Chief Justice Myron Steele Favors SCOTUS Test Of Constitutionality Of Secret Chancery Court Arbitration

John Flaherty sent this along ~ 

(The Republic) AP - Randall Chase reports ~ Delaware chief justice expects more wrangling over constitutionality of secret arbitration

A federal appeals court panel last month upheld a lower court decision declaring that a 2009 state law allowing chancery judges to preside over secret arbitration in high-stakes business disputes was unconstitutional because it violated the First Amendment right of citizens to have access to court proceedings and records. But Chief Justice Myron Steele said at a corporate law forum Wednesday that he doesn't believe the fight is over, and that the case may be ripe for a U.S. Supreme Court appeal.

~*~

Read More

TDC's Corporate Entity Is A Mail Boxes Etc. UPS Store In East Goshen - Not A Suite As They Claim On Their Website

TDC's official business address - which they claim on their website is a Suite -  is a mailbox in a Mail Boxes Etc UPS Store....

A friend writes ~

1554 Paoli Pike West Chester PA ---Does anyone know what this is the address for? Anyone? Anyone... Buller? Ferris Buller...? No reply...

OK it is the address for The Data Centers LLC, the company who is building a 279 MW power plant in Newark and renting the UD campus to do it. Why is this an issue? Because the Data Center who has NO phone number, a website that looks like it was built yesterday--No experience in Building Power plants and at least according to the website no experience in the construction of Data centers either(consulting yes, building no)-they are reporting to have 7.5 million from the state of DE and a BILLION in total leveraged funds. I am NOT EVEN ASKING HOW A COMPANY WITH NO OFFICIAL HISTORY IN POWER GENERATION CAN RAISE THAT CAPITAL --OK I AM GETTING TO MY POINT---1554 Paoli Pike is a UPS store... Not offices for a data center..With all that supposed leveraged capital you cant even rent office space and get a phone line----Why would ANYONE invest money in you let alone the state of DE?

 Just sayin'. Will have to check the Delaware Division of Corporations to see if this is the address TDC is incorporated under.

~*~

Read More

Please Urge New Castle County Council To Vote Down Bullock And Sheldon's R13-258 Pro-Power Plant Resolution

http://www.nonewarkpowerplant.org/

Update: Lisa Diller has just confirmed with residents that she is voting NO on this resolution and she is meeting tonight with one Newark area community to listen to their concerns, Among those concerns is that the resolution is full of bad information on the project that TDC is spreading. Here are a few examples:

Even according to TDC's own DEDO grant application, this resolution has the facts wrong. The avg salary is not $63k ("$60k" is the avg *loaded* cost of hiring someone); the avg salary, before taxes, is $46,500. And the median salary for the most common workers is lower, which means most of the employees will be paid lower than the living wage for 1 adult + 1 child in New Castle County.

The 900,000 square feet (20 acres out of the 43 acre site) is the size of the entire developed ground area. The data center is proposed as 192,000 square feet.

And TDC's data incorrectly counts their 16 hr/week weekend jobs as full time headcount, so their 290 figure is really 219 when adjusted to full time equivalent jobs. And even if you subtract out the FIFTY landscape, security, and janitorial staff, TDC's projected data center jobs are 6X the number of data center staff per square foot at all major data centers, including those much larger. Examples in Grant County, WA: Microsoft 500,000 sq ft / 100 employees. Yahoo 180,000 sq ft / 35 employees.

And all of this is if you even believe TDC's claims, a company with 8 part time employees, with no phone number, with a UPS Store mailbox as their supposed "Suite" address, and which has never built anything before.

Appreciate with me the hubris of at-large Council President Chris Bullock and non-Newark Rep. Tim Sheldon to set in motion the committee hearing and Council vote for a pro-power plant resolution on Newark's election day when we will all be busy conducting our affairs in choosing the next mayor! OUTRAGEOUS. 

And then read the Resolution and be further outraged:

http://www2.nccde.org/council/Documents/LegislationDocuments/R13-258.pdf

R13-258 is on the agenda for the NCC Executive Committee at 4:00PM on Tuesday November 26th. It is the public hearing for the Resolution. Public comments are welcome for this agenda item and there is a general public comment on each committee agenda. There will be supporters in the room no doubt.

