This Week’s Top Stories Include 50 DE schools on performance plans to address poor performance Buckle up: AAA says 217k of us will hit the road this weekend EDGE Grant winner Chris Boozer found respect came from trash Claymont master plan thinks tall and welcoming State football championship matchups set (with 2nd round results) Click on the image below to …
This story was originally published on Spotlight Delaware. The Delaware Department of Elections said Wednesday that state officials placed 750 voters who had registered in the past year through an automatic voter registration system into the wrong political party. The error has caused a surge of criticism since last week when early voting began, particularly in Wilmington. On Tuesday, a government …
This Week’s Top Stories Include Torch Run unifies Special Olympics, law enforcement, community Middletown is booming – and so are its Latinos Greater Wilmington Pizza Week Continues Through June Del. Medicaid to give new moms diapers, home-delivered meals How is state grad. rate 88% with 31% math proficiency, 41% ELA? UD grad Christina Carroll takes her shot for LPGA bids …
A nonprofit filed a request Wednesday to the Delaware General Assembly to investigate the failure by state officials responsible for reporting the act of embezzlement in excess of $180,000 from the Delaware Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance. The Delaware Coalition for Open Government filed the request. That group aims for transparency and accountability in Delaware’s government — it …
A much-debated Office of Inspector General would be up and running by early 2025, if a new bill passes the Delaware Assembly by the end of June. Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Hockessin, would create the Office of Inspector General, an independent watchdog agency empowered to investigate waste, fraud,and abuse in the executive and legislative branches of state government with Senate Bill …
This story was originally published in July 2022. An outgoing Democratic member of the Delaware House of Representatives says House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf blocked his bill to create an office of the inspector general. Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, said the move was typical of Schwartzkopf’s leadership style. That leadership style can be characterized by “coercion, intimidation, incentivizing and reward,” Kowalko …
Government transparency advocates say there’s no reason in 2022 that public information should be as difficult to access as it is in Delaware. “At the root of democracy in Delaware and in the United States is citizens’ access to government information — and not just access, but easy access,” said Charlie Copeland, co-director of the Caesar Rodney Institute’s Center for …
With weeks to go before the first votes are cast in Delaware’s 2022 election cycle, advocates for government transparency are pushing for better campaign finance reporting. Common Cause Delaware, a nonprofit group that lobbies for open, honest and accountable government, has called for more frequent and detailed reporting of campaign funds collected when candidates run for office. “It’s common knowledge …
An outgoing Democratic member of the Delaware House of Representatives says House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf blocked his bill to create an office of the inspector general. Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, said the move was typical of Schwartzkopf’s leadership style. That leadership style can be characterized by “coercion, intimidation, incentivizing and reward,” Kowalko said, and the inspector general bill is just …
A bill to establish an “independent and nonpartisan” inspector general’s office moved forward Wednesday in a Delaware House committee. The House Administration Committee also moved along a bill to encourage filming in the state by offering tax credits. The committee started discussion to create a constitutional right of a clean environment, but, citing time, continued discussion to Thursday’s committee meeting, …
Two lawmakers on opposite sides of the political spectrum have found common ground in their desire to increase transparency and accountability in state government. A bill filed by Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark South, and Rep. Mike Smith, R-Pike Creek, would establish an independent and nonpartisan inspector general office in Delaware. The proposed office would investigate state agencies to identify and …
State Sen. Darius Brown State Sen. Darius Brown seems to be the latest in a line of Delaware legislators who take jobs with organizations that receive state funds voted on by the General Assembly. Brown, D-Wilmington, has been hired as executive director of a group focused on reducing recidivism in Wilmington. He is expected to go to trial in …
