DOVER — The first round of budget hearings for the fiscal year starting July 1 is in the books. The annual February hearings wrapped up Thursday, meaning the initial six-week break in the legislative calendar is nearly finished.

Lawmakers will return March 17 and meet for a month before another break, although this one will only last two weeks.

The 12 members of the Joint Finance Committee spent the month of February hearing from state agency officials and members of the public, helping them get an idea of possible tweaks to Gov. John Carney’s January recommendations. The Joint Committee on Capital Improvement, meanwhile, met this past week.

The proposed operating budget totals $4.63 billion in General Fund dollars — a category consisting of the stereotypical government tax revenues — while the capital budget comes to $893 million. Both would be the largest sums in state history.

Among those presenting to the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement were the University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical Community College. The former received a very different reception than the other two, with legislators grilling UD President Dennis Assanis about the institution’s quasi-public status.

According to the university’s website, the school is “state-assisted yet privately governed,” which UD says has its roots in its charter. That term does not appear in the founding document itself, however, although it does say the state in 1913 granted “to the University of Delaware a perpetual charter which contains no reserve power in the General Assembly to amend the charter thus granted.”

A remark by UD’s general counsel that legislators cannot change the charter without the consent of the board of trustees raised plenty of eyebrows on the other side of the semicircle table last week.

“That is a shocking statement,” said Sen. Bryan Townsend, a Newark Democrat. “I have not heard anyone” previously claim the legislature can’t edit a section of state law.”

According to Sen. Dave Sokola, a Newark Democrat who co-chairs the committee, lawmakers plan to introduce a bill that would open the university up to records requests to a greater degree.

Currently, just meetings of the full board of trustees are public. While UD also must disclose its use of state funds, that accounts for only about 10 percent of its spending.

Increased requests for funding, partially due to the larger pool of revenue the state has available compared to a few years ago, have prompted some legislators to start taking a more critical look at UD. Concerns about campus sexual assault and drinking have also brought a new focus on the institution, as well as efforts by a few advocates.

Additionally, President Assanis and other administrators have irked lawmakers at times, both with asks for millions of dollars and with comments perceived as shifting criticism of UD to the state.

One day after UD’s hearing, it was DelTech’s turn. Several legislators thanked DelTech President Mark Brainard for his willingness to work with the state, a pointed message for the University of Delaware.

They had a similar message for new DSU President Tony Allen. DSU, in contrast to UD, has made an effort to partner more with the state in recent years, with Mr. Allen saying administrators see the institution as a state agency.

“We are Delaware’s state university,” he told the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement.

Gov. Carney’s proposal would earmark $10 million in the capital bond bill for each university. DSU is seeking an additional $15 million, mostly to enhance the look and feel of the campus, as well as public safety.

Woof!

Dogs are officially back on the menu.

Well, OK, not quite. But they are allowed in eateries once again.

After the Division of Public Health announced over the summer it would begin enforcing a little-known law barring pups from outdoor seating areas at restaurants, an outcry ensued.

In response, House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a Rehoboth Beach Democrat, introduced legislation giving restaurants and similar establishments like beer gardens the ability to choose if they want to allow leashed dogs. The measure passed the General Assembly overwhelmingly and was signed into law last week.

“I was shocked to hear that pets couldn’t accompany their owners to restaurants after years of this policy not being enforced. Many, including myself, had no idea this policy existed,” Rep. Schwartzkopf said in a statement.

“Like many Delawareans, I always enjoyed taking my dog with me to grab breakfast. I know that both residents and visitors appreciate being able to bring their dog along when they go to get a coffee, bagel or sandwich and sit outside their favorite establishment. With this new law, we’ve resolved the issue for good so that without any confusion, restaurateurs and patrons can go back to the system we had enjoyed for years.”

Gov. Carney made the proposal official at Woody’s Dewey Beach, a popular restaurant that has accommodated dogs on its outside patio for years.

GEORGETOWN — As climate change heats up concern worldwide, the state is taking the issue to the streets — and its people.

The topic of climate change, its causes, concerns, impact and solutions, drew an estimated 150 people to two meetings held downstate last week to offer their input on the threat and the state’s plans to adapt policy to prepare for it.

“You are here likely because you know that climate change is changing our way of life, disrupting our way of life here in the state of Delaware, and our economy,” said Susan Love, principal planner for the Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy.

“Whether you live here in Georgetown or anywhere in Sussex, or Dover or Middletown or Newark or Wilmington, climate change will affect you.”

About 90 people attended Tuesday’s workshop at the CHEER Community Center in Georgtown, where DNREC’s Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy held its first of three public workshops. On Thursday, about 60 people gathered at the Delaware Technical Community College Terry campus in Dover, meeting with approximately 12 DNREC staff members tasked with delivering information and gathering reaction.

The day before, about 115 participants arrived at the Wilmington Public Library to learn more and express their concerns.

DNREC plans to complete a five-year Delaware Climate Action plan by December after holding additional workshops scheduled for June and in the fall.

A chief goal is to establish strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mostly from carbon dioxide, which traps heat around the earth) by just more than 26 percent, said Ms. Love.

“We’ll begin acting on the plan just as soon as we can in January,” she said at the meeting in Dover.

The workshops are the start of public interaction in creating the plan, which will review what’s being done in Delaware to reduce the impacts of climate change that the state already is experiencing, such as sea level rise and increased flooding in some areas, and to provide a comprehensive “road map” of steps to help mitigate those impacts.

In regard to climate change, an audience interactive survey conducted at the Georgetown event revealed the majority of the approximate 70 participants indicated they:

• Understand or somewhat understand the underlying causes;

• Feel they are very much impacted personally;

• See vehicles as the top contributor of greenhouse gas emissions;

• Are somewhat prepared as an individual/family for climate change.

These results mirrored somewhat those from a study supervised by the University of Delaware and conducted in late 2019 by Standage Market Research, that showed most Delawareans believe climate change and sea-level rise are happening and the state should act now to address both issues.

Ms. Love said global warming is evident in the eastern U.S. The average temperature, she said, is expected to increase two to four degrees by 2050. And by 2050, the sea level is forecast to increase between nine and 23 inches, she said.

Heading to ‘Delantis’?

The sea level rise isn’t lost on the younger generation — at Thursday’s Dover event, a kid answered the question “What will Delaware look like in 10 years?” The child drew a large map of Delaware with Atlantic Ocean water covering it entirely with the words:
“Delaware + water = Delantis.”

“We’re seeing increased temperatures here in the state, in the country and around the globe. January was the warmest month on record. The last decade was the warmest decade on record locally,” said Ms. Love. “As many of you know, climate change is driven by humans and primarily the emissions of greenhouse gases, mostly by burning of fossil fuels.

“In Delaware the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions is our transportation. The other main source of greenhouse gas emissions are industrial emissions and power generation. Power generation emissions have come down quite a bit, because of switching from coal to natural gas, and the explosion of alternative energy resources.”

Felton’s John Baker said, “Hurricanes are getting meaner and we’re seeing flooding in places where we’ve never seen it before. I have two children, six grandchildren and one great grandchild and I want to see them live in a good world, the one I grew up in.”

Rising sea level and related inland flooding is of great concern for Angola resident Eul Lee, who says Sussex County in turn needs to do a better job in addressing development and growth.

“To me the most concerning is the sea level rising,” she said. “What I see is that houses are going up very close to the water, anywhere there is water access, anywhere you can see the water.

“The land price is very high, and landowners and the developers want to cash in. When the buyers see those houses on a sunny, nice day they have no idea where their house is going to be until the next nor’easter or the flood, storm, whatever the natural condition that may be.”

Ms. Lee said she’s concerned about the volume of houses built near wetlands areas and the trouble that could bring for Delaware in the future.

“It’s not just the homeowners. It’s not just the FEMA. But Delaware will have to pitch in to help shore them up,” she said. “It is concerning because even the state planning department says certain areas should not be developed because they are on hydric soil, which is soggy the whole year round. The planning and zoning (commission) just approves them. They don’t care.”

Flooding near the coast

Selbyville resident Jeanette Akhter, who lives several miles from Fenwick Island, sees flooding as a major priority.

“We live not far from the coast and we live very near a creek, Dirickson Creek. There are several communities that were built perhaps back in the ’60s right along the creek that are essentially carved out of wetlands. They never should have been built in the first place. But they are there. Even now, and certainly in Superstorm Sandy and frequently in nor’easters, those places flood. It is already happening. We expect it to happen more,” said Ms. Akhter. “We are looking for ways that we can make that as little an effect as possible.”

She noted the rapid development taking place, bringing a loss of trees and increased impervious surfaces as contributing factors.

“We are trying very hard to see how we can encourage our planning and zoning commission and our county council to take these comments and requirements into account when they are making determination about whether to approve building projects or not. We find that there is a serious disconnect between the recommendations of DNREC and the state level and what happens with local land use decisions,” Ms. Akhter said.