The Resolution is also on the agenda for a vote at the regular council meeting later that night which starts at 7PM. This will prevent Newarkers from coming to Wilmington since so many will obviously be involved in the election that day. 

http://www2.nccde.org/council/Documents/MeetingAgendaDocuments/Council%20Agenda%2011-26-13.pdf

Public Comment is taken at the regular meeting as well. I plan to go to both meetings but we will need as many as possible to contact ahead of time too. This will have to be mostly an email campaign to stop it.

If we can get all of our supporters to email all of Council it will be very influential. And if we can get people across the county to do the same - all the better. I was hoping Sierra Club and other organizations will send out alerts.

People can address emails to Council President Bullock and the rest of Council and mention their own rep. specifically.

Sponsor Chris Bullock is the only at large person on Council and so is everyone's rep. Newark has (R) Janet Kilpatrick in the northern corner and (D) Lisa Diller for the rest. Diller has to be pressured to lobby against this Resolution and act in the interest of her constituents. 

It is outrageous that none of the facts cited are vetted and none of the residents concerns are noted. Click onto No Newark Power Plant->Resources->Documents and read some of the facts for yourself.

~*~

Read More

Community Involvement Advisory Council Workshop - Response To Public Comments On Brownfields Development Agreement - Set For 3PM Tomorrow In Millsboro

John Flaherty sent this along ~

CIAC sets public workshop on development of Vlasic
Pickle/Pinnacle site for Thursday, Nov. 21 in Millsboro

DOVER (Nov. 20, 2013) – DNREC’s Community Involvement Advisory Council (CIAC) will hold a public workshop Thursday, Nov. 21, on the potential redevelopment of the former Vlasic Pickle site at 29984 Pinnacle Way in Dagsboro. The workshop is scheduled from 3-5 p.m. at the Millsboro Town Hall, 322 Wilson Highway, Millsboro, DE 19966.

 

Allen M. Harim Foods has entered into a brownfields development  agreement (BDA) with DNREC, with the intent of purchasing the site and converting the facility to a poultry processing plant. A BDA is an agreement between DNREC and a brownfields developer with respect to a Certified Brownfields Site that sets forth a scope of work and remedial activities during development of the site. A second opportunity for public comment – a public hearing on the brownfields development agreement and a proposed plan of remediation by DNREC’s Site Investigation and Restoration Section – is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the Millsboro Fire Hall, 109 E. State Street, Millsboro, DE 19966, and starting at 6 p.m.

 

The workshop will afford concerned residents an opportunity to understand environmental issues being addressed by DNREC in the event that the former Vlasic Pickle site is acquired by Allen M. Harim Foods and converted to a poultry processing plant.

 

Thursday’s workshop is the Community Involvement Advisory Council’s response to public comments on the brownfields development agreement. DNREC subject matter experts will be present at the workshop to address specific questions about the site. The Department of Health and Social Services’ Office of Drinking Water (ODW) will also be present to discuss surrounding community drinking water systems to the Vlasic/Pinnacle site.

 

A panel of subject-matter experts will provide an overview of the permitting processes, and also will explain the public health and environmental protection provided by DNREC’s permitting programs. DNREC and ODW staff will be available for questions at poster stations located throughout the hall. Subject matter experts will reconvene for a question-and-answer session at the close of the workshop.

 

The CIAC was established in 2001, under Senate Bill 33 to enable communities to interact with DNREC in an effective manner. The 11-member body is appointed by the Governor to advise the DNREC Secretary on matters such as the relationships and interactions between the Department and communities throughout the state. In addition to its primary charge of assuring that no community is disparately affected by environmental impacts, the CIAC is also responsible for increasing community participation and the flow of information between communities and the Department.

 

For more information, please contact James Brunswick, DNREC community ombudsman, at 302-739-9000, or Robert Newsome, Site Investigation and Restoration Section public information officer, at 302-395-2600.

 

~*~

Read More

Petition The Senate To STOP THE FILIBUSTER Today

Pick one of the many Stop The Filibuster petitions circulating today and sign it! Here's one from a favorite, The Pen ~

In this one alert we are going to make an exception and depart from
our standard policy of keeping our comments to Congress "respectful."

