General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 8 2017
After some 45 years as accepted law and practice in Delaware, the Delaware Coastal Zone Act appears to be on the fast track to being compromised as this bill cleared its House Committee yesterday. I think it’s disgraceful that the cynics in and around the General Assembly are trying to push this bill through before the end of June. Bill’s introduced in May, released from House Committee at the first possible opportunity and likely on a House Agenda next week. Seriously? No public input save for a committee hearing? If ever a bill deserves public hearings throughout the state, it’s this one. Dirtying our 45 year legacy at the urging of the Chamber and its useful idiots before the public knows what’s happening. David Swayze’s mere presence here should set off alarm bells. A big-time fixer who orchestrates unseemly legislative activity far from the public eye. Why is it so important to rush through this legislation before the public is even focused on it? Could it not withstand public scrutiny? Promoters of this bill aren’t even bothering to engage with people who are concerned about the potential environmental impacts of this bill. They are merely using raw power to rush this through. Will anybody slow down this runaway train? The Coastal Zone Act is not just legislation,, it’s part of Delaware’s identity.
At least there was some good news yesterday. Rep. Baumbach’s End of Life Options legislation cleared committee. Without, of course, any R votes. They want government out of our lives except when they don’t. Bill’s got a long way to go, though. Medical Society of Delaware opposes it.
Today’s Senate Agenda kicks off with a ‘rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic’ bill. SB 2 (Poore) creates a new Department, the ‘Department of Human Resources’, to replace the Office of Management and Budget. What you’ll likely get is an agency more streamlined and efficient in screwing state employees. Hey, if I’m wrong, let us know why we need this change.
Today’s House Agenda features (?) legislation requiring that cursive writing be taught in the schools. Sponsored by one of Delaware’s least distinguished legislators (Andria Bennett, someone primary her, please), it’s not clear what part of the school curriculum would be pared back to make way for cursive writing.
Today cries out for a longer screed, but work beckons. I’ll try to make it up to you soon.
Bennett has really draped herself in mediocrity. At this rate she may be Lt Gov material at some point.
The end of Life bill makes it much more complicated to, ya know….end a life. Two physicians signing off, counseling, waiting period, psychological evaluation? Are you kidding me? Was this written by some crazed evangelical?
Two thoughts on adding cursive writing to requirements for Delaware children in public schools: I have said for a long time that when we ask teachers to add another task to the long list of things to get done that someone should do a time study. How long will it take? It is easy to imagine a person looking at the skills, or lack of them that Delaware graduates take with them as they graduate, it is easy to say to yourself, “why don’t kids know how to do THIS particular thing, like reading cursive writing?” But no one I know has ever suggested we do a Demming-like examination of how long it takes, what resources are necessary to get the job done, or what teacher preparation/assessment of student performance will look like and how long they take to do well. We all seem to think that if we pass a law, that “makes it so”. Not in this reality. No one I know in government questioned how long it would take to implement all the additional assessment and planning the state’s RTTT initiative required. (RTTT is another entire post or three).
My other thought is that if you really want to measure work readiness, that the state adopt the Work Skills tests put out by the same folks who publish the ACT. (Another post or three). Employers love the Work Skills tests because they translate into a view of how a prospective job candidate will actually do their job. Representative Bennett may have a passion for kids to know cursive writing, but unless it is presented in the context of the whole process, it will not yield the results she is seeking by sponsoring this law.
Exactly. Has anyone ever been asked, “How’s your cursive?” in a job interview.
As far as I can tell, the entire pretext for this nonsense is…”As cursive writing is still an imperative skill in many professions….”
Really? It is? What professions?
Swayze was present? Then the fix is clearly in, and all the Democrats in leadership are complicit.
This state is going Republican in 2020. People still don’t get it. People are sick of politics as usual, regardless of party, and as Trump illustrates, they’ll even vote for clearly terrible candidates to oust the people who are merely fronts for corporate interests. Since the Democrats in this state are the corrupt party in power, the Republicans are going to reap the benefits.
