New Delaware-specific service lets users list and search housing in the First State for free

Dover, DE – Governor Jack Markell, Delaware State Housing Authority, and their partners are pleased to announce the launch of a free housing locator website providing information about rental housing across the First State. DelawareHousingSearch.org – a web-based service supported by a toll-free, bilingual call center – lets landlords advertise properties free of charge, while renters can search for free to find rentals that fit their needs. The service was publicly announced today during a launch event led by Governor Markell and is funded through a partnership between DSHA, the Department of Health and Social Services, New Castle County, the City of Wilmington, Sussex County, the Delaware Apartment Association, and the United Way of Delaware.

“Access to affordable housing is critical to our economy and to the strength of our communities,” said Governor Jack Markell. “We believe this service will help Delaware residents find the rental housing they need within their budget, within their time frame, and in the community where they want to live.”

DelawareHousingSearch.org offers a wide range of property listings, including private market and assisted housing. Prospective tenants can search for housing according to specific needs, such as proximity to medical facilities, public transit, and schools. An accessible housing search helps locate units with accommodations such as no-step entry and accessible kitchen and bathroom features. Listings can b be sorted by rent amount, ZIP Code, date available, and other key factors to make searching even easier.

DelawareHousingSearch.org offers landlords 24-hour access to adding and updating their free property listings. Listings can highlight amenities in great detail and include photos.

“We’re excited about the ability of this service to connect our residents to housing opportunities,” commented DSHA Director Anas Ben Addi. “We encourage property providers to take advantage of the free advertising and list vacancies on DelawareHousingSearch.org to help make this service as useful as possible to all Delawareans.”

“For people with disabilities, that are moving from institutions back to their communities, or remaining in their communities, the largest barrier has often been the lack of available, affordable, accessible housing,” said Daniese McMullin-Powell,  Money Follows the Person Outreach and Housing Administrator. “DelawareHousingSearch.org, offers a means to search for available housing opportunities that best match individual affordability and needs.”

DelawareHousingSearch.org is powered by Socialserve.com, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit dedicated to serving the affordable housing needs of communities. Delaware joins an ever-growing network of regions using Socialserve.com that currently spans 32 states.

Residents can search and list on www.DelawareHousingSearch.org online 24 hours a day or call a toll-free, bilingual call center for assistance: 1-877-428-8844, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

Wilmington – As part of its ongoing efforts to prevent identity theft, the Attorney General’s Office is sponsoring three free community shred events this fall at locations statewide. Each event will feature on-site document shredding, and staff from the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division will be on-hand to provide information and answer questions about identity theft and consumer fraud.  Consumers may bring up to three file-sized boxes of documents; emptied boxes will be immediately returned.

“We’re all vulnerable to being victims of identity theft, but there are some simple steps that consumers can follow to reduce their risk, including removing birthdays and other identifying information from social networking sites, monitoring bank statements and credit reports, and shredding documents with personal information,” Attorney General Biden said.  “I encourage all Delawareans to take advantage of our free shredding events this fall and to contact us to learn more about avoiding identity theft and scams.”

Identity theft can occur in a variety of ways, from email and texting scams, to stealing information from consumers’ social networking profiles, to rummaging through trash for bank statements and documents that contain personal information. Shredding documents before discarding them is one effective method of fighting theft at its source.

Shredding events will take place on the following dates at these locations:

Saturday, October 6th
9 am – 1 pm
Lowe’s/BJ’s parking lot at Peninsula Crossing Shopping Center
Route 113, Millsboro

Saturday, October 20th
9 am – 1 pm
DelDOT Admin Bldg. Parking Lot
Route 113 / Bay Road, Dover

Saturday, November 10th
9 am – 1 pm
William Penn High School Parking Lot
713 E. Basin Road, New Castle

To learn more about protecting yourself from identity theft, call the Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline at 1-800-220-5424 or visit www.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/consumers.

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Dover – Nineteen (19) people were arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol and/or drugs Friday night (Sept. 21^st)  during the 13^th week of the 2012 Checkpoint Strikeforce DUI prevention campaign.  This brings the total DUI arrests made as part of the campaign to 173.  Statewide, there have been over 3,600 DUI arrests made in Delaware this year.

