DL Open Thread: Wednesday, April 1, 2026
ChristianaCare Aims To Expand Expand Expand:
ChristianaCare announced Monday it is building a new $75 million inpatient rehabilitation facility for patients in need of physical, speech and occupational therapy near its Newark hospital.
Monday’s announcement comes as part of the hospital’s $865 million investment into health facilities across the state, and more than a month and a half after announcing a new $65 million campus in Georgetown.
Last month, the health care giant announced it aims to open a new $65 million campus in Georgetown. Months before that, it said it was building a health center dedicated to treating cancer in Middletown.
In Delaware, the prospect of an out-of-state merger was met with skepticism from Gov. Matt Meyer, who challenged the move when asked about it at a press conference in July.
“I think when any medical practice in Delaware, and especially nonprofit hospitals, get some positive return from serving Delawareans’ health, that money should be reinvested in Delaware, not in another state,” Meyer said.
If I remember correctly, there used to be a ‘certification of need’ program in Delaware to determine whether such expansions were necessary. Pretty sure that Jack Markell deep-sixed that program.
So. Are these expansions necessary and/or warranted? Matt Meyer is literally in bed with one of ChristianaCare’s primary advocates. Is there someone with expertise in the field who can respond? Someone impartial, I mean?
Good Courts/Bad Courts. Quite the day in jurisprudence.
Good Courts:
Trump Acted Illegally On Homeless Grants. Hey, they’re homeless. Trump will make sure they can’t vote.
Trump Illegally Destroyed The East Wing. In his defense, when has he ever sought permits before going ahead with destruction? Gotta say, though, this was truly insane.
Trump Illegally Cut Funds For Public Media. By now, of course, much of the damage may be irreversible.
Bad Courts:
‘Show Us Your Jews’. Hitler would approve.
How Trump’s War Has Impacted The World In Ways Both Great And Small. BTW, one reason why the NYTimes is thriving is due to their creative displays of the news. As in this piece. Check it out.
In related news, Bondi Dropped 23,000 Cases Because Of War Against Immigrants:
In the first days after Pam Bondi was appointed attorney general last year, the Department of Justice began shutting down pending criminal cases at a record pace.
The cases included an investigation into a Virginia nursing home with a recent record of patient abuse; probes of fraud involving several New Jersey labor unions, including one opened after a top official of a national union was accused of embezzlement; and an investigation into a cryptocurrency company suspected of cheating investors.
In total, the DOJ quietly closed more than 23,000 criminal cases in the first six months of President Donald Trump’s administration, abandoning hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases, according to an analysis by ProPublica.
In February 2025 alone, which included the first weeks of Bondi’s tenure, nearly 11,000 cases were declined, the most in a month since at least 2004. The previous high was just over 6,500 cases in September 2019, during Trump’s first administration.
Some of the cases shut down were the result of yearslong investigations by federal agencies such as the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration. For complex cases, the DOJ can take years before deciding whether to bring charges.
The shift comes as the DOJ has undergone an extraordinary overhaul under the Trump administration, with entire units shuttered, directives to abandon pursuit of certain crimes and thousands of lawyers quitting or, in some cases, being forced out of the agency.
In doing so, the DOJ is retreating from its mission to impartially uphold the rule of law, keep the country safe and protect civil rights, according to interviews with a dozen prosecutors and an open letter from nearly 300 DOJ employees who have left the department under Trump. The Trump DOJ, the employees wrote, is “taking a sledgehammer” to long-standing work to “protect communities and the rule of law.”
In fairness, I’m sure many of these no-longer-under-investigation ne’er-do-wells will ante up for Trump’s magnificent Library Without Books, coming eventually to Miami.
Trump To Declare Victory And To Leave It To Others To Clean Up His Mess? He’s on TV tonight. I won’t be watching. You know, anger management issues.
President Trump is set to address the nation on the Iran war at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday night, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying he would be providing “an important update,” without providing further details.
On Tuesday, Trump said he expected the conflict to be over in two to three weeks, adding, “we’ll be leaving very soon,” and promising gas prices would then “come tumbling down.”