The only argument I’ve heard for making cursive a part of the curriculum again that has any merit is that “primary documents are written in cursive” which makes sense in the context of the current educational fashion of sharing primary documents with students and asking students to process or “close-read” them. Upon closer examination, this “best” argument is weak for several reasons, one of which is that we don’t need to teach a skill because the skill is what it will take to succeed at a task that solely relates to an “educational fashion”. I think we have already technologically moved beyond cursive in so many ways as to render the skill of reading or writing in it useless. I understand the impulse, Representative Bennett, but I disagree. As an afterthought, Portland schools introduced a modified cursive years ago. I don’t know the program’s fate, but I imagine cursive was discarded even by them a long time ago. Also, if a person wants to learn cursive, I would recommend taking a caligraphy class. More aesthetically rewarding, and certainly imparting a capacity to recognize different letter styles including cursive like texts.
They were clever to co-opt and to get Ed Osienski and Bryon Townsend to sponsor and lead the charge on this Coastal zone gutting…not guys like Bryon Short and other more ‘corporate’ D’s.
Besides the obvious insidery bs and environmental issues, I don’t understand why the unions are prostituting themselves out to benefit the chamber of commerce and this DEED group, who given the chance, would have right to work laws here.
If my councilman, Ken Woods, keeps promoting this bill, while ignoring his constituents on every county issue that is his job to address, I’ll be running against him in a primary next year.
shocked that people think that corporate lawyer Bryan Townsend isn’t a corporate dem
El Somm you are going to get your wish. I hear there are already primary challengers lined up to run against Andria Bennett and Sean Lynn. Also I hear they are looking for someone else to primary Brian Bushweller. They are the most lackluster group of legislators we have ever had in Kent County. We have had Republican challengers lined up since the end of last election. Names will follow at a later date. Stay tuned !!
Alby, I. agree with you that Delaware will go Republican in 2020, but it is going to start in 2018. Time to clean house in Kent County !!!
Posing as a Democrat isn’t just for elected officials anymore, I guess.
“We have had Republican challengers lined up since the end of last election. Names will follow at a later date. Stay tuned !!”
What makes you think we give a flying fuck who you’ve recruited? I guarantee none of them has ever had an independent thought in his or her head. The only people more clueless than Democrats are people like you and the rest of your sheep herd.
GOP 2018, we don’t like much, and we like you less. We’re even in a bad mood, hahahahaha
Is the argument that Delaware will go Republican because its dems are not progressive enough? The only reason that would happen is if Newark liberals continue acting like they know what’s best for places like Dover and Gumsboro and recruiting candidates there.
And why are the unions prostituting themselves for the chamber??? Because liberals have been against every construction project over the last 15 years, whether its along the CZA, a Data Center, or most opportunities to attract companies to Delaware. The only thing they support is transportation projects, but liberals are against raising the gas tax to pay for them. Other than prevailing wage and right to work… Why on earth should unions support any liberal? They’re just as bad as the tea party these days and the Dems will lose
“By what measure do we evaluate and trade the health of the environment, the health of the ecology and the health of our citizens for business opportunities that profit and enrich the shareholders of these corporations. This has certainly become the mantra of the current regime in Washington. Profits are the only important factor”
This was my closing statement to the Natural Resources Committee members immediately before they voted to release HB 190. Scores of concerned individuals, environmentalists and environmental groups publicly testified that they were not invited to publicly engage in the dialogue with other stakeholders as HB 190 was being conceived and written. Most only asked that the process be temporarily halted so there could be a series of public meetings up and down the state where opponents and proponents could have a face to face civil dialogue on how to proceed. I concluded my comments prior to the final motion to release by asking the sponsor, Representative Osienski, to please consider the following request. “Representative Osienski I would respectfully request that you consider tabling this bill and hosting a series of public meetings involving all stakeholders where supporters and opponents can both have the opportunity for a measured and civil debate”. That request went unacknowledged.
Information I had sought earlier in the hearing further clouded the issue of this bill’s necessity. This arose when I asked the sponsor to name me one legitimate company which had sought to develop on these sites that withdrew their request because of the existing Coastal Zone Act restrictions. He could offer none and called DEDO officials as witnesses. I posited the same question to these two officials and they proceeded to contend that there were 36 companies that expressed interest in the sites. I reiterated that I asked the sponsor to name me one legitimate company that withdrew their interest because of the CZA and the DEDO officials responded that names and circumstances of all of these suitors were covered by confidentiality agreements that would not allow their identities, plans, motives or resources to be publicly divulged. I once again asked if there was a single legitimate investor among these 36 companies who expressly said that they were withdrawing their offer or locating elsewhere due to the restrictive nature of the Coastal Zone Act’s protection. Again I was unable to secure an answer to my very specific question from the DEDO representatives which forces me to conclude that there were and are none. I received a call from the acting DEDO head today who took exception to my characterizing their testimony as untruthful and I still have received no response to my inquiry nor should I be expected to withdraw any of my conclusions reported by the News Journal in its online article (removed from the print edition) that follows.