In addition to the checkpoint DUI arrests last weekend, officers apprehended 3 wanted individuals,  and issued 30 citations for various other traffic violations.

As Dover gets ready for NASCAR at the Monster Mile, OHS and law enforcement have two checkpoints scheduled to take place next weekend to remind everyone to Drive Sober and Arrive Alive. They are scheduled for:

Friday September 28^th –  Harrington – (multi-jurisdictional effort) – Checkpoint

Wilmington – (NCCo DUI Task Force)- Checkpoint

Checkpoint Strikeforce is a regional sobriety checkpoint campaign aimed at arresting DUI offenders, by using high visibility enforcement to deter those who would otherwise choose to drink and drive.  The campaign, a six month long effort running through New Year’s Eve, involves setting up weekly DUI checkpoints statewide.

For more information on Checkpoint Strikeforce visit www.ohs.delaware.gov, www.DUIRealTime.com and follow regular campaign updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe and Facebook www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

Borrowers may be eligible for payments up to $2,000

Wilmington – State Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that forms are being mailed to more than 2,300 Delawareans who may be eligible for monetary payments as part of the national mortgage foreclosure settlement.

Borrowers who lost homes to foreclosure between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011 could receive payments up to $2,000 if their mortgage was serviced by one of the five banks that participated in the settlement with 49 state attorneys general and the federal government. Those banks are: Ally/GMAC; Bank of America; Citi; JPMorgan Chase; and Wells Fargo.

Notification postcards were sent to eligible borrowers last week by the administrator of the national settlement. Between now and October 12, those borrowers will receive packets containing instructions and a one-page form to claim the payment, as well answers to frequently asked questions. Borrowers with questions may email the settlement administrator at administrator@nationalmortgagesettlement.com, or call 1-866-430-8358, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“These payments will provide real relief for many Delawareans who lost their homes to foreclosure,” said Biden. “I also want to remind all borrowers, regardless of whether they are eligible for payments under the national settlement, that there is help available. Homeowners should keep an eye out for mortgage-related mailings that can inform them about their options and reach out to my office by calling 1-800-220-5424.”

Borrowers eligible under the multistate settlement should complete and return their claim forms as soon as possible, either by using the return envelope provided in the packets or by filing online at www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com. The deadline for all claims is January 18, 2013. Payment checks are expected to be mailed in mid-2013.

The $2,000 payments are part of the $25 billion settlement reached in February that settled claims of improprieties in mortgage servicing and mortgage foreclosure. In all, Biden secured $45 million for Delaware in the settlement In addition to the funds for the payments to Delawareans who lost homes to foreclosure, the settlement includes:

• More than $32 million that banks will provide to current and former homeowners in the form of credits to reduce principal mortgage loans, extinguish second lien mortgage loans and waive deficiencies in short sales. It will also provide refinancing to homeowners who are current on their mortgages but are otherwise unable to obtaining refinancing because they owe more than their homes are worth.

• $8.3 million that banks will pay to Biden’s office related to the multistate release of claims, as well as an additional payment of $2.5 million to settle a portion of the suit Biden filed related to the banks’ conduct related to the Mortgage Electronic Registry Service. This money will be used to fund homeowner assistance programs, educational outreach, support Delaware’s new mortgage mediation program, and fund ongoing and new civil and criminal investigations and cases related to the foreclosure crisis.

Biden also fought to secure important new protections for the men and women serving in the military. The multistate settlement addresses several areas of concern to military families, including complications associated with Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders, mortgages taken out after beginning military service, and ways to mitigate losses often incurred as a result of the demands of military life. Specifically, the settlement:

• Establishes that PCS orders must now be considered when banks and servicers are making hardship determinations about short sales, deeds in lieu, and loan modifications. Additional protections guard against inaccurate reporting of servicemembers to credit reporting agencies for using loss mitigation options in these circumstances.

• Increases servicemember access to loss mitigation options, including mandating that information and contact with SCRA-trained employees is readily available, and that servicers go beyond the requirements of the SCRA to ensure that more borrowers who are entitled to assistance before foreclosure receive it.