Gordon Simmons, interim pastor at St. Andrews’ Lutheran Church in Dover, rode his bicycle 10 miles to attend Thursday’s event. He’s also the Lutheran Church’s Delaware-Maryland public policy officer.

“We as Lutherans are especially interested in climate change because we read the bible,” he said while reviewing materials provided at the DNREC session.

“Genesis 1 said God created the earth, so it’s up to us to protect it. As a church, we encourage the use of renewable energy and believe there should be more use of wind and solar energy on this earth we live on.”

Investigating development

Millsboro resident Valerie Wood says she did some homework on development in preparation for the state’s workshops.

“I’ve been on the PLUS (Preliminary Land Use Service) website and I’ve been looking at applications and they are all very close to river waterways, which is inundated in Sussex County,” said Ms. Wood, noting there are “A” designated lands where the state “highly recommends that nobody builds on them because they are hydric soils. And there are developers building on the ‘A’ designated land, and I don’t think the council or planning and zoning understand the designations.”

Development, Ms. Love notes, can be a two-way street.

“When we look at land use through a lens of climate change we look at both adaptation, which is responding to the effects that we know are happening like sea level rise, like increased precipitation events, and we also look at opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ms. Love. “The land use example is a really good example of that … dense development. What it can do, though, if it is done correctly and put in the right place, is it can reduce our reliance on vehicles to travel for goods and services. Land use is the responsibility of local government and the state plays a cooperating role in that.

“One of the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in Delaware and in the nation and increasingly across the globe is transportation. So, we can address climate change in part by looking at land use practices and making sure that we can build communities and revive communities where you can bike and walk to services, like everybody did in the ’50s, and everybody walked to school. We don’t do that so much anymore, and that is contributing to the problems that we are seeing.”

Delaware Technical Community College student Liam Bernat attended the Dover gathering as part of his Energy Management class.
“I feel that there isn’t one single person who can make much of a difference, so we need more government actions and regulations to improve the climate we live in,” he said.

Lisa Locke of Rehoboth Beach facilitated a grass-roots effort of interaction through Interfaith Power & Light, an initiative launched July 1, 2019.

“We are one of 40 state affiliates and our shared mission is to address the causes and consequences of climate change. We do that through faith communities and community partners. We are very excited. We do it in all kinds of ways, from energy audits to working with green teams, educating people,” said Ms. Locke. “We have a cool program called ‘Climate Conversations.’ It is funded by Energize Delaware; they are the ones that manage the energy money that comes into the state and then turns it into programs.”

‘Momentum building’

Since its inception, Interfaith Power & Light has held 17 events, reaching 500 people. The effort has extended to DelTech, Delaware State University and the University of Delaware.

“There is momentum building,” said Ms. Locke. “We’re facilitating opportunities for people to get together in libraries, classrooms, faith communities and community centers to talk candidly and respectfully about climate change. It has been a remarkable experience.
“We get bombarded with news every day, so it is easy to get paralyzed. We find that by bringing people together and talking to each other they can feel empowered. They can get inspired. They can get new ideas, understanding like here tonight that this is kind of where it has to start. We’re talking in intimate ways, creatively, respectfully about what our observations are, what are concerns are what our confusions are, and working on solutions. Even when people don’t agree with each other we have a lot of areas where we do agree.”

In the grand scheme, Ms. Love said DNREC’s goals are to provide an opportunity to understand the impact of climate, encourage engagement from the public and “most importantly we want you to share your concerns and ideas with how we should move forward.

“This plan builds on more than a decade worth of work on climate resilience and adaptation. We are also going to add to it strategies we can take to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions …

“This is the first opportunity we have had to interact with members of the public about a comprehensive climate action plan in Delaware. We really want this to be driven by public concerns and public ideas. This is going to be a plan that doesn’t sit on the shelf. We want to implement the plan. And one of the best ways to implement a plan is to make sure it has buy-in and support from a broad coalition of people. This is really just an opening for us to understand what folks think, what their concerns are, what their ideas are so that we can craft a plan that can prioritize those ideas, thoughts and concerns.”

Juniors Mike Biasiello and Chris Ludman kept the Rider bats off balance as the Delaware baseball team edged the Broncos, 2-1, in the series opener Saturday afternoon.

“Our pitching really won that game for us,” said Blue Hens’ coach Jim Sherman. “Mike (Biasiello) and Chris (Ludman) were really outstanding when we needed it. Can’t say enough about their efforts today and how important it was to get that first game of the series at home.”

Biasiello pitched to a no decision in 4.2 innings, scattering four hits and allowing one unearned run. Ludman then tossed 4.1 scoreless innings with just two base runners on a hit and a walk and two strikeouts.

The Hens (5-7) scored their two runs in consecutive at bats when freshman Aidan Riley singled up the middle with two outs to score sophomore Joseph Carpenter. Freshman Bryce Greenly (Milford) then singled to score senior Jack Goan.

Greenly and freshman Joey Loynd both had two hits.

Rhode Island 23, Delaware State 5: Four Rhode Island players drove in three runs each to highlight the Rams’ victory.

Delaware State (3-9) had 11 hits. The big blow for the Hornets was a second inning grand slam by freshman catcher Mason Brewer (Caesar Rodney) to cut the URI lead to 7-4.

Tyler Cunningham was 3-for-3 to raise his batting average to a team-best .357 (10-for-28).

Wolverines drop two: Manhattanville swept a doubleheader with Wesley College, 6-4 and 8-3 on Saturday.

In the opener, Jordan Marucci hit a three-run homerun for the Wolverines (2-9). Jacob Meisel had two hits and knocked in a run in the nightcap.

College basketball

WOMEN, Delaware 61, UNCW 57: With the win, Delaware clinched a first-round bye in next week’s Colonial Athletic Association Tournament as the No. 6 seed.

Nicole Enabosi led Delaware with 21 points and moved into second place in the Blue Hen record books with 1,676 career points behind only All-American Elena Delle Donne. Enabosi also contributed a game-high 15 rebounds for her 52nd career double-double.

DSU’s Crosby honored: Delaware State guard John Crosby was a second-team selection on the all-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference squad.

The senior leads the MEAC in scoring at 19.4 points per game. A two-time MEAC Player of the Week, Crosby reached double figures in scoring in 26 of the Hornets’ 30 regular-season games, topping the 20-point mark in 14 games and scoring 30-or-more points four times.

Crosby’s MEAC-high 583 points this season are the most by a Hornet since Amere May tallied 671 during the 2014-15 season. In addition, Crosby is Delaware State’s leader and fifth in the MEAC in assists at 3.3 per game (99 total) and tops in three-point field goals with 56 this season.

College softball

Hens win twice: Emily Winburn and Kailey Christian each tossed complete-game shutouts as Delaware (16-4) defeated UMBC, 1-0, and Norfolk State, 3-0, Saturday on the second day of the Pirate Invitational.

In the Blue Hens’ first game of the day, it appeared the contest was headed to extra innings after the first two Blue Hens were retired. But Katie Stahre (Lake Forest) tripled down the rightfield line and scored when Ali Davis grounded a single to left.

Hornets drop pair of close games: Delaware State suffered two painful losses in a tournament at Texas Tech on Saturday.

The Hornets dropped their first game to Marist 5-4 in nine innings before falling to Fairleigh Dickinson 4-3.

Against Marist, DelState (1-19) couldn’t hold a 4-0 lead. Against Fairleigh-Dickinson, the Hornets led 3-1.

College lacrosse

MEN, Delaware 15, Marist 14: Sophomore Tye Kurtz led the Blue Hens with six points (two goals and four assists), while seniors Charlie Kitchen and Bryce Reid both had hat tricks in the victory.

Mike Robinson and Clay Miller had two goals and one assist each to give Delaware five multi-goal scorers in the contest.

WOMEN, Wesley 16, Keystone 5: Hanna Giaccone and Kassie Dieter scored five goals each as the Wolverines improved to 4-0.

Emily Caldarelli, who leads the AEC in caused turnovers caused a game-high six while Lindsey Lurz tallied a game-high six assists.

Delaware 12, Elon 11: Claire D’Antonio picked up the game-winner with 2:11 remaining in the second overtime as the Blue Hens won their CAA opener.

Delaware scored four of the final five goals in regulation, including a free position shot from Mia DeRuggiero with 41 seconds left, to send the contest into overtime.

Boys’ basketball

Sanford 75, Delmarva Christian 41: The eighth-seeded Royals trailed just 30-22 at halftime before the No. 1 Warriors pulled away to the state quarterfinal victory.

Andrew Workman tallied 18 points for Delmarva Christian (21-3), which scored the final seven points of the second quarter. Sanford (19-3) will face Appoquinimink on Thursday at 8 p.m. in the state semifinals at the Carpenter Center.

MIDDLETOWN — As she addressed a group of parents in Middletown High School, Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula invoked the feelings of jetlag: vertigo, nausea, heaviness of the head.

“That’s the misalignment,” she said. “That’s what our kids feel like every day.”

That is due to sleep deprivation, Dr. Gurubhagavatula said.

