Tonight's New Castle County Planning Board Meeting, Including Work Force Housing (Remove) And Hercules/Delaware National, Is Set For 7PM In New Castle

Bill Dunn - VP Milltown-Limestone Civic Alliance sent a reminder about the meeting today ~

The meeting is held in the Gilliam Building (Read Way) right behind the NCC Government Center on Commons Blvd. Number one on the agenda: 20100176S - South side Lancaster Pike (SR 48), east side of Hercules Road. Major Land Development Exploratory Plan, and PLUS Report Review for Delaware National proposes to create an open space planned subdivision consisting of 264 lots on 205.27 acres. S (Suburban) zoning district. CD 3 & 9

Tonight's full Planning Board Meeting Agenda from the county web site:

20100176S - South side Lancaster Pike (SR 48), east side of Hercules Road.Major Land Development Exploratory Plan, and PLUS Report Review for Delaware National proposes to create an open space planned subdivision consisting of 264 lots on 205.27 acres. S (Suburban) zoning district. CD 3 & 9 Status/Map

20100296SZ - North side Old Porter Road, 2,350 feet east of Porter Road.Major Land Development Exploratory Plan, Rezoning, and PLUS Report Review for Meridian Crossing II proposes to replace 29 single-family detached homes on a previously approved and recorded plan with 50 single-family semi-detached homes. Ord. 10-078 will approve the revised plan and supersede in part the record plan (20040514-0053080) associated with the rezoning approved by Ord. 02-111 on February 11, 2003. ST (Suburban Transition) zoning district. CD 6. Status/Map

20100328T - To Revise Chapter 40 of the New Castle County Code (also known as the Unified Development code – UDC) Regarding Article 7 (Transfer of Development Rights and Other Incentives and Bonuses) and Article 33(Definitions) to Eliminate Workforce Housing Regulat TO BE CONTINUED. NO PRESENTATION OR PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS HEARING. THIS APPLICATION WILL BE RESCHEDULED. Ord. 10-059 will eliminate the ability to process new workforce housing plans. Sponsor: Mr. Powers.

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DelMarVa, The Aryan Nation Wants You!

If you were like me and couldn't believe hearing that there were white racist supremacists organizing downstate, here's a photo from Sussex County where someone was "yardbombed with a flyer from the Aryan Nation Church Monday for a rally in Bethany Beach".

Meanwhile, Think Progress has a story up about their joint effort with the NAACP in tracking the Tea Party for intolerance and how it's freaking out the wingnuts.

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According To The Latest From Rasmussen, Castle's Still Got A Double-Didget Lead

Rasmussen reports ~ Delaware Senate: Castle (R) 48%, Coons (D) 37% - Support for Republican Congressman Mike Castle falls just short of 50% for the third month in a row, but he continues to hold a double-digit lead over Democrat Chris Coons in Delaware's U.S. Senate race.

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Louisiana Democratic Party Wants Your Help Getting Rid Of Senator David Vitter: Lawmaker, Lawbreaker

Let's Get 'Forgotten Crimes' on Television!
Last week, we released "Forgotten Crimes: Lawmaker, Lawbreaker," a brief documentary looking at how David Vitter broke the law and got away with it. The response to Forgotten Crimes has been unbelievable. Our video has received great press coverage and nearly 30,000 folks have viewed it on the internet!Now, we need your help to take it to the next level. We need to get Forgotten Crimes on television in Louisiana. Plenty of people have seen it on youtube, but many more will see it if it's on television. Please contribute $10 right now to help us get Forgotten Crimes on the air in Louisiana!

A recent independent poll found that an astonishing number of likely voters in Louisiana are unaware that David Vitter admitted breaking the law but was never held accountable. We need your help to get the truth out.

David Vitter hasn't been honest with Louisiana families, but we think they should know the truth. Can you give $10 right now to help us get Forgotten Crimes on television stations all over Louisiana?

Thanks,Your friends at the Louisiana Democratic PartyP.S., if you haven't seen "Forgotten Crimes: Lawmaker, Lawbreaker," click here to watch the full video.
Paid for by the Democratic State Central Committee of Louisiana.

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We'd Better Start Asking Mike Castle If He Supports Elizabeth Warren To Head The Consumer Protection Agency

(The Hill) Silla Brush reports ~ Regulators to hash out major new finance rules this month

Financial regulators are set this month for a series of crucial meetings and decisions as they hash out major new U.S. and international rules that may govern the financial world for years to come.

