When a Harbeson resident called the Cape Gazette a few months back to tell us a neighbor was operating an auto-repair business in a residential neighborhood, it sounded like an example of a persistent problem in Sussex County: code enforcement is complaint-driven, yet many residents find their complaints do not result in enforcement.
Reporter Melissa Steele undertook numerous interviews to tell this story, from the people who were complaining about the garage to the owner of the garage and county officials. She reviewed county documents, court documents and a court opinion.
The story that unfolded has also been captured in the Cape Gazette video "Neighbors vs. Williams' Garage" by videographer Rob Waters, and the story and video together have become the most viewed story ever on CapeGazette.com.
The Cape Gazette strives to bring to light local issues that affect all of us, giving all parties a voice so many sides of an issue can be heard. Since this story and video has been printed and posted to our website, it's been seen by 877,000 people and counting on YouTube and more than 155,000 people worldwide on the Cape Gazette website.
This story clearly has struck a nerve, sparking a torrent of comments from neighbors and area residents as well as people all over the world. The Cape Gazette welcomes the many, many voices who have commented on our story.
What we do not welcome – and will not tolerate – are comments that personally attack anyone. Our website will not be a platform for name calling or degrading comments. Comments that use foul language or demean people do not contribute to solving problems; instead they needlessly divide us more. Such comments will be removed, and those who persist in trying to post unkind comments will be banned from our site.
Cape Gazette stories strive to reveal the issues our Cape Region faces, not to divide us but to promote lively, productive discussion, find compromises and perhaps reach resolution.
That is the essential role this news organization intends to play as we work to build an ever stronger, better and more caring community.
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Editorials are considered and written by Cape Gazette Editorial Board members, including Publisher Chris Rausch, Editor Jen Ellingsworth, News Editor Nick Roth and reporters Ron MacArthur and Chris Flood.
