakers are trying to reduce energy bills, protect ratepayers in Delaware June 7, 2000, The News Journal By Adam Taylor, staff reporter The Rev. Jesse Jackson vowed Tuesday to push MBNA Corp. to put minorities on its all-white board of directors. Jackson said he would organize protests against the credit card company and would research its record on hiring and promoting minorities. ... MBNA – the state's second-largest private employer with 10,000 workers – has faced criticism about the lack of diversity on its board before. Bank shareholders in April voted down a proposal from a religious group for MBNA to consider adding women and minorities to the board. Jackson was in Wilmington on Tuesday to attend General Motors' annual stockholders meeting at the Hotel du Pont. He said he wants the automaker to increase its diversity efforts. Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition owns GM stock. He was meeting with about 30 city political and religious leaders at the Wyndham Garden Hotel when someone handed him a newspaper article about the MBNA shareholders vote. Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: History from News Journal, June 1-7: Bible law, nuclear plant plans
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26-04-2025
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History April 27-May 3 from News Journal: Explosion kills 2, lottery $186,000 over budget
"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including the Wilmington Morning News and the Evening Journal. See the archives at April 27, 1925, The Evening Journal With the death of William C. Taylor, 44 years, at the Homeopathic Hospital on Saturday night and the finding of the body of George W. Pitt, 60 years, in the Delaware River yesterday morning, two deaths resulted from the explosion of 3,000 pounds of black powder near the pier of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway at Pigeon Point, below the Wilmington Marine Terminal. The explosion occurred on Saturday morning while Taylor, Pitt and Napoleon Gagnon were removing the powder from a magazine where it had been stored by a construction company since the World War. Gagnon was outside the building when the explosion occurred. Pitt and Taylor were inside the magazine. Pitt's body could not be found Saturday after the horrible mishap, but after an all-night search on Saturday by his son, Tilghman Pitt, and J.J. Clark, a son-in-law of the dead man, the body was recovered in the Delaware River, 300 feet from the magazine that blew up. ... Gagnon was able to go to his home after receiving treatment on Saturday as he was only burned about the hands. Valuable service was rendered after the explosion by Thomas J. August, a member of the local fire department, who was with a party of friends out on the Delaware River in a motor boat near Pigeon Point at the time. August ran the boat to the pier and brought Taylor and Gagnon to the Marine Terminal where they were met by the police ambulance. April 29, 1950, Wilmington Morning News Chief Deputy Atty. Gen. C. Edward Duffy told the St. Georges Hundred Republican Committee last night that in less than a year the 'new Democrat majority in the State Highway Commission has increased its payroll by 127 persons.' Citing figures which he said he had just obtained, Mr. Duffy disclosed that the department payroll for March 1950 was $198,190.88, more than $13,000 over its March 1949 total of $185,036.36. 'Padding of the payroll by Democrats is scarcely new, but it is hard to conceive in a department that was a national model of efficiency under a Republican administration,' said Mr. Duffy. 'It becomes more and more apparent,' he continued, 'that the additional taxes insisted upon by the state Democratic administration as a prelude to any consideration of legislation by the 1949 General Assembly were to be used for the primary purpose of assembling a political machine." May 2, 1975, Evening Journal The state auditor charged today that lottery officials illegally spent $186,000 more than they had in their $400,000 budget. The special audit, released today, was requested by Democrat Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt. Eugene G. Auen, lottery director, and the lottery itself have been under heavy political fire from Republicans almost since the lottery began. State Auditor Richard T. Collins, a Republican, said flatly at a Dover press conference that exceeding the amount authorized by the legislature 'is a clear violation of state law.' And, despite yesterday's layoff of half the full-time lottery staff, Collins said the debt will continue to mount even if the lottery operation is at a standstill. Delaware's unsuccessful Loto-Superfecta was halted April 16 after five weeks of declining ticket sales and without having once had a first-place winner. It first became known that the lottery has overspent its original $400,000 appropriation Tuesday when lottery officials had to borrow $3,000 from the governor's contingency fund to meet a payroll…. Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: History April 27-May 3: Explosion kills 2, lottery $186,000 over budget
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05-04-2025
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Wilmington riots in 1968, school desegregation in 1975: News Journal archives April 6-12
