About 80,000 Delaware children are eligible to receive $120 extra in federal food benefits this summer to replace free lunches at school. Students who will get the benefit must come from families who are already qualified for the benefits, or meet income guidelines and qualify before summer. The state’s cost for the program will be about $1.5 million to administer, …
The annual State of the State Address from Delaware Governor John Carney has been postponed. Thursday’s 2 p.m. meeting is cancelled due to Carney being sick. A statement from the Governor’s Office says that Carney “has a fever and mild symptoms, but is in good spirits.” The address will be rescheduled at a later date, to be determined. 2023 Address: …
Extracurriculars ruled the day in Wednesday’s House Education Committee meeting. House Bill 244, sponsored by Rep. Mike Smith, R-Pike Creek, would provide funding for every public high school in the state to have a full-time athletic trainer. The funding would be phased over the next three fiscal years. Both the state and local districts would allocate money for the athletic …
A bill that would adjust the pension calculations for Delaware’s police officers and firefighters faced opposition from those very groups in Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee meeting. House Bill 266, sponsored by Rep. Cyndie Romer, D-Newark, would add wages earned as a result of required additional work hours to the definition of “compensation” for purposes of calculating pensions in the county …
A proposed law that intends to hold state legislators accountable for unethical behavior was showcased in the second of a series of press conferences each Wednesday by the Republican Party. House Bill 261, sponsored by Rep. Mike Smith, R-Pike Creek, would establish the Office of Legislative Ethics for the General Assembly to ensure that valid allegations of wrongdoing by state …
Five of Delaware’s 19 school districts are asking their residents to head to the polls in 2024 and vote for a local tax increase. In the First State, districts must hold referendums if they want to increase their local school tax in order to increase local revenue. They include the Brandywine, Red Clay Consolidated, Colonial, Smyrna and Appoquinimink. Schools get …
Just days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the president of a top-ranked Historically Black College and University condemned remarks from one of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk. Delaware State University President Tony Allen Thursday stated that the tweets from Musk – the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter – were “unoriginal in their amplification of …
Delaware state senators and representatives didn’t revolt when they got their first bite at recommendations for higher educator pay that would cost the state hundreds of millions in coming years. But questions did arise in Thursday’s joint House And Senate Education committees meeting that lasted about 1 ¼ hours. They included concern about poorer districts’ ability to pay their 30% …
A bill that would allow Delawareans 65 or older to obtain a medical marijuana card without their doctor’s approval got some pushback Wednesday in a legislative hearing. House Bill 285, sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, D-Newark would allow the state’s elders to self-certify for the card without a certification from a health-care provider, circumventing the doctor-patient relationship. Oseinski said those …
It’s 8 o’clock somewhere! That’s what state senator Laura Sturgeon, D-Hockessin, said with exuberance after a law expanding the hours of alcohol sales in Delaware garnered approval from her fellow legislators. House Bill 235, sponsored by Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, allows any individual or business with an alcoholic liquor license to sell at 8 a.m., an hour earlier than …