An associate professor of clinical medicine in the division of sleep medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Gurubhagavatula walked parents, Appoquinimink School District staff and community members through a presentation about adolescent sleep needs last week.

Her presentation was the beginning of the district assembling a task force to look at sleep and school start times. The work of the task force, composed of 40 members ranging from students to staff to community members, will culminate with a final report and recommendation to the district’s school board. Their first meeting was in February.

“There have been many school districts that have explored this,” said Tom Poehlmann, the district’s director of safety, security and operations who is spearheading the taskforce. “In the state of California, it’s state law that high schools can’t start until 8:30 [a.m.] The legislature has pretty much said, ‘Now, districts, figure it out.’ Where our neighbors in Pennsylvania, district by district, they’re trying to figure it out as a community.”

Throughout the country, districts have moved to a later-start-time model, but, as of yet, it hasn’t been attempted in Delaware.

“There’s at least talk,” Mr. Poehlmann said. “I mean, honestly, anybody that is a superintendent in the field of education is familiar with the studies that have been around since 2014. I was a principal and assistant principal, a teacher and before I took on this task, I did my homework. You almost can’t argue with the science. It’s just a matter of can you overcome the obstacles?”

Downstate, in Capital School District, Superintendent Dan Shelton said that the district hasn’t officially considered later start times. In fact, it would be against the contract the district has with its educators.

“The teachers’ contract has start times written into it,” he said. “Our school board couldn’t do it without renegotiating the teachers’ contracts.”

In Milford, Superintendent Kevin Dickerson said that the topic has arisen before, but not for the past few years.

Caesar Rodney School District Superintendent Kevin Fitzgerald said the district’s start times are impacted by availability of bus transportation.

“Before we can educate our students, we have to get them to school and then home again. Without a sufficient number of bus drivers, our bus contractors were unable to do that,” he said.

In Caesar Rodney, he said that means the buses do “double runs,” which impacts start and end times for school.

With a committee of parents, teachers, community members and administrators, he said his district determined to start secondary schools at 7:30 a.m., and elementary schools at 8:30 a.m.

“While starting school this early is not ideal, it does allow older siblings to be home for their younger siblings and it cuts down on the loss of instructional time due to extracurricular activities,” he said.

Mr. Poehlmann said he visited Radnor, Pennsylvania, which established a coalition, to learn their process.

As a first step, Dr. Gurubhagavatula spoke to the community to present the science.

Adolescents require eight to 10 hours of sleep each night, she said in her presentation. Students are only getting about a quarter of that.

Numerous groups that study sleep, such as the Centers for Disease Control, recommend a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later for school to start for adolescents, Dr. Gurubhagavatula said.

She explained that teenagers’ biological rhythm is misaligned, where they don’t become tired until at least 11:30 p.m. — that’s without cell phones or social commitments like sports, dates, work and even homework.

“In that stage of life, once puberty hits, which is usually age 11 for girls, and around age 13 for boys, around that time, there’s this biological preference, where even if you go to bed at 8:30 or 9, it’s very hard to fall asleep,” she said.

As you sleep, your body releases melatonin. For adults and children, that’s happening in the early morning hours, she said. Teens are at their “sleepiest hours” at 7 a.m., when they’re on the bus or sitting in first period, she continued. It also cuts into REM — rapid eye movement — sleep, which is important for “memory, concentration, emotional regulation.”

In Appoquinimink, students are dropped off at the district’s high schools around 7:10 a.m. In Capital’s Dover High School, that’s around 7:15 a.m. First period in Caesar Rodney High School begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by Milford High School at 7:35 a.m. Other districts downstate follow similar time frames.

Citing a variety of studies, Dr. Gurubhagavatula said students are experiencing sleep deprivation, which primarily affects the frontal lobe. This can increase aggression and impulsivity and negatively impact executive functions such as selective attention, decision making, judgement, memory and problem solving. It also can mean exaggerated emotional responses.

Physical health also takes a hit; lack of sleep affects weight gain, causes metabolic dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and more.
Plus, teenagers are drowsy, she said.

“Among the top three killers among teens are car crashes and suicide,” she said. “And both can be impacted by sleep deprivation.”

The task force Mr. Poehlmann spearheads will look at the research, taking into consideration the bus driver shortage, the financial commitment and other school functions, such as clubs, sports, teens’ work schedules and more. Some of that might take thinking outside the box, he added.

“We need to do what’s best for kids, and sometimes we get lost in the obstacles and the other things, but that’s sort of the guiding principle here,” Mr. Poehlmann said.

The work will likely take 18 to 24 months, he said, to see if an 8:30 a.m. start time is viable for the district. Deciding on a time later than their current start time could come before that, or be easier to achieve, though the task force isn’t that far along in its work, Mr. Poehlmann said.

“My hope is that the dominoes would start the fall. If that’s not the case, I think it could be difficult aligning schedules when we compete against other school districts, but one of the things I’ve said to our task force is: we need to think outside of the box,” Mr. Poehlmann said.

“I just think if we get stuck in knowing what has been done, we’ll hit more roadblocks than if we start thinking outside the box. That’s the way innovation and change happens, by testing the limits and trying to do things people think are impossible.”

At last week’s presentation, the response was mixed. While some parents advocated for making the change faster, others expressed concern.

Appoquinimink Board of Education President Richard Forsten urged parents to speak out about the start times.

“There are some real logistical issues that have to be worked through,” he said. “You all care, so make your voices heard, to the taskforce, to the school board, to the administrators. There is going to be change. That will happen.”

MIDDLETOWN — Caesar Rodney High had hung around for one half of basketball.

The Riders began to make their run early in the third quarter, closing within two points of Appoquinimink High.

But the fifth-seeded Jaguars had a response. And their run lasted the rest of the game.

Appoquinimink pulled away down the stretch to defeat Caesar Rodney 79-58 in the quarterfinals of the DIAA boys’ basketball state tournament at Appoquinimink on Saturday. The Riders, seeded 13th in the tournament, end their season with a 13-8 record.

It is the first time in school history Appoquinimink has reached the state semifinals. The Jaguars will face top seed and defending champion Sanford on Thursday at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.

Caesar Rodney only trailed 43-41 after a Jaelin Joyner layup two minutes into the third quarter. The Jaguars reeled off a 10-2 run to end the quarter.

They didn’t stop there, out-scoring the Riders 27-15 in the fourth quarter.

“We just couldn’t answer their run,” said first-year CR coach Frank Victory.

“Their size was a problem for us and they shot the lights out,” Victory added. “ To their credit, they had a hard time missing. And when they did miss, they went and got the rebound like a hungry dog.”

It was the second trip to the quarterfinals in as many seasons for the Riders. They got here after knocking off No. 4 seed Laurel on the road on Thursday.

After the game, Victory spoke about how thankful he was for his seniors — Kamal Marvel, Syed Myles, Monroe Hite, Brandon Hatch, Benjamin Dawson, Elijah Booker and Braxton Robinson — for making the transition to a new coach seamless.

“I walked into a situation with seven quality seniors who don’t know anything but having success,” Victory said. “These guys will go on to do great things. They left their imprint on this program. I can’t be more proud of the team we put on the floor. They worked their tails off all season long. That’s why it hurts because they do that for me every day.”

The Riders came up empty on their final eight possessions of the third quarter which helped lead to Appoquinimink’s run. The Jaguars had a stretch of nine possessions in the fourth quarter where they netted at least one point.

Syed Myles paced the Riders with 17 points. Kamal Marvel followed with 12.

“I think with a new coach, losing a lot from last season that this team exceeded everybody’s expectations, not ours because we knew we were going to be great,” Victory said. “But for the community, it was a fun ride to be a part of this.”

DOVER — Twelve minutes into Saturday night’s state quarterfinals, Dover High’s boys’ basketball team had scored a mere four points.
Senators’ coach Stephen Wilson knew how it looked.

“I knew people were going to doubt us and say, ‘There he goes again, Wilson’s blowing it again,’” the veteran coach admitted. “But I didn’t doubt my team, because we play defense.”

Indeed.

Shaking off a horrid offensive start by cranking up its defense, third-seeded Dover pushed aside No. 6 Salesianum for a 60-50 victory in the DIAA boys’ basketball state quarterfinals before a boisterous crowd on Saturday night.
By somehow digging themselves out of a 17-4 hole, the Senators (21-2) earned a second-straight trip to the state Final Four.

They’ll face No. 18 St. Andrews on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Carpenter Center.

When sophomore Terrance Ross sank a three-pointer with 3:41 left in the third quarter, Dover was up 28-27 and had the lead for good. By the time Elijah Allen swished a three with 7:32 remaining in the contest, the Senators led 46-29.

It added up to a commanding 42-12 run for the Senators since midway through the second quarter.

“We just told each other we have to pick it up for each other,” said senior guard Eden Davis. “We were like, ‘It’s not going to be our last game. We’re not finishing like this.’

“We just picked it up. No matter how many points we’re down, we know we can get back into it if we play defense the right way.”

