Will UD/TDC Power Plant Shills Divide And Conquer With Their Mantra: Keep Calm And Stand Up For Good Jobs Over Fear Mongering!

 (DEED facebook May 2013 -  at the Baby Grand (Left to right) Sam Lathem, Harry Gravell, Rep. Dennis E. Williams, Governor Markell, Brian McGlinchey.)

So, who, what where is D.E.E.D? You may recall that Paul Clark had his now-infamous blogger vs. the masses-related meltdown at DEED's 2012 candidate forum [NCC Exec Paul Clark Loses It; Attacks Blogger]. 

DEED's line up ~  

Officers

President, Brian M.P. McGlinchey, Laborers-Employers Cooperation & Education Trust

Vice President, Marion Young, Brightfields

Treasurer, John J. Casey, Delaware Contractors Association

Secretary, J. Brian Murphy, Murphy and Associates 

Founding Board members

Samuel Latham, AFL-CIO

Mark Kleinschmidt, New Castle County Chamber of Commerce

Joseph T. Conaway, Conaway and Associates

W. Michael McCabe, McCabe and Associates

Roger Roy, The Burris Firm

John J. McMahon, Delaware Secretary of Labor

Andrew Lubin, Delaware Financial Group

C.Scott Kidner, Kidner Associates

Gary Patterson, American Petroleum Institute

Harry Gravell, Delaware Building Trades

Gerald Esposito, Tidewater Utilities

Robert Maxwell, Maxwell and Associates

Joseph T. Fitzgerald Jr., Fitzgerald Consulting

I didn't realize, until I started poking around, that so many of these individuals are registered lobbyists with the State of Delaware (all hyper-linked to DEPIC above). Especially troubling is that the City of Newark's paid lobbyist, Robert Maxwell, also has as clients: DEMAC and DEED President, Brian McGlinchey's, employer (LECET). And that Andy Lubin is UD's Director of Real Estate (since 2010).

And  I do find it strange-funny that (pictured) Sam, Harry, and Dennis all called in to voice their support on WDEL the morning Al Mascitti covered the Newark power plant. And Brian McGlinchey and Vince D'Anna (another pro-power plant WDEL call-in) attended TDC's meetings with our area legislators. Why aren't the citizens at the table too?

Meanwhile, this week's WHYY FIRST showcased two Young Conaway Stargatt and Taylor attorneys shilling for the power plant ~

State of Play this week looks at the controversial data center in Newark, the Delmarva Power/Bloom deal and the subsidies behind that

Also Mark Kleinschmidt of the NCC Chamber (and DEED) got busy endorsing long-time DE GOP operative Ken Grant's pro-power plant petition (DON'T FORGET THE DE GOP CONNECTION - their disgraced former state chair, Tom Ross, is TDC's venture capital liaison for Lexden Capital).

I was forwarded this email from the NCC Chamber of Commerce ~

On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 3:59 PM, New Castle County Chamber of Commerce

Economic development can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. In Greater Newark, DE, it means jobs. There has been a lot of information, misinformation, rumors, accusations and speculations regarding The Data Centers, LLC project going to STAR Campus in Newark. Local resident, Ken Grant, is helping displace all of those things through his blog. Take a look at what Ken has to say:  READ MORE. Also, check out the new Newark Job Creation website here: READ MORE

Economic development is more competitive than ever. The Great Recession has made each locality, municipality and state compete for job growth. Newark is well positioned to be the hub for that growth. A project like The Data Centers, LLC will put the infrastructure in place to drive high-tech companies to our state. Most importantly, it will create jobs. Sign to the petition today to support jobs in Newark!

With this response sent to Mark Kleinschmidt by a resident/constituent within 1/2 mile radius ~ 

Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2013 4:57 PM 

To: New Castle County Chamber of Commerce 

Subject: Re: Support Jobs in Newark 

I am disgusted with your email. You speak of misinformation and hysteria and then direct us to Ken Grant's website? 

It is FILLED with misinformation and hysteria. 

And DO NOT call me or people that I know a small group of naysayers. We live here and we are well over 1000 strong. Something, by the way that Ken does not. 

Check your own facts. Check TDC's facts. And stop your disingenuous remarks.

Where did you get the "thousands of jobs" info? Certainly not from TDC. Ken is saying the number is 5,500! That is preposterous, and has NEVER been forwarded by anyone credible. The construction jobs- estimated between 1000 and 2000- will last 3 years, the permanent jobs at 290 and only 30 of those for maintenance. The $67,000 average has since been reduced to $43,000, and most feel 260 to run a data center is inflated, and that many of those jobs will be for administrators who are not on site. Therefore the peripheral jobs will not materialize in any substantial number. 

