Government & Politics

This category details issues concerning the government and politics within Delaware on the local, county, and state levels. This includes Delaware policies, events, and election coverage.

Governor Jack Markell Weekly Address: November 18, 2011

From Afghanistan, Governor Markell discusses his trip overseas to visit Delawareans deployed is support of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. ...More

Markell fracking vote may mark turning point in gas debate, critics say

Environmentalists applauded a decision by Delaware Gov. Jack Markell to vote against a plan to open up the Delaware River basin to natural gas drilling, saying it could represent a turning point in the heated public debate over the safety of shale gas development. Markell’s move Thursday afternoon was followed by a statement early Friday by the Delaware River Basin Commission, an interstate regulator, that it was postponing a meeting scheduled for Monday at which commissioners were due to vote on the plan, which would lift a three-year moratorium on drilling. ...More

Delaware lawmakers seek end to Washington gridlock

In Washington, Delaware lawmakers are working hard to break the partisan logjam. Amid a prevailing view in the country that nothing gets done in Congress because politicians are more concerned with scoring partisan points than passing laws, Delaware’s two U.S. Senators and one Congressman, all Democrats, have recently reached across the aisle to work with their Republican colleagues on bills and other initiatives showing that reports of the death of bipartisanship may be greatly exaggerated. ...More

DSU and Del Tech pitch for piece of next state budget

Higher education in Delaware comes under the microscope as the state works toward developing the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. The Office of Management and Budget is in its third week of initial hearings on spending requests from state agencies and state-supported educational institutions. Schools like Delaware Technical Community College and Delaware State University are touting their potential to turn out graduates ready to fill job opportunities at Delaware businesses. At the same time, like other state agencies, they are dealing with mandates to keep their spending under control. ...More

Long-term care residents finding their way back home

While Delaware’s new Aging & Disabilities Resource Center (ADRC) helps senior citizens and their families navigate the complex maze of services available to enable seniors to live longer in their own community, it also has a second, equally important responsibility: transitioning seniors and disabled individuals who now live in three state-run facilities back into their communities. ...More

A snapshot of Delaware Aging and Disability Resource Center services

Staying independent: State assists seniors seeking care close to home

When seniors' ability to live independently declines, they and their families often face a series of difficult decisions. Move into a nursing home? Move in with the children? Can someone check in every day, or spend a couple hours keeping company? To help seniors and their families sort through those alternatives, the state’s Department of Health and Social Services, supported by a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging, has set up an Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) within the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD). ...More

Fracking critics urge officials to block Delaware Basin gas development

Opponents of a controversial method of natural gas extraction staged a last-ditch effort Monday to stop an interstate regulator from giving the go-ahead for gas production in the Delaware River Basin. The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), consisting of the governors of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, plus Army Corps of Engineers which represents the federal government, is due to vote on Nov. 21 on proposed rules that would allow tens of thousands of gas wells to be drilled in the basin. Approval would lift a moratorium. ...More

Policing Social Media in Schools

Bawdy pictures and nasty jabs at classmates might have some students ROTFL, text speech for Rolling On The Floor Laughing. But both educators and free speech advocates are looking for ways to encourage responsible use of social media without compromising individuals’ First Amendment rights. At Capital School District in Dover, the Board of Education recently tabled a measure that would have prohibited students from making negative comments on the Internet against groups or individuals based on race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation or country of origin. ...More

Race to the Top programs: Making time to make things better

Aside from building management, school principals are expected to be instructional leaders. There is also training in preparation for new teacher evaluations and the mandated Professional Learning Communities meetings. For principals it can seem like there aren’t enough hours in the day. So, with Race to the Top funds, Delaware implemented School Administration Managers (SAMs) who would help principals keep track of where time was spent during the day, how effective that time was and also take away some of the day-to-day minutia of calendar-managing. ...More