For generations, the Chrysler plant in Newark built cars that powered down our nation’s highways. Just down the street, the University of Delaware was building on its campus generation after generation of innovations and innovators to help power our nation’s economy. After the Chrysler plant closed in 2008, the University agreed to move forward and make those former Chrysler acres part of a new Science, Technology and Advanced Research campus. At the same time, Delawareans across the state were pulling together to try and attract a major new employer to that site. While the process was hard, the goal was simple – get people working there again, building again and create along the way hundreds of new, middle class careers.

One employer we pursued was Bloom Energy – an American company that manufactures innovative fuel cells that now help power some of our nation’s most recognizable companies – places like Google, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, eBay, FedEx, Staples, and Walmart. They told us the demand for their energy servers was growing so quickly, they needed to build a new manufacturing hub somewhere on the East Coast – a factory that would put hundreds of people to work to serve a growing roster of customers.

In return, we told them about Delaware’s great workforce, our strong schools, our responsive government and our unshakable commitment to get people back to work. We made clear we wanted those manufacturing jobs – those critical, middle-class careers- to be located here. From Delmarva Power, to our Congressional delegation, from the University of Delaware leadership to legislators from both parties in both chambers, Delawareans came together to help make those jobs more real.

This Monday marks a new chapter in that effort. Bloom leaders and some of those great Delawareans that I mentioned will come together on the University’s STAR campus to break ground on that Bloom Energy factory. We’ll be joined by senior executives from some of Bloom’s new customers who’ll share their excitement at having servers made here in Delaware power their companies around the country.

While we still have several steps to take before that factory opens, Monday is an important next step to create hundreds of new, quality careers here, as we work together to keep Delaware, moving forward.###

Media Release
April 27, 2012

Biden Urges Delawareans To “Take Back” Unneeded Prescription and Over-The-Counter Drugs
Attorney General’s Office to Sponsor 3 Sites in Free Statewide Initiative Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wilmington – Noting that in 2009 7 million Americans 12 years of age and older abused prescription drugs for non-medical reasons, Attorney General Beau Biden urged Delaware consumers to participate in tomorrow’s free statewide prescription drug take-back events where people can anonymously discard unused, unwanted, or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications.

“One of the most common ways for abusers to obtain prescription drugs is by raiding the medicine cabinets and even the trash cans of friends and family members,” Attorney General Biden said. “But that also means that one of the simplest ways to fight abuse is to responsibly get rid of drugs that are no longer wanted or needed. The Prescription Drug Take-Back provides a quick and effective opportunity to make our homes and communities safer.”

Governor Markell and his Cabinet, the Attorney General’s office, state and local police agencies, and healthcare organizations have teamed up with the Drug Enforcement Administration to host 31 drop-off sites statewide tomorrow, April 28 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is sponsoring three drop-off sites tomorrow at the following locations:

New Castle County:
Shipley Manor
2723 Shipley Road, Wilmington    

Kent County:
Heritage at Dover
1203 Walker Road, Dover

Sussex County:
Beebe Tunnell Cancer Center
18947 John Jay Williams Hwy, Rehoboth Beach

Information about all of Delaware’s 31 drop-off sites is available online at www.dea.gov (click on “Got Drugs”) or call 1-800-882-9539.  8,800 pounds of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications were collected in Delaware during last year’s Prescription Drug Take-Back events. 

Drop-off sites are located statewide, and the process is free and anonymous. Note:
• Prescription and over-the-counter solid dosage medications (i.e. tablets and capsules) are accepted.
• Consumers are encouraged to remove personal information from bottles and packages.
• Intravenous solutions, injectables and needles will not be accepted.
• Illicit substances such as marijuana and methamphetamine are not part of the program.

Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States, second only to marijuana use as the most common form of drug abuse. Most prescription drugs used for non-medical purposes are obtained from friends, family members, or the home medicine cabinet. National Take-Back Day coordinates the effort to provide a safe and easy way to dispose of these medications, since throwing the substances away provides an easy source of drugs for those who would abuse or sell them, and flushing drugs can result in water contamination.