...The financial industry is closely watching those deliberations. Companies including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Ford Motor Credit have already begun meeting with the Federal Reserve and other regulators as they look to enact new rules on derivatives and other financial products.

The administration will also face renewed calls in September from Democratic allies to nominate a consumer agency head before the party suffers expected losses in the midterm elections.Many congressional Democrats, labor unions and consumer advocates have been pushing hard for Obama to nominate Elizabeth Warren......The White House has said repeatedly that she is among the candidates under consideration but that the president has not yet made a decision.

The Senate would have roughly a month to consider a potential nomination before recessing for the elections. If the Senate does not act before the recess, the stakes may quickly increase after Election Day......Winners in special Senate elections in Delaware, Illinois and West Virginia will be seated immediately after Election Day, rather than in January. Republican Rep. Mike Castle is considered the frontrunner for the Delaware seat and the Illinois race is a tossup, meaning Democrats may hold two fewer votes for a confirmation battle in a lame-duck session of
Congress.

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June Eisley Writes: MASSIVE MARCH IN WASHINGTON, DC ON OCTOBER 2ND

OCTOBER 2, 2010 - WASHINGTON, DC
AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL – 11 AM to 4 PM

Come to Washington DC on October 2 for an emergency mobilization of all progressive movements at this critical moment in our nation’s history!

www.onenationworkingtogether.org and The Peace Table at www.onenationforpeace.org

Leading with a demand for jobs and economic recovery, this will be a massive demonstration to blunt the attack from the right and to unify a majority of Americans around a hopeful and inspiring vision of our nation based on social justice, mutual respect and common values and to stand up against hatred and intolerance.

Human and civil rights organizations, unions and trade associations, nonprofit organizations, youth and student groups, religious and other faith groups, educational, peace, environmental, and ethnic associations, and any other groups and individuals who are committed to pulling our country back together now will all be standing as ONE NATION WORKING TOGETHER!

The peace groups will join a Peace contingent. Our messages will be:

Fund Jobs - Not War

Cut the Military Budget - Invest in America

Jobs -- Peace -- Justice

Pacem in Terris has reserved a 47-seat coach bus that will depart Rodney Square, Wilmington, at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, the 2nd of October 2010. It will depart from the Park & Ride in Newark (896 & Chestnut Hill Rd.) at 8:30 a.m. We will go to the New Carrollton Station outside of Washington DC and take the metro from there to the March site. You will need to bring your own lunch & water. The bus will leave New Carrollton at 5 p.m., returning to Newark at 7:00 p.m. and Wilmington at 7:30 p.m. Cost: $25/passenger which includes roundtrip Metro fare from New Carrollton to Foggy Bottom-GWU & back.

Sign up now or make a contribution so that somebody else can go:-------------Make checks payable to Pacem in Terris, and mail to 1304 N. Rodney St. Wilmington, DE 19806-4227

Pick me/us up at: (check one)
Rodney Square
“Park & Ride”
Wilmington
Newark, 896 and Chestnut Hill Rd.
8:00 a.m.
8:3 0 a.m.

For information, call 302-656-2721.

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Will Bunch: 'Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, Hi-Def Hucksters, And Paranoid Politics In The Age Of Obama' Booksigning Tonight At 6PM In Philadelphia

Meet Will Bunch! Book signing tonight from 6 to 7 at the Barnes & Noble at Rittenhouse Square in Center City.
Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, Hi-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama at Barnes
store-locator.barnesandnoble.com

Recent articles ~
The Obama Backlash: Taking on the Radicals
www.huffingtonpost.com - The Backlash goes into the deep background and the bizarre rise of Glenn Beck in a series of personal and professional vignettes mixing his failed personal life with his success as a radio personality.

"Huge wads of money": Exclusive excerpt from Will Bunch's The Backlash Media Matters for America
mediamatters.org

Tea Parties: The right-wing congressman made for the Obama age
www.salon.com

Glenn Beck the Faith-Healer Continues to Scam His Followers
www.huffingtonpost.com

What I Learned Behind the Lines of the Anti-Obama Backlash
www.huffingtonpost.com

I embarked on my quest last year -- around the time that a mysterious woman in red became an Internet sensation by confronting Delaware Rep. Mike Castle at a town hall meeting over Obama's birth certificate, shouting "I don't want this flag to change -- I want my country back!" (In the book, I track down the woman, a well-known caller to local radio dubbed "Crazy Eileen.) But the real significance wasn't Eileen -- America has always had its "paranoid style," first noted by 1960s historian Richard Hofstadter -- but the fact that a room packed with several hundred people cheered her on. How could a growing political movement be built atop such bogus ideas -- that the president of the United States was not born in America and perhaps a secret Muslim, ideas that continue to rise today in our troubled body politic. And how could a movement with such a paranoid style become the tail wagging the dog of American politics in 2010, playing a vital role in scuttling Obama-promised reforms on climate change or immigration by frightening would-be Senate dealmakers like John McCain and Lindsey Graham to move to the extreme right.

