Affordable Housing 101

Workforce housing built brand new as a developer boondoggle or good old available housing stock in the big city (link)?

WILMINGTON -- In today's housing market, it might come as a shock to realize you can still buy a house in the city for $18,000.
Of course, houses that cost less than cars often come with their share of caveats, but it surely can't hurt to check things out. That's what city officials and the New Castle County Board of Realtors hope lots of shoppers will do Sunday at the Citywide Open House, a showcase to hype the hundreds of available city properties.
While there's no guarantee all available homes will be open for tours, local Realtors are encouraged to participate and give a chance to show off the city's solid affordability factor. In 2008, more than 800 homes in the city were sold, ranging from $18,000 to a cool $1.2 million. The average sale price is $202,000, the city says.

Since the county fathers are so gung-ho on abetting development of virgin farmland for their 'workforce housing' maybe some of the good tax paying countians can convince them that there is plenty of affordable housing for the people of New Castle County without tax dollars going into the business of creating more of it.
Maybe Paul Clark and Chris Coons can swing by the tour tomorrow and make an assessment.
Penrose Hollins, who brought the new affordable housing ordinances to the table, won't be surprised by what I am suggesting here. I was at the meeting (with Pam Scott sitting on the other side of the New Castle County Council's committee room table, as usual) when Penrose finally balked at yet another developer give-away being foisted on his ordinance.
Yup.
Take a close look, folks, before you vote for Clark. See whose interests he and his spouse et al are really representing. Hint: it ain't you.

Good On DuPont And Good Luck With Biofuels Resolution

DuPont steps up to solve biofuels dilemma (link)

DuPont and Genencor, a New York-based biotechnology company that's a division of Denmark's Danisco, said Wednesday they will partner to develop and commercialize technology for the production of cellulosic ethanol.

Meanwhile, support for dirty coal is waning (link):

So it was with no small dose of irony that Schuylkill County leaders recently offered a proposal that would have seemed unthinkable when coal was still king: converting the county courthouse and prison from homegrown anthracite to -- gasp -- natural gas heat.

as insulting as that might be to some people:

Brian Rich, a member of Schuylkill County's most prominent coal family, called the proposal "insulting" and "the saddest idea ever to originate from Schuylkill County government" in a recent letter to the editor of the Republican & Herald in Pottsville.
"It's emotional for me," Rich, whose family has been in mining for a century, said. "I have a terrific pride in this industry and the people in it."

More On Race Horses

Jack Ireland quotes Graham Motion today (link):

"You can never prepare yourself for something like that. A day doesn't go by that I don't still think about him. People have to realize that we are all in this game because we love horses. If you get into it just for money, you're in the wrong business."

I wonder what Jones will have to say for himself

Jones will be part of a roundtable discussion that will examine Eight Belles' death and the challenges that lie ahead for the horse racing industry, as part of the two-hour Preakness broadcast starting today at 4:30 p.m. on NBC-TV.
Bob Costas will lead the discussion, which also will include former jockey Gary Stevens, Churchill Downs veterinarian Larry Bramlage, Alex Waldrop, CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and New York Times columnist William Rhoden.

Glad to see a tangible focus

TCA starts Eight Belles Fund
Thoroughbred Charities of America has started the Eight Belles Memorial Fund to benefit the retraining of thoroughbreds for secondary careers and help fund research into catastrophic breakdowns.
TCA executive director Liz Harris said many donations have come from cashed tickets on Eight Belles' second-place finish in the Derby. For more information or to make a donation, call (859) 312-5531 or visit www.thoroughbredcharities.org.

