Working and retired police dogs will have extra care and services paid for by the state now that two Republican bills have been signed into law. Both received wide bipartisan support, passing the General Assembly unanimously. One bill signed Thursday by Gov. John Carney allows working police dogs to be transported by paramedics and other emergency medical service providers. …
State gives $6 million to groups helping with housing
Four Delaware nonprofits that focus on housing problems in Delaware will split $6 million of the state’s federal COVID-19 funding That includes: $350,000 to The Home of the Brave in Milford to renovate the facility to serve more homeless veterans and provide services to homeless veterans in Delaware including individual case management, mental health counseling, life skills training and educational services. …
Kitchen table issues expected to be focus of 2024 election
With three Democrats already announcing a run for statewide offices in 2024, politicians say they expect the election’s main issues to be familiar to most voters. “It’s the cost of things going up and kind of wages being stagnant,” said Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, minority leader in the Delaware State Senate. “More and more I’m hearing from people, especially our …
Carney names marijuana commissioner, other cabinet officers
Delaware is putting a name to the role of state marijuana commissioner. On Monday, Governor John Carney nominated Robert Coupe as marijuana commissioner. He will serve within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, a division he once headed. Coupe was among a group of nominations released by Carney. They included: Josette Manning as Secretary of the Department of Health …
Rescue dog made Delaware’s official state pup
In front of the Delaware Humane Animal Partners building in Wilmington and a crowd of 45 people, Governor John Carney made the rescue dog the state’s permanent official state dog. The bill to do it was sponsored by Sen. Jack Walsh, D-Stanton/Newport. “It only takes one visit inside to tug at your hearts, right? And it’s not just dogs, it’s …
Car dealers: So far, electric vehicles not popular in Delaware
As DNREC is closing the public comment period for its new electric vehicle regulations, car dealerships across the state aren’t seeing an uptick in buyers. Sticker shock plays a role in that, dealers say. Many who are interested finally choose a hybrid vehicle that uses both gasoline and an electric battery. James Ursomarso, the vice president of the Union Park …
Delaware still expects $963.5 surplus for 2024 budget
Delaware heads toward the final moves in creating its 2024 budget, which starts July 1, with a projected $963.5 surplus. It will be the third straight year in a row of extraordinary revenues that hit right at $1 billion, and a turbulent economy it’s expected to be the last for a while to reach that stratospheric height. Revenue estimates rose …
Learning Collab seeks permission to extend planning period
The council of the Wilmington Learning Collaborative will ask the three participating districts to amend their memorandum of understanding to extend the council’s planning period. “We’ve got one shot at this,” said councilman Lincoln Hohler, who is Brandywine School District’s superintendent. “We can’t come back to the community with another failed initiative and say we want to reboot, we get …
Division of Alcohol starts process to create legal pot industry
The legalization of marijuana in Delaware will mean the state’s police agencies stop ticketing people for having it, but they’ll continue to pull people over for appearing to be under the influence. Police already had stopped charging people with criminal possession for small amounts of pot in 2019, when Attorney General Kathy Jennings said she would no longer prosecute for …
Marijuana legal in Delaware Sunday; Carney won’t sign, veto
Gov. John Carney said Friday that even though he disagrees with legalizing marijuana and creating a regulated and taxed industry, he will allow the two bills that do that to become law without his signature. “I want to be clear that my views on this issue have not changed,” he said in a Friday afternoon press release. “I understand there …