The Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery will present an exhibition titled Knicoma Frederick’s WPIZ from February 7-28, 2014. The Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington. There will be a reception to meet the artist on Friday, February 7 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. as part of Wilmington’s Art Loop.

This solo exhibition of Frederick’s work will showcase a selection of original works from his ongoing WPIZ series.

The work Frederick produces is a unique and personal form of communication. The imagery is developed and presented in an effort to express ideas, foster communication, and assist others in dealing with barriers and difficulties which are present in their own lives.

In recent years Frederick has produced thousands of drawings in this effort. Many of these works have been collected in a series of books which comprise his WPIZ series. His work is in the collection of the Delaware Art Museum and has been exhibited at the Fleisher/Ollman Gallery in Philadelphia.

Frederick is the recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship in Folk Art from the Delaware Division of the Arts. He was selected as an Emerging Visual Artist. The artist produces his work with the assistance and guidance of the Creative Vision Factory in downtown Wilmington.

To read an article about him, visit the Division’s Individual Arts Fellowship web publication.

Dover – Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that his office has launched a “Freedom of Information Act Roadshow” to give presentations on Delaware’s open government laws.

The Roadshow presentations will be conducted by a Deputy Attorney General who has expertise in the Freedom of Information Act. The presentations will help educate members of the public, government officials and government employees about their rights and responsibilities under Delaware’s open government laws. Sessions will cover a wide range of FOIA topics and include a question-and-answer session.

“Upholding Delaware’s open government laws is one of the Attorney General’s Office’s most important duties,” Biden said. “We have worked over the past several years to give Delawareans more information about FOIA and to make it easier for members of the public to obtain the information the law says they should have. These FOIA Roadshow presentations will help elected officials, government employees and the public better understand their rights and responsibilities.”

Biden’s office will conduct the Roadshow presentations for county and municipal governments, other public bodies and interested organizations. If you are interested in having a FOIA Roadshow presentation for a governmental body that you serve on or a presentation for a group of which you are a member, send an email to OpenGovernment@delaware.gov. Biden’s office will give a Roadshow presentation on Feb. 12 for members of the Georgetown Town Government staff, and future presentations will be schedule soon throughout the state. Upcoming Roadshow presentations will be listed on the Attorney General’s web site.

The FOIA Roadshow initiative is the latest effort by Biden to promote knowledge of Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act and promote open government. Previous efforts include:

• Launching, in January of this year, a new interactive Web portal to increase Delawareans’ access to information about the State’s open government laws. The site, opinions.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov, contains Opinions issued by the Attorney General’s Office since 1995.
• Successfully suing the Camden-Wyoming Sewer and Water Authority in 2011 to force it to comply with the Freedom of Information Act after it denied citizens’ attempts to obtain public information about its operations.
• Championing legislation in 2010 that permits citizens to petition the Attorney General’s Office to address FOIA-related complaints against State agencies.  Under prior law, citizens with open government complaints against State agencies were required to appeal to the Courts at their own expense.

A list of the latest selections is online at http://de.gov/farmland18.

DOVER — Forty-four new farms totaling more than 4,300 acres have been selected for permanent easements to add to the Delaware Farmland Preservation Program, the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation has announced.

The Foundation’s Board of Trustees recently voted to permanently preserve the properties in Round 18 of the program, which began in 1991, for an investment of $8.44 million. The purchase of those easements means that more than 115,000 acres of farmland are permanently protected in Delaware.

“For more than two decades, Delaware has been a leader in preserving farmland, protecting open space and keeping agriculture profitable,” said Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee. “The investments we make today will pay off for our children and grandchildren, and help keep our rich agricultural heritage thriving.”

The voluntary preservation program leverages state, local and federal contributions. The Foundation does not own the land, but rather purchases landowners’ development rights and has a permanent agricultural conservation easement placed on the property. All purchases by the Foundation are done at discount, 56 percent of the appraised value on average over the life of the program; the average discount for Round 18 was 61 percent. The average farm size in the latest round was 99 acres, at an average cost of $1,936 per acre.

The properties in the latest round include 26 in Sussex County, 17 in Kent County and one in New Castle County. Kent County Levy Court contributed $95,526, allocated to six properties.

There are also more than 51,500 acres of farmland in preservation districts, voluntary agreements in which landowners agree to only use their land for agriculture for 10 years. Farmers must enroll in a preservation district before they can sell an easement.

The Foundation’s Board of Trustees includes representatives from agriculture and state agencies. Trustees in addition to Kee are Bob Garey, chairman; Bill Vanderwende, vice-chairman; L. Allen Messick Jr., treasurer; William H. “Chip” Narvel Jr., secretary; State Treasurer Chip Flowers; Secretary of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Collin O’Mara; Peter Martin; Theodore P. Bobola Jr.; and Robert Emerson.

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Contact:
Dan Shortridge
Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
302-698-4520

DOVER – State of Delaware offices in New Castle County are closed during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Non-essential employees who live or work in New Castle County are not to report to work for this period. Non-essential employees who live or work in New Castle County and who work other shifts are also not to report to work. Essential employees are to report as scheduled.