Tag: Mayor Dennis Williams

Wilmington’s Business Community Says Enough Is Enough

Filed in Delaware by on January 12, 2015 16 Comments
Wilmington’s Business Community Says Enough Is Enough

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.

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Wilmington FOP Takes A Strong Stand Supporting Chief Dunning

Filed in Delaware by on December 8, 2013 10 Comments

This arrived in my email yesterday evening and was sent to a massive list of folks. It is a statement by the FOP not just supporting Chief Dunning, but calling out Mayor Williams for the micromanaging of the WPD he is rumored to be doing. Shortly after this was sent, Councilman Mike Brown sent out […]

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Wilmington Breaks Its Shootings Record

Filed in Delaware by on December 4, 2013 62 Comments
Wilmington Breaks Its Shootings Record

Over the past several days, Wilmington lived through another rash of shootings resulting in a new shootings record: 147, surpassing the 2010 record of 142. On Monday, I returned home from seeing The Godfather on the big screen at Penn Cinema to multiple flashing red lights at 6th and Madison Sts — 2 women had been shot sitting on their porch earlier that evening. Earlier on Monday, the WPD reported arresting a man carrying an illegal gun not far from this spot — on the 500 block of W 5th — and credited the community with reporting this guy. On Friday, a man was shot in the 600 blk of W 6th St. Other shootings up on Lea Blvd AND at the Riverfront made this a heartbreaker of a Thanksgiving weekend for Wilmington.

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Policing Downtown Wilmington at the Expense of the Rest of Wilmington

Filed in Delaware by on October 16, 2013 5 Comments
Policing Downtown Wilmington at the Expense of the Rest of Wilmington

For many years (at least many of the years I’ve been in Wilmington), neighborhoods in Wilmington (certainly those neighborhoods under siege) have been clamoring for more WPD officers on the street. What was asked for was a Community Policing strategy — a deployment that would put officers on the street in neighborhoods, regularly patrolling and patrolling 24/7. Jim Baker was openly dismissive of this plan — even while he and his Police Chief used this plan to get City Council to authorize additional force strength and more equipment. Interestingly, the place that really did get Community Policing was Downtown. The part of Wilmington where people weren’t being shot and not a location of the drug business. Now we find that Mayor Williams is continuing in the Baker mode — actually expanding the number of uniformed officers who will be walking a beat — walking a beat! — in Downtown Wilmington:

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Did Wilmington’s Mayor Try to Funnel $4 Million to Southbridge Church?

Filed in Delaware by on June 4, 2013 28 Comments
Did Wilmington’s Mayor Try to Funnel $4 Million to Southbridge Church?

On today’s Al Mascitti Show on WDEL, featuring notable guest El Somnambulo, both a City Council member and  a city pastor alleged that the Williams Administration budgeted $4 million that would go to a Southbridge church to help build a gymnasium. According to both Wilmington Councilman Michael Brown and Reverend Derrick Johnson, the church in question is the church of City Councilman Justen Wright.

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