"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including the Wilmington Morning News and the Evening Journal. April 6, 1950, Wilmington Morning News story An 8-year-old boy, who detectives said yesterday admitted accidentally setting off Wilmington's worst fire in the past 25 years last Sunday, was confined to the Detention Home on West Street last night to await further action by the Family Court. The suspect, it is reported, may undergo a sociological study and psychiatric examinations under the direction of the court. ... The boy said he dropped a lighted oil-soaked broom in a pile of loose straw in the yard of the Franklin J. Murphey feed warehouse on Lancaster Avenue near Madison Street. He said he had intended to play with the lighted broom but dropped it accidentally in the straw when the flames flared into his face. ... The fire spread from the feed company to destroy the Wilmington Sash and Door Company building and yard, four other business establishments and 16 houses. Damage is estimated at $700,000 to $1,000,000. Police talked to over 100 persons and learned that several boys had been seen on occasions playing in the yard of the feed company. They secured names of some of the boys in the vicinity, including the suspect, and on Tuesday night took him and four others to the police station for questioning. All were gradually eliminated with the exception of the 8-year-old. ... April 9, 1968, Wilmington Morning News story This archival story uses language that was common at the time. Police restored order in Wilmington last night after a 4-hour outbreak of sniping, looting and firebombing that put the city under a state of emergency. The disturbances began just before noon yesterday as ... young Negroes roamed Market Street following a memorial service in Rodney Square for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The wave of violence left 12 persons injured, one seriously. At least two persons suffered gunshot wounds. There were 13 firebombings and 19 reported lootings, mostly in a 12-block area of West Center City. Fifty-one persons were arrested. About 50 state troopers were ordered into the city by Gov. Charles L. Terry Jr. and 1,200 National Guard troops were activated. Neither the troopers nor the guardsmen were needed to quell the disorders. Terry sent 1,100 of the guardsmen home. A curfew from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. was imposed. Helmeted officers had little trouble clearing the streets. The curfew will begin at 7:30 tonight, according to Mayor John E. Babiarz. ... Recent Wilmington news: St. Francis Hospital to end ambulance service for Wilmington this summer April 11, 1975, Evening Journal story The state Board of Education yesterday publicly outlined a desegregation plan for New Castle County schools that would cost from $12 million to $18 million a year, mostly to equalize costs among districts. The plan is subject to change, and the state board still plans to appeal its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. ... Basically, the plan would draw six new districts from the current 12 as one way of meeting the federal court order. The proposal would include some busing but would not affect students until 1976. ... The plan was the first made public by state officials since a District Court ruled March 27 that state laws violated the rights of students in the 84% black Wilmington School District. Of the millions in increased costs, about $2.1 million would go for added transportation, with the rest to equalize pay, administrative costs and per-pupil spending. 'There is no cheap way to achieve desegregation,' said the board's attorney William Prickett. ... Last night, Wilmington City Council added a surprise by opposing the city school board's approach and endorsing the state board's plan for dissolving the city school district. The council said the schools take up a major part of the city's budget and it urged the city school board not to take on any new obligations beyond the 1975-76 fiscal year. Catch up on history: Space shuttle explodes, Ghandi assassinated: News Journal archives Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 April 12, 2000, story by The News Journal The University of Delaware spent $2.3 million to build a 166-acre research park at Lewes with the dream of attracting high-tech, marine-related businesses. Nearly two decades later, the park – complete with asphalt roads, landscaping and underground utilities – is still vacant. And the university may owe the federal government thousands of dollars as repayment for money invested in the development. Federal officials are investigating whether the university failed to meet the requirements outlined in a 1981 grant agreement with the U.S. Commerce Department. As long as the university continued to market the land as a research park or simply hold on to the property, the university owed nothing to the Commerce Department. But in 1997, the university sold 77 acres of the land to Beebe Medical Center. A citizens group asked for an investigation, prompting the federal government to consider asking for a refund.... Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: News Journal archives: Wilmington riots in 1968, desegregation in 1975