All I can say is that in my ten years running horses and wininng, winning, winning at Monmouth Park, Atlantic City, The Meadownlands, Belmont, Aqueduct, Penn National, Philly Park, Delaware Park, Pimilco, Laurel and Timonium, Gene Weymouth never had to put a horse down and no horse I have ever raced even got seriously hurt.
Whatever is going on here needs to be addressed.
~~~~!
I got a lot of hate on this WNJ horse racing thread (link) ouch!

Grapevine's Guide Through Dover-speak

Celia Cohen has a funny up about Leg Hall Lingo :-)
Some faves:

"Count the votes." Assembling the support to reach a majority of 11 votes in the 21-member Senate or 21 votes in the 41-member House. It is a basic skill, but harder than it sounds. Legislators whose bills fail are likely to hear someone say, "Whassamatter? Didn't they count the votes?" Lawmakers who do not count the votes are regarded as negligent, lazy or gullible and deserving of the scorn they get.

Desk drawer. The place where bills go to die in the Senate. Committee chairs who are so opposed to legislation that they will not even let it go to the full Senate for consideration, no matter how many votes there are for it, are said to lock it in their desk drawer. The most legendary desk drawer belonged to the late Jim Vaughn Sr., a former Marine, state trooper and prison commissioner who could not be intimidated, shamed, browbeaten or bamboozled into letting democracy have its way.

"Make your bones." Do your first deal. Do it or be discounted.

Player. A term of admiration for Leg Hall insiders with the nerves, wit, skills and timing to put them in the center of action. No one does it better than Nancy Cook, the senator who co-chairs the Joint Finance Committee. For the federal government to do what she does alone, it needs the CIA.

Wired. When a bill is guaranteed to pass, no matter how controversial it is, it is wired. Ever see what happens to pay-and-pension packages for legislators?

Your word. Keeping it is the gold standard of legislating. People who can do a deal, count the votes and keep their word are players.

But far funnier, Cohen also drops a quote from Tom Carper salivating over the prospect of being asked to be chosen as the presidential running mate in '08:

Carper: "Yes. Sign me up. I've been kidding people for years. The hours are better. The wages are just as good. Whoever heard of a vice president getting shot at? And it's a great opportunity to travel. And actually, since time has gone by, the job is robust. So, sure. Anybody here would, if they're going to be honest. The chances are slim to none, but I promise you, I would deliver all three of Delaware's electoral votes."

The Great Senate FCC Smackdown

Finally, this big boat begins to right as the pro-democracy forces in the senate out-lawed the horribly anti-democratic FCC ruling favoring monopoly over media ownership, the fourth estate and all (link).
The Senate Stands Up Against Big Media !! Free the press !!

Thursday night, the Senate cast a near-unanimous vote to reverse the Federal Communication Commission's December 2007 decision to let media companies own both a major TV or radio station and a major daily newspaper in the same city.Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who introduced the rarely used "resolution of disapproval," said last night that "the FCC is supposed to be a referee for the media industry, but instead they've been cheerleaders in favor of more consolidation. ... We already have too much concentration in the media."

HERE is what you can do next to keep the momentum going.
What will Mike Castle do about this?
Write and call Castle and ask him to FREE the PRESS~!
(h/t Jay Ackroyd)

Agenda Set For Civic League Meeting

Civic League For New Castle County
Coming Next Week - Watch for It

You’ll find three attention grabbing articles in the May issue of County Comments – reaching you next week – but viewable online now at civicleagueforncc.org.

#1 County Council is quietly mulling over a proposal for TIF’s – Tax incremental Financing. Selected housing project developers would be advanced money to pay for infrastructure including streets, sewers, etc. Taxes from new residences would pay back the funds advanced, and if insufficient, all taxpayers would make up the shortfall. Experience elsewhere is disappointing.

#2 Succeed or fail, costs of Delmarva Power/Bluewater Wind debate must be paid by someone and taxpayers are being craftily eyed by state legislators as good prospects.

#3. Should the homeowners Yard Waste Ban - temporarily lifted due to recent storm damage – be simply repealed in light of new calculations indicating only minimal impact on Cherry Island Landfill capacity.

These items will be on the agenda for the Civic League for New Castle County meeting, Tuesday May 27, 7 pm at the Paul Sweeney Public Safety Building, 3601 North DuPont Highway.

Roselle To Take Interim Reins At Winterthur

WDEL reports (link):

Winterthur Museum director Leslie Bowman has stepped down to become the president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, Va. Her new job will include oversight of Monticello, Jefferson's mountaintop home. Bowman has been the director at Winterthur for nine years. Winterthur was home to Henry Francis du Pont.

Former University of Delaware president David Roselle has been named interim director at Winterthur, effective June 1. Bowman will work alongside Roselle before she begins her new job Nov. 1.

Bait And Switch Suspected For Everglades Reservoir

HA! Ya think the state of Florida might not be trustworthy (link):

