This week in Delaware: Our best local stories
Andrew Sharp
Opioids. Romance. Poverty. A bombshell rape charge. And much more: Here's a look back at the big local stories we covered this week.
Opioid statistics are alarming. The deaths are a gut punch.
Reporter Brittany Horn, who has been covering the opioid epidemic in Delaware, took a deep look at what it's like for families who lose a loved one to opioid addiction. She turned numbers into faces by telling the stories of those who died.
More:The deadliest year: Stories of people we lost to drug overdoses in 2018
It was the deadliest year yet for drug overdoses in Delaware. Horn looked at some of the appalling numbers and also what the state is doing about the crisis.
Amid efforts to remake Wilmington for a vibrant future, will some suffer?
Crime is down. Businesses are coming to the city. Leaders say Wilmington is on an exciting trajectory. Reporter Christina Jedra wrote about accusations from some that the changes are coming on the backs of the city's poor and vulnerable.
How a serious disease helped two people find love
On Valentine's Day — also National Donor Day — reporter Jessica Bies told the story of a couple who met because of a devastating diagnosis: cystic fibrosis.
More:A match made in pulmonary rehab: After double lung transplants, couple gets married
Their duty is to protect. This officer is accused of extortion and rape.
A Wilmington police officer pulled up and told the woman to get in the car, she later told police. Then, she said, he threatened her over a warrant for her arrest and demanded oral sex.
More:Wilmington police officer charged with rape
That same accused officer had been celebrated for his role in effective outreach to the community, reporter Adam Duvernay found.
Jessica Bies wrote about the questions that arise over how to report being sexually assaulted by someone in a position of power and trust.
Groundbreaking TV star remembers his roots in Delaware
Actor Zeeko Zaki went from playing bad guys to starring on the CBS series "FBI" as a Muslim FBI agent. Zaki grew up in Delaware, where his parents live and own a business, and he talked about his career and his memories of the state with The News Journal's Betsy Price.
More:Zeeko Zaki of 'FBI' recalls lunches at Purebread, crewing on Christina River in Wilmington
Few Delawareans make it in the NBA. This Milwaukee Bucks rookie is looking to change that.
Sports reporter Kevin Tresolini caught up with Donte DiVincenzo, the highest NBA draft pick in recent memory from Delaware, on how his rookie season is going.
More:Sidelined for now, Salesianum's DiVincenzo 'living the dream' in NBA
Working to save not just lives, but future families
Cancer treatment for children has made huge gains, but many survivors are often left infertile. Doctors are hoping they can help these children someday have a child, Meredith Newman reported.
More:More child cancer patients are preserving their fertility, hoping science will catch up
Competition for space on the beach causes bitterness
You can get a permit to drive a vehicle onto the beach to fish. Some, including beachfront homeowners and anglers, say revelers with no intention of fishing are using the permits as a loophole to park on the beach, Maddy Lauria reported.
More:Fake surf fishing turning Delaware's beaches into parking lots, critics say
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