Bill Fasy, the president of Delaware Park, added another page to the debate over adding new casinos to Delaware on Saturday with a realistic op-ed arguing that the market will not support new casinos. Pointing out problems in the study conducted by New Orleans-based TMG Consulting stipulating that adding new casinos to Delaware would increase the state market by 33%, he warns readers of the damage already done to the gaming market by the faltering economy and of the risk of saturation. "The governor and General Assembly know that [current casino operators like Delaware Park] have provided substantial revenue to the state and employment to thousands of citizens."
Perhaps ignoring the writing on the walls, the Town Council in Delmar, located on the Southern Delaware/Maryland border, approved an amendment to the zoning code to allow for the construction of a casino complex along Route 13. The mayor, John Outten, sympathizes with concerns about gambling addiction, but believes that the benefit in jobs will be worth the potential social cost. However, if Fasy is to be believed, there will not be many jobs, and they will come at the cost of layoffs at other Delaware casinos.
An apology for slavery is on the table for debate at the Delaware General Assembly. My representative, Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins, is willing to debate the issue. "I can't imagine who would vote against something like that [. . .] I guess the question is if people want to take time to debate it."
Monday, March 8, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Unemployment insurance in Delaware has gone paperless. Since instituting an online system for Delawareans to file online unemployment insurance claims, the Department of Labor is reporting steady transferrence of claimants from the claims line to the internet. Nate Sharp, director of business development for New Castle IT firm Diamond Technologies, Inc., which collaborated with the DoL to create the new system, cites instances of iPhone users claiming their unemployment insurance, in a moment of subtle irony.
In criminal news, an armed robbery took place at my local Shell station at 5821 Limestone Road. Police are investigating Sunday night's 9:13 PM robbery, and are asking for tips on the two armed men who drove north on Limestone Road in a gray sedan. Police arrested 35-year-old Syreeta Martin for repeatedly stabbing a 22-year-old woman in front of witnesses late-night Sunday in the 2600 block of N. Heald Street. She is being held at Baylor Women's Correctional institution.
Ron Williams has penned an interesting article remarking on Delaware carpetbaggers. It seems Pennsylvanian Tom Wedo is eyeing a run at Delaware's junior Senate seat in 2014, after having started a political action committee to build a rapport with Delaware Republicans. He would join a number of alien figures becoming involved in Delaware politics, and Williams shows his chagrin by having a laugh about candidates like Richard Korn and Rose Rizzo that were brought in by Democrats and Republicans to "run for office before anyone can even spell their name[s]." Great to hear some subtle, good-old-fashioned (Southern-Delaware) xenophobia every now and then.
Perhaps best for Delaware, however, is the rumblings about New Castle County's Ron Morris perhaps joining the state Department of Finance as a consultant. Morris, with a reputation for getting tough on unpaid taxes, would be a welcome addition to the DoF and would certainly help maintain Delaware's track record as one of the top state revenue agencies in the United States.
Williams also revealed to ignoramuses like myself one of the ways in which Governor Markell attempted to take in revenue last year for this year's budget shortfall--cutting health benefits for the spouses of state employees. AFSCME and the Delaware State Education Association stepped in and quashed that business however, and this year, the compromise is being approached to cut the benefits for spouses of new, rather than existing, state employees. And I thought I voted Democratic so that college graduates like myself, especially college graduates seeking to go into public service, would be better-off.
In criminal news, an armed robbery took place at my local Shell station at 5821 Limestone Road. Police are investigating Sunday night's 9:13 PM robbery, and are asking for tips on the two armed men who drove north on Limestone Road in a gray sedan. Police arrested 35-year-old Syreeta Martin for repeatedly stabbing a 22-year-old woman in front of witnesses late-night Sunday in the 2600 block of N. Heald Street. She is being held at Baylor Women's Correctional institution.
Ron Williams has penned an interesting article remarking on Delaware carpetbaggers. It seems Pennsylvanian Tom Wedo is eyeing a run at Delaware's junior Senate seat in 2014, after having started a political action committee to build a rapport with Delaware Republicans. He would join a number of alien figures becoming involved in Delaware politics, and Williams shows his chagrin by having a laugh about candidates like Richard Korn and Rose Rizzo that were brought in by Democrats and Republicans to "run for office before anyone can even spell their name[s]." Great to hear some subtle, good-old-fashioned (Southern-Delaware) xenophobia every now and then.
Perhaps best for Delaware, however, is the rumblings about New Castle County's Ron Morris perhaps joining the state Department of Finance as a consultant. Morris, with a reputation for getting tough on unpaid taxes, would be a welcome addition to the DoF and would certainly help maintain Delaware's track record as one of the top state revenue agencies in the United States.
Williams also revealed to ignoramuses like myself one of the ways in which Governor Markell attempted to take in revenue last year for this year's budget shortfall--cutting health benefits for the spouses of state employees. AFSCME and the Delaware State Education Association stepped in and quashed that business however, and this year, the compromise is being approached to cut the benefits for spouses of new, rather than existing, state employees. And I thought I voted Democratic so that college graduates like myself, especially college graduates seeking to go into public service, would be better-off.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Good Morning New Castle
At the top of local news today, of course, is the incoming snowstorm projected for Thursday.
All day Thursday.
This will make it, by my count, the fourth major snow event of this winter. DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks calls this season "a complete abnormality." The agency reportedly spent $7.8 million between February 7 and 12 during our last bout with the cold 'n' fluffy, all of which surpassed this fiscal year's planned budget. To close the gap, the agency plans to cut employee hours at the Smyrna Rest Area on Del. 1/US 13, as well as at the EZPass customer service center. And with that, the value of a high-school degree takes another small blow, and this is not to mention the allegation that workers who cleared all the snow were underpaid due to underestimated snowfall.
February 17 was the most violent day in Wilmington so far this year, with two shootings and one fatal stabbing. Police arrested a 30-year-old man that day for the stabbing of 30-year-old Davelle Neal on the 300 block of E. Seventh Street during Wednesday's early hours, but had not charged him as of Thursday. Read the comments for Terry Sanginiti's article for jaded comments and remarks, oozing with ignorance, that shake their heads at Wilmingtonians that shoot one another in the midst of all the opportunities thrown at them.
All day Thursday.
This will make it, by my count, the fourth major snow event of this winter. DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks calls this season "a complete abnormality." The agency reportedly spent $7.8 million between February 7 and 12 during our last bout with the cold 'n' fluffy, all of which surpassed this fiscal year's planned budget. To close the gap, the agency plans to cut employee hours at the Smyrna Rest Area on Del. 1/US 13, as well as at the EZPass customer service center. And with that, the value of a high-school degree takes another small blow, and this is not to mention the allegation that workers who cleared all the snow were underpaid due to underestimated snowfall.
February 17 was the most violent day in Wilmington so far this year, with two shootings and one fatal stabbing. Police arrested a 30-year-old man that day for the stabbing of 30-year-old Davelle Neal on the 300 block of E. Seventh Street during Wednesday's early hours, but had not charged him as of Thursday. Read the comments for Terry Sanginiti's article for jaded comments and remarks, oozing with ignorance, that shake their heads at Wilmingtonians that shoot one another in the midst of all the opportunities thrown at them.
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