“We knew we could get right back in this game,” said senior guard Wanya Wise. “Play defense — defense is going to win you championships. That’s what we go over every day.

“As soon as we started getting turnovers, we kept pressuring them and pressuring them. They kept turning the ball over right to us. We took the lead. Once we took the lead, we didn’t let them come back.”

The Sals (13-9) turned the ball over 13 times while netting just 12 points during Dover’s decisive 13-minute run.

Of course, the Senators’ biggest problem in the first half was their offense. Dover made just two of its first 23 shots and went almost 10 minutes without scoring in one stretch.

But a late second-quarter flurry got the Senators back within 19-16 at halftime. They then erupted for 27 third-quarter points, sinking five of their seven three-pointers in the quarter.

Dover also hit seven of its last eight shots of the quarter to build a 40-29 advantage.

“The shots that we were taking weren’t bad shots,” said Wilson. “They just weren’t going. And their shoots weren’t going, either.

“I told them to weather the storm. The game is about a bunch of runs. I thought we had the right run at the right time.”

Davis (16 points), Wise (15), Allen (15) and Jy’Heim Spencer (9) paced the Senators’ balanced attack. As usual, though, it was Wise who spearheaded Dover’s pressure defense, coming up with a number of steals and keeping the Sals from setting up their offense.

“Wanya is a guy that a lot of people don’t give a lot of credit to,” said Wilson. “But I think he’s one of the better defenders if not the best defender in the state. He’s proven it night in and night out. He’s just that unsung hero.”

Sallies, which was led by Ethan Hinds’ 12 points, did close within 52-44 with 2:30 still left. But an alley-oop dunk from Wise to Spencer with just under a minute left seemed to seal the victory.

The Senators also sank 10 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out the win.

Even though St. Andrews is only the No. 18 seed, Dover’s players say they’re not looking past the Cardinals. The Senators learned again on Saturday night that there’s rarely an easy game at this point in the tournament.

“Every day we come in here, I try to tell everybody on the team, we’ve got to get two-percent better every day,” said Wise. “We’ve only got one more chance, this is our last go-around. I want to go out on top.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Cruise officials and passengers confined to their rooms on a ship circling international waters off the San Francisco Bay voiced mounting frustration as the weekend wore on with no direction from authorities on where to go after 21 people on board tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The Grand Princess was forbidden to dock in San Francisco amid evidence the vessel was the breeding ground for a cluster of about 20 cases that resulted in at least one death after its previous voyage. The ship is carrying more than 3,500 people from 54 countries.

Jan Swartz, group president of Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia, told reporters Saturday that cruise officials want guests and crew off the ship so they can receive proper care and evaluation, but they are awaiting direction from federal and state officials.
“Our preference is to get the guests and crew off the Grand Princess as soon as possible,” she said.

The U.S. death toll from the virus climbed to 19, with all but three of the victims in Washington state. The number of infections swelled to more than 400, scattered across states. Pennsylvania, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas reported their first cases.
In California, officials to bring the 951-foot (290-meter) Grand Princess cruise ship to a non-commercial port and test those aboard.

Vice President Mike Pence said at a Saturday meeting with cruise line executives in Florida that officials were still working on a plan.

“All passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus and quarantined as necessary,” Pence said.

As people pleaded Saturday with elected officials to let the ship dock, cruise officials disclosed more information about how they think the outbreak occurred.

Grant Tarling, chief medical officer for Carnival Corporation said it’s believed a 71-year-old Northern California man who later died of the virus was probably sick when he boarded the ship for a Feb. 11 cruise to Mexico.

The passenger visited the medical center the day before disembarking with symptoms of respiratory illness, he said. Others in several states and Canada who were on that voyage also have tested positive.

The passenger likely infected his dining room server, who also tested positive for the virus, Tarling said, as did two people traveling with the man. Two passengers now on the ship who have the virus were not on the previous cruise, he said.

Princess said the ship is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast of San Francisco. It said a critically ill passenger was taken from the ship to a medical facility for treatment unrelated to the virus.

While health officials said about 1,100 crew members will remain aboard, passengers could be disembarked to face quarantine, possibly at U.S. military bases or other sites, as were hundreds of Americans exposed to the virus on another cruise ship in January.

Passenger Karen Dever of Moorestown, New Jersey, agreed she should be tested but wants officials to let her go if her results come back negative.

“Fourteen more days on this ship, I think by the end I will need a mental health visit,” she said with a laugh. “I’m an American. I should be able to come home.”

Rex Lawson, 86, of Santa Cruz County in California, said he and his wife were lucky to have a balcony and fresh air. But he feels for travelers confined to interior rooms.

“It’s quite anxious because we don’t know what’s going on. I guess nobody knows what’s going on,” he said. “It looks like we get information from the television first and then the captain.”

President Donald Trump, speaking Friday at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said he would prefer not to allow the passengers onto American soil but will defer to medical experts.

“I don’t need to have the numbers (of U.S. cases) double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault,” Trump said while touring the CDC in Atlanta. “And it wasn’t the fault of the people on the ship either. OK? It wasn’t their fault either.”

Another Princess ship, the Diamond Princess, was quarantined for two weeks in Yokohama, Japan, last month because of the virus. Ultimately, about 700 of the 3,700 people aboard became infected in what experts pronounced a public-health failure, with the vessel essentially becoming a floating germ factory.

Experts say recirculated air from a cruise ship’s ventilation system, plus the close quarters and communal settings, make passengers and crew vulnerable to infectious diseases.

They said cruise ship conditioning systems are not designed to filter out particles as small as the coronavirus, allowing the disease to rapidly circulate to other cabins.

“The passengers should be quarantined on shore if there is a suitable facility,” said Qingyan Chen, a Purdue University air quality expert, in an email.

Worldwide, the virus has infected 106,000 people and killed nearly 3,600, the vast majority of them in China. Most cases have been mild, and more than half of those infected have recovered.

BEIJING — Italy’s prime minister announced a sweeping coronavirus quarantine early Sunday, imposing restrictions on the movement of about a quarter of the country’s population in a bid to contain a widening outbreak.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree after midnight that imposes restrictions to the movement of people in the region of Lombardy and in at least 15 provinces. The measures will be in place until April 3.

“For Lombardy and for the other northern provinces that I have listed there will be a ban for everybody to move in and out of these territories and also within the same territory,” Conte said. “Exceptions will be allowed only for proven professional needs, exceptional cases and health issues.”

There were chaos and confusion in the northern Italian city of Padua in the Veneto region as word spread late Saturday evening that the government was planning to announce the quarantine.

Packed bars and restaurants quickly emptied out as many people rushed to the train station in Padua.

Travelers with suitcases, wearing face masks, gloves and carrying bottles of sanitizing gel shoved their way on to the local train.
Italy on Saturday saw its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the outbreak began in the north of the country on Feb. 21.

In its daily update, Italy’s civil protection agency said the number of people with the coronavirus rose by 1,247 in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 5,883. Another 36 people also died as a result of the virus, taking the total to 233.

Around the world, more and more countries were bracing for a big increase in virus cases. Western countries have been increasingly imitating China – where the virus first emerged late last year, and which has suffered the vast majority of infections — by imposing travel controls and shutting down public events.

After the city of Venice canceled its cherished Carnival and governments warned citizens against travel to Italy, the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak, the country is facing a possible recession. Hotel occupancy rates in the lagoon city are down to 1%-2%.

“The surface of the Grand Canal is like glass because the boats that transport merchandise are not there. On the vaporetti (water buses), there are only five or six people,’’ Stefania Stea, vice president of the Venice hoteliers association, said.

Passenger-packed cruise ships confronted their own virus problems.

Officials in California were deciding Saturday where to dock the Grand Princess cruise ship, after 21 tested positive for the virus. There is evidence the ship now idling off San Francisco was the breeding ground for a deadly cluster of almost 20 cases during an earlier voyage.

“Those that will need to be quarantined will be quarantined,” U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said. “Those who will require medical help will receive it.” President Donald Trump said he would have preferred not to let the passengers disembark onto American soil but would defer to medical experts.

In Egypt, a cruise ship on the Nile with more than 150 aboard was under quarantine in the southern city of Luxor after 12 positive tests.

Also Saturday, the port of Penang in Malaysia turned away the cruise ship Costa Fortuna because 64 of the 2,000 aboard are from Italy. The ship had already been rejected by Thailand, and is now heading to Singapore.

And in Malta, which reported its first case of the virus Saturday, the MSC Opera ship agreed not to enter the Mediterranean country’s port amid local worries — even though there are no infections suspected on board. The ship continued to Messina, Sicily, where passengers were allowed to disembark after officials reviewed medical records.

Transmission of the virus is now going in every direction.

While the global death toll has risen past 3,400, more people have now recovered from the virus than are sickened by it. As of Saturday, nearly 90,000 cases have been reported in Asia; more than 8,000 in Europe; 6,000 in the Mideast; about 450 in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and fewer than 50 cases reported so far in Africa.

