Chris Mele

Jan 13, 2025 | delawarecurrents.org | Chris Mele

Welcome precipitation has restored New York State ground and surface water levels to normal, allowing it to roll back advisories about worsening drought conditions that were issued in November. However, New York is the only state in the four-state Delaware River watershed to enjoy such a status, as Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware still contend with various drought conditions. The news about New York State, as well as New York City, came on Jan. 3.

Jan 6, 2025 | forbes.com | Chris Mele

Chris Mele is the managing partner of Software Pricing Partners. In times of crisis, some of the worst parts of our human nature can surface—and raise prices sky-high in the hopes of capturing more revenue. During the Covid-19 pandemic, for instance, some Amazon sellers price gouged hand sanitizer (and New York Attorney General Letitia James fined three). Just before Hurricane Milton hit, over 200 complaints about price gouging had been submitted to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.

Dec 9, 2024 | delawarecurrents.org | Chris Mele

An underwater exploration of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River revealed at least two sunken relics from bygone days: the 19th century remnants of a dam and bridge footings. The findings are not exactly pirate’s booty or of legendary shipwrecks carrying gold bullion but they do spotlight pieces of history under the water’s surface in the Upper Delaware and were a good demonstration of the technology used to find them.

Nov 21, 2024 | delawarecurrents.org | Chris Mele

Faced with “imminent collapse” and dire deteriorating conditions, the Skinners Falls Bridge, which connects Pennsylvania and New York in the Upper Delaware River, will be dismantled and pieces of it stored for possible future reuse, officials said. The announcement came as officials described at an online public meeting last week how parts of the bridge, including pieces of its railing and cross bracings, have come loose and fallen into the Delaware River.

Nov 19, 2024 | delawarecurrents.org | Chris Mele

Though welcome rain is in the forecast for the parched Delaware River basin, it will make only a tiny dent in the drought conditions that have persisted in the four-state watershed. The entire region is dealing with the driest two-month period on record (September-October), according to Ben Gelber, an expert on the weather in the Poconos in Pennsylvania and an Ohio television meteorologist.