I-495 Southbound Reopens In Delaware

Weeks ahead of schedule, Delaware officials Thursday afternoon reopened the southbound lanes of the I-495 bridge that spans the Christina River in Wilmington.

The bridge’s concrete piers had started to lean sideways after a construction company stored 50,000 tons of dirt at its feet, compressing the soft, underlying soil.

Contractors have been working night and day to fix the problem since early June, first removing the dirt, then drilling 150-foot shafts to accommodate new underground concrete supports, and finally erecting steel towers so the bridge could be jacked back into a level position.

The northbound lanes are expected to reopen within two to four weeks after additional repairs are made, said Geoff Sundstrom, a spokesman for the Delaware Department of Transportation.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/20140801_I-495_southbound_reopens_in_Delaware_.html#RVyzrRJA6kuxf6r3.99

Rival Owners Of Philly Newspapers Pledge $77M Bids

The Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News Building in Philadelphia, PA. Taken from North Broad and Callowhill Streets. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Rival owners fighting for control of Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers have each pledged $77 million to take control of the company.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News are being sold as investors who bought them in 2012 argue over newsroom management and corporate strategy.

Wealthy businessmen George Norcross and Lewis Katz lead the rival factions, and testified at a hearing underway in Delaware this week to determine who can bid at the planned auction.

“There are people interested in this newspaper,” Katz testified Tuesday. “Whether or not they will come forward to bid is, in my mind, still problematic.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/pennsylvania/rival-owners-of-philly-newspapers-pledge-m-bids/article_7565e20e-ce5a-5bfa-9d30-9b3473304f9a.html

DuPont Rises On Plan To Split The Company

Map of Delaware (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Shares of DuPont Co. rose modestly this morning to above $65.50 — a 13-year high — after last night’s announcement that the Wilmington-based chemical giant plans to spin off its profitable but volatile Performance Chemicals business, and its related fluorochemicals and titanium-dioxide (white-paint-base) factories, including a TiO2 plant at Edge Moor, Del., over the next year and a half. The new company will have sales of around $7 billion a year, vs. $28 billion for what’s left of DuPont.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/DuPont-rises.html#O1lLQVZKVo1HmYO2.99

Wilmington, DE And Atlantic City, NJ Named Some Of The Unfriendliest Cities In The World

Wilmington, Delaware, seen from an airplane (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Condé Nast Traveler recently tallied the results of an annual Readers’ Choice Survey, which asked their audience to rate cities on a number of aspects. Two of the sections asked readers to name the “friendliest” and “unfriendliest” cities in the world.

The survey revealed that Wilmington, Delaware, coming in at number eight, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, coming in at number five, are considered some of the most inhospitable cities.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/Wilmington_and_Atlantic_City_named_some_of_the_most_unfriendliest_cities_in_the_world.html#XgIE0bZg8eFmDrxL.99

Ritz Camera To Liquidate After 94 Years

Ritz Camera logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ritz Camera & Image LLC plans to go out of business after 94 years as it failed in a bankruptcy auction to find a buyer to keep the largest U.S. specialty camera retail chain open.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross in Wilmington, Del., approved a plan Monday to turn over most of Ritz’s assets to liquidation specialists Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC and Hilco Merchant Resources LLC, the high bidders at a Sept. 6 auction, court records show.

“The debtors received no bid to purchase substantially all of the debtors’ business and assets as a going concern,” and believes a sale to the liquidators “will result in the realization of the maximum amount possible,” Chief Restructuring Officer Marc Weinsweig said in a court filing.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/chi-ritz-camera-to-liquidate-after-94-years-20120910,0,5250806.story

Wilmington Trust Sold To M&T Bank

Image via Wikipedia

Yet another local bank is being gobbled up by a larger one.  Wilmington Trust has been purchased, at a very discounted rate, by M&T Bank after being bailed out in 2008 by the federal government.

Wilmington Trust made a profit every year from 1903 to 2008 when they lost their proverbial shirt on construction loans.

For those of you who like trivia, M&T Bank and First Niagara Bank are both Buffalo, NY based banks and have recently purchased Philadelphia area banks.

Once the sale goes through next summer, Wilmington Trust branches will be renamed and M&T Bank will become Delaware’s largest bank (deposits).