Delaware
A Requiem for the Wilmington City Council
The Wilmington City Council passed the budget for the next fiscal year — 7-6. Other than the 600K that Bud Freel made sure got added to deal with cameras and to be sure that the WPD could run an Academy if needed, this City Council passed a budget utterly free of any opportunity for asking for better accountability from the Williams Administration and utterly free from dealing with the big issues the city has: improved safety, accountability for programs and departments and a better reckoning of a projected surplus — $2M surplus even though this fiscal year will end with a $500K deficit.
BREAKING: Ex-Legislator Rewarded For Burying Death Penalty Repeal Bill
Remember Rebecca Walker? She’s the former chair of the House Judiciary Committee who buried the death penalty repeal bill in her committee for most of 2013 and all of 2014.
Remember Rebecca Walker? She’s the former legislator who claimed she was running for reelection in 2014, had actually filed, waited until after the filing deadline, then withdrew her name, thus denying the Democratic voters in her district the right to choose her successor via primary. Remember why Rebecca Walker claimed she withdrew? She said that her work would not enable her to continue to serve. As if she just found that out right after the filing deadline.
Well, guess what ‘good fortune’ has been bestowed upon former State Rep. Rebecca Walker?
If you guessed a $96K state job that required no public posting and which reunites her with her police pals with whom she scuttled death penalty repeal, you would be correct.
What A Difference An Actual Report Makes, Right Mr. Mayor?
Yesterday, Mayor Williams had his last Town Hall. I’ll say more about that in another post. But he said to WDEL yesterday:
Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams is making it clear he’s not a huge fan of the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission.
“What’s the big deal about this crime commission?” Williams posed on WDEL’s Delaware’s Morning News.
“Everybody that put a few dollars up, talked about this crime commission being so great,” Williams said. “Where were these people when I asked them to support Wilmington many years ago?”
But when the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission was authorized by the Governor, this is what he had to say:
“Since taking office in 2013, I have recognized the value and necessity of State assistance in fighting violent crime,” Williams said in a written statement. “I have consistently lobbied for Governor Markell and the State’s support in tackling the violent crime in Wilmington. I would like to thank the Governor and City Delegation for their steadfast support and commitment, as we work collectively on the issue of eradicating the crime and violence in our city.”
Beau Biden Hospitalized in Walter Reed Medical Center
From the News Journal:
Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden and a Democratic candidate for governor of Delaware in 2016, has been hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for an undisclosed illness.
The vice president’s office confirmed Tuesday that Beau Biden was undergoing treatment, but did not go into further details.
Alright. First things first. I really don’t think there is any Delawarean out there, save the truly evil conservatives among us who are already destined for Hell, who doesn’t wish Beau Biden the best of health, and have been wishing him a recovery from whatever it is he has been dealing with lo these many years now. I truly hope whatever Mr. Biden is getting treatment for is not serious and he is getting well.
And yes, in a perfect world, normally, we all are entitled to privacy in our private lives and concerning our medical treatments.
But, “undisclosed illness” and “did not go into further details?”
That has to stop. Now.
Mayor Williams Holds Another Town Meeting
This one is tomorrow, Tuesday May 19th at P.S. duPont. Please come out to ask the Mayor about the status of implementing the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission recommendations (some of these recommendations are largely in line with President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing report. Or just ask him about the political agendas that are somehow more proactive about the safety of Wilmingtonians than his own plan is. Handcuffs are optional for this event, but if you got ’em, wear ’em!
Camden Gets the Kudos for Community Policing that Wilmington Could Have Had
So you’ve heard me talk about the successes that Camden has had in bending the curve of their crime and violence issues — and today, President Obama travels to Camden to recommend the Camden Community Policing approach as a national model. This accompanies the release of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing report today:
The report endorsed Thomson’s view that “community policing cannot be a program, unit, strategy or tactic. It must be the core principle that lies at the foundation of a police department’s culture.
“The only way to significantly reduce fear, crime and disorder, and then sustain these gains is to leverage the greatest force multiplier: the people of the community,” Thomson testified.
Sunday Daily Delawhere [5.17.15]
Art Gallery in Downtown Rehoboth, by Mike Druckenbrod of PhotostoArt.
The Weekly Addresses
The President highlights the importance of expanding opportunity for all Americans — a principle that has guided his work throughout the past six years.
Governor Markell highlights the need for investment in a modernized infrastructure network to promote long-term economic activity and improve road safety.
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