The DRBC and its River Basin Commission partners are hosting a free, public webinar on Data Centers: What About Water? on April 16, 2026, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. The webinar will explore how water factors into the rise of data centers, why it matters for our communities and shared resources and the role of interstate River Basin Commissions. Learn more and register at https://www.nj.gov/drbc/programs/supply/datacenters.html#webinar.
DRBC Sr. Chemist/Toxicologist Dr. Jeremy Conkle will be one of the presenters at an upcoming webinar hosted by the New Jersey Section of the American Water Resources Association (NJ-AWRA). The April 23, 2026, webinar will take place from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will focus on PFAS: Toxicology, Data Collection and Treatment. Conkle’s presentation is entitled “Twenty years of PFAS data in the Delaware River Basin: Just scratching the surfactant.” Learn more and register at https://njawra.org/event-6626649.
Electric scooters and electric bikes have flooded into Gloucester City and surrounding towns, and the results are becoming harder to ignore. What began as a convenient way to get around has quickly turned into a safety problem for anyone who uses our sidewalks, jogging paths, or neighborhood streets responsibly.
The danger isn’t theoretical. On my daily walks with Sweetie, I’ve had kids on these motorized bikes come up behind us without a sound. These machines make no noise, so you can’t hear them approaching until they’re already on top of you. More than once, a rider has blown past us at high speed, leaving no time to react. In one instance, a teenager on an e‑bike came straight at the dog and me, expecting us to move aside. I was forced to step off the path or be hit. That’s not “sharing the road”—that’s intimidation.
Delaware’s upcoming spring turkey hunting season will run from April 10 through May 11 this year, with a special two-day youth and non-ambulatory hunt Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 starting the season, DNREC announced. Hunters who have a permit for Segment D will get an additional day (Sunday, May 11) to hunt this season following a recent regulatory change to turkey season dates.
DNREC will offer youth fishing opportunities in each county in early April commemorating and celebrating Earth Month. The angling outings are to be put on by educators from DNREC’s Aquatic Resources Education Center through the Take A Kid Fishing! program. One youth fishing event will be offered in each county during the first full week of April to coincide with many schools’ annual spring break.
The DuPont Nature Center at the Mispillion Harbor Reserve welcomes visitors for the 2026 season when it reopens Wednesday, April 1. The DNREC facility, managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays in April, adding Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from May through August.
DNREC is set to begin the annual spring spraying of woodland pools to control aquatic immature (larval) mosquitoes as soon as Friday, March 20 – with the spring spray campaign carrying on as late as mid-April, weather permitting. Targeting larval mosquitoes limits the emergence of biting adult mosquitoes later in the spring coming from these habitats.
Dover Motor Speedway’s Fan Zone, consistently recognized as NASCAR’s best, will once again be packed with free entertainment, interactive attractions and family-friendly fun during the 2026 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend. Open throughout the weekend, the Fan Zone will be buzzing with live performances, roaming entertainers, hands-on activities and larger-than-life photo opportunities designed to keep the energy high from gates open to the checkered flag on Sunday. From over-the-top attractions to unexpected surprises around every corner, the Fan Zone adds another layer of excitement to an already unforgettable race weekend, with even more entertainment still to be announced. “Hosting the NASCAR All-Star Race is an honor, and we’re thrilled to welcome the sport’s biggest stars and our loyal fans back to Dover,” said Mike Tatoian, President of Dover Motor Speedway. “With race weekend just 62 days away, the countdown is officially on.
A controlled burn is planned for Brandywine Creek State Park in March to help clear meadows to encourage the growth of native wildflowers and seasonal grasses and to create habitat for grassland birds and pollinators.
JEER — To the landlord who treated East Thompson Avenue like a dumping ground
A landlord on East Thompson Avenue left an unsightly pile of trash at the curb six days before the scheduled pickup — a heap that sat there blowing around the neighborhood like a slow‑motion insult. Just a few steps away on South Burdsall Avenue, another pile of recyclables was dumped directly in the street instead of being placed in a proper recycling bin.
Gloucester City’s trash ordinances couldn’t be clearer: household waste and recyclables must be placed at the curb no earlier than 7 PM the night before pickup, and only in secure, watertight containers. The rules also spell out weight limits, container‑cover requirements, and fines that can reach $2,000 for repeat offenders. These aren’t suggestions — they’re laws meant to keep neighborhoods clean, safe, and livable.
WHY IT MATTERS
Community pride begins at home. When someone leaves trash out for nearly a week, it doesn’t just create an eyesore — it chips away at the dignity of the block. It tells your neighbors their street isn’t worth respecting. It invites rodents, scatters debris, and sends the message that Gloucester City is a place where standards don’t matter.
And here’s the real frustration: the City already has ordinances on the books to prevent exactly this kind of behavior. If those laws aren’t going to be enforced, then what’s the point of having them? Residents who follow the rules shouldn’t have to live with the consequences of those who don’t.
Cleary’s Notebook News photos
CHEER-To the Gloucester City Lions Club and the Gloucester Little League organization for replacing the torn American Flag and the POW Flag at the LL field and at the Johnson Blvd Jogging Park. Kudos also to Bruce Parry for his help.
As Delaware’s landscape changes from winter dormancy to vibrant spring growth, local arborists are urging homeowners to start pruning their trees now. In the next four to six weeks, you can shape and strengthen trees like never before. This is one of the best times of year to do it before the heavy leaf canopy grows and the risk of bad weather rises.
Strobert Tree Services, a Wilmington-based company with 25 years of experience serving Delaware and Southeast Pennsylvania, reports a noticeable uptick in pruning consultations this month. Their team of arborists has been busy evaluating properties from Newark to Middletown and across the Pennsylvania line, helping residents understand which cuts will improve tree health and structural integrity for the year ahead.
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