For literally years we have argued, we have reasoned, we have begged,
we have pleaded, we have cajoled, we have advocated, we have
exhorted, and we have encouraged the Democrats in the Senate to stand
up for themselves and DO something about the outrageous and
unprecedented obstructionism of the minority filibuster happy
Republicans.

Now we are demanding . . . in no uncertain terms . . . that the
filibuster be abolished forever and immediately.

If the message below is too strident for you . . . perhaps that's our
real problem, not being strident enough when the situation requires
it. You are not required to submit this one to stay on our list. But
when it comes time to speak the truth, The Pen will speak it,
together with any who will join us in actually putting up a fight,
and we are not going to mince our words about it. It's time to
breathe some fire, folks.

BEGIN ACTUAL PETITION

This is a message primarily to the so-called Democrats in the United
States Senate, with perhaps a couple of exceptions like Senator
Elizabeth Warren, who is almost alone in taking a strong stand for
fairness.

Abolish The Filibuster NOW Action Page:
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1145.php

Seriously, when are you whimpering cowards ever going to get it? The
Republicans just filibustered three more nominees to the DC Appellate
Court, as well as Representative Mel Watt's administrative nomination
to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Republicans talk about you
like you are a laughing stock, and they are absolutely right.

You turn our stomachs. You whine, "Oh, but what if we have to
filibuster some extremist Republican nominee someday?" Oh, yeah,
right, sure like that would ever happen either. All you did was cave
in 2005, and that's all you're doing now.

It is reported that Senator Leahy slammed his hand on the podium when
Nina Pillard was filibustered last week. And now the Republicans have
filibustered Robert Wilkins, yet another highly qualified and
moderate nominee. Is this supposed to be some kind of feeble joke?

Now gird up your loins, and abolish the filibuster immediately and
forever, or there will be nothing left of you after another election
or so.

The filibuster is a legislative monkey wrench that has long outlived
its perversity. No talking filibuster, no silent filibuster, no
filibuster at all. End it!!

Abolish The Filibuster NOW Action Page:
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1145.php

The above text is the exact wording of the petition that this action
page sends to all your members of Congress.

If you want to DO something, first please submit the action page
above. And after you do, which not pick up one of our Stop The
Filibuster caps, which you can have for a donation of any amount,
from the return page from your action page submission, or from this
direct link.

Stop The Filibuster Caps:
http://www.peaceteam.net/stop_filibuster_cap.php 

~*~

Read More

Evidence Is Mounting That The Proposed UD Campus Power Plant Intends To Sell Electricity Far Beyond A Data Center Usage

Dr. Amy Roe's latest Freedom of Information Act request about The Data Centers LLC's plans for a power plant in Newark produced this map, from March 2013, which shows how existing and future power lines would be run through the STAR Campus.

Plus a letter today ~ Data center doesn’t need the power plant

In the ongoing debate con­cerning the STAR campus data center and power plant, it is es­sential to keep in mind that con­struction and use of the data cen­ter does not require construc­tion of the power plant. Accord­ing to University of Delaware Professor Willet Kempton, a more reliable source of power – namely existing high-voltage power lines – already exist at the STAR campus. The majority of the benefits of construction jobs, and long-term data center jobs, can be gained by only building the data center and po­wering it by existing high-volt­age lines. The fossil-fuel-burn­ing power plant is an ugly, un­necessary wart on an otherwise beautiful, job-creating plan of building the data center solo.

Yong Peng

Newark 

~*~

Read More

DE Fast Food Forward Speaks To New Castle County Council's Economic Development Sub-Committee

Update: (News Journal) Cori Ann Natoli reports ~ More pay for fast-food workers [Photo: Daisy Cruz, Mid-Atlantic District Director for SEIU Local 32BJ, reads a statement concerning the treatment and wages of fast-food workers during a meeting with the New Castle County Economic Development Subcommittee Tuesday. / JENNIFER CORBETT/THE NEWS JOURNAL]

“Unfortunately ... a lot of folks have gotten filthy rich off the backs of oth­ers,” said Councilman Penrose Hollins during the presentation. “I think we need to have a very honest and sincere dis­cussion to move this for­ward.” 

