State police are investigating a Wednesday afternoon crash that took the life of a 17 year-old Seaford male, on Lewes-Georgetown Highway, east of Route 5, near Harbeson.

A minor earthquake occurred near Pennsville, N.J., at 9:44 a.m., on Wednesday, (July 1), according to the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) at the University of Delaware. The earthquake had a magnitude of 2.8.

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On Tuesday night, the Delaware State Senate passed the three remaining bills on what Lt. Gov. Matt Denn called his “Kids Agenda” for 2009, meaning that all five of the bills on the agenda were passed by the General Assembly.

A 70-year-old Bridgeville man was arrested after throwing a knife inside the Kent County Courthouse on June 25, lacerating the hand of a 5-year-old child.

Following a June 16 Superior Court ruling, which upheld Allison Lamont Norman's conviction but overturned his death sentence, Delaware justice department officials said they will not pursue the death penalty again. Norman's sentence, for the 2005 shooting rampage which left two people dead and four wounded, will likely be life without the possibility of parole, authorities said.

After reporting out of a House committee, a bill which would have repealed Delaware's mandatory minimum drug-sentencing laws did not come up for a vote, though House officials said the bill could still see a vote in the second half of the 145th General Assembly.

The General Assembly passed a bill late last night which will increase Delaware state fees for alcohol vendors, but rejected a proposal to increase taxes in individual sales.

In the wee hours of the morning on July 1, Gov. Jack Markell signed Delaware’s 2010 budget into law, after the General Assembly spent upwards of 12 hours sorting out the $3 billion spending plan.

A public hearing will take place July 10 at 9 a.m. before the Milton Town Council, as they consider the possibility of firing Police Chief William Phillips. A private investigation yielded what town officials said were 17 possible reasons for termination, including allegedly carrying an unauthorized weapon and failure to report the use of force and removal of evidence in an incident involving the use of a taser.

The Republican leader in the Delaware House of Representatives said Monday afternoon that the chamber will likely vote this evening on a compromise package of tax increases that could set the stage for the passage tomorrow of the state’s 2010 budget.

Emergency personnel are responding to a crash along Shortly Road, just south of King Road, in Georgetown. A 55-year-old male involved in the crash was feeling dizzy afterward, officials said.

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The Sussex County Democratic Committee will hold town hall meetings on July 1 and 7 to discuss a special election, which will be held to fill the seat left vacant after the passing of Senate President Pro Tem Thurman Adams last week. The meetings will take place at the Greenwood CHEER Center.

Police are continuing to investigate and seek leads in the abduction of 5-year-old Zion Duprey, of Lincoln, allegedly at the hands of the boy's father, 30-year-old Angel Duprey, of Philadelphia.

Delaware State Police are requesting the public’s assistance to identify a suspect in the June 27 burglary of the Jolly Roger Restaurant, on Hickman Road in Ocean View.

The Delaware state work force will be trimmed, through attrition, by more than 500 workers in the upcoming fiscal year as the result of a deal between the Markell administration and House Republicans.