Click here for photos of the new puppy

WILMINGTON – Delaware’s First Family has a new member and her name is “Rue.”   “Rue,” a playful, three-month old puppy with some pretty big paws has recently joined the Markell household.

“We’re in the getting-to-know you phase,” said the Governor. “Rue’s finding her way around and has been pretty well-behaved.  Everyday her tail wags a little bit more.”

The Markells adopted the mixed breed puppy (possibly part Shepherd, Boxer, Lab ) from the Delaware Humane Association in Wilmington.     Her name comes from a character in the movie, “The Hunger Games,” who is small and easily underestimated by other competitors.

“Rue loves people and has plenty of energy,” said First Lady Carla Markell.  “She is adorable, fun and pretty smart.  Rue has been fetching and understands the command ‘sit.’”  Rue and our cat, Belle, haven’t quite made their peace yet.  They are giving each other space, but every now and then when they are in the same room, it’s ‘interesting.’”

Rue-the-dog joins Belle-the-cat and Norma-the-goldfish in the Markell household.  Belle was rescued from a dumpster in 1998.

DOVER – A bill that would dramatically expand disclosure requirements for lobbyists was introduced today with broad bipartisan support. Governor Jack Markell joined Senate President Pro Tempore Tony DeLuca, House Speaker Bob Gilligan and legislators to introduce Senate Bill 185.

“How can you tell who’s working to influence the bills that could become the laws that will affect your life? The problem is, in many cases right now, you can’t, because state disclosure laws simply haven’t kept up. This proposal helps solve that problem, bringing needed light to the process,” Markell said. “As a Delawarean, you shouldn’t have to be in the lobby of Legislative Hall or in the offices of a state agency to know who’s trying to shape a law that matters to you. This bill would make that information more available.”

Currently, lobbyists only need to disclose that they are working for a client, but do not need to share what work they are doing on that clients behalf. Senate Bill 185 would require that lobbyists specifically identify each piece of legislation, each area of the budget or the bond bill, or each proposed state agency regulation that they are lobbying to change.

“This will enable people to go online and see who’s lobbying on a specific bill,” said DeLuca. “The intent is to make the information transparent so the public is given a better idea of lobbyists’ interests.”

The new disclosures must occur within five business days of the lobbyist having “direct communication” with a legislator or the Lieutenant Governor or Governor on a bill, or within same time frame from communication with a state agency employee regarding a proposed regulation. If the communication takes place before a bill is introduced or proposed regulation published, the disclosure will be within five business days of the bill introduction or regulation publication.

“Improving government transparency and public access to information has been a top priority of mine since I became Speaker in 2009,” said Gilligan. “In this age of technology, there’s no reason why the public should not be able to easily find out which lobbyists are lobbying for a particular piece of legislation. This will remove any perceived shroud of secrecy and give the public more information about the legislative process.”

The reporting by the lobbyists will be done electronically and all the reports will display on a public website. The Governor thanked Common Cause for their advocacy on this issue.

“A lobbyist who spends every day in the state capitol operates in a different reality than the average citizen. This bill opens an important window on what’s really going on in Dover, and it will make it much easier to track what lobbyists are doing and to hold them accountable,” said James Browing of Common Cause.

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden and Lt. Governor Matt Denn today announced a plan to put in place an effective statewide policy to combat cyberbullying in Delaware’s schools.  The plan includes statewide public hearings to gather information to be used in developing the cyberbullying policy, and legislation designed to help school districts enforce the new policy.  The plan consists of four steps:

 

1.      Statewide public hearings in April to gather factual evidence from school administrators and parents about the type of off-campus activity causing disruption in our schools.

2.      The drafting of a statewide cyberbullying policy based upon the evidence gathered at the hearings.

3.      Issuance of a regulation by the state’s Department of Education requiring adoption of the statewide cyberbullying policy by public school districts and charter schools.

4.      A new state law that will allow the Attorney General’s office to defend school districts and charter schools if their good faith enforcement of the statewide cyberbullying policy is subject to legal challenge.

 

“Thanks to constant communication and social networking, there is no such thing as a ‘schoolyard bully’ anymore,” said Attorney General Biden. “Kids who face bullies face them all the time – at home, at school, and everywhere in between. For schools to be the safe places that children deserve, they must be able to effectively fight bullying that may originate off school grounds, but follows its victims 24 hours a day.”

