Wilmington’s Business Community Says Enough Is Enough

Wilmington’s Business Community Says Enough Is Enough

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Yesterday, the NJ published a lengthy article where Wilmington's business community officially went on the record to voice their disapproval of the Williams' Administration's approach to managing crime in the city. While news and complaints about the crime problem are not new, the fact that portions of Wilmington's business community is willing to talk to journalists about their concerns is new and huge, I think. Previously, they could just reach out to the 9th floor and they usually had not just a sympathetic ear, but also an administration that at least tried to address their concerns. Not, the problem (while admittedly not that much bigger than before) is exacerbated by both the glib promises made by the Mayor and his people as well as an administration that is utterly MIA on this issue. It isn't just that no one from the Administration will speak or even be seen to be proactive on safety issues (even the perception of safety issues), Wilmington's business community has met with the Administration multiple times asking how they can help AND communicating that they can be counted on to support solutions. This effort has been met with silence.
Matt Denn Off to Great Start!

Matt Denn Off to Great Start!

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Two major initiatives, and I like them both. First, his creation of a new Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust is designed to eliminate inherent conflicts within the AG's office where attorneys represent both agencies and members of the public with concerns about said agencies. This has been an issue dating back as far as I can remember. And then the new Attorney General unveiled a new bill aimed at violent offenders who are prohibited from having weapons and violent offenders who are committing gun-related violence. 
John Carney Mad About the Fight Over the Dodd-Frank Rollback

John Carney Mad About the Fight Over the Dodd-Frank Rollback

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We already know that a provision to roll back the Dodd-Frank provision that forbid banks from booking their deriviatives in the the parts of their business that is insured by taxpayers. They would have to keep them in the portions of their business where losses were borne entirely by the bank and their shareholders. Elizabeth Warren led what Bloomberg called The Great Swaps Rebellion during the Cromnibus negotiations. And John Carney was peeved:
Wilmington Education Advisory Committee Weighs In On Priority Schools

Wilmington Education Advisory Committee Weighs In On Priority Schools

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The letter inside was sent to Governor Markell yesterday. It is asking for the same thing most of us are asking - to slow down the process because more time is needed. One thing is clear. The more people learn about the Priority Schools Plan the more they ask for more time before implementation. The time frame is what frustrates so many - it simply cannot be taken seriously. The problems facing these schools are complicated, and ones we've ignored for years. Sadly, there is nothing in those MOUs that address, let alone acknowledge, the real issues facing these schools. And longer school days, getting rid of teachers and bringing in new "school leaders" (I hate that phrasing, btw) doesn't address the very real challenges these children, and the schools serving them, face every day. I stood on the steps at Warner when the Priority Schools plan was unveiled and, when the announcement was over, I walked away shaking my head. By the time I got home I realized that the main priority of the plan was the consequences of failure; that the only thing carved in stone in the MOU was the loss of our public schools. The time frame all but guaranteed that outcome. Hopefully, this letter will help slow things down.
Friday Open Thread [1.9.15]

Friday Open Thread [1.9.15]

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Sen. Joe Manchin has a sad. You see, he is so West Virginia dumb that he doesn't understand basic balance of power stuff about the three branches of government. He said he was disappointed that the White House threatened to veto his legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing the president’s move was “not the way a democracy works.” Oh really?
“He never even gave it a chance, never even gave it a chance. Now, that’s just not the way you do legislation. It’s not the way a democracy works. And it’s not the way the… three branches of government should work.”
Well, first off, you are the one not giving something a chance. You are the one who wants to rush this to a conclusion, you dumbfuck Carper wannabe. The State Department and the Nebraska and U.S. Courts are reviewing the pipeline, so you are not giving them a chance to complete their work. Second, the President is free to tell Congress at any time he wants that "hey, Congress, you might not want to waste your and the taxpayer's precious time on this ill conceived bill, because I am just going to veto it anyway." There is nothing anti-democratic or unconstitutional about that. In fact, he is doing Congress a favor. Now, if Congress wants to waste their time and pass the bill anyway, that is of course their prerogative. But that does not require the President to sign it. You see, some Republicans, and obviously some West Virginia Democrats, believe that when Congress passes a bill it is automatically law. Go back to Social Studies class, Senator.
The 62 Project: Version 2.0

The 62 Project: Version 2.0

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The 62 Project ranks the legislators based on the entirety of their careers. Version 2.0 reflects the departures of legislators, the arrival of new legislators, and adjustments to the rankings based on events that followed my initial ranking of individual legislators. For those not familiar with the original project, here's the link where you can find out a lot more info (and snark) regarding your favorite legislators. I will offer comments for those who moved significantly in either direction.  Since the new legislators have not yet...legislated, I have assigned them placeholder positions based on my sense of where they project as we kick off the 148th General Assembly....
Christina’s Plan For “Priority Schools” And Last Night’s Meeting

Christina’s Plan For “Priority Schools” And Last Night’s Meeting

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Here's what happened at last night's Christina's School Board meeting:
With two days remaining before a threatened state takeover of its three inner-city schools, the Christina board delayed action on the state's priority schools plan – but it gave Superintendent Freeman Williams permission to work with education officials on a compromise. Department spokeswoman Alison May said officials there were willing to extend the deadline for negotiations – at least for the moment. Gov. Jack Markell has said he will close those schools down or hand them over to charters or other outside operators if the district and state can't agree. The board's move comes after the Department of Education rejected draft plans the district had crafted after months of meetings with parents, teachers and others in the schools' communities. "At the highest level, the plans propose continuing the work that is already underway at the schools, which we know has not been effective," May wrote. "The plans propose supplementing the current work in minor ways, which we do not believe will be transformative for students."
Before continuing, let's break this down. First, Gov. Markell will not close these schools down, so he should probably drop that bit of nonsense. Charter and privatization have always been the end game for these Priority Schools (It's actually more than the end game, it's the entire point of this), so let's stop pretending that closure is on the table.  It isn't... unless someone wants to tell me where the children attending the closed schools would go? And while the MOU doesn't have much to say about the children attending these schools, they do, in fact, actually exist.
The Archives of the Honorable Chip Flowers, Jr.

The Archives of the Honorable Chip Flowers, Jr.

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Who needs satire when Chip does the work for us?  If you're a loyal DL reader, you OWE IT TO YOURSELF to parse every syllable of this Ode to A Delusional Narcissist. For fun, count the number of times he uses the word 'historic' or variation thereof. Lest you doubt that this is Chip's work, you can access it here. However, if you are loathe (to steal one of Monsignor Lavelle's favorite words) to give Chip the web traffic (although the big-ass watch alone is worth a peek), here is Chip in his own words (I know, b/c they're in the Third Person)....