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TSD Review Sept 28

TownSquareLIVE Weekly Review – September 28, 2023

Sonja Frey September 28, 2023 Town Square Live, Weekly Review

This Week’s Top Headlines Include:

Awwwwwww: Baby lemur born at Brandywine Zoo
Junior League’s Whale of a Sale is back, big time
Delaware trooper charged with assaulting, injuring two teens
Ban of anime club, manga draws ire from Magnolia Middle parents
On the Pitch: Week 3 boys soccer top 10 rankings

Click on the image below to view the PDF

TSD Review Sept 28 scaled

RELATED STORIES:

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Sonja Frey
Sonja Frey

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anime club banAnn Lowe exhibitBrandywine ZoobusinesscommunityDE trooper charged with assaultDelaware Healthy Mother and Infant ConsortiumDempsey WalterseducationEtailFlow LLCfood and dininggaps in test scoresGoldey-Beacomgovernmenthodgson votech projectslearning collabmagnolia middle schoolMark FarnerNCCVT seeks millionsnew baby lemuron the pitchPCOnlineprivate school recruitmentSenior Roll Call LifelinesportsSt Mark's footballThe Corner ScoopVet Festview from the baselineweek 3 top 10 sportsWhale of a SaleWilmington Learning CollaborativeWinterthur

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  • Kowalko to file bill allowing retirees to choose health plan
    State retirees' health plan

        State Rep. John Kowalko on Friday unveiled a bill that will allow retirees to choose between the state’s current special Medicare plan or switch to the Medicare Advantage Plan that’s triggered all kinds of angst. Kowalko, D-Newark, has spearheaded opposition to the plan, saying it will dramatically change the way retirees get their health care. The plan would force retirees to get a doctor’s referral for treatments they now can schedule on their own, and it could prevent them from seeing doctors out of state because — Kowalko’s bill says — doctors in surrounding states do not accept the Highmark Medicare Advantage plan. The opposition says the change to a Medicare Advantage plan and doing away with a Medicare supplemental plan was done without notifying the retirees and without legislative input. State officials say the change was not secretive, that retirees’ care will not change substantially, and that the switch is necessary to better budget for health care costs in the future. Kowalko said in his press release that his legislation will enable the State to comply with the court’s directive and assure retirees that they will have options. “If retirees choose the supplement option, they will be lowering the substantial risk to their healthcare access that the Medicare Advantage privatization edict puts in jeopardy,” Kowalko said. “Furthermore, this legislation allows the General Assembly to embrace its obligations to its retirees and reiterates the General Assembly’s respect for those workers who have earned that respect.” Enrollment for the state retirees was to have begun Monday, Oct. 25. On Wednesday, Delaware Supreme Court Judge Calvin Scott Jr. issued a stay of the implementation of the Medicare Advantage Plan for state retirees. He ordered the state to take steps to make sure that the retirees’ current health care remains in full force and effect while the stay is in effect. The court will schedule a trial to make a final determination on the fate of the Medicare Advantage plan, Scott’s ruling said. RELATED: State retirees protest Carney admin’s Medicare Advantage plan RELATED: State retirees skeptical of new Medicare Advantage plan Before the ruling, the Delaware General Assembly announced that the House and Senate will hold a special session Wednesday, Oct. 26, to create a new subcommittee that would monitor the performance of Highmark’s Medicare Advantage plan. According to the General Assembly’s press release, the General Assembly “does not have the power to undo the Carney Administration’s contract with Highmark.” The committee would be composed of state retirees, lawmakers, union representatives and other state officials. Specifically, the subcommittee would monitor compliance with the Medicare Advantage contract, solicit public input about patient experience and provide quarterly reports to the General Assembly. Kowalko’s bill is not yet filed, so doesn’t have a bill number, but the copy he released Friday includes as sponsors Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, D-Newark Rep. Mike Ramone, R-Pike Creek; Rep. Bruce Ennis, D-Smyrna; Sen. Dave Lawson, R-Marydel; Rep. Sean M. Lynn, D-Dover; Rep. Dave Osienski, D-Newark; and Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown. Both Kowalko and Ennis are retiring from the legislature. Their replacements will be elected Nov. 8.            