 

“We need to fight cyberbullying aggressively but also thoughtfully,” said Lt. Governor Denn.  “Around the country, schools have been sued when trying to enforce cyberbullying policies – and even here in Delaware, the one school district that attempted to implement a cyberbullying policy was threatened with litigation.  This approach, where we gather the facts first, write a policy based on those facts, and then stand behind the policy with the full force of our Attorney General’s office, will give us the best chance to deal with this growing problem.”

 

The legislation necessary for implementation of this plan will be introduced in the Senate this week by Senator David Sokola, and will be sponsored in the House of Representatives by Representative Terry Schooley.  Senator Sokola and Representative Schooley are the chairs of their chambers’ respective education committees, and the prime sponsors of companion legislation they introduced with the Lt. Governor and Attorney General earlier this month addressing the reporting of bullying incidents.

 

“A lot of the kinds of controls that have worked in other media haven’t been as effective in the on-line world because of instantaneous and permanent nature but we know some things have worked,” said Sen. David Sokola, D-Newark, the bill’s leading sponsor. “And we can’t give up; we need to look at what’s being done to successfully curb cyberbullying elsewhere and use it here.”

 

“In this age of technology, young people use many different forms of social media, computers and cell phones to communicate and publicly post information,” said Rep. Terry Schooley, D-Newark. “Unfortunately, these means of communication can be used to bully other young people in a more public way than previous generations could ever imagine. By introducing this legislation, we are trying to stay ahead of the curve and protect our children and grandchildren from cyber-bullying and let people know that bullying in any form is wrong and should not be tolerated.”

 

Hearing dates, times, and locations for the statewide public hearings follow. They are open to the public, with school administrators being asked to testify first to share firsthand experiences.  Written input is also welcome and may be emailed to emily.cunningham@delaware.gov

 

New Castle County

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

10:30am – 12:30pm

Carvel State Office Building – auditorium

820 N. French Street

Wilmington

 

Sussex County

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

5:00pm – 7:00pm

Sussex County Administrative Building

2 The Circle

Georgetown

 

Kent County

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

11:30am – 1:30pm

Kent County Levy Court Chamber

555 Bay Road

Dover

 

 

# # #

 

WILMINGTON – Lt. Governor Matt Denn and Attorney General Beau Biden announced a plan today to put in place an effective statewide policy to combat cyberbullying in Delaware’s schools.  The plan includes statewide public hearings to gather information to be used in developing the cyberbullying policy, and legislation designed to help school districts enforce the new policy.

The Lt. Governor and Attorney General’s plan consists of four steps:

1. Statewide public hearings in April to gather factual evidence from school administrators and parents about the type of off-campus activity causing disruption in our schools.
2. The drafting of a statewide cyberbullying policy based upon the evidence gathered at the hearings.
3. Issuance of a regulation by the state’s Department of Education requiring adoption of the statewide cyberbullying policy by public school districts and charter schools.
4. A new state law that will allow the Attorney General’s office to defend school districts and charter schools if their good faith enforcement of the statewide cyberbullying policy is subject to legal challenge.

“We need to fight cyberbullying aggressively but also thoughtfully,” said Lt. Governor Denn.  “Around the country, schools have been sued when trying to enforce cyberbullying policies – and even here in Delaware, the one school district that attempted to implement a cyberbullying policy was threatened with litigation.  This approach, where we gather the facts first, write a policy based on those facts, and then stand behind the policy with the full force of our Attorney General’s office, will give us the best chance to deal with this growing problem.”

“Thanks to constant communication and social networking, there is no such thing as a ‘schoolyard bully’ anymore,” saidAttorney General Biden. “Kids who face bullies face them all the time – at home, at school, and everywhere in between. For schools to be the safe places that children deserve, they must be able to effectively fight bullying that may originate off school grounds, but follows its victims 24 hours a day.”

The legislation necessary for implementation of this plan will be introduced in the Senate this week by Senator David Sokola, and will be sponsored in the House of Representatives by Representative Terry Schooley.  Senator Sokola and Representative Schooley are the chairs of their chambers’ respective education committees, and the prime sponsors of companion legislation they introduced with the Lt. Governor and Attorney General earlier this month addressing the reporting of bullying incidents.