“However, officials with the Delaware Economic Development Office said they have worked with 36 potential projects at the 14 proposed sites over the last five years.
“All selected locations outside of Delaware due to the concerns and perception of high risk associated with the Coastal Zone,” said Cerron Cade, Carney’s former campaign manager and the acting director of DEDO”.
State Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, said he does not believe that claim to be true.
“They don’t exist,” he said. “I would love to put them on a lie detector test when they say that.”
Still, Kowalko – who cast the lone vote of dissent Wednesday – said he expects the bill to ultimately pass the General Assembly.
“Everybody is afraid to challenge the chamber of commerce,” he said. “They own this process. They own the House of Representatives and the Senate chamber.”
Passing this legislation could spell disaster for Delaware’s environment, ecology and the quality of life that its citizens enjoy and have far-reaching and disastrous consequences for our billion dollar tourism economy. Please call all of the House members and demand that they oppose this legislation at this time.
Representative John Kowalko
“Is the argument that Delaware will go Republican because its dems are not progressive enough? ”
No. It’s that Delaware will go Republican because Democrats aren’t listening. Just as the nation elected Trump because Democrats weren’t listening.
It’s not about positions on issues. It’s about whether politicians are acting in the interest of the masses or the elites, and a majority of voters seem to believe — accurately, I think — that worrying about people moving to Florida if you raise taxes on the wealthy isn’t acting in the interest of the masses.
A president can say, as Kennedy did, that “a rising tide lifts all boats” because a president has far more tools at his disposal that can work on the economy. A governor does not, so the “grow the pie” line that Markell leaned on and Carney also seems to buy into will not work; certainly it won’t work if all you do is sell off the state’s natural resources, as the Democrats now are poised to do. Fuck, that’s a Scott Walker solution.
Over/under on how many jobs get created by scarring the Coastal Zone? I’ll go with 400.
I see your point Bane, but as a liberal who is in the construction industry, I am supportive of well planned development, not some of the shoddy administratively incomplete plans that get submitted, like TDC. Remember they didn’t actually have any investors, and were headquartered at a po box, and you know, the fact that a power plant was involved. Just as food for thought, Dupont when building CRP 730, the new green flagship buildings, they brought in their main contractor labor force from VA. There’s no guarantee any of these sites won’t get the same treatment.
@Bane: I don’t know who told you that liberals are against a gas tax. Some might be, but don’t confuse elected Democrats with liberals.
The biggest construction project killed in recent years was the Stoltz plan for Barley Mill Plaza. It was opposed by residents of Greenville and Westover Hills, who put up a well-funded fight that drove Stoltz to sell the property. Despite the various defections to the Democrats for primary-voting purposes over the years, the majority of those residents remain overwhelmingly conservative and Republican.
If you actually work in the field, you ought to know better than anyone that the first rule of development (or redevelopment) is that there will be opposition from the neighbors.
The Coastal Zone is quite different. The only reason to locate a facility there instead of inland is pollution disposal. And the reason we shouldn’t allow it is simple: We don’t know when current occupants are violating environmental laws. Why allow more of them?
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2017/02/07/feds-wilmington-oil-recycler-broke-law-20-years/97568480/
In sum, you sound like a Reagan, or Carney, Democrat in your last comment.
It seems the main difference between Delaware Democrats and Delaware Republicans is the democrats say what you want to hear and then do whatever they want and the republicans say what they actually think and do that. And neither of those is a good thing
^
We have a winner!
A good example of misplaced priorities by Carney was his reaction (through his mouthpiece) that the General Assembly should focus more on balancing the budget (i.e. his plans to raise tax rates for working families and those who can least afford it instead of asking the wealthiest Delawareans to pay a little more) and creating jobs (he hopes that will happen by gutting the Coastal Zone Act) instead of celebrating the passage of legislation protecting a woman’s right to control her own body and health care decisions. Delaware Democratic legislators took an important step to protect their constituents from Republican craziness and Carney would rather focus on a non-progressive tax plan and making it easier for companies to pollute our waters. Foolishness like this will depress progressive enthusiasm and open up possibilities for a populist-sounding Republican.