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Construction on a huge reservoir meant to help restore the Everglades will be put on hold over a lawsuit brought by a group that fears the water could be diverted for other purposes.
The South Florida Water Management District, whose board voted Thursday to stop work, has already spent about $250 million on construction. The delay could cost nearly $14 million.
The 25-square-mile reservoir — the largest of its kind in the world — is estimated to cost up to $800 million and was set for completion in 2010.
No one disagrees that storing runoff water is key to reviving the famed River of Grass. But the Natural Resources Defense Council is suing, claiming the state has not legally committed itself to using the water primarily for restoration.
The state insists that at least 80 percent of the water will be for environmental purposes, but critics fear that without a legally binding agreement, the water could be sent elsewhere for agriculture or development. Council attorney Brad Sewell said the intent of the lawsuit is not to stop construction, but to bind the district legally to a resolution passed last year by its own board agreeing that the water would be used mostly for the environment. The water district fears that if a federal judge revokes its permits for the project because of the lawsuit, millions of dollars could be lost.
...
Water once flowed practically unhindered from the Everglades headwaters south of Orlando all the way to Florida Bay. But now when a hard rain falls, canals direct the overflow into the ocean to keep it from inundating 5 million people who have settled in the area. It also has left the wetlands near ecological collapse. The reservoir's purpose is to store water that would normally be channeled out to sea and divert it to the Everglades at various times.

Meanwhile, more on water wars (link):

That ground under your feet may seem pretty solid, but if you're in West Texas, it may already have been taken out from under them. T. Boone Pickens has been planning something. It involves the Ogallala Aquifer, which still has no regulations concerning the use of its water in the state of Texas. By "capture rights" anyone with rights to the water can take as much as she/he likes.
...Representatives of the oil and investment tycoon last month sent letters to about 1,100 landowners along a proposed 250-mile path through 11 Panhandle and Central Texas counties to tell them their "property may be affected" in obtaining rights of way for construction of an underground pipeline and aboveground electrical transmission lines, the letter stated.The two delivery systems will allow Pickens to transport water from the Ogallala Aquifer — though he has no buyer yet — and deliver wind energy to "customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and potentially elsewhere," the letter states.

There are water problems here in Delaware too but since the counties get to OK development in a piecemeal fashion and are not held accountable for water issues, they pass the buck and we get the problems. The strapped DNREC bureaucracy is underfunded and can't do the job they need to be doing.

Kim Burdick Writes:

Hello, All:

You are cordially invited to visit the historic Hale-Byrnes House tomorrow, Saturday May 17, from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Free and open to the public. 606 Stanton-Christiana Road, junctions Routes 4 & 7, Stanton. Children welcome.

This lovely 18th century Quaker house on the banks of White Clay Creek was built in two sections--1750 and 1770. It was the site of a Council of War between the Battle of Cooch's Bridge and the Battle of the Brandywine in September 1777. George Washington, Nathaniel Greene and Lafayette and others were in attendance. The house is normally open only one Wednesday afternoon per month and sponsors a Christmas open house. It will be open tomorrow as part of the state-wide Delaware tourism efforts.

www.halebyrnes.org

Gambling $$ Races Out Of The House

Gollygee, will Ruth Ann Minner veto this gambling bill even with the state in such a dire fiscal straights (link)?

...But Gov. Ruth Ann Minner isn't interested in that kind of revenue. Completing her final term in office, she has said she would veto any sports betting bill.
That is why, Lofink said, the bill that passed Thursday on a 28-10 vote includes a provision that it would not be enacted until Feb. 1, 2009 -- after Minner leaves office.
"That's to honor the governor's wishes," he said. "She said not on her watch, but that [date] is to be prepared for the next governor."

Oh. Nevermind.

CNN Spliced Quote By Obama Aide, Removed Gates' Reference

Media Matters reports (link):

CNN spliced quote by Obama aide to remove part in which he said Sec. Def. Gates, like Obama, wants to meet with Iran
Summary: In two reports on CNN Newsroom, CNN aired comments by Robert Gibbs, Sen. Barack Obama's communications director, responding to President Bush's remarks that "[s]ome seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals," reportedly in reference to Obama, but CNN spliced the audio clip to omit part of the statement in which Gibbs noted that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has reportedly advocated a position on engaging Iran that echoes Obama's. CNN had left intact Gibbs' reference to Gates in the audio clip of Gibbs' comments it aired earlier in the program.

The GOPerheads are running scared. They have become delusional. Their foreign policy has failed and they are scrambling to pre-empt the Obama policy of engagement with a bunch of nonsense. Bush has gone completely under the duck in this lame duck presidency.
Oh, and how about that liberal media?

The Chinese Seek Help.Will They Provide Answers Too?