New Castle County Examines the High Cost of Fast Food Low Wages

Wilmington—In the midst of an unprecedented uprising of low-wage worker strikes at Walmart and at fast food restaurants in Wilmington and nationwide, Delaware again took up the fight for fair wages for fast food workers. Members of the New Castle County Economic Development Sub-Committee today held a special hearing where fast food workers, economists, labor and community leaders explored the hefty cost to DE taxpayers wrought by fast food companies' low wages.

 

"Simply because we refuse to let low-paid workers starve if they cannot afford food, or remain sick if they cannot afford health care, billion-dollar companies like McDonald's have decided they have no responsibility to pay workers in Delaware a living wage," said Jack Temple, policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project. "Whether you eat at McDonald's or not, the company's low-wage business model is costing the public billions every year - that's not only economically unsustainable, it's morally unacceptable."

 

The hearing comes just weeks after researchers at the University of California, Berkeley released a report showing that low-wage fast food jobs cost U.S. taxpayers $7 billion every year. In August, fast-food workers in Wilmington and 60 other cities across the country went on strike  demanding $15 per hour and a union, so they don’t have to rely on public assistance.

 

“I am barely making ends meet. I get public assistance and so do many of my co-workers. With the money we make, I don’t know how any of us would make it without food stamps and Medicaid,” said fast food worker, Candy Crippen. “I work hard at a job that’s not easy despite what people think. I go in early, stay late and fill in for others. All I want is to earn enough to survive.”

 

Six weeks after Wilmington fast food workers made history by joining the nation’s largest ever fast food strike, community leaders took the opportunity to address how fast-food companies’ low wages and lack of benefits force workers to rely on taxpayer-funded public assistance.

 

"The fast food industry relies on taxpayers to subsidize the wages of their employees instead of simply giving workers fair pay," said Ezra Temko of the Delaware chapter of Americans for Democratic Action. "It's time to hold fast food companies accountable for the negative impacts this has on our community here in New Castle County."

 

“We know that the good jobs provided by Chrysler and GM are not coming back anytime soon. But there is a lot we can do together to turn the service jobs we do have, into good jobs,” said Daisy Cruz, director, 32BJ SEIU Mid-Atlantic District.

 

Fast-food is a $200 billion a year industry. The median wage for core front-line workers at fast-food restaurants nationally is $8.69 an hour. Only 13 percent of the jobs provide health benefits. According to NELP, the average Delaware fast food workers earn $206 per week or $10,695 per year, based on a 24-hour work week which is the national average.

 

Community groups called on New Castle County to take action by sending a letter and passing a resolution demanding that the CEOs of fast food companies pay a living wage and respect workers’ rights to organize.

 

“We ask that New Castle County Council investigate the cost of the of fast food business model to DE taxpayers,” said Darlene Battle, director of the Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement.  “We ask that New Castle County Council explore direct action that County Council can take to directly support workers in their call for $15 an hour and a union.”

 

DE Fast Food Forward is a movement of DE fast food workers, and supporters from faith, labor and community groups, who are fighting to raise wages and gain rights at work. It is part of the national movement of low-wage workers fighting for a better future.

~*~

Read More

Tonight's NCC Historic Review Board Meeting Has Been Cancelled - Kux House Demolition Permit Review Postponed?

Update: The NCC website shows that the meeting tonight has been cancelled.

Kim Burdick sent this along ~ 

Please mark your calendar and DO come.
11/19 Historic Review Board Agenda-Peter Alrich/Kux House 

 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 in the New Castle Conference Room, Department of Land Use, 87 Reads Way, New Castle.

App. 2013-08723: 14 Farm Lane, south of Port Penn. Demolition Permit application for c.1760 brick dwelling at “Kux Farm” aka “Peter Alrichs House”. (Delaware Wild Lands, Inc.) CD 12

Also read ~ 

STOP Delaware Wild Lands, Inc. Demolition Of The Kux House -1760 Dutch - Port Penn

Video - Historic Port Penn area home could be demolished

Delaware Wildlands Augustine Creek

New Netherland Institute | Facebook

~*~

Read More

Crackhead Mayor In Name Only Now

Update:  (WDEL) AP reports ~ Del. panel eyes drug testing for public works jobs - how about for all politicians too?