Wait, you actually drink the water in Delaware now?
I can name one place right now. Sun oil in marcus hook. They have spent 4 billion in the past two years converting the refinery there to a natural gas tank farm. Their property is in both delaware and PA. They have been cramming as much as they can on the PA side. If the DE side became available, they already have plans for spending 3 billion tearing down the old infrastructure, and replacing it with new. The coastal zone act prohibits them. Chemours is looking to invest 4 billion in renovation as well. Delaware is in an economic black hole. WSJ named us dead last for economic recovery after the recession. I’m all for protecting the environment, but that comes in second to the livelihood of my family and friends. I’d rather take 2 steps forward, one step back then 3 steps back.
Doesn’t the current CZA-gutting bill have language that restricts or prohibits natural gas bulk transfer facilities? So it might not even help Sunoco.
And I thought the State bought the Chemours property that is in the Costal Zone so it can be added to the Port of Wilmington?
LNG terminals will still be prohibited under the new law.
Chemours is being transfered to the Port, who is exempt. The Port is the only site that is allowed LNG and I doubt the Diamond State Port Corp is going to allow competition on that.
I love how the surrounding communities that have already suffered from legacy pollution are not even being considered in this whole conversation. I guess low income people come last in your concerns.
Keep peddling that snake oil there buddy.
Yep, environmental racism is an issue that rarely comes up, but it needs to be part of this discussion.
The state spent somewhere around 7 mil to remediate the Eden Park neighborhood due to excessive arsenic levels in the 90’s. I heard recently that they are considering a buyout of that neighborhood and another on the route 9 corridor as the contamination levels are still high. The census tracks show elevated cancer rates all around these sites. Why expose another generation to pollutants?
Also since some people claim nothing is being built/ happening to any of these sites.. I’ll share a recent email from DNREC and two points: the stare employs zero rail inspectors, and this project is within the coastal zone yet no permit is needed as it is an allowable use
Title: Coastal Zone Act Status Decision Re: Drawbridge Claymont, LLC
Division: Office of the Secretary
Start Date: 5/21/2017
LEGAL NOTICE
DNREC, Office of the Secretary
Coastal Zone Act Status Decision
Re: Drawbridge Claymont, LLC
Under the authority of the Delaware Coastal Zone Act (7 Del. Code, Ch. 70) and the “Regulations Governing Delaware’s Coastal Zone”, the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has rendered a Status Decision. Drawbridge Claymont, LLC submitted an application on March 17, 2017, seeking a Status Decision under the Delaware Coastal Zone Act (“CZA”) to determine if a Coastal Zone Act Permit is required to construct and operate a new 240-car rail yard on a portion of the former General Chemical property, identified as the South Parcel, at 6300 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont. The rail yard will provide storage for railroad rolling stock and support transportation of materials to and from Braskem’s Marcus Hook (PA) polypropylene complex.
The Secretary’s Status Decision is that a Coastal Zone Act permit is not required by 7 Del. C. § 7004 because, under the Regulations Governing Delaware’s Coastal Zone, the proposed use for this site is not a prohibited heavy industry use (or a prohibited bulk transfer facility), nor does it fit the statutory definition of a manufacturing use requiring a permit.
There is a fourteen day appeal period following the date of publication of this legal notice. Anyone wishing to appeal this decision to the State Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board must do so by June 5, 2017. There is a one hundred dollar application fee. An appeal form may be acquired by calling Jeffrey Healy at (302) 739-9038. If no appeal is received, this decision becomes final.
” I’m all for protecting the environment, but that comes in second to the livelihood of my family and friends.”
Then you’re not all for protecting the environment.
This idiotic bullshit notion that the planet needs to get ass-raped in order to have a robust economy really is nauseating. You’d have to be some brain-dead nit wit to really buy into that ridiculousness.
That’s why Carney supports it Jason!
Quick question so I can at least get some frame of reference from most of you. What kind of work do you all do? nothing specific, just ball park. I.E. teacher, work at a bank, etc.
General contractor. CAD certified. Focus on electrical. Have had almost every heavy industry site in de as a customer, most are outside of the coastal zone.
GOP2018 – or maybe David Anderson?
Tell Nancy and Bud to quit scheming. It’s unseemly.