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Governor: “Mark can hit the ground running to keep our school improvement efforts moving forward.”

Wilmington, DE – Governor Jack Markell today announced his nomination of former principal and teacher Mark Murphy as Delaware’s next Secretary of Education.

“The next Secretary needs to be able to hit the ground running, needs to understand our education improvement efforts, and needs first-hand experience working as teacher and school leader. Those criteria alone would make Mark a great choice,” Markell said. “He has a teacher’s heart when it comes to caring for students, a principal’s perspective in motivating teams to succeed, and a rigorous data-driven approach to discovering what works to reward success.”

In his current role as Executive Director of the Vision Network, Murphy works regularly with a coalition of 26 public schools in Delaware to build teacher capacity and improve education outcomes. His work brought him to more than 150 classrooms this year to help implement the state’s Race to the Top reforms, enhance school leadership development initiatives, improve job-embedded professional development projects, and help identify ways to measure and improve student achievement. Mark is also currently working with the Department of Education and leaders throughout the State to implement the State’s common core standards initiative.

“Delaware has made remarkable progress, putting forward a detailed agenda and implementing innovative ideas to make sure more students graduate ready to succeed in work or college. If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to helping move each of these efforts forward,” Murphy said. “The teachers, principals, parents and community leaders that I get to work with each day know how critical it is that we keep making progress, and keep doing so together.”

Murphy began his career in the classroom, as a teacher at a high-poverty Title I school in Maryland, where he served on the leadership teams that guided the school to Blue Ribbon Status and National Title I Distinguished School status. He then served as an Assistant Principal at an elementary school before becoming principal of George Washington Carver Elementary. As the school leader he led the lowest-performing school in the district (and the two surrounding districts) to some of the strongest academic gains in the district – a 30 percentage point gain in achievement levels in four years. Staff turnover went from 30 out of 50 the year before his arrival to almost none. Behavioral referrals dropped as well, from 200 behavioral referrals per month to almost none.

“Great teachers are the most critical factor in a students’ success. At the school, everyone made clear that we shared a common set of values and were working with a common purpose,” Murphy said. “We re-shaped the culture in the school by working with teachers as a team to set expectations, make them an important part of future recruitment and involve them in changes to curriculum.”

Murphy went from leading the school to a role as Executive Director of Leadership Development at New Leaders for New Schools, a national non-profit. There, he designed and implemented cutting-edge school leadership standards and assessments based on a trajectory of development from high-performing teacher to high-performing school principal. His work included collaborating with stakeholders to build standards of performance, assessments of leadership development, and the recruitment and admission of aspiring school leaders. Mark also directly led the successful development of over 200 school principals across ten cities.

Also at New Leaders, Mark designed, implemented, and led the Data-Driven Instruction Initiative which was aimed at providing school leaders with the best possible assessment tools, resources, and strategies to identify what was working and help give school leaders the capacity to do more of it. During this time, Mark trained over 500 school leaders and staff, worked individually with over 100 schools, and partnered at the policy level with three large urban districts.
Delaware’s current Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery recently accepted a similar position with the State of Maryland.

“I have had the good fortune to work with Mark and I firmly believe he has the intellect, energy, compassion and leadership skills to lead this Department and our state-wide efforts to improve Delaware’s schools. In short, Mark has the right mix of actual experience in schools as both a teacher and principal, coupled with the hands-on working knowledge of our state-wide Race to the Top efforts to improve our schools,” Lowery said.

Delaware’s main internet portal – Delaware.gov – has been redesigned to improve citizen access to state government information and services. The portal is updated and refreshed every two to three years by the Delaware Government Information Center (GIC) to adapt to the changing web environment and to improve upon important aspects such as accessibility and ease of navigation. As the portal to state services for Delaware’s citizens, Delaware.gov reflects the forward thinking, efficient and effective approach to government championed by Delaware Governor Jack Markell.