[The] capital budget called for rules and procedures for enforcement of a state drug testing law to be publicized. The law calls for mandatory drug testing programs for all contractor employees and agents working on a job site in non-clerical positions. The budget bill provision directed the state budget director to convene the panel, which includes two representatives from the Delaware Building and Construction Trades Council and one representative from the Associated Builders and Contractors. The bill calls for the necessary rules and procedures to be promulgated by Dec. 31.

(Detroit News) David Crary and Rob Gillies report ~ Toronto council reins in scandal-plagued mayor

Toronto — After a tempestuous debate, Toronto’s City Council has stripped Mayor Rob Ford of the last of his substantive powers because of multiple scandals, but further turmoil seems inevitable.

The mayor, defiant despite admissions of illegal drug use and heavy drinking, vowed “outright war” to take on his critics in next year’s election.

“This is nothing more than a coup d’etat,” Ford said just before a series of votes went against him on Monday. “What’s happening here today is not a democratic process — it’s a dictatorship process.”

The council session was one of the stormiest in memory as the burly mayor argued with colleagues and members of the public and at one point knocked down a petite councilwoman as he charged toward one of his hecklers. Cries of “Shame, shame” came from the gallery.

The council voted overwhelmingly in favor of slashing Ford’s office budget by 60 percent and allowing mayoral staff to join the deputy mayor, Norm Kelly. Ford now effectively has no legislative power, as he will no longer chair the executive committee, though he retains his title and ability to represent Toronto at official functions.

~*~

r

Read More

Pacem In Terris Update: Place Your Wreaths For Peace Order Now!

Medard Gabel sent this along ~

Wreaths for Peace Update

The Wreaths for Peace purchase deadline has been extended to November 22nd!

Every wreath sold will benefit Pacem in Terris and support activities for peace and social justice in our community and throughout our world. New deadline for ordering is now November 22, 2013. 

To order a Wreath, visit Pacem's website here, or send an email.

Pacem in Terris Has Moved! Why?

Pacem in Terris is now located at Wilmington Friends Meetinghouse, 401 N. West Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. Phone and email remain the same: 302-656-2721 and info@depaceminterris.org  Someone asked me why did we move? I hadn't realized that not everyone knew the answer to this. The answer is-- our old building has been sold. St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, the building's owner, decided they no longer needed the building. It had been on the market for over a year.

 

 

 

 

Wilmington Update

Fortune 500 Companies, a Central Location and Low Taxes Can’t Fix Wilmington Delaware’s Biggest City Is Ripe for Reinvention. What’s Missing? 

At a moment when cities are at the fore of a global conversation about the future, it’s interesting to look at Wilmington, a center of U.S. trade like none other. Delaware’s largest city, molded into a financial capital after more than a century of looser and looser regulations, has quixotically failed to become a capital of commerce. Money flows in and out but leaves remarkably few traces on Wilmington, which serves as an address for 1 million companies that have tellingly created a mere 51,000 local jobs — most of which don’t go to residents of the city proper. Some experts even place Wilmington in the same ranks as Switzerland or the Cayman Islands in terms of corporate “offshoring.” Meanwhile, unemployment stands at 11.3 percent and in 2012, there were 27 murders in this city of 71,000. Furthermore, whatever revenue the insular banks and financial institutions based do generate for the city has been put in jeopardy since the financial crisis. Read more.

 

War Update

Ross Caputi will be screening his film, Fear Not the Path of Truth, on November 20th-- see Upcoming Events on the right. He writes, "Veterans Day is one of the worst days of the year for me. It makes me remember what I am a veteran of, and I think about the city I helped destroy as a Marine in Iraq, the thousands of civilians I helped kill and the hundreds of thousands of civilians I helped drive from their homes during the 2nd siege of Fallujah. Those are memories I would like to forget. 

"I participated in the second siege of Fallujah, which is commonly regarded as the bloodiest operation of the occupation of Iraq. There are many important things to note about this operation—the high civilian casualties, the indiscriminate manner in which the operation was carried out and the fact that we leveled 70 percent of a city three times the size of Wilmington. But what will forever stick with me is the enormous gap between the reality of what we did to Fallujah and what the American public believed that we did." Read his full article here. It is very informative, and very powerful. Everyone who cares about peace needs to read this.