I did notice that outside-city-limits Ken makes no mention of the amount of CO2 and other climate change emissions released. And those will continue to float into our air for 75+ years, long after construction workers have gone on to the netherland. Hmm. 

I happen to live on the 1 mile radius. I have a business on the 1/2 mile radius.
And I do not want this monstrosity in my neighborhood.

Don't talk to me about Chrysler. Besides the fact that Chrysler DID create 1000s of good paying, ongoing jobs, it is GONE. It has been GONE for 6 years, before I moved here, and when UD bought the property there was NO expectation that there would be something other than education- oriented construction. 

However, it would be LOVELY if UD employed union construction workers on its various projects around town

Connie Merlet
14 Kells Ave Newark DE 19711 

Hmmmmmmmm.  When I first met Ken Grant, he was working for the Republican Party and was protesting something political in a bunny costume in front of a Democratic Party get-together in Wilmington. How much of a Newarkean is Ken Grant? He lives outside the city limits off of the Kirkwood Highway. 
Correction: Ken emailed to note that his home is in the small portion of Windy Hills within the city limits

And, naturally, Doug Rainey jumped into the fray with more TDC shilling or should I say FEAR MONGERING! ~

If someone told you a project near your property would be a noisy, dirty  neighbor, it would be easy to head to a public meeting. That  has been the case with the $1.1 billion Data Centers project, an award-winning proposal  to  combine a state-of-the-art data center with a co- generation  plant that uses waste  heat and natural gas, in the process allowing excess power to go into the grid.
So far, much of the media coverage of the project has centered on  a small, well-organized group of  opponents. They have managed to tap into lingering fears that Newark has changed for the worse and will emerge as a city peppered with Wawa gas pumps and  frightening industrial landscapes. We also saw one of the leaders, Amy Roe,  emerge as a candidate for mayor.
To some extent,  some  damage may have already been done to the business climate as Delaware struggles to bring  jobs to the stare.  Businesses do not want to come to an area where they are not welcome and the Data Centers controversy does not send a good message.
Already, many manufacturers are unwilling to come to  a right to work state. Add extreme greens to the mix and the task becomes more difficult. Foes have also  ignored answers posted by The Data Centers  to more than 200 questions that were submitted in a public meeting.
Throw in crude oil cars that spend some time at a nearby rail yard,  mix in the derailment  tragedy in Quebec  and it is easy to paint a frightening picture.  Never mind that  data center is at the site of an automobile assembly plant that operated for half a century.
In hindsight, it would have been better for the University of Delaware and the City of Newark to have been more forthcoming about the plant.  UD has taken steps to form a working group that will deal with community concerns. The city is also listening to the concerns of residents.
Both are steps in the right direction. It is now up to the business community to join the discussion and make a strong case  for  a good environmental neighbor that would bring jobs and tax revenue to the city.
A step in that direction came last week when social media activist Ken Grant started a petition supporting the Data Centers project.   Click here to sign the petition and stand up for good jobs over fear mongering.           

Two petition comment rescues of note. One from State Rep. Q. Johnson (who does NOT represent Newarkers) and one from area development Project Manager, Dev Sitaram ~

Name: Quinn Johnson on Oct 4, 2013Comments: Jobs is the number one issue that constituents say we need to work on in every single survey we do. Let's get this done!

Name: Dev Sitaram on Oct 4, 2013Comments: We the people and the local politicians should support what is good for the greater Newark community, as well as the state of Delaware and not the voices of NIMBY's.

It's a cinch to see what kind of neighbor is petition signer Dev Sitaram. Dev has a land use development plan up for PLUS review this month. Dev tells state planners ~

• YES, almost half of the forest acreage will be removed, 
• YES, the plan will require Army Corps of Engineering permits for disturbance of non-tidal wetlands and 
• YES, the plan is the vicinity of known historic/cultural resources or sites but 
• NO, Dev will not agree "to promote an accurate review of your parcel's features, would you permit a State Agency site visit." 