For one: "Why were chemical factories and schools built so poorly and on fault lines?" (link):

Speaking about the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone near Hong Kong, which went in one decade from a fishing village of 30,000 people to a metropolis of 3.5 million, Deng Xiaoping, godfather of modern China, once praised the spirit of the place as an example for others: "Their slogan," he enthused, " is 'time is money, efficiency is livelihood.' In buildings undergoing construction, one floor is finished every day and the entire building is completed within a couple of weeks or so."

The pace of building has been so rapid over the years in Shenzhen that the Harvard Design School Project on the city in 2001 coined the phrase "Shenzhen Speed(c)" to signify the stunning pace of throwing up structures. The record design speeds they listed include: 5 designers x 1 night + 2 computers=300 unit single-family housing development; 1 architect x 3 nights = 7 story walk-up apartment; 1 architect x 7 days= 30 story concrete residential high rise.

We all know that pollution and inequality are downsides to the truly remarkable Chinese miracle. To them we must now add, it appears, faulty structures that, for all the speed in which they are constructed, are no match for nature's jolts when geologic time strikes. China's earthquake codes -- on the books -- are said to be up to California standards but are often circumvented in the same way corners are cut making toys, pet food and drugs.

Hopefully, this quake will induce some reflections about whether the race to development ought to slow down enough to be safe.

Clinton: Sooner Than Later, Please

James Zogby notes Clinton's race card checklist and calls her out for a speech on race (link):

Even if Senator Clinton did not mean to disparage Barack Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr., with her comments in New Hampshire; even if Bill Clinton did not mean to dismiss Barack Obama's win in South Carolina (or for that matter Jesse Jackson's 1988 victory), with his off-hand comments after that primary; even if Geraldine Ferraro had a deeper point in mind (although, for the life of me I can't figure out what it might have been); even if the former president did not mean to imply that, as long as Obama was a candidate, race would intrude on the great debate this country needed and would only be able to have if McCain and Clinton, "the two patriotic Americans," were the candidates; even if the Clinton campaign did not mean to keep the Jeremiah Wright story alive long after it should have been put to rest; even if Senator Clinton and her surrogates did not intend to continue to raise questions about Obama's patriotism and religion but were only answering questions they were asked; and finally, even if she was only quoting the Associated Press by noting that "Senator Obama's support among working, hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites... were supporting me" -- the simple fact is that at least in part due to all of this, race has reared its ugly head in this primary in a deeply divisive way.

...For decades now, Republicans have exploited race and fear as weapons in ugly campaigns to defeat Democrats. Nixon's, Reagan's, and George H.W. Bush's campaigns come to mind. I do not recall race being used before in a Democratic presidential campaign.

...Senator Clinton needs to clear the air and drain this poison from our party before any greater damage is done.

Spector Calls For Independent Inquiry Of Patriot's Signals' Taping

Eagles fans take heart~Spector is tackling Spygate (link):

Sen. Arlen Specter on Wednesday called for an independent investigation of the New England Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals, possibly similar to the high-profile Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

...The Senator said [ NFL commissioner Roger] Goodell was caught in an "apparent conflict of interest" because the NFL doesn't want the public to lose confidence in the league's integrity.

"They are enormous role models for everybody," Specter said. "If you can cheat in the NFL, you can cheat in college, you can cheat in high school, you can cheat on your grade-school math test. There's no limit as to what you can do. I think they owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility."

...But Specter held his own three-hour meeting with [former New England video assistant Matt] Walsh in Washington on Tuesday. He said Walsh detailed how the Patriots used videotaped signals to their advantage: an offensive player would memorize the signals, watch for them on the sideline and pass them on to assistant coach Charlie Weis, who would then inform quarterback Tom Brady.
"And they had some obviously good results," Specter said.

... Specter repeated his disapproval of Goodell's decision to destroy the notes and tapes confiscated during the initial investigation last fall, as well as the "piecemeal" way the league has revealed details about the tapings. He also cited the fact a Patriots attorney sat in on Walsh's meeting with Goodell as proof the investigation has not been impartial.
"That sequence is incomprehensible," Specter said. "It's an insult to the intelligence of the people who follow it."

Specter's interest in Spygate centers in part on the two NFL teams in his state. The Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2005, the same season in which the Steelers were defeated by New England in the AFC championship game. Pittsburgh defeated New England earlier that season, and the implication is that taped signals from that game helped the Patriots in the rematch. Steelers chairman Dan Rooney has called the matter a "non-issue."

