Twelve Republican state representatives on Tuesday sent an open letter to Gov. John Carney asking that he reconsider mask mandates in state buildings and schools and stop advocating for COVID-19 booster shots. They encouraged the Democratic governor to promptly end all pandemic-related restrictions, return state workers to their normal places of employment, and “restore normality” for all Delawareans. The legislators …
Carney allows McGuiness to hire outside lawyer for Medicaid audit
State Auditor Kathy McGuiness has been granted permission to hire outside counsel in her office’s ongoing subpoena case with the Department of Health and Social Services. Her office has been trying since May to get DHSS to hand over documents necessary to complete a performance audit of the agency’s Medicaid eligibility programs. McGuiness says she’s faced obstacles while conducting audits …
Delaware DOJ civil rights division secures felony hate crime conviction
Attorney General Kathy Jennings on Thursday announced the Department of Justice’s first felony hate crime trial conviction by the agency’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust. Defendant Matthew Gregg was convicted by a New Castle County jury on charges of hate crimes, harassment, and terroristic threatening after repeatedly verbally attacking a member of Gov. John Carney’s staff, an African …
Red Clay joins Christina, Brandywine in Learning Collaborative talks
Gov. John Carney went door-to-door in Wilmington to sell his plans for the Learning Collaborative. After making Gov. John Carney wait for hours at their January meeting and then raking him over the coals, the Red Clay School Board on Wednesday took only minutes to unanimously vote to join discussions to create a Wilmington Learning Collaborative. Red Clay now …
Delaware mask mandate to expire Friday, Feb. 11
Gov. Carney’s universal indoor mask mandate will expire Friday, Feb. 11/Getty Images Delaware’s universal indoor mask mandate will expire at 8 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 11. Gov. John Carney on Monday revised the State of Emergency order citing the sharp decrease in cases since the height of the omicron variant surge. While masks will no longer be required inside many …
Delaware Restaurant Association issues dire plea for help
The organization that represents restaurants in Delaware said the industry is far from being out of the woods after two years of the COVID pandemic. The Delaware Restaurant Association’s 2022 ‘State of the Restaurant Industry’ report found that restaurants continue to struggle to keep their doors open amid a surge in coronavirus cases, inflation, a labor shortage, and supply chain …
Carney still doesn’t support legal weed
Photo/Office of the Governor Gov. John Carney said during Tuesday’s weekly COVID-19 briefing that his position on recreational marijuana legalization has not changed: he doesn’t support it. The statement comes as a bill to legalize the cultivation, sale and possession of marijuana in Delaware makes its way through the General Assembly. House Bill 305, also known as the Delaware Marijuana …
Christina School District asks for moratorium on new, expanding charter schools
Christina School District’s Board of Education has called for a statewide temporary moratorium on new charter schools and the expansion of existing charter schools. The board hopes that the pause will stabilize relationships between schools and districts that serve students in Wilmington while they work together on developing Gov. John Carney’s proposed Wilmington Learning Collaborative and implementing proposals from the …
Clean water committee seeks ideas on how to spend money
DNREC Photo Six months after being signed into law, DNREC officials have shared their plans to solicit public input on priorities for the Delaware Clean Water Trust Oversight Committee. The agency will host three virtual public information sessions to hear from Delaware residents and businesses about how the trust should support water quality improvements. House Bill 200, or the Clean …
Carney ready to spend money in 2022; GOP wants tax relief
Photo by Daniel Sato The state of the state is strong, said Gov. John Carney during his annual address before a joint session of the General Assembly Thursday. Much of Carney’s speech focused on the fallout of COVID-19, including its impact on the state’s economy and the work that still needs to be done to confront new variants and surges. …