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01-03-2025
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News Journal archives week of March 2: students honor shooting victims, gas price $1.67
'Pages of history' features excerpts from The News Journal archives including the Wilmington Morning News and the Evening Journal. See the archives at March 2, 2018, The News Journal Enough, Delaware high school students are saying this month as they organize simultaneous school walkouts to take place at 10 a.m. March 14. Enough to gun violence. Enough to assault weapons. And enough to school shootings like the one that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida Feb. 14. 'It's our turn to take a stand and change our community,' said Ellen Schlecht, a sophomore at Wilmington's Ursuline Academy. 'Change the way people view us as teenagers. Change the way people see the guns in our world. Change the gun laws within our cities, states and country. But most importantly, we are making sure this never happens again.' Schlecht and students at close to 20 Delaware schools are organizing student walkouts for the one-month anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. ... They will be part of a national movement. At 10 a.m. in every time zone, organizers are encouraging teachers, students, administrators, parents and allies to walk out for 17 minutes – one minute for every person killed. ... March 3, 2004, The News Journal In the last three months, prices have climbed steadily, reaching levels in Delaware this week that match prices in the middle of the summer last year. 'It's unusual,' said Bill O'Grady, director of futures research at investment firm A.G. Edwards. 'It raises great fears that we'll have even higher prices this summer.' Prices for regular unleaded gasoline in Delaware have risen from $1.46 in early December to $1.67. ... O'Grady said one cause is uncertainty about the chemical MTBE, usually added to gasoline in the summer in most urban areas on the East Coast, to help cut pollution. He said there's speculation that MTBE will be banned in some states over environmental concerns, causing refineries to delay production of the lower-polluting summer gasoline. More recent news on energy prices: Delaware Senate committee investigates causes of spike in Delmarva Power bills this winter March 5, 2000, The News Journal Educators and lawmakers have labored for nearly a decade to improve Delaware's public schools, but now the final piece of the plan is nearly dead in the General Assembly. What has gone wrong? The effort to create academic standards for students and hold teachers accountable has fallen apart for many reasons, according to lawmakers, teachers, lobbyists and others. ... The final steps in the process – how to hold students, teachers, administrators and parents accountable for a student's performance – have proven difficult. The majority House Republican leadership lost control of its own members, whose refusal to back a compromise bill worked out in part by their own leadership threatens to leave the issue unresolved. Politically powerful special interests in the education community each have their own ideas for improving education. Gov. Tom Carper, who took the lead on education reform but now is nearing the end of his final term, has lost influence over lawmakers. With statewide offices and some House and Senate seats up for grabs, this year's election has convinced some legislative leaders that waiting until next year would be best. ... 'There's no way we can make it work for this [2000-2001] school year with the time lines in the bill,' said Senate President Pro Tem Thomas B. Sharp, D-Pinecrest. Catch up on history: News Journal archives, Dec. 29 to Jan. 4: celebrating the year 2000, car factory layoffs March 6, 1981, Evening Journal By Bill Hayden, staff writer After tonight, the world will be a little bit different. No longer will Walter Cronkite be around to assure us – as he has done for the past 19 years – 'that's the way it is' as he closes the nightly CBS Evening News. At the end of tonight's newscast, Cronkite is putting himself out to pasture. He's leaving the anchorman post to follow less strenuous pursuits at CBS News, including hosting its prime-time science series, 'Universe,' this summer. Here is a man who has become a father figure for an entire nation, whose recounting each day's events has come to be seen as the way things actually took place, whose perceived image as the country's most trusted man has been carefully guarded. Cronkite's reputation for putting the chaos of the world in electronic perspective, thus reassuring viewers that there will be a tomorrow, was earned in November 1963. In shirtsleeves, he appeared on the nation's television screens the afternoon of Nov. 22 to tell us President John F. Kennedy had been shot by an assassin. Over the next several days, with dignity and sensitivity, Cronkite guided his network's coverage of the aftermath and mourning. Because of that exemplary performance, a generation of Americans came to accept him as a member of the family, the trusted uncle who could be counted on in times of stress. Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: News Journal archives week of March 2: students honor shooting victims, gas price $1.67