...In an interview with HBO scheduled to air Friday night on "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," Walsh also talked about Belichick's claim that he misinterpreted NFL rules.
"When I was doing it, I understood what we were doing to be wrong," Walsh said. "We went to great lengths to keep from being caught. Just saying that the rules were misinterpreted isn't enough of an apology or a reasoning for what was done. ... "Coach Belichick's explanation for having misinterpreted the rules, to me, that really didn't sound like taking responsibility for what we had done, especially considering the great lengths that we had gone through to hide what we were doing."

Spector's campaign-financing ties to Comcast were paraded out as a conflict:

Specter was again asked whether his interest in the matter has to do with Philadelphia-based Comcast, one of his largest campaign contributors. Comcast has been involved in a dispute with the league over the placement of the NFL Network on its cable system.
"They have been a campaign contributor," Specter said, "along with 50,000 other people ... I've been at this line of work for a long time, and no one has ever questioned my integrity."

County Council Presents A Moving Target?

Paul Clark evidently has cooked up a moving target election year walking/talking/listening tour (link):

New Castle County residents are invited to join County Council members for a Walk in the Park program, a series of town hall-style discussions while strolling in a neighborhood park. The series begins at 6:30 p.m. today in Banning Park in Newport with Council President Paul Clark and Councilmen Joseph
Reda, D-1st District, and Jea P. Street, D-10th District.
Representatives from county police and the Department of Community Services will come along to answer questions about the services they provide.
The schedule for the series is:
June 12 -- Rockwood Park, 6:30 p.m., with Clark, Councilmen Penrose Hollins, D-4th District, John Cartier, D-8th District, and Robert Weiner, R-2nd District.
July 10 -- Delcastle Park, 6:30 p.m., with Clark, Councilmen William Tansey, R-3rd District, and Timothy Sheldon, D-9th District.
Sept. 15 -- Glasgow Park, 6:30 p.m., with Clark, Councilwoman Stephanie McClellan, D-5th District, Councilmen Bill Powers, D-6th District, David Tackett, D-11th District, and Bill Bell, D-2th District.
Oct. 6 -- Coventry Ridge/Lewden Green Park, 6:30 p.m., with Clark and Councilman George Smiley, D-7th District.

How Libertarians Can Ween Themselves From The GOP

Maybe Steve Newton will find some of what he needs in Glenn Greenwald's new book (link):
Great American Hypocrites
Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics

Some examples
Myth: The Republican nominee is an upstanding, regular guy who shares the values of the common man.
Reality: He divorced his first wife in order to marry a young multimillionaire heiress whose family then funded his political career.
Myth: Republicans are brave and courageous.
Reality: It’s a party filled with chicken hawks and draft dodgers.
Myth: Republicans are strong on defense and will keep us safe.
Reality: They prey on fears, and their endless wars make America far less secure.
Myth: The Republicans are the party of fiscal restraint and small, limited government.
Reality: Soaring deficits, unchecked presidential power, and an increasingly invasive surveillance state are par for their course.

(h/t Atrios)

John Flaherty Writes:

Environmental issues in the General Assembly Today:

House Energy and Natural Resources Committe
Chairman: Hocker
Room: House Majority Caucus Room
Date/Time: 2:30 PM
Senate Bill # 228
Primary Sponsor: McDowell CoSponsors: Sen. Copeland Reps. Thornburg & Hall-Long, Sens. Blevins, Simpson; Reps. Schooley, Lofink
Long Title: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY UTILITY.
Synopsis: This Bill amends several provisions of the Sustainable Energy Utility (“SEU”) law.
Section 1 provides that the SEU will be a nonprofit entity.
Under Section 2, the Contract Administrator retained by the SEU may be a for-profit entity. Sections 3 and 4 provide for a new Board of Directors to replace the existing SEU Oversight Board.
In addition, Section 4 authorizes the new Board to appoint an Advisory Committee whose members would have diverse backgrounds and expertise.
Section 5 requires the new Board of Directors to adopt bylaws.
Section 6 is intended to clarify that the new Board has general responsibility for oversight and management of the SEU, in addition to the specific responsibilities set forth in the existing Section 8059(e)(7) of Title 29.
Current Status: House, Energy & Natural Resources 4/24/2008
===========================================================
House Bill # 418
Primary Sponsor: Hocker CoSponsors: Sen. McBride, Rep. Cathcart, Lee, Booth, Carey, Ewing, Miro, Outten, D. Short, Thornburg, Valihura, Wagner, Brady, McWilliams, Mulrooney, Viola, Walls, Williams; Sens. Venables, Connor, Simpson
Long Title: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE CLEAN AIR ACT TITLE V OPERATING PERMIT PROGRAM.
Synopsis: This Bill reauthorizes and restructures the Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit fees for facilities in Delaware and allows DNREC to collect fees beginning January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2011.
Current statutory authorization expires December 31, 2008. Both federal and state law require a fee schedule that results in the collection and retention of revenue sufficient to cover all costs of the Clean Air Act Title V Operating Permit Program.