The main thing that I found in backlash country was the raw, unvarnished scent of fear, but that comes from several shifting currents. A huge factor -- and this is the one that movement leaders like Beck and Sarah Palin tap into so well -- is cultural anxiety among a self-appointed "pro-America" heartland that is predominantly white and middle-class and Christian, that their vision of what the country should look and feel like is melting away. There was a layer of general anxiety over the notion that America will become a majority non-white nation by the middle of the 21st Century -- and that may explain why the arrival of a dark-skinned man in the Oval Office was (sadly) like a punch in the gut for many.

Left Leaning Americans Love Their Country Too? - Recently a friend with a good article posed in tangible terms, the very concept that community organizers such as myself are actually patriots, not "Professional Left!"

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Phillip Bannowsky's Photos - Labor Day Wilmington, Delaware 2010

Enjoy!

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Obama Administration Shop Talk?

Some items from David Dayen's Round Up ~

• I care less about Rahm Emanuel saying “Fuck the UAW” than I do him leading Tim Geithner around by the nose and picking his staff in the early days of the Presidency.

• Arne Duncan goes on a self-congratulatory road trip, calls himself “the most nonpolitical person there could be.” That’s exactly what I expected when I voted for a Democratic President! By the way, you can have a “non-political” Cabinet Secretary (Ray LaHood comes to mind) who doesn’t tacitly accept every right-wing policy that comes along.

• The big breakthrough in Middle East peace talks today was a schedule for more talks in two weeks in Sharm el-Sheikh. We’ll see if both sides are still talking after the settlements decision. Netanyahu went pretty far out on a limb today, probably too much for his ruling coalition.

• It’s not just Alan Simpson who is facing serious criticism, among the Obama-appointed members of the Cat Food Commission. There’s also David Cote, CEO of Honeywell, who is poisoning his own workers at an Illinois uranium enrichment plant, which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has shut down and prohibited Honeywell from operating with scab workers.

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Contrary To The Wingnut Press, The Maryland Hostage-Taker Was No More A Big Fan Of An Inconvenient Truth Than He Was Of The Discovery Channel

Media Matters writes ~ Right-wing media shamefully try to pin Discovery Channel bomber's actions on Gore - The right-wing media have shamefully attempted to tie James Lee, who created a hostage situation in a Discovery Channel building, to former Vice President Al Gore, due to Lee's statement that he was "awakened" after reading Gore's book An Inconvenient Truth. In fact, Lee, who criticized Gore's book for not providing "solutions," holds a number of views Gore does not, including extreme opinions on population control and immigration.

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Jud Bennett Writes: NJ Governor Christie Endorses Mike Castle For U.S. Senate

Plus, POLITICAL INSIDER: Christie backs Castle

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GOVERNOR CHRISTIE ENDORSES CASTLE FOR U.S. SENATE:

Newark, DE - Tonight at the University of Delaware, Governor Chris Christie
announced his endorsement of Congressman Mike Castle, candidate for U.S. Senate.
Governor Christie and his wife Mary Pat are both University of Delaware
graduates. "Mike understands that our nation's most urgent priority is the
economy and that the path to restoring America's prosperity requires making
tough, responsible decisions," said Governor Christie. "He is the strong voice
that the people of Delaware need in the Senate to get our fiscal house back in
order and get Americans back to work."Congressman Castle thanked the Governor
and said, "Delawareans have a lot of respect for Governor Christie. He is not
afraid of tackling the most difficult issues, and knows the importance of shared
sacrifice, honesty and straight forwardness. When I was Governor of
Delaware, we balanced 8 budgets while cutting income taxes three times and
expanding Delaware's employment rate-- so we share a commitment to smart
budgeting and a focus on job creation. I am honored to have his support
and look forward to working with him."