“The state’s new web portal was designed to be welcoming and easy to use, better connecting citizens to their government,” said Governor Markell. “When people want to find something, we think, through this redesign, they will more readily be able to locate it. Delaware.gov will direct citizens to the most useful services and information available to meet their needs at that moment and clearly indicate to them the priorities and initiatives of Delaware government.”

The latest portal refresh cleans up and refocuses the portal on the key services and information offered by state agencies. It takes advantage of and combines a number of proven, effective web technologies to provide a rich mix of graphic and informational content that bring people closer to their government.

The new portal includes more graphics and less text and is designed to simplify access to information for visitors to the site. Through continuous innovation, Delaware has put its emphasis on taking government information to the users where they are, as evidenced by the integration of social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube into delaware.gov.

The portal uses prominent, graphic spotlights to attract visitors’ attention on a series of topical issues. For instance, with the upcoming state income tax filing deadline on April 30, the portal provides quick access to tax resources. Visitors to the portal are also directed to information on the April 28 Drug Take-Back events, along with state parks, Delaware tourism and incorporation resources. A series of focused information tabs direct visitors to information about government services, services for businesses, employment assistance, the latest state government news and more.

Bipartisan group of former police officers sponsor legislation

Dover – Attorney General Beau Biden and a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced legislation today that will create a felony offense of providing false information to law enforcement officers.

Senate Bill 209, which is sponsored by Sen. Bruce Ennis, Rep. Larry Mitchell, Sen. David Lawson and Rep. Biff Lee, was introduced yesterday.  Individuals who purposefully provide false information to police investigating a crime would be guilty of a Class G felony under the legislation and face the penalty of up to two years in jail. .

The federal government and other states have laws that punish those who lie to police officers. This legislation adds to Delaware’s existing false reporting law by making it a crime to knowingly provide a false statement to law-enforcement in order to prevent, hinder or delay an investigation.

“I’m proud to be working with members of the General Assembly, some of whom are former police officers, to address this significant problem,” Biden said.

“Government’s most fundamental responsibility is to protect the public,” Biden said. “Those who lie to police officers protect criminals, force law enforcement officers to waste valuable time and threaten public safety.  I am proud to be working with former police officers in the legislature to address a significant problem that our police agencies confront every day.”

Sen. Ennis, D-Smyrna, said the issue is a long-standing one and he hope the bill will make people think twice about lying to police and prosecutors during an investigation.

“I like the fact that we’re tailoring this law to fit the crime instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach,” said Ennis, a former state police officer. “The problem of people making false statements, for whatever reason, seems like it’s been around as long as there’s been crime. But I hope this makes people decide against making a false statement.”

A retired New Castle County Police officer, Rep. Mitchell said that the legislation would help police officers gather truthful information to solve crimes.

“When police are investigating a crime, any misstep can be critical. If someone lies to police and sends them down the wrong path, an innocent person could be drawn into the investigation, or police might not catch the criminal,” said Rep. Mitchell, D-Elsmere. “If a person intentionally lies to police, law enforcement should have the ability to hold them accountable. My hope is that this new charge not only catches those who make false statements, but it also prevents others from making the same mistake. The end goal is fewer false statements, which will help police do their jobs more effectively.”

Sen. Lawson, a retired state trooper, said: “I feel that any false information given to the police hinders and prolongs the investigation which allows criminals to generate more victims in the meantime.”

Rep. Lee, R-Laurel, stated, “I am proud to be a prime sponsor of this important legislation.  It’s a bill that is overdue and one that I believe will go a long way toward assisting law enforcement with their investigations.  As a former State Police officer, I see the value in providing law enforcement with the tools that are needed in order to fight against anything that would obstruct justice.  I applaud Senator Ennis and Rep. Mitchell for taking the lead on this legislation and I look forward to working with them and the Attorney General’s Office in getting the bill signed into law.”

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