 

World Update

“World Toilet Day” No Joke for Billions Without Sanitation  It is no accident that sanity and sanitation are derived from the same root word.

The United Nations has a longstanding tradition of commemorating political milestones – like the abolition of the slave trade – or sustaining day-long vigils on controversial issues such as a ban on nuclear tests.

The annual events have covered a wide range of political, social and economic issues, including World Cancer Day, World Press Freedom Day, World Refugee Day, World AIDS Day, World Population Day and World Water Day. With over 2.5 billion people lacking adequate sanitation, and over a billion getting seriously sick as a result, it is time the world deals with this problem by at least recognizing it.  November 19 is the first annual World Toilet Day. 

 

Death Penalty Update

The Republican DE House of Representatives just posted on their Facebook about the death penalty: "Sixty percent of Americans favor the death penalty for convicted murderers, down from a peak of 80 percent that favored capital punishment in 1994. The results come from a recent Gallup poll. A bill seeking to repeal Delaware's death penalty is currently tabled in the House Judiciary Committee, after narrowly passing the Senate earlier this year. Should the committee vote to release the bill, allowing the measure to be considered by the full House? Or do you support the committee's decision to table the bill and maintain the status quo?"

 

DE Citizens Opposed to the Death Penalty needs as many people as possible to comment on this in support of releasing SB 19. Please click on the link above and comment that SB 19 should be released for a full vote in the House!

 

Video of the week/Death Penalty Update, part 2

MSNBC's The Last Word segment on how the death penalty's being rewritten.

 

Quote of the week 

“Violence is a learned behavior. It can be unlearned.”

--Amy Ellenbogen, Director, Crown Heights Community Mediation Center

 

Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

 

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

 

 Upcoming Events

• November 18, Monday, 7 pm. Meeting: Wilmington in Transition at Wilmington Friends Meeting House, 401 N. West St., Wilmington., DE 19801 

• November 19, Tuesday, 5- 6:30 pm, Talk: Reclaiming Our Democracy: An Evening on Civic Engagement and Community Advocacy, Speakers: Sam Daley-Harris, author, Reclaiming Our Democracy, Mariana Chilton, Director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities, Jennifer Johnson Kebea, Director of the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement, Donna DeCarolis, Dean of the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship. Mitchell Auditorium, Bossone Research Center, 3140 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 

• November 20,Wed. 6:30  to 8:30 pm. Film: Fear Not the Path of Truth— a veteran’s journey after Fallujah. University of Delaware Sharp Lab, room 130. More info.

• November 23, Sat. 7 pm. Fundraiser: Elsmere Community Garden Party & Fundraiser. Mulrooney's Tavern in Elsmere, DE. Come out to support this community initiative that advocates for food, health, and environmental sustainability. $15 on-line or at the door.

• November 25, Mon. 7 pm. Lecture: Sally Milbury-Steen speaks on her work on social justice issues with a particular focus on faith and peace-making. Wilmington Friends School.

• November 26, Tues. 6:00 pm. Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration, Veggie-Dairy Pot Luck Meal. Peninsula-McCabe United Methodist Church, 2200 Baynard Blvd., Wilmington

• November 28, Thurs. 9:00 am. 5K Benefit: Sierra Club "Turkey Trot". Papermill Park on Papermill Rd. Newark, De. Work up an appetite and support the hard work of the Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club.

• November 29, Fri. 1-3pm. Event: Wilmington in Transition's Bazaar Exchange (Swap Don't Shop!). Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, DE. Please bring CLEAN, GENTLY-USED, 'gift-worthy' items for which you no longer have a need, and exchange them for different items. Make "Black Friday" greener!

• December 7, Sat., 8:30 -3 pm. Summit: "Men of Color: Health, Wellness, & Empowerment". Delaware Technical Community College, Wilmington campus. Workshops for ages 12 and up. Free and open to the public.

• December 7, 9-2 pm. Wreath for Peace Pickup! Remember to stop by your pickup location, either Newark United Methodist Church or St. Paul's United Methodist Church, to receive your ordered Wreaths for Peace.

• December 8, Sun. 3-6 pm. Event: Wilmington in Transition's 4th Annual Local Gift Holiday Fair. Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, DE. Holiday gift shopping with local artisans and businesses. Free admission and parking!

