Why Is The State Throwing So Much Money At Buccini/Pollin For Athletics Facilities?
FY 2027 will mark the third-straight year Delaware will offer $10 million in grant money to support projects that are aimed towards attracting out-of-state visitors to stay and spend in the First State.
The Buccini Pollin Group has benefited greatly from the first three rounds, leading to upgrades at DE Turf in Frederica, the Kirkwood Sports Complex in New Castle, the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, and the pending Indoor Track Delaware facility next door to the Chase Fieldhouse.
Not to mention, Salesianum benefits from an unlevel playing field:
Six-year-old Abessinio Stadium also benefits from $300,000 out of the bond bill.
Salesianum opened the stadium in 2020 in a private-public partnership with the Delaware State Parks, who maintain office space inside the stadium, which replaced Baynard Stadium.
Its 400-meter track uses the same BSS 300 track surface used at over 200 NCAA and high school facilities, according to the school, but industry leaders say an outdoor running track should be resurfaced every 8-15 years.
If I had any influence with the Inspector General, I’d lobby for an investigation of all the state funding going to Buccini/Pollin and how that funding has been used.
Um, right after the Office concludes its investigation into the Underwater City At Ft. DuPont boondoggle.
Not Even Trump’s Cheating Could Save US World Cup Hopes:
This was a Belgium team that entered the match seemingly short of its best. It was also missing two of its best-known players in Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku — who were supposed to be critical components but weren’t missed at all. The Red Devils were also supposed to be old and slow, but these players looked nothing of the sort. They were dynamic in every part of the field and competed with a ferocity that was too much for the Americans.
But as good as Belgium was, the U.S. couldn’t have played worse. This was a team that was thought to have any number of advantages; talented players, a top coach in Mauricio Pochettino, playing at home, with President Donald J. Trump even putting his finger on the scale in aiding the lifting of Folarin Balogun’s suspension.
As it turned out, the match was like the old John Lennon line: Instant karma got the USMNT and knocked it in the head. Balogun proved to be a mere footnote. He won the free kick that preceded Tillman’s goal, but he was largely kept in check. If anything, the entire situation seemed to inspire Belgium, which looked fired up from the opening whistle. U.S. captain Tim Ream said it had no impact on the U.S.
“Outside noise, we’ve done a good job with this group of allowing outside noise to be outside noise,” he said after the match. “It’s got nothing to do with us as players and getting ready for games. It’s one of those things, that’s the world we live in. So we were fully focused on us as a group and as a team and fully focused on the game and not really worrying about what was being said or debated in the outside world.”
So Much For Graham Platner. The allegations are clearly credible, from what I’ve read. Can we dust off the septuagenarian governor?:
Racicot previously spoke with the New York Times for a piece last month that recounted the candidate’s “volatile and ‘toxic’ relationships” with several different women. Racicot told Politico that she had described the alleged 2021 assault to the paper off the record but did not want to go public “because she didn’t want to be known as a rape victim.”
However, she said she changed her mind after another woman who talked to the Times about Platner, Lyndsey Fifield, was attacked because of her work as a Republican operative. Racicot, however, said she supports Platner’s politics.
“One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person,” she told Politico. “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person.”
Doesn’t look like they’re gonna exhume Gov. Mills for the race:
But even before multiple outlets reported a sexual assault accusation Monday night (which Graham Platner denies), there were signs that Platner’s polling was weakening — the result of a months-long drumbeat of scandals, exhausting Democrats of all political stripes.
Still, most polls show the party retains a lead on the generic ballot. Mainers appear to want to send a Democrat to the upper chamber. And under state rules, Platner has until Monday to drop out. State Democrats would then have until the fourth Monday in July — July 27 — to name a replacement candidate, a delicate process that has the potential to anger everyone. (Josh Marshall described proposals for a flash convention to replace Biden in 2024 as “thunderdome” politics — something like that might be in the offing for Maine as well.)
Janet Mills, reportedly, is unlikely to be that replacement candidate, given her sleepy primary campaign. Most attention has focused on candidates who lost the governor primary — Nirav Shah, who lead the state’s public health response through COVID; Troy Jackson, a former president of the Maine Senate; and Shenna Bellows, the current secretary of state, who lost to Susan Collins in the Senate race in 2014.
But first, Platner has to choose to withdraw. Abandoned by the state and federal party campaign organizations and most high-profile allies, he would seem to have little choice. Still, he seems to want to exercise some influence over his successor, a “person familiar” told the New York Times last night.
“If he was to step down it would only be with a guarantee of being replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for,” that person said.
Could just be me, but I don’t think he’s exactly playing with a strong hand here.
So Much For Mitch McConnell? The Kentucky legislature has rigged it so that the Governor can’t appoint or nominate a D for the position:
Viral social media posts claiming that US Senator Mitch McConnell is “brain dead” have sparked widespread speculation about his health. The rumours surfaced after conservative activist Laura Loomer shared unverified claims online while the longtime Kentucky senator remained hospitalised following a medical emergency in June.