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  • Laurel Bulldogs win back to back state football titles

    Newark – For two seasons the Laurel Bulldogs have carried the target on their back with the number one ranking in Class A and for two seasons they have raised the state championship trophy at Delaware Stadium in December. “Unbelievable,” Laurel head coach Joey Jones said after the Bulldogs defeated St. Elizabeth 28-13 to win the DIAA Class A state football championship for the second straight year. Laurel’s Owen Chaffinch recovered a St. Elizabeth fumble on the first play of the game at the Vikings 37 yard line. Four plays later Xavier Limehouse on a fourth and two went around the left end for a 29 yard touchdown run. Michael Gonzalez-Perez converted the kick as Laurel led 7-0 just 2:17 into the game. Laurel added to their lead early in the second quarter on a 13 yard touchdown run by Tate Walls. Gonzalez-Perez converted the kick as the Bulldogs led 14-0 with 9:23 to play in the first half. St. Elizabeth was driving on their next possession, but the drive was halted when Ny’Aire Farlow jumped the route and intercepted Chris Soto’s pass at the Laurel 46 yard line for the Bulldogs second takeaway of the first half. Laure was unable to capitalize on the turnover and was forced to punt the ball as Kaden Shockley kicked a low punt that rolled to the St. Elizabeth 14. The Vikings put together a solid ten play 86 yard drive capped off by a 22 yard halfback pass from Chris Caracter to a wide open Tony Shiavoni. Soto converted the kick as St. Elizabeth cut the Laurel lead to 14-7 at halftime. Neither team could get much going on offense in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter St. Elizabeth got a key stop as Laurel went for it on fourth down and two. Shockley was held to a one yard run giving the Vikings the ball at their own 46 yard line with 8:16 to play in the game. On the third play of the drive Soto connected with Caracter for a 37 yard touchdown pass. The point after kick was blocked by Patrick Belle as Laurel held a slim 14-13 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Laurel began their next offensive series at their own 46 yard line. Kylse Wilson carried the ball nine times in the drive, capping it off with a four yard touchdown run to extend Laurel’s lead to 21-13 with just 2:42 to play in the game. On second and ten at the Laurel 44 yard line, Belle sacked Soto for an 11 yard loss causing a fumble that Domontra Smith scooped up and raced 45 yards for a touchdown putting the exclamation point on the game as the Bulldogs led 28-13 with just 36 seconds left on the clock. Kylse Wilson gained 190 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown for Laurel. The Bulldogs amassed 301 yards of total offense in the game. St. Elizabeth gained 271 yards of total offense with Soto completing six of eight passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Caracter threw for a touchdown and caught another while rushing for 94 yards on 10 carries for the Vikings.

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  • Lawyer who championed Title IX sees backlash for position on trans women in sports
    a man wearing a suit and tie