Fees are based upon the number of staff hours spent on permitting, compliance, and enforcement activities for each facility and each facility’s air emissions.
In order to develop an appropriate fee schedule for calendar years 2009 through 2011, the Title V Operating Permit Program Advisory Committee, established in state law, has been meeting regularly since December 2006.
This fee schedule represents the consensus of the Committee members who participated in the development process including representatives from DNREC, the Chemical Industry Council, the Delaware Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware Petroleum Council, and several environmental organizations.
Fee revenues for the program will remain constant between 2008 and 2009 and will increase in 2010 and remain the same for 2011.
Current Status: House Energy and Natural Resources Committee 5/13/2008

Liberal Geek Does Some SEU Sleuthing

SB 263 show me the money? (link)
Sponsor Sen. McDowell & Rep. Thornburg
Sens. Bunting, Venables, Copeland, Simpson
& Reps. Hocker, McWilliams

SB 263 SYNOPSIS
This bill grants legal authority for Delaware to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) CO2 cap and trade program.

The bill grants DNREC the authority to implement the program including promulgating regulations and implementing or participating in an allowance auction as necessary to fulfill the goals of the program.

This bill further requires that all proceeds from the sale of RGGI CO2 allowances be used for public benefit purposes and directs revenues to the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) for the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, to programs designed to help low income ratepayers, to a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program and to DNREC for administration of the program.

(Via DE Lib)

More About Blue

Portia' s flower mandalas on the intertubes (link) and HERE:

A mandala is a circular symbol, traditional to Hinduism and Buddhism that represents the universe. New York artist Portia Munson makes pictures of happy worlds by arranging flowers into these forms. Looking at one is to get a glimpse of paradise where we are overcome by fireworks-like explosions of color that maintain a sense of balance, order and serenity. We become children in an oversized garden.
"I feel that these pictures are the first work that I made that felt really spiritual just to look at it, not just in making it," explains Munson.

Portia's Web Site

~*~

One of Fran's paintings from the intertubes (link):

Fran Willing makes abstract paintings by trickling paint and powdered pigments onto a panel of more wet paint. Paint oozes freely congealing in blisters and globules . The resulting surface looks like sumptuous ceramic glazing inducing close inspection and meditative absorption. Willing lives and works in New York. [Copyright (c) Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. 1997 ]

Fran's work is mostly about the relationship she has had with the canvas. It is the journey to the end that enthralls her. We get to enjoy the finished paintings but she'd say she had the best of the deal having thoroughly enjoyed the creating.

Blue's Woodstock Times - Smart Art review (link):

The big ticket opening for this coming weekend's Second Saturday arts events in Woodstock May 10 is definitely the inauguration of the Kleinert/James Arts Center's new Blue exhibition, curated by hot Catskills-based art star Portia Munson. Originally conceived as an exploration of more than the deeply redolent color of the current title, the show mixes the intuitive with a strong sense of diverse play. Expect a visual smorgasbord that should end up rivaling some of Munson's other curating outings of recent years, from Threads to the exhibition most remember, fondly now, as simply "that nepotism show."
...
"Each of the artists incorporate this primary color into their work in very different ways, resulting in a diverse group of works having the quality of 'blueness' in common, concludes Munson, whose most recent flower mandalas, huge and often quite blue themselves, have been a hit at major international art fairs throughout the last year.

Cindy McCain's Cash Was In Conflict With Hubby

Are the McCain's finally ready for prime time? (link):

According to McCain's personal financial disclosure, Cindy McCain's investments include two mutual funds — American Funds Europacific Growth fund and American Funds Capital World Growth and Income fund — that are listed by the Sudan Divestment Task Force as targets for divestment.
"Those have been sold as of today," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers. Both funds have holdings in Oil & Natural Gas Corp., an India-based company that does business in Sudan.
The American Funds Capital World Growth & Income Fund also has holdings in Petrochina, a Chinese government-owned oil company with vast investments in Sudan.
Last year, in a speech on energy policy to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, McCain cited China's investments in Sudan as an example of regimes that survive off free-flowing petro dollars.
"The politics of oil impede the global progress of our values, and restrains governments from acting on the most basic impulses of human decency," he said. "There is only one reason China has opposed sanctions to pressure Sudan to stop the killing in Darfur: China needs Sudan's oil."
On Wednesday, Rogers said: "Senator and Mrs. McCain remain committed to doing everything possible to end the genocide in Darfur."
After touring a waste-reprocessing plant near Columbus, Ohio, described the American Funds as "one of the country's largest mutual funds."

Kavips On Delaware's Wind At Daily Kos

