DL Open Thread: Saturday, December 28, 2024

Meet The New Audit, Same As The Old Audit:  Delaware Unemployment Compensation Fund Still Unauditable:

The State’s Department of Labor was unable to provide sufficient appropriate audit evidence for the balances and financial activity of the account balances of the unemployment fund. The State’s
records do not permit us, nor is it practical to extend or apply other auditing procedures, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to conclude that the account balances and related cash flows in the business-type activities and unemployment fund were free from material misstatement. As a result of these matters we were unable to determine whether further audit adjustments may have been necessary in respect to the unemployment fund account balances, and the elements making up the statement of activities and cash flows.

Just Might Have To Get Myself A Costco Membership:

Costco’s board of directors unanimously recommended that its shareholders vote against a proposal brought by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, that would require Costco to evaluate and issue a report on the financial risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion goals. The group criticized Costco for possible “illegal discrimination” against employees who are “white, Asian, male or straight.”

Costco said its DEI efforts help the company attract and retain a wide range of employees and improve merchandise and services in stores. Costco also said its members want to interact with a diverse employee base.

“Among other things, a diverse group of employees helps bring originality and creativity to our merchandise offerings, promoting the ‘treasure hunt’ that our customers value,” Costco said in its proxy statement to investors. “We believe (and member feedback shows) that many of our members like to see themselves reflected in the people in our warehouses with whom they interact.”

The board went further in its recommendation to vote against the proposal, saying the think tank is masking its true anti-diversity agenda under the guise of reducing risk. Costco said the NCPPR is inflicting burdens on companies with challenges to DEI and the organization’s broader agenda is to abolish diversity initiatives.

Uh, Walmart? Not so much:

No corporation looms as large over the American economy as Walmart. It is both the country’s biggest private employer, known for low pay, and its biggest retailer, known for low prices. In that sense, its dominance represents the triumph of an idea that has guided much of American policy making over the past half century: that cheap consumer prices are the paramount metric of economic health, more important even than low unemployment and high wages. Indeed, Walmart’s many defenders argue that the company is a boon to poor and middle-class families, who save thousands of dollars every year shopping there.

Two new research papers challenge that view. Using creative new methods, they find that the costs Walmart imposes in the form of not only lower earnings but also higher unemployment in the wider community outweigh the savings it provides for shoppers. On net, they conclude, Walmart makes the places it operates in poorer than they would be if it had never shown up at all. Sometimes consumer prices are an incomplete, even misleading, signal of economic well-being.

Their conclusion: In the 10 years after a Walmart Supercenter opened in a given community, the average household in that community experienced a 6 percent decline in yearly income—equivalent to about $5,000 a year in 2024 dollars—compared with households that didn’t have a Walmart open near them. Low-income, young, and less-educated workers suffered the largest losses.

ProPublica‘s Most-Read Stories Of 2024.  Simply the best, and most important, journalism we have.

‘Come On Baby, Light My Fire’:  Morrison Hotel goes up in flames.  The lav became a funeral pyre.

Maryland v. Gore-Tex:  Because of course Gore-Tex knew about the toxic shit they used in their manufacturing processes, but didn’t care.  Hmmm, time for Coons to slip some seemingly innocuous language into a bill somewhere?:

Maryland is suing the company that produces the waterproof material Gore-Tex often used for raincoats and other outdoor gear, alleging its leaders kept using “forever chemicals” long after learning about serious health risks associated with them.

The complaint, which was filed last week in federal court, focuses on a cluster of 13 facilities in northeastern Maryland operated by Delaware-based W.L. Gore & Associates. It alleges the company polluted the air and water around its facilities with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, jeopardizing the health of surrounding communities while raking in profits.

The lawsuit adds to other claims filed in recent years, including a class action on behalf of Cecil County residents in 2023 demanding Gore foot the bill for water filtration systems, medical bills and other damages associated with decades of harmful pollution in the largely rural community.

BTW, anyone who doubts that an essential trait to be a corporate spokesperson is a lack of conscience, I submit to you the following:

Gore spokesperson Donna Leinwand Leger said the company is “surprised by the Maryland Attorney General’s decision to initiate legal action, particularly in light of our proactive and intensive engagement with state regulators over the past two years.”

“We have been working with Maryland, employing the most current, reliable science and technology to assess the potential impact of our operations and guide our ongoing, collaborative efforts to protect the environment,” the company said in a statement, noting a Dec. 18 report that contains nearly two years of groundwater testing results.

Translation: ‘We’ve been slow-walking this in time-honored corporate tradition.  What’s the rush?’

Delaware’s Only Coal-Powered Plant To Shut Down Early.  Meaning, the news isn’t entirely bleak:

The only operational unit of Delaware’s sole coal-fired power plant will shut down in February, nearly two years ahead of schedule.

Indian River Unit 4 near Dagsboro originally was scheduled to shut down in 2026 while electrical grids were upgraded to ensure reliability, but regional grid manager PJM announced on Monday, Dec. 23, that the power plant’s unit can shut down 22 months early without causing adverse impacts on the grid’s reliability.

The company has stated that this early shutdown will save consumers nearly $100 million and will soon make Delaware the sixth state in the country with no coal-fired power plants in operation.

The Indian River plant has been a subject of environmental and public health scrutiny for decades.

In August of 2007, the Delaware Division of Public Health confirmed the presence of a “cancer cluster” in the area immediately surrounding the Indian River Power Plant, with a cancer rate 17% higher than the national average at the time.

What do you want to talk about?