Click Here to See Video of the Endorsement

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O'Donnell Walks Back Accusations Of Castle Being Gay - Why Does This Meme Sound So Familiar? Oh Yeah, The "Hillary Clinton Is A Lesbian" GOPer Schtick

Ginger Gibson's story Friday already has over a hundred comments at 9AM!
Update III: It just gets better ~ benpolitico - O'Donnell tells @mccormackjohn: 'They're hiding in the bushes.' This is why she won't tell him where she lives. http://is.gd/eRVi7

And Stay Classy, Christine O'Donnell — She didn't make the charge; a firm employed by her did. She's not commenting. … She cannot win in Delaware, which is usually among the ten most Democratic states in the union. Allow me to be a little elistist — what in this odd biography says “serious candidate for Senator”? ...She might as well just say "Sketchy Blogger/Drifter" at the top of the page.
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Update II: Sam Stein has a story up ~ Christine O'Donnell, Delaware Tea Partier, Criticized Masturbation On MTV's 'Sex In The 90s' Show

Christine comes in second in HuffPo's Hot Trends tag cloud (after Beck) - arizona immigration law christine o'donnell eric deaton glenn beck sharron angle

And Memorandum gave the story from WGMD a top billing today ~ Categories / WGMD.COM: Dan Gaffney Audio: Christine O'Donnell for Senate Interview — With just days left before her primary election day challenge against Mike Castle (R) here is the complete interview with Christine O'Donnell (R) from today's Dan Gaffney Show. — 2 Responses — O'Donnell Can't Take the Spotlight : Delaware Liberal says... Link Search: IceRocket, Google, and Ask +Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Ben Smith's Blog, Los Angeles Times, Townhall.com, minx.cc, The Swamp, Ballot Box, Weigel, Hotline On Call, Swing State Project, Hot Air, National Review, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, Dialogue Delaware and The Politico
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Update: from Swing State Project - DE-Sen: Christine O'Donnell's radio interview on a local station yesterday should answer any doubts about whether or not the new Tea Party fave is ready for prime time (the answer: she isn't). Mostly it's notable for how testy it got, but also for O'Donnell pushing back on rumors that Mike Castle is gay - rumors that apparently no one has ever heard until O'Donnell brought them up in the first place. At any rate, Castle isn't content to just stand back and let her dig her own hole: not wanting to fall into the Lisa Murkowski trap, his camp confirms that his last-minute pre-primary ad buy will be negative against O'Donnell.. He also said he won't be debating with (or otherwise even talking to) O'Donnell... ordinarily a safe decision for a quasi-incumbent, but who knows, maybe a mid-debate implosion by O'Donnell would be all Castle needs to put this one away.
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Supporters of Christine O'Donnell's gutter sniping of Mike Castle a shock? This is pure Politics Of Personal Destuction 101 AKA known as the GOPer playbook Chapter 1.

Well, today she is walking it back ~
downwithtyranny - Deranged Delaware teabagger Christine O'Donnell goes on air & says she opposes accusing Mike Castle of being gay. Whew! http://bit.ly/a7GefU

Where have we heard this before? Atrios posted yesterday about those old Republican charges of Hillary Clinton being secretly gay ~
Eschaton ~ Actually Michelle Plans To Put Crack Pipes On The Tree
- Nice to see some things never change.

The most infamous of the Regnery titles is undoubtedly Gary Aldrich's Unlimited Access, which included such "revelations" as lesbian encounters in the White House's basement showers, Hillary Clinton ordering miniature crack pipes to hang on the White House Christmas tree, and the claim--backed by anonymous sources--that Clinton made frequent trips to the nearby Marriott to shack up with a mistress "who may be a celebrity." That last bit helped catapult Unlimited Access to the top of The New York Times's best-seller list, though Aldrich soon revealed to The New Yorker's Jane Mayer that the Marriott story was "not quite solid" and, indeed, was "hypothetical." But according to Aldrich, it was Regnery editor Richard Vigilante who had moved the Marriott bit out of the epilogue (where it had been presented as a "mock investigation") and into the middle of the book (where it was presented as an actual occurrence). Vigilante, Aldrich told Mayer, threatened not to publish the book if Aldrich didn't agree to the changes.

