Update—October 6th to 25th

On Sunday the 6th I attended a Diwali celebration in New Castle. On Monday I had a meeting I had called to examine how the state could assist in resuming the Autism respite program which was suspended the previous week—the following day it was announced that the program was re-opening. That evening I attended the monthly meeting of the 23rd RD Democratic committee. On Tuesday night I attended the monthly meeting of the Christina School District. I had a conference in Washington DC to examine state Medicaid programs October 9th to 11th. On the first day, I met with senior staff from the offices of the three Delaware members of Congress, and that evening I had a meeting on our medical aid in dying legislation. The following evening I attended the annual celebration at the Taiwan embassy. On Saturday the 12th I attended a ribbon cutting event at the Route 9 Library, of an exhibit profiling the life and teachings of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion.

On Sunday morning the 13th I helped with the presentation of the House Tribute for the 4th annual Deer Park Goes Pink race to support breast cancer awareness. That afternoon I drove the streets of the district to identify the streets that Senator Sokola and I would be directing Community Transportation Funds to mill and repave next year (Caynor Court, Eileen Drive, Meadowbrook Lane, Union Station Road, Vanier Drive, and Worthington Park Road, and, jointly with the City of Newark, Creek Bend Drive, Rahway Drive, and Sypherd Drive). My wife Pam and I hosted a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood on Monday evening.

On Wednesday morning I co-chaired the local service fee task force with Senator Sokola. Afterwards I attended the quarterly meeting of the Coordination of Care group that oversees services for the homeless in Delaware. Later on Wednesday I had a meeting to address a constituent’s ongoing disagreement with the Social Security Administration. On Thursday morning I joined Rep Ray Seigfried to participate in Advocacy Day for the Delaware Academy of Family Physicians in Dover. That evening I briefly swung by Shue-Medill Middle School for their food truck event. On Friday morning I taped two segments with the Comcast Newsmakers program, including one on the Main Street rehabilitation DelDOT project.

On Saturday night the 19th I went to the Chase Center to attend the Garba Hindu festival. On Sunday afternoon I attended the NAACP Freedom Fund Awards Banquet. On Monday evening the 21st I conducted a Facebook town hall with Dale Davis, exploring renewable energy programs and policy. On Tuesday I was Principal for a Day at Newark Charter Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. That afternoon I had a conference call on medical aid in dying with Delaware physicians, and that evening I attended the Newark Partnership forum on public education on the UD STAR campus.

On Wednesday I attended and spoke at the Newark History Museum’s program at the Newark Country Club on the work of Dutch photographer Rein Jelle Terpstra, exploring the 1969 RFK Funeral Train that went through Newark. On Thursday morning I stopped by a DelDOT meeting at Newark city hall with Newark merchants, to discuss the main street rehabilitation project. Afterwards I attended the celebration of life for Sonia Sloan. That evening I attended a fundraiser for a friend who is a candidate to be a State Representative. Last night I stopped by the annual Fall Festival at Maclary Elementary School.

Emails—Over the past three weeks, there were many emails. Some dealt with upcoming meetings and events.

There were many emails related to the Autism Respite program, about the yard waste site on Polly Drummond Road, about the City of Newark’s ability to offer sewer services to homes outside the city limits, about liquor licenses, and about the dedication of the Downes Elementary School cafeteria.

I had emails related to area businesses, including the Newark Urgent Care, a fledgling micro-brewery, credit card usage in the three-level alcohol distribution system, and regarding the transfer of school taxes between the Christina School District and Newark Charter School.

I had emails with constituents, on many matters, including one family’s concern regarding a school choice they had made, about installing a missing yield sign on West Main Street, the repaving of the Casho Mill Road underpass, about the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, about the redevelopment proposal for the parcel across from Jenney’s Run on Paper Mill Road, about vaping, about net neutrality, about a resident who had disappointing service from the Delaware State Police, about a possible parcel for the Open Space program, about ensuring that the Michael Castle Trail is open during the annual Hike Across Delaware event next week, about lighting along Creek Road, about arranging an ROTC color guard at a veterans day event, about UD’s handling of a retired UD faculty member’s scholarship fund, and about water fountains at a local school.

I have had emails about legislation that I am working on, including one that ensures in-state tuition at Delaware’s three state colleges for children of adults here on long-term visas, one that provides for censure, restrictions, and removal of school board members, phasing out corporate welfare, and one on microbreweries.