Budget cuts have led to a "swim-at-your-own-risk" summer season.

With newly-renovated space now available for lease, St. Joseph’s Center for Community Service in Clayton is seeking to expand its role as a venue for community service. On June 30, St. Joseph’s held a press conference to introduce improvements to its campus and shine the spotlight on what the non-profit foundation has to offer for future tenants. U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) was among the speakers at the conference.

A severe thunderstorm brought high winds, heavy rains and nickel-sized hail to the Clayton area on the evening of June 9. The storm toppled trees and inflicted property damage in the area between Clayton and Blackiston’s Crossroads.

Board of Education hears about progress in high school building project and also about the plan to implement the new “Clearly Focused” curriculum program to help students meet state standards

As Del-One members celebrated the grand opening of their first solar-powered branch on May 21 with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, the Secretary of DNREC, Collin P. O’Mara, commended the credit union for utilizing natural resources while decreasing its dependency on conventional power generation systems. By harnessing the power of the sun to fuel its branch operations in Smyrna, the credit union will realize a savings on its utility bills which equates to a savings for its members, all of whom own a share of the credit union.

For the past two months, the six sitting members of Smyrna Town Council have remained divided over attempts to appoint a seventh member to the vacant seat on council. But some Smyrna residents are eager to see the issue resolved. Prior to Monday night’s council meeting, a handful of residents stood on the steps of Town Hall and raised signs calling for council to appoint Tony DeFeo to the vacant seat.

Just as Gov. Jack Markell was preparing to sign legislation in New Castle that subjects the General Assembly and its committees to most of the same Freedom of Information Act rules that apply to other governing bodies, staff from the Controller General’s office allowed members of the media and labor groups to enter the committee’s session, which historically had been off-limits to all but the panel’s 12 legislators. With no fanfare for the event, the committee then voted to endorse a 2.5% pay cut for all state employees, well below Gov. Jack Markell's proposed 8% cut.

After months of nighttime road closures, construction workers have wrapped up most of the underground utility improvements under South Main Street in downtown Smyrna. The upgraded water and sewer lines are in place and the most of the electrical work is complete. Now workers are moving forward with the aboveground portion of the downtown project – the stuff that people will see after all the work is finished. Businesses remain open while the construction continues.

Resignation announced at Clayton Town Council meeting Monday. Officer plans to take job with Middletown Police Department. Council also announced a change in the street sweeping schedule.

Smyrna Town Council members reached no agreements on a number of unresolved appointments at their June 1 meeting. For the third meeting in a row, council considered appointing a seventh member to fill a vacant seat on council. Once again, no new council member was appointed. Council also voted on Mayor Pat Stombaugh’s nominations for three town committees that did not receive council’s approval at the previous meeting. None of the three committees were approved this time, either.

Reservation deadline is June 2 by calling Ilona Gechter, 302-335-4885.

On Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn unveiled Delaware state government’s first official blog, located at http://mattdenn.blogs.delaware.gov/. The subject of the first post was his brief foray into the world of used car sales at the state’s surplus property lot in Delaware City.

After more than two months of deliberations, New Castle County Council quietly approved a $228 million operating budget and 25 percent tax increase Tuesday night. That’s a decrease from the 2009 fiscal year operating budget of $240 million. The average resident's annual tax bill will jump about $100, to $501.