Don't forget that it's the billionaires who are funding the Republican Tea Party, Palin, Beck et. al. Moderate GOPers like Castle are their natural enemies ~

Koch Industries Has Financial Stake in Derivatives and Pharmaceuticals, Not Just Oil http://fdl.me/ag1xcY from @firedoglake

thedonkeyedge - Tired of right-wing billionaires sponsoring "grassroots" activism & conning voters? Our modest proposal: Eat the Rich. http://bit.ly/9cIZki

And a side note: Christine is stealing a line from Mike Matthews (DownWithAbsolutes) for her fundraiser solicitation ~
DialogueDel - Royalty? O'Donnell fundraising appeal: "Lady O'Donnell Lays Siege to the Incumbent Congressman Lord Castle" http://bit.ly/bQPHb1

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A Look At The President's Approval Numbers....Really Not So Bad After All

BobFertik - I dare #Pundits to explain why Obama's job approval is now EXACTLY where he started Year 2 http://twitpic.com/2kjumo

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United For Peace And Justice Writes: One Month From Today, Peace Activists Will Take To The Streets Of DC

DKos ~

CNN Just Announced the 10.2.10 March! shar.es/0pz67

United For Peace And Justice ~

On October 2, U.S. local and national peace organizations will be a vital part of the coalition of progressive organizations marching in D.C. as One Nation Working Together.

Please contribute as generously as you can to support UFPJ's organizing for this demonstration and to ensure that our demands to end war, cut military spending, and fund jobs and human needs are heard.

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The University Of Delaware's Controversial Bookstore Project Is Now Underway

Main Street's new UD/Barnes and Noble bookstore ground-breaking reported by the Newark Post.

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A Few News Items From The Hill ~

CEOS earn big salaries amid large layoffs By Vicki Needham - The heads of firms that laid off the most workers during the recession earned nearly $12 million a year on average, 42 percent more than other chief executives at S&P 500 firms in 2009, according to a report released Wednesday.

Fiscal commission co-chairman: Vets' benefits 'not helping' the debt crisis By Jordan Fabian - Alan Simpson, the GOP co-chairman of President Obama's fiscal commission, on Tuesday questioned some disability benefits paid to war veterans, saying they are "not helping" the nation's debt crisis.

Lawmakers frustrated by Internet "kill switch" reports By Gautham Nagesh - Lawmakers seeking to craft a comprehensive cybersecurity bill are growing increasingly frustrated with characterizations of their legislative efforts as providing the president with a "kill switch" for the Internet.

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Frieda Berryhill Writes It's Been A Long Time Coming!!!!!

Finally the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking some long overdue steps!

Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1
At the request of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), the National Academy of Sciences is carrying out an assessment of cancer risks in populations living near USNRC-licensed nuclear facilities. This assessment will be carried out in two consecutive phases. A Phase 1 scooping study will identify scientifically sound approaches for carrying out an epidemiological study of cancer risks. This scooping study will begin on September 1, 2010, and will last for 15 months. The result of this Phase 1 study will be used to inform the design of the cancer risk assessment, which will be carried out in a future Phase 2 study.

Privately funded organizations such as the Radiation and Public Health Project who for years collected baby teeth from children born around nuclear power plants clearly found detrimental health effects. The result was Joseph Mangano’s book Radioactive baby teeth: The Cancer Link was immediately deemed by the Industry to be JUNK SCIENCE . This in spite of the fact that European Countries , who have conducted extensive, legitimate studies have come to the same conclusions a long time ago.

Please read:

European Public Health Alliance
The European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) findings are a direct challenge to the conventional methods of calculating risk of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The ICRP had been widely criticised as being too close to the nuclear industry and lacking balance.

ECRR is an international group of 30 independent scientists (ECRR) estimates that radioactive releases up to 1989 have caused, or will eventually cause, the death of 65 million people world-wide.

Commenting on the report Dr Caroline Lucas, MEP (Greens/EFA, UK), said : "We have known for years that nuclear pollution, from nuclear power plants, reprocessing plants and from weapons, has been very damaging for human health. Only with the publication of this research do we see the full scale of the folly of the nuclear industry. (The folly of the nuclear Industry indeed F) http://www.epha.org/a/710

from Germany
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Cancer+near+nuclear+power+plants+Germany&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=Clm2F2IJ-TMv2IqeQoATvjLHcBgAAAKoEBU_QkNh_

The German section of IPPNW has initiated a study, which approves that children under the age of five living near nuclear power stations have contracted cancer at a greatly higher rate than the national average. The study was paid for by the German Federal Radiation Protection Agency (BfS) the government’s main adviser on nuclear health.