    Tom Neuberger Wilmington attorney Tom Neuberger has been an advocate for women in sports since the 1970s when he helped ensure equal athletic opportunities for girls in Delaware under Title IX. He thought he had won that battle, but nearly 50 years later, Neuberger fears women’s sports are being threatened once again. But since he’s begun to speak up about what he believes is a genuine infringement of women’s rights, Neuberger says he’s been cast as some type of bigot.  In a recent story published by WDEL, Mike Brickner, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware, said the idea that “we have to prevent transgender students from playing in girls sports also comes from, I think, a very sexist notion that young women have to be protected in some way.” “This idea that transgender girls would have some sort of automatic advantage over cisgender girls, I think, is kind of sexist in that, we’re saying that cisgender girls are these weak flowers that can’t compete in sports when many of them are extremely competitive.” But Neuberger said any suggestion that his argument comes from a place of sexism flies in the face of his “47 years of experience representing women, minorities, the blind, survivors of rape, and others.” House Bill 199, sponsored by Rep. Valerie Longhurst, D-Delaware City, seeks to amend Article 1, Section 21 of the Delaware Constitution.  That section — added to the state constitution in 2019 — prohibits the denial or abridgment of equal rights under the law based on sex. It was amended in 2020 to include race, color, and national origin. House Bill 199, which has been assigned to the House Administration Committee for review, seeks to add protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. On Dec. 16, Neuberger penned a letter to Rep. Sean Lynn, D-Dover, who is chair of the House Judiciary Committee, asking that the General Assembly remove “gender identity” from House Bill 199.  He’s not anti-trans at all and he does want to see their rights protected, he explained in an interview with Delaware LIVE News, but he fears that the law, as written, could unintentionally jeopardize single-sex girls’ sports in Delaware. In a six-page memo attached to his letter, Neuberger said his position comes down simply to a matter of biology. “It is undisputed that the average male is bigger, faster, and stronger than the average female,” Neuberger writes. “Accordingly, when it comes to athletics, single-sex competitions have long been the norm.” Neuberger posits that “in head-to-head competitions, allowing even one or two male-bodied athletes to compete in the women’s division can severely limit the chances of success for female athletes.” Allowing transgender girls to play on teams with limited roster spots, he argues, could also take away positions, including playing time and potential scholarship opportunities, from biological female athletes.  And in many sports, Neuberger says, allowing male-bodied athletes to compete with and against females will inevitably increase the risk of injury to female athletes.  “As the number of natal males seeking to compete in women’s sports grows, the risks to [biological] female athletes also grow,” he writes. He acknowledges that transgender women in sports are often subject to rules that require testosterone suppression for varying amounts of time before they may play on women’s teams. But testosterone suppression therapy fails to account for many of the biological athletic advantages associated with the male body, he said. He cited in his memo a study by British biologist, Dr. Emma Hilton. The study, published in Feb. 2021 in the journal “Sports Medicine,” is titled “Transgender Women in the Female Category of Sport: Perspectives on Testosterone Suppression and Performance Advantage.” “Given that biological males experience a substantial performance advantage over females in most sports, there is currently a debate whether inclusion of transgender women in the female category of sports would compromise the objective of fair and safe competition,” the study reads. The study goes on to report that “current evidence shows the biological advantage, most notably in terms of muscle mass and strength, conferred by male puberty and thus enjoyed by most transgender women is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed as per current sporting guidelines for transgender athletes.” “In laymen’s terms,” Neuberger summarizes, “in head to head competition with a transgender female, a biological female high school athlete has a smaller heart, smaller lungs, less bone mass, is weaker, does not have the muscle strength and everything else compared with the transgender female.” Neuberger believes a more fair solution is to allow transgender women to continue playing sports, but only on teams associated with the gender they were assigned at birth. This, he asserts, is necessary to account for biological differences that could create unfair advantages in women’s sports.  And ultimately, he said, granting rights to a protected class of people should not come at the expense of others’ rights.  “We’ve got conflicting concerns here and I think the interests of high school girls and women would outweigh those being asserted in the area of gender identity,” he said. And aside from the biological advantages Neuberger feels transgender women have over those assigned females at birth, he believes including gender identity as a protected class in the Delaware Constitution “will be an open invitation to litigation in the Delaware courts to define that term.” “In my legal opinion an unintended result of the enactment of H.B. 199 will be the eventual elimination of single-sex high school girls sports in Delaware, and in other states if this Delaware State law constitutional precedent is followed elsewhere.” The conflict comes on the heels of a decision by the Red Clay School District to enact a policy that reaffirms transgender and gender diverse students’ right to use the restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity. Under Board Policy 8005, students who “consistently assert” a gender identity other than that which they were assigned at birth may use the corresponding restroom, or alternatively, a single-person restroom.  […]

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  • 16-year-old male charged for shooting at William Penn High
    A 16-year-old has been arrested in connection with the shooting at William Penn High School last week. (Jarek Rutz/Delaware LIVE News)