• December 15, Sunday, 4- 6:00 pm. Talk: Noa Baum. Israeli storyteller weaves together memories and her mothers' stories to create a moving testimony that illuminates the complex and contradictory history and emotions surrounding Jerusalem, for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Free and open to the public. Siegel JCC Auditorium, 101 Garden of Eden Road, Wilmington, DE 19803

Gun Violence Update

Man unintentionally shoots himself while standing in grocery checkout line.

 

Climate Change Update

TVA closing 8 coal units at plants in Alabama and Kentucky. The nation's largest public utility is shuttering eight coal-fired boilers at plants in Alabama and Kentucky, and more reductions could be in store over the next few years.

 

250 square mile glacier breaks off Antarctica. Between November 9–11, 2013, a large iceberg finally separated from the calving front of Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier. Scientists first detected a rift in the glacier in October 2011 during flights for NASA’s Operation IceBridge. By July 2013, infrared and radar images indicated that the crack had cut completely across the ice shelf to the southwestern edge. New images now show that Iceberg B-31 is finally moving away from the coast, with open water between the iceberg and the edge of Pine Island Glacier.

 

~*~

Read More

HB 90 - Enrollment Preference Task Force - Meeting Cancelled - To Resume After DOJ Settles Legal Issues?

State Rep. Kim Williams sent this along ~

There are two important updates regarding the Enrollment Preference Task Force:

1.       The November meeting, scheduled for this Wednesday, November 20^th, has been cancelled.  The Department of Justice is still working on answering the legal questions that were submitted on October 22^nd, 2013.  

2.       The December meeting, scheduled for Thursday, December 12^th, will need to be rescheduled due to a double-booking by Buena Vista. We are currently working on getting a new December date, and we will send out a notice once the new date is confirmed.  The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration may be joining us at the December meeting. 

Enrollment Preference Task Force: First and Second Meetings

September 26 was the first meeting of the Enrollment Preference Task Force created by House Bill 90 with the second meeting taking place on October 24. The task force is examining the following issues related to school choice:

• Best practices for application process;
• Choice opportunities in Kent and Sussex counties;
• Resources and emergency procedures for students with disabilities;
• Best practices to ensure equal access;
• Extending outreach regarding choice options;
• Examine impact of choice program on rest of public education system;

For more information including the complete task force schedule, please visit http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/TaskForces.nsf/ and click “The Enrollment Preference Task Force” link.

Here is a link to the documents. Delaware's Public Meeting Calendar site would not allow us to upload the files, too many of them, they are now on the legislative site.

http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/TaskForces.nsf/113411bdd5de74d385257b3b005e343c/49b267f532b422d185257b6c0061a658?OpenDocument&TableRow=1.5.2#1.5.

Here is a link to the remaining items:  Washington Post article, HB 90, information about the National Alliance for Public Schools, and their report on the states "Clear Student Recruitment, Enrollment and Lottery Procedures."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/16/how-charter-schools-choose-desirable-students/

http://www.legis.delaware.gov/LIS/LIS147.NSF/vwLegislation/HB+90?Opendocument

http://www.publiccharters.org/About-Us.aspx

http://www.publiccharters.org/About-Charter-Schools.aspx

http://www.publiccharters.org/law/ViewComponent.aspx?comp=15

Let me know if you need anything else.

Read all of 'The Enrollment Preference Task Force' Minutes, Reports and Information HERE

Plus, some Delaware blog posts ~

HB 90 task force members named; first meeting September 26

Enrollment Preference Task Force Meeting #2

How Delaware Charter Schools Wean Out Blacks And The Poor

Mike O. writes ~ Does your momma pick watermelons?