While many scientists say the world is clearly in the grips of a pandemic — a serious global outbreak – the World Health Organization isn’t calling it that yet, saying the word might spook the world further.

The virus is still much less widespread than annual flu epidemics, which cause up to 5 million severe cases around the world and up to 650,000 deaths annually, according to the WHO.

In Iran, fears over the virus and the government’s waning credibility has become a major challenge to leaders already reeling from American sanctions. More than 1,000 infections were confirmed overnight, bringing the country’s total to 5,823 cases, including 145 deaths.

The government declared a “sacred jihad” against the virus: Wearing gas masks and waterproof fatigues, members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard sprayed down streets and hospitals with disinfectants.

South Korea, the hardest-hit country outside China, reported 448 new cases on Saturday, taking the total to 7,041, with 48 deaths overall.

Italy has seen its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the outbreak broke out in the north of the country on Feb. 21. In its daily update, Italy’s civil protection agency said the number of people with the coronavirus rose by 1,247 in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 5,883. Another 36 people also died as a result of the virus, taking the total to 233.

China on Sunday morning reported 44 new cases over the past 24 hours, the lowest level since it began publishing nationwide figures on Jan 20, and 27 new fatalities. But while infections were increasing more slowly, the country was struck anew by tragedy: A hotel used for medical observation of people who had contact with coronavirus patients collapsed on Saturday, trapping 70 people inside, according to local news reports.

Countries outside Asia stepped up efforts to control the outbreak.

Saudi Arabia banned spectators at any sports competitions starting Saturday. The NBA and British sports teams are considering the same.

“I ain’t playing if I ain’t got the fans in the crowd,” Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said. “That’s who I play for.”

Spain deployed police to enforce a quarantine. Austria confiscated 21,000 disposable masks that a Turkish company smuggled aboard a tour bus, seeking to profit from soaring demand. Turkish police, meanwhile, threatened legal action against social media accounts accused of spreading false virus information.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging older adults and people with severe medical conditions to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid crowds.

Most people who get the virus have mild cases, though the elderly face greater risks. Among the many new cases in Europe on Saturday was a doctor in Slovenia who was in contact with more than 100 people in a nursing home after a ski trip to neighboring Italy.

Global markets were enjoying a weekend respite from market panic, but the world economy faced mounting damage. China, the world’s biggest trader, reported Saturday its exports tumbled 17.2% from a year earlier in January and February.

A total of 78 million migrant workers have since returned to work in China, and manufacturers are reopening. But they aren’t expected to return to normal production until at least April, and most people in Wuhan still are barred from leaving their homes.

Amanda Clayville of Milford took this photo at Cape Henlopen State Park on Feb. 2.

As part of Perdue Farms commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce, the company invited associates at all its locations in late February to participate in its first Day of Understanding.

Perdue joined 175 companies across the U.S. as part of a national effort organized by CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion.

“Day of Understanding was intended to provide a forum to have tough conversations, foster dialogue and increase understanding around diversity and inclusion,” said Kathryn Danko, Perdue’s vice president of Human Resources. “The day featured interactive activities that helped us embrace differences and increase understanding, so we collectively could gain a greater awareness of each other’s experiences and perspectives.”

“It’s important that we have events like Day of Understanding because we live in a diverse world and in order to stay relevant we need to reflect that world. Accepting and celebrating diversity is also the right thing to do,” said Perdue Farms CEO Randy Day.

“I learned don’t judge a book by its cover. Give someone a chance no matter what they look like, no matter what kind of a person you might think they are,” said panelist Obed Rivera, a mentor from the Perdue Farms Milford operation.

All Perdue locations participated, and with each location hosting different activities depending on their needs.

One common activity everyone participated in was The Shoe Project, which inspired the theme “Walk In Our Shoes.” The Shoe Project was founded to showcase the voices and stories of women immigrants and refugees all through a pair of shoes. Participants of different backgrounds connect using a universal and personal object — the shoe. The company expanded this idea to be inclusive of all associates and the types of shoes that could be worn by its diverse workforce. Associates were given small slips of paper, each featuring a different pair of shoes, to write on and share little known facts about their lives. No names were included, so associates were able to remain anonymous. These slips were posted throughout each location for all associates to read.

Day of Understanding was initiated in 2018 by CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, which includes more than 900 CEOs in 85 different industries who recognize the need to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Randy Day is a CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion signator. Throughout February, U.S. companies hosted events at more than 10,000 locations for at least 386,000 employees to encourage frank conversation and bridge cultural divides.

NEW YORK — From the streets of Manila to the plazas of Santiago, Chile, people around the world marked International Women’s Day on Sunday with calls to end exploitation and increase equality.

But tensions marred some celebrations, with police reportedly using tear gas to break up a demonstration by thousands of women in Turkey and security forces arresting demonstrators at a rally in Kyrgyzstan.

“In many different ways or forms, women are being exploited and taken advantage of,” Arlene Brosas, the representative of a Filipino advocacy group said during a rally that drew hundreds to the area near the presidential palace. Protesters called for higher pay and job security, and demanded that President Rodrigo Duterte respect women’s rights.

Turkish riot police tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators who, in defiance of a government ban, tried to march along Istanbul’s main pedestrian street to mark International Women’s Day, media reports said.

Turkish authorities declared Istiklal street, near Istanbul’s main Taksim square, off-limits, and said the planned march down the avenue was unauthorized. Thousands of demonstrators, most of them women, gathered near Istiklal regardless and tried to break through police barricades to reach it, according to the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media.

The independent T24 news website said police also fired blanks to disperse the crowd.

Several demonstrators were detained, according to Cumhuriyet.

Turkish authorities have restricted protests in the country in recent years, citing security. Police had set up barricades on all streets leading to Istiklal and closed down the nearest subway stop.

In Pakistan, however, women managed to rally in cities across the country, despite petitions filed in court seeking to stop them. The opposition was stirred in part by controversy over a slogan used in last year’s march: “My Body, My Choice.”

Some conservative groups had threatened to stop this year’s marches by force. But Pakistani officials pledged to protest the marchers. The rallies are notable in a conservative country where women often do not feel safe in public places because of open harassment. The main Islamic political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, organized its own rallies to counter the march.

One of the largest demonstrations occurred in Chile, where crowds thousands flooded the streets of the capital with dancing, music and angry demands for gender equality and an end to violence against women.

“They kill us, they rape us and nobody does anything,” some chanted.

National police estimated 125,000 took part in the capital and nearly 35,000 in other cities, but organizers said the crowds were far larger. Scattered clashes broke out at points when demonstrators threw rocks at police, who responded with water cannon.

Many protesters demanded that a proposed new constitution strengthen rights for women and thousands wore green scarves in a show of support for activists in neighboring Argentina, which is considering a proposal to legalize elective abortion.

Tens of thousands of women also marched through Paris, inveighing against the “virus of the patriarchy.”

“Enough impunity!” chanted some activists, who focused on France’s unusually high rate of women killed by their husbands. Last year, one woman was killed every two or three days by a current or former partner, and the government is increasing efforts to crack down on domestic violence.

“They should provide resources for shelters for women, victim of violence, real resources, human resources, also prevention programs for violent men,” union activist Julia Parbotin said.

Thousands of women also marched in Madrid and other Spanish cities, despite concern over the spread of the new coronavirus.

A massive banner reading, “With rights, without barriers. Feminists without frontiers” in Spanish was carried at the front of the march in the capital.

Spanish health authorities said did not put any restrictions on the march, but recommended that anyone with symptoms similar to those of the coronavirus stay home.

At a school in East London, meanwhile, the duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, joined students in listening to speeches about women labor activists, and urged both girls and boys to respect the contributions of women every day of the year.

“For young men … you have your mothers, sisters, girlfriends, friends in your life — protect them. Make sure they are feeling valued and safe,” she told the students.

But safety was in short supply at some events to mark the day.

The detonation of explosives triggered panic at a ceremony in Bamenda, an English-speaking town in the northwest of Cameroon. Suspicions focused on separatists who had vowed to disrupt the events. No one was killed or wounded.

Police in Bishek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan, detained about 60 people after a group of unidentified men broke up what authorities called an unauthorized rally.

Demonstrators had gathered in the city’s main square to express support for women’s and children’s rights. But unidentified men barged into the gathering. Police said people from both sides were detained, but news reports said they were primarily women. They were released several hours later, after about 10 had been charged with resisting police, the Akipress news agency reported, citing an attorney.

ROME — Italy took a page from China’s playbook Sunday, locking down around 16 million people — more than a quarter of its population — for nearly a month to halt the relentless march of the new coronavirus across Europe.

Weddings, museums, movie theaters shopping malls, and even restaurants are all hit by the new restrictions, which focus on a swath of northern Italy but are disrupting daily life around the country. After mass testing uncovered more than 7,300 infections, Italy now has registered more cases of the virus than any country but China, where it’s now on the retreat.

From Venice to Milan, confusion reigned as residents and tourists tried to figure out when and how the new measures were coming into effect. Travelers crammed aboard standing-room only trains, tucking their faces into scarves and sharing sanitizing gel.