Kavips steps up the profile (link).
He is asking a national audience to give us a hand getting our state senate into gear.

And if you so happen to personally correspond with someone from our fair little state, ask them to call their legislator as well. You can refer them to here
if they are unsure of whom to call......
It's down to three people....You can make such a difference.......and maybe, just maybe, the tide will turn against global warming from this small event, just as our nation itself eventually rose to become what it is, from it's own Yorktown........

(h/t Delaware Liberal)

John Flaherty Writes:

Your help is needed to urge the the members of the Senate Natural Resources & Environmental Control Committee to vote in support of a recycling bill.

Contact your legislator and urge their support for House Bill 159.

Show your support in person by attending the committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 14, 2:30 PM, in the Senate Hearing Room, Legislative Hall, Dover.

The members of the committee are David B. McBride, chair; and Senators George H. Bunting,Dorinda A. "Dori" Connor, Karen E. Peterson, F. Gary Simpson and Robert L. Venables.

HB 159 is a modest effort to fiurther recycling here in Delaware, Yet, opponents of recycling nearly derailed it last week when it passed in the House of Representatives. Your support is crucial.

Below is a summary of the bill,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

House Bill # 159 Primary Sponsor: Valihura Sen. McBride, Reps. Lofink, Hall-Long, Longhurst, McWilliams, Mulroone, Brady, Ennis, Johnson, Kowalko, M. Marshall, Oberly, Schooley; Sens. McDowell, Peterson, Sokola, Copeland, Sorenson, Connor, Simpson, Henry

Introduced on : 5/8/2007

Long Title: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROGRAMS TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF VOLUNTARY RECYCLING AND BENEFICIAL USE OF SOLID WASTE MATERIALS IN DELAWARE.

Synopsis: This Act establishes a framework for a statewide residential curbside recycling system and provides the opportunity for local communities, municipalities, counties and private sector entities to establish residential curbside recycling programs. It addresses the elements of a recycling system, including separation, collection, and processing of recyclables, while leaving the existing trash collection system intact. It provides for the establishment of transfer and processing facilities to which single stream recyclables can be delivered. If not provided by the private sector, the processing of the recyclables will be provided at no cost by DSWA. They will be designed to accept recyclables collected in a multi-stream and/or single-stream collection systems. In assuming additional recycling responsibilities DSWA will incur additional costs which need to be absorbed in its budget. DSWA projects a $10.4M deficit for FY 07 for its current recycling programs.

This Act establishes a Recycling Fund to help pay for various aspects of the recycling system. The source of funding will be a $3 per ton assessment on all solid waste (excluding recyclables) collected and/or disposed of in Delaware. Thus, those who collect solid waste in Delaware and dispose of it out of state will also pay the assessment to support the Delaware recycling initiatives. The fund will be administered by DNREC and used to help municipalities with start-up costs, fund private sector initiatives, support an education and outreach program and fund an assessment of the potential for increased commercial waste recycling. DSWA is not eligible to receive any monies from the Recycling Fund.

The Act provides for the development of yard waste management facilities to handle such materials. Development of private facilities will be encouraged; however, if these do not materialize, DSWA will manage the yard waste on its property or other public property. DSWA is entitled to charge a tipping fee at these facilities sufficient to cover the costs of operation.

The Act establishes recycling goals for both residential and commercial solid waste and involves the Recycling Public Advisory Council, whose role will be to advise DNREC and DSWA on various aspects of recycling and to report annually on the state of recycling and progress made toward the established goals.

Current Status: Senate, Natural Resources & Env. Control 5/8/2008

Philip Pollner Takes On Delaware Health Care Quality

Philip Pollner writes:

Delaware's Health Care Quality: Speculation vs. Fact

We are often told that Delaware's quality of health is considered average and improving compared to the rest of the nation. If we accept that as the literal truth, how can we reconcile studies by the CDC and other credible organizations that rank Delaware among the ten unhealthiest states on specific major health care indicators. A number of serious indicators are utilized to measure health care quality - they include cancer mortality, infant mortality, prenatal care, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, diabetes and cardiac mortality rates.

The most up-to-date data from the CDC shows that between 2003 and 2004 the cancer death rate had increased in Delaware.

(1) Of major concern - Delaware cancer death rate, ranked by state:" Breast cancer mortality increased from 27th worst to 7th worst in the nation." Lung cancer mortality -women, increased from 6th worst to 3rd worst in the nation."

