On the 7th I attended the UD Homecoming football game. On Monday the 9th I attended a board meeting in Wilmington of the Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence. That afternoon I toured the Tri State Bird Rescue (an incredible organization and facility), met with students from Newark Charter High School for a social studies project, and attended the Newark city council meeting, at which I gave a brief statement. On Tuesday the 10th I met with a senior member of the Delaware Department of Technology and Information. On Wednesday I attended a memorial service in observance of Veterans Day. I had lunch with one of the (many) candidates for Lieutenant Governor, and that evening attended a Veterans Day event at the Newark Country Club. On Thursday I attended the annual dinner for the American Turkish Friendship Association, at which I addressed the attendees to discuss the Syrian Refugee Crisis, and why charity is central to all world religions. On Friday I attended a ribbon cutting at Kindred Spirits (see article, below), met with a member of the Newark Chapter of the NAACP, and in the afternoon met with stakeholders to discuss the issue of safe firearm storage. On Saturday I attended the all-day summit on Dismantling the New Jim Crow, at the Chase Center.
On Sunday the 15th I attended the open house at NCCL, the Newark Center for Creative Learning. On Monday several of us met to organize a summit on February 11th to address providing services in the greater Newark area for the homeless, the 1st Annual Greater Newark Resource Summit. On Tuesday I drove to Dover to attend and address the Academic Framework Working Group, which advises the state Department of Education (even when that advice is disregarded). That afternoon I had a meeting on the Newark Country Club, a conference call with the White House on new ‘state-sponsored’ retirement plans for private employers, and that evening attended a town hall meeting on criminal justice and racism in Wilmington.
On Wednesday I met with Newark Mayor Sierer, attended the announcement of the new President of the University of Delaware, a promotion ceremony for officers of the Newark Police Department, and had a meeting in Wilmington on the state’s budget priorities for homeless projects. On Thursday the 19th I taped two segments of the Comcast Newsmakers program, held a meeting of many advocates to identify hurdles that need to be eliminated to provide access to housing and other services for those with past criminal convictions of victim-less crimes. I had a phone call regarding the RFP process for the state’s animal control contract, and that evening I attended the annual dinner for Common Cause of Delaware. On Friday the 20th I joined a meeting to explore the extension of Delaware Avenue all the way to Marrows Road.
I have had some emails regarding the aforementioned meetings, on education, homelessness, criminal justice reform, the Syrian refugee crisis, common sense gun rules, Newark city council matters, DelDOT, the Newark Country Club, etc.
I sent out an email regarding the updated status of the requested deed restriction amendment to permit a pharmacy (CVS) at the Dempsey property on Paper Mill Road.
I have collected information on the impact of heroin use on the greater Newark area, as requested by the high school students I met earlier this month.
I have been working with Sean Dwyer, my legislative aide, to help the Estates at Corner Ketch address the drainage issues that the county has raised. In the process, we introduced ourselves to the new President and Vice-President of their association.
I have had some email discussions with residents on the topic of good approaches for the state to meet its infrastructure responsibilities, and on budget priorities.
I have worked to try to help a resident who would like their child to be transferred from the Delaware Met school to Newark High.
I have continued to work to stay informed on the plans to develop a Tri-Valley Trail, from Paper Mill Park to Redd Park (at Paper Mill and Possum Park Roads).
I have worked with a resident who has been receiving odd unclaimed property warnings from his current financial institution.
For some reasons I have recently been receiving emails from people who do not include their addresses (and thus could be living in another state, or country, for all I know), asking me to not move my Aid-in-Dying bill forward. The bill is tabled in the House Health Committee—I do not expect it to move in 2016. For your information, when reaching out to an elected official, INCLUDE YOUR ADDRESS. Your emails will be taken more seriously, especially if you are a constituent. I have had good e-discussions with Delaware residents from Kent and Sussex counties on this topic, in recent weeks.
http://www.newarkpostonline.com/news/article_b4139e5b-714a-546a-a40f-ca2751a4e0dc.html