Around the globe, more and more events were canceled or hidden behind closed doors, from the pope’s Sunday service to a Formula One car race in Bahrain and a sumo competition in Japan. Questions grew about whether to maintain U.S. presidential campaign rallies and other potentially “super-spreading” gatherings, as the virus stretches into new states.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte signed a quarantine decree early Sunday for the country’s prosperous north. Areas under lockdown include Milan, Italy’s financial hub and the main city in Lombardy, and Venice, the main city in the neighboring Veneto region. The extraordinary measures will be in place until April 3.

The fate of foreign visitors stuck in Italy’s new quarantine zones is still unclear.

The pope, who has been ill, held his Sunday blessing by video instead of in person, even though he wasn’t directly affected by the lockdown. He described feeling like he was “in a cage.”

It’s a feeling familiar in China, where the government locked down about 60 million people in central Hubei province in late January. Six weeks later, they’re still effectively stuck.

The World Health Organization has said China’s move helped the rest of the world prepare for the virus to arrive, and WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted his support Sunday for Italians and their “bold, courageous steps aimed at slowing the speed of the coronavirus.”

China has suffered about three-fourths of the world’s 109,000 coronavirus infections and most of its nearly 3,800 deaths. New infections in China have leveled off dramatically, however, and most of those infected, in China and globally, have already recovered.
Infections mounted higher Sunday in other epicenters — South Korea, Iran and especially Italy. And with a nose-dive in tourist traffic and major disruptions to supply chains worldwide, stocks struggled Sunday as Mideast indexes fell 4% to 10%.

Italy is closing all museums and archaeological sites, even those far from the lockdown zone. It suspended all weddings until April 3. The northern regions concerned by Sunday’s decree are closing cinemas and ski slopes.

Eateries all around Italy are expected, somehow, to keep patrons a meter away from each other.

The Vatican Museums are now closed, including the Sistine Chapel, in yet another blow to Italy’s all-important tourism industry. Alitalia, the Italian airline which was already financially ailing before the virus, suspended all national and international flights from Milan’s Malpensa airport starting Monday.

Lombardy’s governor, who is in quarantine himself, sought to calm the public, discouraging hoarding and insisting “we’re not going to war.”

Chaos erupted in the hours before Conte signed the decree, as word leaked about the planned quarantine. Italy is up to 7,375 cases as of Saturday, and the death toll in the country rose to 366.

Students at the University of Padua in northern Italy who had been out at bars on a Saturday night saw the reports on their phones and rushed back to the train station.

In a reversal of the stereotypical north-south tensions in Italy, the governor of Puglia urged northerners to stay away and not bring virus infections down south.

“Get off at the first railway station. Don’t take planes,” Gov. Michele Emiliano said in his dramatic appeal. “Turn around in your cars, get off the pullman buses at the next stop.”

By Sunday afternoon, residents of northern Italy remained confused.

Factory worker Luca Codazzi was set to come out of a two-week quarantine at midnight Sunday — but instead was facing new limits on his freedom.

The government decree “was badly written, there are very many interpretations,’’ he said. “In theory, the cordon should go down at midnight,’’ Codazzi said. He still doesn’t know whether his factory will be open Monday.

Governments across Europe tightened their rules. The prime minister of Portugal is self-isolating. Bulgaria banned all indoor public events. France’s president and Germany’s governing parties held emergency security meetings as the number of cases in each country surpassed 1,000.

In waters around the world, the virus outbreak has left the cruise ship industry in disarray.

The Grand Princess cruise ship, where 21 people have tested positive for the virus, was heading Sunday to Oakland after idling off San Francisco for days. It expects to land Monday. Americans will be transferred to facilities around the country for testing and isolation, but it’s not yet clear what will happen to passengers from other countries. The ship had a cluster of almost 20 infections during an earlier voyage that has led to one death.

Another cruise ship is in quarantine on the Nile in Egypt with 45 confirmed virus cases. Two other ships with no confirmed cases were turned away this weekend from Malaysia and Malta amid virus fears.

Advice to the public continues to vary. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged older adults and people with severe medical conditions to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid crowds. A federal official told The Associated Press that the White House had overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and sick Americans not fly on commercial airlines too. A spokesman for U.S. Vice President Mike Pence denied that.

The U.S. death toll from the virus climbed to 19, with most victims in Washington state. Infections rose to over 430, including the first case in the nation’s capital.

Even as the virus spreads, dozens of research groups around the world are racing to create a vaccine.

As of Saturday, nearly 90,000 cases have been reported in Asia; more than 10,000 in Europe; about 7,000 in the Mideast; around 450 in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, and fewer than 50 cases reported so far in Africa. More than 60,000 people have recovered worldwide.

China on Sunday reported 44 new cases over the past 24 hours, the lowest level since it began publishing nationwide figures on Jan 20, and 27 new fatalities. Italy is now the No. 2 epicenter, surpassing South Korea, whose total is now 7,313, with 50 deaths overall.

SAN FRANCISCO — A cruise ship hit by the new coronavirus and headed to the port of Oakland, California, will remain in international waters for at least another day as officials worked on plans to transport passengers to federal facilities around the country and local officials began ordering the closure of schools and public spaces to try and stop the spread of the virus.

The largest school district in Northern California has canceled classes for a week after it was discovered that a family in the district had been exposed to COVID-19. The Elk Grove School District, which is near Sacramento, has nearly 64,000 students.

Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Sunday that more closures are likely around the state as the virus spreads.

The Grand Princess ship, which is carrying more than 3,500 people from 54 countries, is expected to arrive Monday.

Grand Princess Capt. John Smith, in a recording provided by passenger Laurie Miller of San Jose, told passengers Saturday night that “after docking, we will then begin a disembarkation process specified by federal authorities that will take several days.”

Ship passengers who need medical treatment or hospitalization will go to health care facilities in California, while state residents who don’t require acute medical care “will go to a federally run isolation facility within California for testing and isolation,” the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said in a statement Sunday.

“The crew will be quarantined and treated aboard the ship, but importantly, the ship will only stay in Port of Oakland for the duration of disembarkment. This ship will depart Oakland as soon as possible and will remain elsewhere for the duration of the crew’s quarantine,” the statement said.

U.S. guests from outside California will be transported by the federal government to facilities in other states.

Smith said the information he was given did not include what would happen to passengers from other countries. California officials did not provide those details.

Some Americans will be transferred to military bases in San Antonio, Texas, and Marietta, Georgia, officials said. It was not clear when the groups would arrive.

Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday that at least 21 people aboard the ship, including 19 crew members, have tested positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, the U.S. death toll from the virus is at 19, with all but three victims in Washington state. The number of infections swelled to more than 400, scattered across the U.S.

The Grand Princess had been forbidden to dock in San Francisco amid evidence that the vessel was the breeding ground for a cluster of nearly 20 cases that resulted in at least one death after a previous voyage.

Steven Smith and his wife, Michele, of Paradise, California, went on the cruise to celebrate their wedding anniversary. The Smiths said they were a bit worried but felt safe in their room, which they had left just once since Thursday to video chat with their children.

Crew members wearing masks and gloves delivered trays with their food in covered plates, delivered outside their door. They’ve occupied themselves by watching TV, reading and looking out the window.

“Thank God, we have a window!” Steven Smith said.

The ship was heading from Hawaii to San Francisco when it was held off the California coast Wednesday so people with symptoms could be tested for the virus.

Grant Tarling, chief medical officer for Carnival Corporation, said it’s believed a 71-year-old Northern California man who later died of the virus was probably sick when he boarded the ship for a Feb. 11 cruise to Mexico.

The passenger visited the medical center the day before disembarking with symptoms of respiratory illness, he said. Others in several states and Canada who were on that voyage also have tested positive.

The passenger likely infected his dining room server, who also tested positive for the virus, Tarling said, as did two people traveling with the man. Two passengers now on the ship who have the virus were not on the previous cruise, he said.

A cruise ship was being held off the coast of Florida on Sunday awaiting test results on whether two crew members have contracted the new coronavirus.

The Regal Princess was supposed to dock in Port Everglades on Sunday morning but was instead sailing up and down the coast, the Miami Herald reports. The crew members in question had transferred from the Grand Princess cruise ship. The Coast Guard delivered testing kits to the Regal Princess on Sunday morning and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a “no-sail order” for the ship.

Another Princess ship, the Diamond Princess, was quarantined for two weeks in Yokohama, Japan, last month because of the virus. Ultimately, about 700 of the 3,700 people aboard became infected in what experts pronounced a public-health failure, with the vessel essentially becoming a floating germ factory.

Hundreds of Americans aboard that ship were flown to military bases in California and other states for two-week quarantines. Some later were hospitalized with symptoms.

An epidemiologist who studies the spread of virus particles said the recirculated air from a cruise ship’s ventilation system, plus the close quarters and communal settings, make passengers and crew vulnerable to infectious diseases.

“They’re not designed as quarantine facilities, to put it mildly,” said Don Milton of the University of Maryland.

Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 100,000 people and killed more than 3,400, the vast majority of them in China. Most cases have been mild, and more than half of those infected have recovered.

Increase in jobs in February
Hiring in the United States jumped in February as employers added 273,000 jobs, evidence that the economy was in strong shape before the coronavirus began to sweep through the nation. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% last month, matching a 50-year low, down from 3.6% in January. The monthly job gain comes from a survey of payrolls in the second week of February, predating the viral outbreak.

• How many of these jobs pay living wages and offer good benefits? — Eric Morrison

• That’s a real good question. How many are entry level? Are they supposed to pay “living wages” too? What are you willing to pay for the things you purchase? How much do you think an employer should contribute to your well-being? How willing are you to encourage people to accept what they can get, learn from it and move up? I don’t know how many of these new jobs pay a living wage. But I do know, like myself and millions of others, one has to start somewhere, even if it isn’t ideal. How long do you think any company will last if they are forced to accept people with little to no training and/or experience? In short, why is anyone worried about how many new jobs are capable of paying what someone decides is a living wage? The issue is not about a living wage, it’s about getting people started on the path to securing their own future and a living wage along the way!— Dennis Mehrenberg

UD officials face questions
President Dennis Assanis faced more fierce questioning from lawmakers Tuesday. Appearing before a legislative budget committee for the second time in four weeks, top UD officials were forced to defend the university’s status as a quasi-public institution.

• Very surprising to see University of Delaware’s lawyer challenge the Delaware legislature with comments about UD being special and that you can’t change things unless we agree. The Delaware taxpayer, through the annual appropriations to the university, has over many years invested several billion dollars (in today’s dollars) towards the success of OUR state university. The University of Delaware, a state agency, needs to be held accountable according to a 70-year-old court ruling. In 1950, Delaware’s Chancery Court Vice Chancellor Seitz ruled in Parker vs University of Delaware that “I conclude that the University of Delaware is an agency of the State of Delaware under the common law and under the constitutional test required by the 14th Amendment. The actions of its Trustees must be judged in that light.” He also found “other statutes require the President of the University to make an annual report on all aspects of the University to the Trustees who shall transmit the same to the Governor to be by him presented to the Legislature. The accounts of the Treasurer of the University are to be audited by the Auditor of Accounts in the same manner as the accounts of ‘other State officers.’ “ I would encourage the legislature to clarify and codify our state’s relationships with all of our state institutions of higher learning. We have too much invested in this state agency (UD) to just walk away and suggest they just become a private university. — Bill Bowden
Supreme Court will decide the fate of Obama health care law
• Sure, end the last of pre-existing conditions protections. Best thing is to deregulate healthcare so they can charge an arm and a leg. Literally. — Craig Walter

Wesley College snapped a four-game losing streak with a doubleheader sweep of St. Joseph’s of Brooklyn, N.Y. in non-conference baseball on Sunday afternoon.

The Wolverines won the opener 12-10 before taking the night cap, 3-1, to improve to 4-9 overall.

In the first game, Wesley used a six-run fifth inning to take a 12-6 lead before holding on when St. Joseph’s (3-9) rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh.

In the fifth, Dustin Sutton and John Joines both had RBI doubles to spark the Wolverines’ big inning.

Joines went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Jordan Marucci matched Joines with two hits and had a pair of RBI.

In the nightcap, pitcher Cole Edwards secured his first win of the season with a complete-game performance. He allowed just one run on four hits and struck out 11.

Hens sweep Rider: Delaware completed its first three-game sweep of the season with 7-6 and 8-6 wins over Rider.

In the opener, Aidan Riley was 3-for-4 with a two RBI in his first time batting out of the lead-off spot in the order.

Jordan Hutchins (Dover) was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and senior Derek Wakeley entered the game in the fifth inning and allowed just one hit and an unearned run with a strikeout in his 2.1 innings of work to earn the win.

Freshman Bryce Greenly (Milford) stole the show in the series finale, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.

Greenly entered the game in the fifth inning and two 1-2-3 innings while striking out five straight batters at one point.

Sophomores Joseph Carpenter and Austin Colmery each had multi-hit games as Carpenter was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run and Colmery was 2-for-3 with four RBI.

Hornets lose pair to Rams: Rhode Island racked up 23 and 23 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Delaware State at Soldier Field. The Rams won the opener 11-8 and took the nightcap 12-4 in the seven-inning games to complete a sweep of the three-game series.

Mason Bennett homered for DelState. The Caesar Rodney product leads the team in homers and is second in RBI this season.

Jared Gillis (Smyrna) and Cole Garey (Polytech) each knocked in two runs on the day.

College softball

Hens win two in Hampton: For the second straight day Delaware used dominant pitching to pick up a pair of wins, as the Blue Hens swept the Pirate Invitational by defeating Binghamton, 2-1, and Hampton, 8-2 in eight innings, on Sunday.

Brooke Glanden (Lake Forest) belted a solo home run to pace the Blue Hens. She went 4-for-4 against Hampton with two runs scored.

Delaware has now won seven games in a row.

Texas Tech 8, Delaware State 0: Two pitchers held the Hornets to one hit in Texas Tech’s victory over DSU in the finale of TTU’s Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic on Sunday.

Delaware State (1-20) did not have a base runner until Alaena Selden singled with two out in the fifth inning. She was the Hornets’ base runner in the game.

The game was called after Texas Tech’s eighth-inning score due to the eight-run rule.

College tennis

Delaware 6, Drexel 1: The win was the 14th straight for the Hens, which bests Delaware’s previous record of 13 straight set during the 1981-82 season.

The Blue Hens have also now won three Colonial Athletic Association matches in the same season for the first time since 2011 and topped the Dragons for the first time since 2013.

By Kathleen M. Doyle and Susan Yost

In his State of the Union address, the president announced plans to plant one trillion trees. Governor Carney recently announced his plan to have one million trees planted throughout Delaware over the next decade. Last year, Dover celebrated its 30th year as a Tree City — an Arbor Day recognition — and planted over 30 trees in city parks.

We applaud these efforts and ask that in addition to planting new trees, the city, the county, and private citizens do what they can to save existing trees.

Planting and taking care of trees is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to address the impact of increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Trees take in carbon dioxide, release oxygen, provide shade, and release moisture through their leaves. The larger the tree and its canopy of leaves, the more benefits it provides.

The right trees planted in the right places are even able to reduce flooding in flood-prone areas. Trees can lower cooling and heating costs, reduce harmful UV radiation, increase property values, and even reduce crime.

Unfortunately, locally, we are losing far more trees than are being planted. In recent months, we have witnessed many instances of tree removal and tree neglect.

The city arborist retired several years ago, and that position has been eliminated. There remains an arborist on staff, but that job is a lower-level position that falls under the Department of Public Works.

Wilmington, Newark, and Rehoboth all have city arborists, and yet the second-largest city — the most beautiful city in the state, the capital city — does not.

In addition, more than a dozen Delaware cities have committed to increasing or maintaining their tree canopies with the help of GIS software that has been developed by the Delaware Forest Service, yet Dover does not appear on that list.

Dover is home to thousands of beautiful, mature trees. The largest elm tree in the state is located on The Green. Several of the smaller elm trees on The Green are showing early signs of elm disease – a preventable disease – which is no longer being treated. This disease will kill these trees if they are not treated. The city arborist used to take care of these trees.

We are also concerned about plans for Loockerman Street. A new streetscape design calls for the removal of all of the healthy, native willow oak trees that currently line the street. These trees, which have a life span of at least 100 years, are now close to 50 years old, and healthy.

Willow oaks are wonderful urban trees. They tolerate poorly drained soil, and are pollution and drought tolerant. They are essentially trouble-free, needing only to have their soil tested periodically, which a city arborist would do. In addition to cleaner and cooler air, these trees, according to University of Delaware Professor Doug Tallamy, “are the quintessential wildlife plant” hosting hundreds of species of butterflies and moths, and providing abundant food for birds.

Reasons given for removing the willow oaks in downtown Dover range from buckling sidewalks to panhandler hiding places. There are less drastic ways to address sidewalk and panhandler problems while remaining in compliance with ADA requirements. In fact, very few downtown businesses are experiencing problems with their sidewalks.

Fortunately, this new streetscape plan is on hold – for now.

Lastly, as one walks around the beautiful city of Dover, one cannot help but notice the hundreds of trees on private, commercial and public property that are being slowly strangled by English ivy.

There was a time when vines of ivy crawling up trees and buildings were viewed as pretty. Now we know more about this invasive species’ destructive capabilities. Young vines are easily removed. Old vines require more effort, but they can – and should – be removed if property owners wish for their trees to survive.

Sometimes it is necessary to cut down an old tree when it is diseased or posing a danger. When a tree must be taken down, or allowed to die due to neglect, new trees need to be planted. Many places have laws that require a minimum of a 1:1 replacement, depending upon the size of the tree that was removed. If the city were to follow Kent County’s tree mitigation ordinance which outlines the rules for developers, each tree in downtown Dover that has been cut down should be replaced by five trees.