Lung cancer morality, men and women combined increased from 11th worst to 7th worst in the nation." Cancer mortality - all sites - women, increased from 10th worst to 6th worst in the nation." Cancer mortality - all sites - men, increased from 17th worst to 9th worst in the nation.Clearly, from the CDC - recognized as the nation's most reliable source of disease-related data and information - contrary to what we wish is true, Delaware ranks within the 10 worst states in major cancer deaths. Unlike our neighboring states - Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey - which rank far better, we unfortunately share similar mortality rates with many of the poorest southern states (Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina, D.C.). Defending the position that we are average and improving in cancer mortality amounts to willful disregard of irrefutable evidence.In another nationwide study comparing the states, Delaware's ranking between 2004 and 2008 sank to the 10th unhealthiest state due to infant mortality, HIV, STD's and prenatal care.

(2) Cigarette smoking is another important indicator of quality health care, especially for individuals with chronic diseases or person's with disabilities. Delaware's smoking prevalence in 2008 was the highest in the nation among individuals with disabilities.

(3) Our infant mortality rate is 6th worst in the nation, while the rates of our neighbors in Maryland were 14th, Pennsylvania 23rd, and New Jersey
38th.

(4) The argument - if we can dignify the phrase - that Delaware is average and improving, is inconsistent with fact and must be disregarded or revised.Moreover, Delaware is 15th worst among the states in death due to heart diseases, 22nd worst in diabetes mortality, 18th worst from deaths due to all causes, 7th worst due to malignancy, 8th worst due to HIV.

(5) In preventable sexually transmitted diseases we have the 9th worst prevalence of Chlamydia infections and 8th worst prevalence for gonorrhea.

(6) A good epigram for this subject is the following stated by John Adams, the second President of the United States - but long before he was that:

"Facts are stubborn things, and whatever maybe our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions - they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

1. CDC, United States Cancer Statistics, Data 2003 and 2004, selected cancers ranks by states.2. CQ Researcher, 2008.3. Preventing Chronic Disease, Public Health Research, Practice and Policy. Vol. 4, No. 4, October 2007.4. Infant Mortality in Delaware, National Center for Health Statistics and Delaware Health Statistics Center, 1998-2002.5. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 55, Number 19, August 2007.6. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts, 2004, 2005, 2006

The Norwegians Are Storing Wind Power

A Norwegian community stores it's own wind power. Can Delaware's BWW store their offshore wind energy too? (link):

UTSIRA, Norway (AFP) - How to keep the lights on when all is still and the local windmill won't budge? A small Norwegian island testing a way to store wind-generated energy for calm days may have found the answer. The tiny, windswept island of Utsira, situated off Norway's southwestern coast, is home to what is said to be the world's first full-scale system for cleanly transforming surplus wind power into hydrogen.
...

But 10 households receive clean, wind-generated electricity regardless of the weather conditions, thanks to a pilot project launched here in July, 2004 making it possible to store wind power by transforming it into hydrogen.
Surplus wind-generated energy is passed through water and, using electrolysis, the hydrogen atoms are separated from the oxygen atoms that make up water molecules. The hydrogen is then compressed and stored in a container that can hold enough hydrogen gas to cover the energy needs of the 10 households for two windless days.
...
"This system allows us to deliver power with expected quality and reliability," he says, standing next to the large metal electrolyser box baking in the spring sun.
...
Producing and storing energy this way however is still, nearly four years after testing began, far more expensive than the hydraulic power produced on Norway's mainland.
...

"This is a fantastic project that has been good for Utsira," he says, pointing out that initial concerns about noise levels and birds getting caught in the turbines had been laid to rest.
"We haven't found a single dead bird," he says.
Most importantly, the system was helping nudge his Utsira towards its goal of zero emissions within the next decade and had become a major tourist attraction.
"The tourists go over to the lighthouse first, but then they go to look at our windmills. They want to see the world's first full scale wind and hydrogen project in action," he says proudly.

Meanwhile, Friedman touting 'clean coal':

Far more than a pie in the face, these are some of the hard questions from the green movement -- especially on his disingenuous touting of "clean coal" -- that Thomas Friedman has been ducking for too long.

Theo Gregory Is Right On City Of Wilmington's Police Hiring Policy

Theo Gregory was on Community Crossfire the other night and he made a good point about the Wilmington Police Department's hiring policy. He said that that Department is the only one where new hires are not chosen by a team. And that the Chief-as-final-arbiter is the second of two overly-subjective steps in the lengthy hiring process.

Supposedly, Wilmington's Police Chief gets a private, last look at the applicants and final say on academy entrants. The justification for any one hire is based on subjective measures.

There is a cry for a better hiring process. I concur strongly with Gregory and want to see a corrected procedure that might bring some more minority city kids into this city department who want to help their city too.