(Residents Against the Power Plant getting petition signatures from actual Newark residents Sunday)

From David Alan McCorquodale ~

I just finished reading the article about the gas power plant, associated with the Data Center. It seems to be casting the idea in the best light possible while also putting out some facts. But the thing that got me was the arrogance of Markell saying "The way it works is you don't put every new development up to a public vote". But Jack, hopefully you are going to be taught a lesson: The way it works is THE PEOPLE UNITED CAN NEVER BE DEFEATED!
The article made the point about how much crap the Chrylser plant put out as if to say that by comparison this plant isn't going to be so bad. Why even Markell's mother lives nearby! Well, SO WHAT? When the Chrysler plant was built and for many decades afterward, there was little awareness about industrial pollution. Now there is and the U. of DE said it was going to create high tech jobs, not build a power plant. The article admits that this company intends to make 30% of its money off the plant. So it can't work without the plant. Too Bad because that isn't what was portrayed when the U of DE announced the STAR campus.

With some comment rescues ~ 

• - I thought it was a good article. they have editors to get through, obviously and it isn't necessarily their job to fight the fight. they got the info out without being heavy handed. i'll take it.

  - Getting the quotes they did from Levin and Markell? Priceless.- Yes, the quotes reveal their arrogance and frankly their disdain for "the public". The article had a lot of detailed information, but it was all from the POV to the people who want the plant. There were only a few opinions quoted from those who oppose. A balanced story would have looked by knowledgeable opponents to quote. I mean nowhere is it clear that this company is merely an eight person start-up that somehow gets millions of dollars promised by the state to build a pipeline.

  SEE: (News Journal) Melissa Nann Burke and Wade Malcom's fantastic must-read report ~Contention churns on over data center plan - "The conflict has pitted local officials against the state, residents against the university, and envi­ronmentalists against en­ergy- hungry “Big Data.”

   “The way it works is you don’t put every new development up to a public vote,” Gov. Jack Markell said last week. “This is why you have environmental regulations, and this is why you have land-use regulations.” Residents remain determined, collecting more than 900 petition signatures, holding protests and pressuring public officials to stop the project. Many of the estimated 5,560 residents within a mile of the site fear the data center’s 248-megawatt, gas-fired plant poses a threat to their health, property values and quality of life. The facility would rank among Delaware’s top 10 emitters of greenhouse gases, even if the company captures the bulk of its carbon output, according to a News Journal analysis of data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

  .........Markell and a top adviser say the community is gambling not just 340 new jobs – 290 full time – but Delaware’s ability to attract future economic-development opportunities.“Newark or any place that shoots this down could get a reputation,” said Alan Levin, Markell’s economic development director. “When you say, ‘I like this, but I don’t like that,’ it becomes very difficult for economic development. It becomes purely subjective.”........The project has spotlighted Newark’s inability to control what the University of Delaware does with its property. Roughly 40 percent of Newark’s footprint is university land, and UD has historically argued its state charter exempts it from local zoning restrictions, including Newark’s..........“You’re talking about add­ing 20 per­cent to the power generation capaci­ty to the whole state,” said UD professor Willett Kempton, who studies the electric system, including generation. “You could run five Newarks on this single power plant.”........The company chose Newark because the site was zoned for their pur­poses

  .........“The American utility system is very high relia­bility, especially com­pared to the rest of the world, at 99-plus percent. The problem with these types of loads is that data centers don’t believe that’s good enough.” Project opponents question why the compa­ny needs to generate its own power when Wolf could tie into three elec­tric feeds at the property. “It’s highly unlikely that all three of those would go down at once,” Kempton said. “Each one provides 180 megawatts, and that’s enough to run all your IT equipment and all your air conditioning, without building your own power plant. The state­ment that it’s not reliable, is not credible to power professionals."

  
  

  My homework for Residents Against the Power Plant this week is to research the jobs angle. What is the likely jobs outcome for this use of the STAR Campus? Wait for it.

  
  And last but not least, this incredible question has come up out of the blue: Is TDC CEO Gene Kern related to Brian McGlinchey? I guess I will have to call and ask. This was sent to my inbox over the weekend ~ 

  Earl Eugene (Gene) Kern is the guy running the data center in Newark. They got big bucks from the government cuz of his political connections. He only got the money because he is family with a big guy in politics named Brian McGlinchey. proof below. I sent to News Journal but they didn't answer me.  

  (Edit: I have removed the link to the family reunion tree as a courtesy)

  Okay, I just called Brian McGlinchey and we can put this rumor to rest. Brian is unequivocally not related to Gene Kern. His Kern relatives are from upper NY state and Germany and he's never met Gene Kern before TDC LLC came to town. 
  

  
  

  ~*~