The risk of cancer increased by 60 percent for children living less than five kilometres (three miles) from a nuclear power plant, according to the study. The risk was 117 percent higher when only leukemia was taken into account.

Nuclear Power kills. From the front end of the fuel cycle (mining milling and refining ) the constant releases from operating plants and the yet unknown damage, am sure, to be caused by the lethal waste left behind.

Obediently and silently we went along with an Energy policy so damaging to life.

To quote Howard Zinn:

“Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem”

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The Addictions Coalition's 2010 Recovery Walk Is Set For 12PM On Saturday In Wilmington - 4PM Celebration At Rodney Square!

The Addictions Coalition is proud to present the 2010 Recovery Walk!

What: The Addictions Coalition of Delaware 8th Annual Walk for Recovery.
When: Saturday September 4, 2010. Walk begins at NOON.
Where: Starting from neighborhoods all over the city and converging on Rodney Square.
What: There will be fun, food and music along with speakers who will share information on recovery.

Can I help? Yes, we need your help! We need prizes, food & beverages and/or donations. Please call (302) 559-4688 or email Walk Chairperson, Lonnie Edwards.

Join us for Saturday's Walk. Earl will be long gone the weather will be golden bright and we want to see you in Rodney Square! If you want to be a sponsor you still can. We have gotten a special deal from our T-shirt provider www.instantimprints.com, and if you commit by Thursday you can still be recognized on the T shirt! Sponsorship is a mere $100. We will have a Moon Bounce, face painting, portrait painting and much more. There will be vendors with food and beverages and even ice cream!

Pick a starting point and walk with us. Celebrate Recovery, Celebrate the men an women in our community who are taking back their lives. Come meet the exhibitors who represent the many agencies that help in so many ways to guide folks to recovery. Walk with us in the city that is so much better for its recovering community. If you have questions give me a call or drop an email, Come celebrate with us!

Joe Connor, www.addictionscoalitionde.org, 302-559-4688

We will stepping off at noon from the following locations:

Acme Parking Lot Delaware Ave. and DuPont St.
1212 Club 27th and Washington Sts.
Neighborhood House 1218 B St.
Westside Medical Center 4th and Scott Sts.
8th and Lombard Sts.
23rd and Bowers Sts.

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Matlusky Amends His 30-Day Primary Filing But It Is Still Rife With Error And Mystery

If you listened to the WDEL debate between Richard Korn and Ken Matlusky on Monday night, you already know that Allan Loudell asked Matlusky about his in kind filing blunder. Ken brushed it off as an immature, nonsensical line of questioning and insisted that he had only heard about the improper filing that morning. Matlusky laughed it off saying that he only had to tweak the form and fill out a few boxes. But a Dept. of Elections staffer confirmed to me today that while she had spoken with Matlusky personally that morning, his campaign was informed of the need to refile weeks ago because of the errors.

AND I was told that his amended 30 day (pdf.) filing was again rejected because Ken failed to aggregate the contributions that he made to his campaign (evidently, it is OK to give any amount of money to your own campaign as either regular contributions or loans but it isn't OK not to follow the rules and not to add up the contributed amounts on the filing sheets).

The Dept. of Elections is also not saying that Matlusky's amended in kind receipts and expenditures are OK as filed. Commissioner Manlove is waiting for further explanation of what exactly went on. Matlusky merely filled in "advertising to Today Media" to describe the in kind value given to Delaware Today and as Delaware Today's in kind expenditures made by the campaign. That is far from satisfactory in my mind. In kind by definition is a non cash value. If a Sussex Realty company and Matlusky's brother cut checks to Delaware Today earmarked for a political ad for Matlusky, that is still a cash payment. The Dept. of Elections felt that since the checks weren't cut to the campaign, it is possible that these transactions are properly entered onto the report. But I don't see how that can be. I have a call in to Delaware Today to ask them if they did indeed get two checks for twelve hundred bucks for the Matlusky ads.

I have a call in to the Attorney General's office, as well, to ask for an opinion on whether this is a proper in kind arrangement. Can't wait to hear back on that one.

A pod cast of the debate appears HERE on the WDEL web site and there will be a story about this particular primary's drama by Chad Livengood this weekend. Chad was in the room during the debate. If a picture is worth a thousand words, it says a lot that Ken Matlusky turned bright red and started rocking back and forth in his chair when he was asked about the improprieties in his campaign finance report.

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