    A 16-year-old male from Wilmington has been arrested in connection to a shooting at William Penn High School Tuesday that shut the school for the rest of the week. “We’re all relieved and we’re hoping the school community and the community as a whole can move forward and heal,” said William Penn High School Principal Lisa Brewington. “This was a traumatic event and something you wish never, ever, ever happens.” There will be extra police presence when students return to school tomorrow for the first time since the incident, Brewington said. Extra support will be available for students who need individual or group support Tuesday, a district statement said.  The state doesn’t not identify juvenile suspects.  What happened? On Jan. 10 at about 11:40 a.m., the Delaware State Police were called to William Penn High School for a report of a shot fired.  There were no injuries reported. RELATED STORY: William Penn cancels classes to investigate Tuesday shooting During an investigation, police identified the 16-year-old suspect and obtained a warrant for his arrest.  On Sunday, troopers arrested him at a Seneca Road residence in Wilmington. The Delaware State Police announced Monday that the 16-year-old was arrested and charged with: Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony) 2 counts of possession of a deadly weapon or ammunition by a person under 21 years of age (felony) Reckless endangering – first degree (felony) Aggravated menacing (felony) Possession of a weapon in a safe school zone (felony) The teenager was arraigned in the Justice of the Peace Court No. 11 and committed to New Castle County Detention Center on a $98,000 cash bond.

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  • State offers 3 dates for assault weapon registration
    assault

    The Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security announced that it will be hosting several opportunities for Delawareans to register their assault weapons. There will be three dates, each from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for people from each county to get a certificate, including on May 27 at the Delaware State Police Troop 2 building in New Castle County, on June 3 at the Delaware State Police Troop 7 building in Sussex County, and on June 10 at the Delaware State Police State Bureau of Identification in Kent County. Jeff Hague, president of the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, said he doesn’t understand why it’s taken the DSHS so long to start issuing certificates. “I’m a little disappointed that it’s taken them 48 weeks to do something that the law said had to be done within one year, only giving people one year to do this,” Hague said. “Homeland Security has waited until less than just about a month left before they did anything. That’s disappointing.” People will not need to pay for the certificate and will still be able to get a certificate even if they can’t go to any of the listed dates. It is unclear, however, where people can go to get a certificate after the listed dates or what will happen if someone doesn’t have a certificate for an assault weapon after June 30, 2023. Related Story: Judge refuses to block state’s assault rifle, magazine laws Hague said the certification process should have gone through a public comment period because of the changes it makes. “So if you’re establishing a rule or procedure, that’s a regulation,” Hague said. “By definition, that’s why I say that I believe it should have gone through to the Administrative Procedures Act for public comment to let people know what’s going on.” To get a certificate, people must present a valid Delaware driver’s license, Delaware identification card, or U.S. passport, and a bill of sale proving the firearm was purchased before June 30, 2022. For inherited weapons, documents like a will have to be provided. Hague said that it may be difficult for some people to produce a record that they purchased a certain firearm. “Well, one of the questions that’s been raised by legislators and myself is if people purchased one of these banned weapons 40 years ago, do you still have the receipt…if you look at some of the firearms that are banned on this list, they’ve been around since the 1960s or even prior to that,” Hague said. “So I mean, people could have purchased them when they were first offered for sale.” While residents must bring the weapons they’re looking to get a certificate with them, the weapon must be unloaded and left secured in their vehicles, with people entering the buildings unarmed. Related Story: Carney to sign gun bills today According to the bill the legislature passed last year, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security won’t keep copies of the certificate or other identifying information on people who get a certificate of possession. Despite that, Hague said people will still be reluctant to show up because of the possibility that they could be tracked. “You’re gonna be on camera when you go into the State Police Troop? They’re gonna know you were there,” Hague said. “So people are gonna be reluctant because they’re hesitant about the government keeping records…they’re gonna know you were there, they’re gonna know why you were there, therefore that’s a registry.”  The certification process is part of a law passed last year by the legislature, House Bill 450, banning the sale and possession of a whole host of assault weapons, along with high capacity magazines.  The Sportsmen’s Association is suing the state over the assault weapon ban.

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