Last night the HB 90 task force began to sharpen its focus, taking a look at specific information charters and VoTechs request on their admission applications. Co-chair Kim Williams read out a list of questions she had gathered from actual applications.
When read out loud the whole list seemed to go on and on, with each question odder and more inappropriate than the last. Jaws dropped when she read: “has a parent or guardian worked on a farm, in the fields or in a factory with fruits, vegetables or animals; has the parent or guardian every worked with watermelons, potatoes, mushrooms, corn, apples, chicken, or shellfish,”. Remember, this is information parents must provide in order to be considered for admission. Here’s the whole list:

The questions that were asked on the applications: race of a student, specifically if the student was Hispanic/Latino, student’s social security number, photo id, IEP or 504 Plan, citizenship, what languages are spoken in the home, place of birth, place of parent’s employment, health problems, parents married, separated, has your child repeated a grade, where does the child live: with both parents, mother, father, grandmother; does your child receive services: inclusion, occupational therapy, hearing support, speech therapy, or counseling; does your child take medication, wear glasses or wear a hearing aid; has a parent or guardian worked on a farm, in the fields or in a factory with fruits, vegetables or animals; has the parent or guardian every worked with watermelons, potatoes, mushrooms, corn, applies, chicken, or shellfish; has your family changed homes in the last three years? Schools asking parents if they need transportation. Please check if your student has any area of interest in these sports. What ways do you feel that this school will serve your child?
Copies of the items requested on the application: birth certificate, copy of the parent or students social security card, medical records, proof of residence, most recent report card etc.

Once the discussion resumed, the charter and VoTech representatives were unfazed and were full of justifications why their school needed extra information. But then Rep. Williams asked “That’s fine, but why do you need that information BEFORE the admission decision has been made? Why can’t you collect it AFTER admission?” And the silence was deafening.
You might think that requiring a common application form would solve these kinds of issues. Kilroy has the form; go take a look.
The problem is although charters, VoTechs and magnet schools are required to use the common form, they are still allowed to ask whatever supplemental questions they want. All they have to do is staple the common form on the front of the supplemental questions, and they are compliant. Even on the online application, the supplemental information were just added “as is” with no questions asked. Nobody is checking to see if the supplemental questions are fair or even legal.
One of the dodges offered by the charter folks was “That information is not used in the admission decision,” and sometimes it says so right on the application. But I’m not impressed. As Rep. Williams noted, “Most applications state that you must return all items requested, if you do not, your application will not be processed.”
I say the surest way to make sure information isn’t misused is to not collect it in the first place.
The discussion went around for a while longer, but didn’t get much further, which is fine because the issue had at least been unmistakably laid on the table.
The problem is asking these questions will remain legal until some parent challenges them, which leaves enforcement up to parents, probably only after a denial. That is wrong. It is an opportunity for leadership from the Department of Education or our district leaders.
So as the task force moves toward its directive of producing recommendations this January, here’s an idea: An application should not contain any questions that exceed your charter (or whatever documented admission criteria they use). If it’s not in your charter, it’s not on your application. That would be a piece of real charter/VpTech reform that can be accomplished within the scope of the Enrollment Preferences task force.

Also see: October 2012 ~ Newark Charter applications are here – *facepalm*

And for good measure, recent must-read posts from Kilroy ~

Reach Revolution taking shape re: blog

Was Charter School Queen Kendall Massett speaking for her employer aka board? -  

Charter Schools Network Governing Board

Did Delaware Charter Schools Network jam a knife in Reach Academy’s backk?

Delaware NAACP needs to walk the talk or disband

Delaware Charter Schools Network throws Reach girls under the bus

State board Hef said getting DE DOE data is like pulling teeth!

Message to Reach Academy parents

Jea Street rides in on his NAACP Reach horse after the fact re: Reach

Reach Academy ordered CLOSED

Newark charter exposes DCAS system failures

Delaware State Board of Ed faces it’s own Component V

OMG! Lawsuit against DE DOE, Sec of Ed and DE Governor re: Reach

Did Markell refuse to answer the NJ’s question on Reach Academy?

Is Newark Charter diversity outreach plan skewed?

Proof: Delaware to impose illegal student test

DE DOE Charter Committee calls for closure of Reach Academy

Delaware College Prep charter puts Red Clay’s board on the ropes

Student assessment tests are no means to measure achievement

DE DOE cherry-picks federal law and bitch-slaps Elizabeth again!

Did diversity outreach pay-off for Newark Charter?

DE DOE system glitch in need of repair! re: student count

Moyer’s enrollment falls short of charter requirement re: 2013-2014

Oops Moyer does it again! Ass to the face of the law!

Mixing standardize student assessment with standardize teacher assessment doesn’t reform education

 

 ~*~

Read More