Tag: City of Wilmington
What A Crisis in African American Leadership Looks Like
“Our communities have fared better over the past 24 years (under an African American mayor) than under previous administrations, at the expense of those who previously benefited, and there is a strong effort by those others to regain control of City Government,” wrote Fullman.
“So much so that folks have paid candidates to enter the race or are paying black individuals to garner support for white candidates in the African American communities (Norman Oliver for Mike Pryszicki [sic]). Don’t be fooled. Join us Wednesday evening to converse directly with Mayor Williams to get the real story.”
The Murdertown Chronicles — Finale
Part 3 was released some time back and I apologize for not posting that. See the end of this post to see details on the release and wrap party for the final episode. Have you heard about this new podcast? Sponsored by the Delaware Center for Justice, this is a long-form reporting project that is meant to explore the role that poverty plays in Wilmington’s crime problems. This will be in four parts — and so far includes voices from young men wrapped up in crime as well as voices from the ACLU, Dr. Yasser Payne, Charlie Copeland and others who are illuminating the larger picture involved with Wilmington’s crime problems. I’ve listened to the first one (this is about 20 minutes long) and it is riveting. Give it a listen and I hope you’ll come back to this thread to discuss this work and the issues it raises.
Senator Cory Booker Endorses Eugene Young for Wilmington Mayor
This happened on Friday and is certainly impressive. Senator Booker has been on some lists as a potential VP candidate for Hillary Clinton, and there’s been plenty of cheerleading for him. He’s a solid progressive and defeated a fair bit of Newark public sector corruption and cronyism to win the Mayor’s seat. Here’s his pitch for Eugene Young, candidate for Mayor of Wilmington:
500
On June 26, 2016, a 15 year old young man was shot in the arm in the area of 27th and Moore Sts in Wilmington. He was taken to the hospital and I presume he is recovering. You would be forgiven if you read that and thought that this is the normal flow of criminal activity in Wilmington. This young man was the 500th victim of a shooting in Wilmington since Mayor Dennis Williams took office.
Black Lives Matter Political Town Hall March 23
The Wilmington Black Lives Matter group is hosting a Town Hall on Wednesday, March 23 from 6 – 8 PM. The Town Hall is at 2303 Lancaster Avenue Wilmington, Delaware. Invited politicians include: John Carney, Matt Denn, Penrose Hollins, Stephanie Bolden, Theo Gregory, Kevin Kelley, Eugene Young, Justen Wright, Sherry Dorsey, Bob Williams, Greg Fuller, Maria Cabrera, Steve Washington, Matthew Meyers and others.
A Wilmington Game-Changer? Former Philly Police Chief Ramsey Hired.
No, not as police chief. But as a public safety consultant. The only question is, is this a consultant that Dennis Williams will listen to? He hired him, so I guess the answer is yes, but it’s Dennis Williams we’re talking about here. Anyway, here’s what he’s supposed to do:
The Clowning of Wilmington
The ABC network is going to take up the label that Newsweek slapped Wilmington with to create a new TV show called “Murder Town”. It will be set in Wilmington, and be a legal drama. You can read about all of that in the NJ article. Hollywoodizing Wilmington and its troubles won’t help those here that actually need some help and add to that a bunch of people who don’t live here getting ready to profit from Wilmington’s issues who probably won’t be investing here. Still. The most appalling part of this article is this:
How Wilmington’s Leadership Keeps The Tale of Two Wilmingtons Narrative Alive
This time, I ask you to compare the reactions to two important developments:
Join the Wilmington Parent Advocacy Council for Education
If you live in Wilmington and are a parent, grandparent, foster parent, guardian, primary caregiver, student or just plain concerned community member — this is a newly formed group that is going to advocate for better equity, access and educational opportunity for Wilmington kids. From the brochure:
The PACE Network joins adults, youth and educators together to imagine, create and advocate for equity, access and more effective learning in schools and community places. The Vision is to ensure all Wilmington youth safely attend quality early learning programs, read on level by 3rd grade, excel in reading, math, science, social studies, technology, arts, sports, extracurricular activities and graduate high school prepared for college/career success. The PACE Network aims to shape a unified voice to advocate for Wilmington students. Families and city residents play a critical role in our children’s education. Network membership is open to parents, grandparents, community members, guardians, foster parents, educators in early care, pre-schools, districts and charter schools enrolling Wilmington students.
Maybe This Is Why The City Wants State Funds For WPD Foot Patrols
Because Wilmington taxpayers spending $8,000 on Uber billboards. Not that $8K would go far in terms of additional policing, but this shows you the fiscal priorities of this Mayor while he and his Police Chief have decided that schilling for more funds from the State is their main job.
The city Office of Economic Development is spending $8,000 under a one-month contract for four billboards with the message “Wilmington proudly welcomes UBER” and a picture of Williams. The billboards also include a website address where residents can apply to become a driver for the service.
Ready, Fire, Aim — The Operation Disrupt Edition
Today, we get a hilarious press release from the Mayor’s Office announcing that the WPD’s Operation Disrupt is now coming back. This is the Operation Disrupt put into place with great fanfare after multiple shootings in January — pulling the city’s Community Police Unit, as well as resources from other special units to flood the streets of certain sections of the city with officers. And only for eight hours in the evening and only for 5 days a week. Sundays were covered by NCCOPD and Mondays were covered on an ad hoc basis. Operation Disrupt started winding down in March and by the time that the WPSSC presented its report, Operation Disrupt was a shadow of its former self, with most of the special unit officers returned to their units and the CPU officers preparing to move on to other assignments. This is March 31. The NJ reported that Operation Disrupt was being reconfigured into a 7 officer unit that would specifically target certain areas. Then it said that Operation Disrupt was over on June 5, which may be when the original configuration ended. And then — TA DA! — Operation Disrupt is BACK and Mayor and the Chief are pulling the newly deployed CPU to do the larger effort.
A Shooting Happens on My Block
Thursday night, a man was murdered in his home on the 500 block of W 4th St in Quaker Hill. This man was my neighbor, and this is the block I live on. A week ago — also on a Thursday — I returned home from a late run to BJs for gas to drive […]
Note to Wilmington City Council — Ready, Fire, Aim Is Not A Public Safety Strategy
Last night there was a meeting of the Wilmington City Council Public Safety Committee and of the Committee of the Whole — intended to discuss the budget amendment that would authorize two new Inspector positions and and a Chief Information Officer for the WPD. What you could tell when the conversation started was that this […]
Recent Comments