In this era when many cities and states are committed to doing everything in their power to mitigate some of the effects of a changing climate, we encourage our city to do the same, and one of the easiest and most effective places to start is with the trees. Substantial urban grants and technical assistance are available from Delaware’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

We ask the capital city to re-commit to the trees, share its plans with the public, and reinstate the position of City Arborist before any more trees are removed or allowed to die. We also encourage private citizens of Dover to pay attention to the health of the trees on their properties.

Kathleen M. Doyle, M.A.T., retired social studies teacher, has lived in Dover for more than thirty years. Susan Yost, PhD, has lived in Dover for close to thirty years, and taught botany courses at Delaware State University for 20 years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It wasn’t like this was ancient history.

Just 10 days ago the Delaware men’s basketball team held a 10-point lead with seven minutes left at Charleston — and lost by nine.

So when the Cougars made a quick five-point spurt to slice the Blue Hens’ 11-point advantage to just six with 6:03 still remaining on Sunday, sure, Delaware’s players felt a sense of deja vu.

“I kept telling our fellas in the huddles, ‘We’ve been here twice before, let’s not do this again,’” said junior guard Nate Darling. “We know how to win it this time.”

They did.

The fifth-seeded Hens dominated the final six minutes this time, finishing off No. 4 Charleston, 79-67, in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.

Delaware (22-10) snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Cougars (17-4), beating them for the first time since 2016, to earn a second-straight trip to the CAA semifinals.

Of course, today’s matchup may be even more difficult. The Hens square off with top-seeded Hofstra (24-8) at 6 p.m. at the Entertainment & Sports Arena for the right to play in Tuesday’s title game.

On Sunday, at least, Delaware was pretty impressive when it needed to be,

After Charleston closed to within 62-56, the Hens answered with a 13-4 run to retake control. Junior Dylan Painter tallied seven of his 14 points in that run.

The 6-foot-10 center capped off his spree with a big dunk off a fastbreak with 2:04 on the clock.

Darling, who finished with a team-high 25 points, added five as Delaware’s lead hit its biggest of the game at 75-60 with 1:15 remaining.

Probably just as importantly, the Hens never let the Cougars get hot — like they did in the last meeting. Charleston sank just three of eight shots with a pair of turnovers in the closing minutes as it never really threatened.

“It’s happened to us one too many times,” sophomore forward Justyn Mutts said about UD’s late-game struggles against the Cougars. “We know what to do when things get like that. We’ve just got to stay together and not let things break us apart.”

“We really challenged our guys that we needed to guard for 40 minutes,” said coach Martin Ingelsby. “We’ve been in two really good basketball games against them and let it slip away in the end. We really connected on that end.”

Offensively, the Hens shot a sizzling 61.5 percent (16-of-26) in the second half, sinking four of six three-pointers and 11-of-13 free throws. Every time Delaware needed a big shot it seemed to find one.

Freshman Johnny McCoy, Darling and Kevin Anderson each hit a three-pointer in one three-minute stretch midway through the second half. It kept the Hens’ lead at 58-47 with 8:41 remaining.

“We got into a good flow offensively,” said Ingelsby. “We’ve got some weapons. We’ve got great balance. Guys made big shots.”

“We were more locked in this game than we’ve been in a while,” said Mutts. “We didn’t come down here just to get one win. We came down here to get three.”

Besides Darling and Painter, Mutts (11 rebounds, five assists, three steals) and Ryan Allen both added 12 points.

Darling hit 5-of-8 three-pointers and was 9-of-17 from the floor. The first-team all-CAA guard finished with only 18 points and made just 2-of-8 threes in the last meeting with Charleston.

Darling had 15 first-half points in the first half when the Hens shook off an 8-0 deficit to lead 32-27 at intermission.

“Nothing’s changed for me,” said Darling. “I just keep getting in the gym and just keep shooting. They fell for me today.”

In some ways, on paper, Hofstra isn’t as big a challenge for Delaware as Charleston was. The Hens beat the Pride on its home court in December and took Hofstra to overtime in last year’s CAA semifinals.

But the Pride also dominated the last 10 minutes in a 78-62 victory over Delaware on Feb. 27.

Of course, history can be whatever you want to make of it sometimes. Mutts, who’s only been in the program for two years, wasn’t even aware the Hens’ had a nine-game losing streak against Charleston until after the contest.

“I didn’t know that,” said Mutts. “Now was the perfect time to get that ‘W.’

“We don’t worry too much about the history,” he added. “All we know is that we’re making history right now.”

Free throws

Today’s game is being shown on CBS Sports Network. … Charleston senior guard Grant Riller, the third-leading scorer in CAA history, tallied a game-high 26 points on Sunday. But he was only 10-of-22 from the floor.. … The Cougars were the only team that Ingelsby hadn’t beaten in his four years at UD. … Delaware’s McCoy is 9-of-18 on three-pointers this season. …. Mutts’ double-double was his 11th of the season.

MILLSBORO — An international, franchise-based automotive repair chain is seeking to become another business link in Millsboro’s growing highway commercial district.

Town council at its March 2 meeting approved preliminary site plans for a proposed Meineke Car Care Center on U.S. 113.

Presented by Roger Gross, a professional engineer with Merestone Consultants Inc., preliminary plans call for a one-story, 6,400 square-foot building with nine service bays and 27 on-site parking spaces.

It is to be located on just under a one-acre parcel zoned highway commercial next to the Papa John’s. Town water and sewer service are available to the site.

Ken Niblett, Millsboro Public Works Director, pointed out that “there will be no floor drains entering into the sanitary sewer of Millsboro. Everything will be removed from site.”

“That’s a good point,” Mr. Gross said. “The oils and greases, new and old, will be kept in double-walled vats or some sort of secondary containment system, and they’ll be removed from the site from a licensed vendor.”

At present, access plans are right-ins and right-outs along U.S. 113, with a secondary access along Northern Avenue that runs parallel to U.S. 113 at the rear of the property.

“We held a pre-application meeting with DelDOT and have submitted preliminary construction plans. The access that we show is probably what it is going to be approved,” said Mr. Gross.

The developer has received response from the State Fire Marshal’s Office and anticipates response from Sussex Conservation District on submitted stormwater management plans within a couple weeks, Mr. Gross said.

Preliminary site plan review by AECOM, the town’s consulting firm, spurred a request for pedestrian crosswalk striping from handicap spaces to the front entrance of the building. “We’ll take care of that,” Mr. Gross said.

Also, AECOM’s review indicated that a lighting plan and landscape plan will be required at final submission. “We’ll put that together,” said Mr. Gross.

Council’s affirmative vote on preliminary site plans was 5-0-1, with one abstention.

Millsboro’s highway commercial district has experienced immense growth, including several fast-food restaurants as well as the Ashley HomeStore, which opened last fall.

Meineke Car Care Centers are presently located in Lewes, Dover and New Castle. Worldwide, there are more than 900 centers, including those in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

The Meineke business was founded in 1971 in Houston, Texas by Sam Meineke, initially as a muffler repair service. It became Meineke Car Care in 2003.

BRIDGEVILLE — The Delaware State Police are attempting to locate 28-year-old Arthur J. Williams of Bridgeville, who is wanted on domestic-related felony assault charges.

State police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz said the incident occurred at 11 p.m. Saturday, when Mr. Williams became engaged in a verbal altercation with his 30-year-old ex-girlfriend while at a residence in Bridgeville. Police said Mr. Williams physically assaulted the female victim and unlawfully restrained her, not allowing her to leave.

The suspect fled from the scene prior to troopers’ arrival. The victim was removed from the scene by EMS and was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Active warrants are currently on file charging Mr. Williams with two counts of strangulation, unlawful imprisonment and related charges.

Anyone with information regarding Mr. Williams’s whereabouts is asked to contact Troop 5 by calling 302-337-1090 or by calling 911. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware crime stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at http://www.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com.

SEAFORD — The Delaware State Police arrested a Bridgeville man in connection with a shooting that occurred Friday night at a Seaford area bar and package store.

State police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz said the preliminary investigation determined that troopers were dispatched to The Woodshed at 22588 Bridgeville Highway, Seaford, for a shooting incident that occurred at 10:28 p.m. Troopers located a 41-year-old male gunshot victim after a reported altercation. The victim was removed from the scene by EMS and transported to a local area hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Sunday. There were no other reported injuries.

Rafael A. Pena-Suarez was developed as a suspect, Sgt. Bratz said. A subsequent search warrant was executed on Rifle Range Road, Bridgeville, on Sunday and Mr. Pena-Suarez was taken into custody without incident. He was transported to Troop 4, where he was charged with attempted murder first-degree, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited.

Mr. Pena-Suarez was arraigned before the Justice of the Peace Court and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution on a $280,000 cash bond.

The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective K. Archer of the Troop 4 Major Crimes Unit by calling 302-752-3791. Information may also be provided by calling Delaware crime stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or via the internet at http://www.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com.