Trump shrugged off what would happen to the blockaded Strait of Hormuz – which has cut off one fifth of the world’s oil supply – saying, “we’re not going to have anything to do with it.” He said that it wouldn’t affect the U.S. and would be something for other countries to deal with.
“They’ll be able to fend for themselves,” he said, having previously told European allies who have refused to enter the war to “go get your own oil!”
The assertion to wrap up the war quickly comes just days after Trump threatened to up the ante if there was no deal and Tehran didn’t reopen the strait. He said he could seize Iran’s oil and blow up all of their Electric Generating Plants and desalinization plants. He also said he was considering an invasion of Iran’s key oil export terminal, Kharg Island.
Sounds like he’s beating a hasty retreat. What will be his next attempted diversion from the Epstein Files? Betcha we won’t have to wait long. Cuba’s looking attractive…
Hegseth Carries Kid Rock’s Water:
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said the crews of two US army AH-64 Apache helicopters that hovered next to the singer Kid Rock’s swimming pool while he clapped and saluted on Saturday are no longer suspended.
“No punishment. No investigation,” Hegseth wrote on social media. “Carry on, patriots.”
Are they available for birthday parties? I know they’re not available for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. You know, Because Jews have no place in Hegseth’s Army Of Christian Soldiers. Which reminds me–a few days back, I asked if anyone knew who wrote the music to ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’. Nobody responded. Turns out it was Sir Arthur Sullivan of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. I didn’t know, either.
What do you want to talk about?
Delaware still has CON laws that are regulated by the Health Resources Board. They did clear this CC project late last year, but will scrutinize its Georgetown project next month.
Notably, GOP has a bill in again this year to kill the CON process and Meyer supports CON reform
Thanks. So, do both the cancer and rehab proposals still have to be considered by the Health Resources Board?
Also, what kind of ‘reform’ does Meyer favor?
Have to check on the MOT cancer center, but the HRB cleared the rehab facility.
Meyer hasn’t been clear whether he wants to see CON pared back, as a Democratic bill aims to do this year by cutting some cases where approval is needed, or dissolution of the HRB altogether
Said in his SOTS that Certificate of Need laws “needed to be reformed” to help boost health care investment in Delaware
Thanks. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it, that Spotlight Delaware is absolutely indispensable.
You cover the important stuff. Thank you.
I left this and a bit more info as a tip because I’m not sure a comment with links will get through. But just in case, here is a message I received today through a private channel about a meeting to take place in just a few minutes:
Mayor and City Council Finance committee are meeting tonight at 4:30PM. https://www.wilmingtoncitycouncil.com/event/fed-committee-budget-hearing-mayors-office-city-council/
We are looking to get loud and demand $10 million be allocated for homelessness: unrestrictive shelter, transitional housing, avenues into permanent housing, and more. Mayor announced a $20 million budget around “housing” that is all just gonna pad the wallets of developers with no guarantee those structures will ever see anybody moving in. We also gonna raise hell about whatever evil they decide to do today [in Christina Park, there was a threat of removing personal belongings and arresting people who did not comply].
If you can show up to give public comment in person please do. If you can attend the Zoom call and give public comment, please do.
Address here:
Louis L. Redding City/County Building
800 N. French Street Wilmington, DE 19801
Its gonna be in the big council chambers.
Zoom link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88679937525
Great tip. Lots of good speakers and a free “f-carney” to boot.
I’d like to see more regarding these tents that people in the park are being forced to use. No way they spent 100k on those. Should have sent Cerron down to REI for a five-finger discount on some better tents
Health care in Sussex is a $hit show. Not enough providers for anything, except physical therapy. Want or need anything else, you are going to wait months. My primary care provider in the Beebe network bailed. Only replacement offered was a Nurse Practitioner. That also came with a 6 month wait. This is the side of unregulated growth that is never talked about. Never mind the traffic, sewer, water, ect.
Francisca Moreno is running for State Treasurer. They were Nick Beard’s campaign manager last cycle and already have Madinah Wilson Anton’s and Sophie Phillips’s endorsements.