“A lot of the kinds of controls that have worked in other media haven’t been as effective in the on-line world because of instantaneous and permanent nature but we know some things have worked,” said Sen. David Sokola, D-Newark, the bill’s leading sponsor. “And we can’t give up; we need to look at what’s being done to successfully curb cyberbullying elsewhere and use it here.”

“In this age of technology, young people use many different forms of social media, computers and cell phones to communicate and publicly post information,” said Rep. Terry Schooley, D-Newark. “Unfortunately, these means of communication can be used to bully other young people in a more public way than previous generations could ever imagine. By introducing this legislation, we are trying to stay ahead of the curve and protect our children and grandchildren from cyber-bullying and let people know that bullying in any form is wrong and should not be tolerated.”

Hearing dates, times, and locations for the statewide public hearings follow. They are open to the public, with school administrators being asked to testify first to share firsthand experiences. Written input is also welcome and may be emailed to emily.cunningham@delaware.gov.

New Castle County
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
10:30am – 12:30pm
Carvel State Office Building – auditorium
820 N. French Street
Wilmington

 

Sussex County
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Sussex County Administrative Building
2 The Circle
Georgetown

 

Kent County
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
11:30am – 1:30pm
Kent County Levy Court Chamber
555 Bay Road
Dover

Dover – Motorcycle crashes have been on the rise nationally for the past ten years.  And in the last five, while fatal crashes involving a motorcyclist in Delaware have gone up and down, injury crashes have steadily increased.  That is why the Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS) has launched a new Motorcycle Safety campaign titled Respect Your Ride. This campaign, aimed at motorcyclists, directs riders to www.MotorcyclesafetyDE.org, where they can find information about the proper tools and training to make them the safest rider they can be.

The Respect Your Ride campaign, which began March 23^rd, includes six 2-week waves of enforcement and awareness activities that will be conducted into April, June, July, August, and September.  Throughout the campaign, Bethany Beach Police, Dewey Beach Police, Delaware State Police, Dover Police, Felton Police, Georgetown Police, Harrington Police, Laurel Police, Milford Police, Newark Police, New Castle County Police, Rehoboth Beach Police and Ocean View Police will conduct patrols on high crash roadways and will cite violators of the state’s motorcycle safety laws.  They will be paying particular attention to speeding and impaired motorcyclists.

Public awareness efforts are also aimed at reaching the drivers of passenger vehicles.  Motorists will be encouraged to look twice and share the road with motorcyclists through billboards, bumper stickers, radio messaging and internet ads.  The billboards are being placed statewide in high crash areas.   As the weather warms up, motorists should be vigilant about motorcyclists, which are easy to miss in a vehicle’s blind spot.

Radio and internet advertisements will remind motorcycle operators that rider training courses are available for beginner and advanced riders throughout the state.  Additionally safety brochures, bumper stickers, and incentive items are being distributed by OHS’s partners, including motorcycle rider groups.

OHS is proud to partner with these groups through its membership on the State’s Motorcycle Rider Education Advisory Committee, co-chaired by Sen. Bruce Ennis and Rep. Danny Short.  Other members include DMV, the Dover Air Force Base, local motorcycle businesses, and members of motorcycle rider groups.  The committee’s Motorcycle Awareness Day (Event, Parade and Bike Show) will be Sat April 28^th from 9:30 – 2 p.m. and will include a parade in Dover from William Henry Middle School to Legislative Hall where there will be vendors, displays, judging and presentation of awards.  The event is open to the public.

Additional facts about motorcycle crashes in Delaware:

• There were 18 motorcycle fatalities in 2011 compared to 8 in 2010.
• Primary causes of these fatal crashes: speeding and loss of control of motorcycle
• 4 of the motorcycle operators were under the influence of alcohol…6 were wearing helmets.
• 7 of the 18 motorcycle deaths occurred in June last year.
• There were 282 injured in motorcycle crashes in 2010 which accounted for 4% of all injuries from vehicle crashes.
• Average age of person killed 46
• In 2011 – most motorcycles involved in fatal crashes were touring bikes
• Crashes occurred in Milford, Dover, Rt 113 Georgetown, Rt. 13 Bridgeville, Rt 273, Rt. 13 Smyrna, Rt 896 Newark, Rt. 4 Stanton, I-95, I-495, and Philadelphia Pike area.