Rehoboth Beach is a great restaurant town. There are too many places to list here, but here's a run-down of what's new or almost new this summer:

*Aqua Grill (57 Baltimore Ave., 302-226-9001) has gotten a face lift under new ownership. Enjoy its light grill menu on the patio. The signature dish is a bacon bleu burger. Entrees: $7-$13.

*Claws Crab House, (167 Rehoboth Ave., 302-226-1729) is scheduled to open this summer as downtown Rehoboth's only crab house.

Despite otherwise dismal news in real estate, Realtors along the coastline say this year the options for last-minute vacationers are better than ever.

With new development throughout the beaches, Jack Lingo Realty Rental Manager Jo-Ann Bacher said many owners of investment properties are eager to rent.

"(Summer rentals are) shaping up really well," Bacher said. "Even at this late date there are still lots of properties to choose from."

There is work in progress to ensure the preservation of one of Delaware's most visited destinations.

Members of the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk Committee are close to recommending approval of an engineering contract that would pave the way for boardwalk improvements that could exceed $1 million.

After seeing how many areas of the upper boards were in need of replacement, City Commissioner Stan Mills, a member of the Boardwalk Committee, said he thought the substructure should also be examined.

Beracah Homes, Inc. announced Monday that Bay to Beach Builders of Greenwood has taken delivery of its 100th home. Bay to Beach is the highest producing Preferred Builder for Beracah, with a 20 home per year average. Bay to Beach’s 100th home is a unique blend of modular manufacturing and structural engineering, as the home will reside in a critical wind area in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

On the day of their 5-year anniversary, Beracah Homes of Greenwood delivered Deric Parker of Bay to Beach Builders his 100th home. A Preferred Builder since Beracah Home’s first production run on April 7th 2003, Bay to Beach primarily completes new residential construction, but the company has recently ventured into commercial projects. Using Beracah’s assembly line system of stick built construction, Bay to Beach was recently rewarded the contract to build the new Cheer Center in Greenwood.

Every summer Rehoboth Beach and the Cape Region are flooded with young international students, 1,500 in Rehoboth Beach alone, who come to study and work in the United States.

The International Student Outreach Program (ISOP), a nonprofit organization made up of volunteers from local churches and state and federal government agencies, attempts to help foreign students adjust to life here in the United States.

By reading the news these days one would think the state of the U.S. housing market is about as depressing as The Cure’s “Disintegration” album.

However, those in the Rehoboth Beach rental market aren’t feeling quite as gloomy. With the cost of flights and gas getting higher by the minute, more people are renting short-term properties that enable them to have a good time without raiding their children’s trust funds.

Anyone spending the day this summer in Rehoboth Beach will not have to fish eight quarters from their pockets to pay for an hour of parking in the city's most sought after spaces.

After vocal opposition from property and business owners about a proposal to double the rate for some parking meters - taking them from $1 an hour to $2 - city officials have opted for compromise.

The new meter rate structure, which takes effect the Friday before Memorial Day, creates three parking tiers among prime spaces -- those on Rehoboth Avenue and the ocean blocks -- costing $1.50 an hour.

As the outlying communities of Delaware's beach resorts continue expanding, two major food retailers are putting locations into one area that currently has very limited choices.

Giant Food Inc. and Harris Teeter Inc. are opening new supermarkets this May on the eastbound side of Route 24 near Long Neck.

The new supermarkets will bring more jobs to the area, as well as more shopping options for residents. Currently, the only choice for groceries, without going to Millsboro or the Rehoboth Beach area, is a Food Lion.

Sussex County government is launching a recycling program using the state's new solid-waste system.

County offices will be using a new public recycling station at the county's west administrative complex on U.S. 113 in Georgetown.

The move will save the county landfill fees. Last year, it spent $1,900 to deposit its garbage at the landfill.

Officials estimate about three-quarters of the county's garbage -- including office paper, cardboard boxes, bottles and cans -- is recyclable under the state's new policy, which no longer requires residents to sort material by type.

Rehoboth Beach commissioners have voted to spend $1.4 million for a boardwalk renovation project.

Work to replace cracked wooden boards and other improvements is expected to begin in November.

Rehoboth officials and engineers were expected to discuss Wednesday how much weight the boardwalk can hold. They hope garbage trucks and other heavy vehicles will be able to drive on it.

Plans call for renovations to a three-block section of the boardwalk from Rehoboth Avenue to Laurel Street. It would be the first phase of a project that could eventually encompass several aging sections.