Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies are required to take into account the effects of their undertakings on buildings, districts, and archaeological sites that are listed, or eligible for listing, in the National Register of Historic Places. Under Section 101 of the Act, SHPOs are responsible for consulting with the appropriate federal agencies regarding those undertakings. To meet this responsibility, the Delaware SHPO advises federal agencies on the presence or absence of historic properties in a project area, and on ways that adverse effects to historic properties may be avoided or mitigated.

Stimulus initiatives that will require SHPO review because of their potential impact on historic properties include a U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocation of $19.6 million for neighborhood stabilization projects in Delaware. The Delaware State Housing Authority plans to use this funding for the purchase and rehabilitation of residential properties for resale, rent, or redevelopment for low-, moderate-, or middle-income households. Similarly, the Federal Highway Administration and the Delaware Department of Transportation are working to identify transportation projects that could be funded under the stimulus program.

Although it anticipates a significant increase in workload as a result of these initiatives, SHPO is committed to the expeditious review of all cases to ensure that projects are undertaken in keeping with the economic intent of the stimulus plan.

The house, a National Register of Historic Places-listed property that once served as the home of noted 19th century illustrator Felix O. C. Darley, has been vacant since 2005 while HCA pursued, and received, a historic zoning overlay to enable adaptive reuse of the property. Current base-zoning allows only residential use of this former bed-and-breakfast facility.

The proposed change of use triggers a number of requirements under county code including the addition of an Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible (ADA) entry and restroom, paved parking area, storm water management, and landscape screening. In addition, HCA is planning to demolish a modern, historically non-contributing, structure at the building's rear to facilitate the ADA compliant entry.

Held in conjunction with "First Saturday in the First State," a monthly program sponsored by the First State Heritage Park at Dover, activities will take place at each of Museum Square's three facilities. Guests at the Johnson Victrola Museum will have an opportunity to experience the stirring band music of John Phillip Sousa played on vintage Victor talking machines. Visitors at the Museum of Small Town Life will learn about suffragettes of the early 1900s, while guests at the Delaware Archaeology Museum can participate in hands-on rug braiding.

In the second case, team members Dan Davis, Christine King, and Jack Wisniewski recently split and stacked almost five cords of wood for hearth cooking demonstrations in the Logg'd Dwelling at the John Dickinson Plantation. The firewood, recycled from trees on the property that had fallen as a result of a storm, will save HCA several hundred dollars over the cost of purchased firewood.