On Monday the 8th I attended the Newark City Council meeting, at which Senator Sokola and I shared with the council additional funding that County Executive Matt Meyer and the two of us offered to help the city pay for the Emerson Bridge over the creek by Timothy’s, funding necessary due to cost increases. On Tuesday afternoon I had a conference call regarding a potential piece of new legislation. That evening I had a conference call on the End of Life Options Act, and then attended the monthly board meeting of the Christina School District (pictured). On Wednesday I attended the signing of two bills related to liquor stores (pictured). On Thursday I had a conference call on another potential piece of legislation. On Friday through Sunday I attended a legislators’ conference in Washington DC, which gave me the opportunity to attend an immigration rally (pictures).
On Tuesday the 16th I had a lunch meeting to discuss the strategy for the End of Life Options Act. That afternoon I had a conference call with an organization seeking to help with legislative initiatives we have in common. On Wednesday I attended the bill signing for the default healthy drinks in kids meals, at the route 9 library (pictures). On Thursday I had a meeting at the Judge Morris Estate to explore improving the safety at several pedestrian/bicycle crossings of roads adjacent to the White Clay Creek State Park.
On Monday the 22nd I had a phone call with the Delaware State University regarding potential new legislation. That evening I attended the Newark City Council meeting, and provided a thorough update on the Casho Mill underpass. On Tuesday evening I attended the quarterly meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council for the White Clay Creek State Park. On Wednesday the 24th I had a phone call with an advocacy organization, to provide an update on my efforts to improve the state’s EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) program. On Thursday morning I attended a meeting at Newark City Hall with DelDOT and city business owners, to discuss upcoming steps on the Main Street rehabilitation program. That afternoon/evening I attended the Delaware State Fair (pictures). On Friday I had a lunch meeting to discuss the Big Pond project within the White Clay Creek State Park. On Saturday I knocked on doors in Barksdale Estates. Many of our conversations dealt with the Casho Mill underpass issue.
Emails—with the legislator on break until January, the pace of emails has slowed down. The exception is the issue that arose two weeks ago when we learned that CSX railroad proposed shutting down the Casho Mill Road underpass. I have been working with DelDOT, the City of Newark, my legislative colleagues, and Senator Coons’ office to learn exactly what is behind the proposal, and, frankly, how to stop it. At this point we have a strong plan to request significant safety improvements to reduce vehicle collisions with the underpass (which is struck more often than any other bridge/tunnel in the state)—see the picture of the Holland Tunnel warning system.
There have been many emails preparing for the first meeting of the Local Service Fee Task Force which Senator Sokola and I are co-chairing. This task force was established by our House Concurrent Resolution 54.
I have had several emails about new legislative ideas we are exploring. I had some followup emails regarding topics that arose in the Christina School District board meeting.
I have had emails related to current legislation—end of life options act, marijuana regulation, taxation and legalization, and exempting non-profit swimming pools from real estate taxes.
Some emails addressed constituent questions, about school funding, Main Street repairs, the senior school property tax credit, the signing of the changes to the city charter for Newark, grass replacement after a DelDOT project that dug up a resident’s lawn, a public meeting regarding a proposal for yet another new hotel on Main Street, the continued operation of the yard waste site on Polly Drummond, about panhandling on Main Street, a drainage problem in Covered Bridge, a health service provider no longer being covered under a Highmark policy, the impact on workers comp restrictions on opioid prescribing on a federal employee who requires this medicine to manage his serious pain, admission to the affordable housing community where the orphanage used to be on Chestnut Hill Road, about Chlorpyrifos which the EPA reversed their position of banning, status request for the work on including financial literacy in our public schools, status of federal corporate transparency legislation, USDA’s increased restriction on SNAP foot assistance, operating system status for the new voting machines, K-12 mental health education, development projects in the city of Newark, writing a letter of support for UD’s effort to place a Drug Collection Unit on campus, and learning why People to People was not included in this year’s Grant-in-Aid funding bill.
I have emailed a reporter to correct their factually false tweet regarding overdoses in our state.
We have had many emails related to issues surrounding the White Clay Creek State Park. I have had several emails to DelDOT related to potholes and road buckling, and the need to cut down underbrush that interferes with visibility, and emails with DelDOT related to the Main Street project, and thanking DelDOT for their good work repaving a stretch of Valley Road.