• Specifies that homes of active duty servicemembers deployed in combat areas cannot be foreclosed on without additional protections in most instances, even if the debt was incurred after they entered military service. This was a significant expansion beyond the terms of the SCRA, which only provides this protection for debt incurred before entering the armed forces.

In Delaware, there are over 2,000 restaurants in the state that prepare and serve food to the public. The Delaware Division of Public Health’s (DPH) Office of Food Protection assures through inspections that the food is being handled properly from preparation through serving meeting high standards.

Traditionally, the National Restaurant Association highlights the importance of food safety throughout the month of September. National Food Safety Month was created in 1994 to heighten the awareness about the importance of food safety education. Food safety is much broader than just washing your hands during food preparation.  It is actually a science that requires the proper handling, preparation and storage of food to prevent foodborne illness.  It is regulated by federal, state and local laws.  

New National Restaurant Association research shows that the majority of consumers find food safety important both at restaurants and at home. According to an August 2012 survey of 1,015 American adults, 96 percent say it is important to them to know that the restaurants they visit train employees in food safety. In addition, more than eight out of 10 (81 percent) say they would be more likely to visit a restaurant that trains all its employees in proper food safety practices.

“In Delaware, we are fortunate we have dedicated people in the food services industry who ensure foods being served are safe and enjoyable,” said Governor Jack Markell.  “It takes people working in food establishments and in health, education and safety to protect and promote our well being.”

DPH works to ensure food safety through inspections, regulation and investigating consumer complaints.  DPH’s Community Environmental Health Services inspects approximately 3,500 food service establishments a year.  And, the Office of Food Protection implemented a centralized complaints system 18 months ago as a way to better process, triage and track complaints on food establishments.

“Our goal is to ensure effective compliance and enforcement procedures for food establishments,” said Dr. Karyl Rattay, DPH director. “Food safety education and safe food practices are the strongest tools for protecting consumers against foodborne illness.“

When it comes to cooking at home, virtually all consumers say they have at least basic knowledge of food safety. According to the National Restaurant Association, 63 percent of the consumers say they are aware of proper food safety practices and always follow them, while 33 percent say they are familiar with some food safety practices and follow those when they can.

Be safe, don’t cross contaminate! Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful bacteria to food from other foods, cutting boards, utensils, etc., if they are not handled properly. This is especially true when handling raw meat, poultry, and seafood, so keep these foods and their juices away from already cooked or ready-to-eat foods and fresh produce. When handling foods, it is important to keep foods apart. By following some simple steps, you can prevent cross-contamination and reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

When preparing food is important to observe the following:

• Wash hands, cutting boards, utensils, and counter tops with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after handling food, and after using the bathroom, changing diapers; or handling pets.
• Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods by placing them in separate in containers to prevent their juices from dripping onto other foods.
• Store eggs in their original carton and refrigerate as soon as possible.
• Always use a clean cutting board. Replace them once it becomes excessively worn or develop hard-to-clean grooves.
• Sauce that is used to marinate raw meat, poultry, or seafood should not be used on cooked foods, unless it is boiled just before using.
• Always use a clean plate. Never place cooked food back on the same plate or cutting board that previously held raw food.
• Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within 2 hours or sooner in clean, shallow, covered containers to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying.

Consumers are advised to always use soap and warm water to wash hands, and to thoroughly clean and sanitize the sink, cutting boards, utensils and anything else that comes in contact with raw turkey and its juices. Start with soap and hot water (at least 110 degrees F), scrubbing to remove food debris and oils before rinsing. Then sanitize with a mixture of one teaspoon bleach to one gallon of water.

“The Food Safety Education Week allows us to highlight those in the foodservice industry who go above and beyond to ensure that their food handling practices are superior,” said Carrie Leishman, president of the Delaware Restaurant Association.  “We recognize that responsible food safety is a year-round commitment and elevating those that do it well shows all Delawareans and those who travel to Delaware that our restaurants are safe and open for business.”

Delaware Food Safety Awardees will be announced at a special event this fall.  For further information on food safety visit:  http://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/hsp/foodsafety.html.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.