The Delaware Public Archives formally dedicated a new Delaware Historical Marker on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, that commemorates the community of Henry Clay Village in Wilmington, Delaware. The marker acknowledges the residents of the community and notes the formation of this village that grew up around powder manufacturing near the textile mills north of Wilmington. The marker was unveiled near Breck’s Mill, Montchanin, Delaware, with more than forty guests in attendance.

In the photo: (Left to right) Stephen M. Marz, Director & State Archivist, Delaware Public Archives; Gerald Brady, State Representative; Jill MacKenzie, Executive Director, Hagley Museum & Library; and Phillip Leach, Local Historian & Delaware Historical Marker Requestor. 

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will reopen The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean beach and dunes, and a half-mile along the bay shoreline, Wednesday, Sept. 1. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

The area to reopen includes a stretch of ocean beach and dunes that was previously closed on March 1. Since 1993, The Point has closed annually each March for the benefit of threatened and endangered beachnesters and migratory shorebirds, including red knot, piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns and other species.

The DNREC Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have worked together since 1990 to implement a management plan to halt the decline of beachnester and migratory shorebird populations.

For more information, contact Cape Henlopen State Park at 302-645-8983 or stop by the park office.

About DNREC

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation oversees more than 26,000 acres in 17 state parks and the Brandywine Zoo. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Shauna McVey, shauna.mcvey@delaware.gov or Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov.

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Highmark plan participants and groups to receive checks

Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro announced today that Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware will issue rebates totaling over $12.3 million to some Delawareans. Residents who purchase insurance on the Delaware Health Insurance Marketplace, those who purchase Highmark Delaware plans outside of the marketplace, and Highmark small group policyholders may receive rebates as a result of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) calculation.

MLR measures an insurer’s spending on medical expenses to confirm that at least 80 percent of premiums are being used for policyholders’ healthcare and prescription needs. It is an accountability measure included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that holds insurers to a strict standard and requires refunds if the threshold is not met. Insurers are not permitted to retain funds above this value for any reason, including to lower premiums for future years, as the policyholders effected may change. MLR is calculated on a three-year average – 2018, 2019, and 2020 were used in this assessment.

“Requiring insurers to meet the MLR ratio is one of the most critical tools the ACA gave us to protect consumers. These guardrails ensure residents and small businesses get the care they pay for, or get their money back – and they’re more important now than ever before,” explained Commissioner Navarro, who pointed to policyholders’ decreased and delayed use of healthcare throughout the pandemic as something likely to necessitate future rebates. “With decreased utilization of health services in 2020 and 2021 factoring into MLR for the next four years, and expected increases of utilization factoring into rates for 2022, this is yet another reminder that COVID will impact all aspects of healthcare, including insurance, for much of the foreseeable future.”

20,857 individual policyholders will receive rebates totaling over $8.4 million, with the average rebate being $405. This will be the second time in state history that rebates will be distributed to the participants of the individual market, with more than $12.6 million being sent to over 19,000 residents last year.

Highmark small groups, often small businesses, will receive nearly $3.9 million in cumulative return. 2,573 groups will receive an average rebate of $1,514, with 20 groups receiving rebates over $10,000. Employers can consider using these dollars to enhance benefits, reduce premiums for employees in future policy years, or provide refunds directly to group health plan participants.

Communications will be sent to policyholders in September and checks for both individual policyholders and small groups will be sent the week of September 15. Not every policyholder will receive a rebate. Those in the individual market with rebate questions can contact Highmark at 800-544-6679. Small group employers with rebate questions can contact their insurance producer, or Highmark at 800-241-5704.

Corporal faces four charges, including felonies, after DSP notified DCRPT

Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Tuesday that the Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust has indicted a suspended State Trooper for orchestrating a fraudulent warning scheme that has victimized dozens of motorists, though the full scale of his misconduct is yet to be determined.

Delaware State Police leadership contacted DCRPT in May 2021 to alert prosecutors that a DSP internal review had unveiled a serious pattern of fraudulent E-Warnings issued by Cpl. Edwin R. Ramirez.  The review was initiated after one of Ramirez’s supervising officers reported discrepancies he had discovered in one of Ramirez’s reports. Cpl. Ramirez was immediately suspended pending the investigation to ensure no further harm was done.  The ensuing investigation found that in April 2021 alone, Ramirez issued more than 30 fraudulent warnings without motorists being informed — and, in some cases, with no traffic stop actually occurring.

“These victims deserve an apology for getting wrapped up in this ridiculous scheme,” said Attorney General Jennings. “This kind of ham-fisted misconduct undermines the work that good police officers do every day to earn and honor the public’s trust. The accolades that this Trooper misappropriated are not worth the felony charges he’s now facing. Traffic stops should be about road safety, not padding performance reviews, and we’re grateful to DSP for doing the right thing as soon as they uncovered the criminal activity.”

“The Delaware State Police values our relationship with the public and as demonstrated in the case, have policies in place to evaluate and investigate all incidents of misconduct,” said Delaware State Police Superintendent Col. Melissa Zebley. “We are an organization that recognizes while fulfilling our sacred mission to protect and serve the public, we must also hold our own members accountable for any actions that jeopardize public trust.”

While E-Warnings do not carry a financial penalty, they do harm drivers. Drivers with E-Warnings are less likely to be given consideration in future traffic encounters with police, and more likely to be stopped in the first place.

Following the internal investigation, a DSP investigator received a search warrant for Ramirez’s police car and recovered from the center console a sheet kept by Ramirez displaying Troop 9’s troopers and their productivity statistics, along with his own 2019 and 2020 yearly evaluations which included commendations for excellent traffic productivity.

On February 2, 2021, Ramirez was recognized as the recipient of the “2020 Troop 9 Traffic Ace” award. In a performance commendation, Ramirez’s Captain notes that Ramirez issued 458 traffic citations and 640 traffic E-Warnings in 2020 alone. DCRPT continues to investigate the full extent of Ramirez’s potential misconduct outside of April 2021.

Ramirez now faces charges of Tampering with Public Records in the First Degree (Class E Felony), Issuing a False Certificate (Class G Felony), Falsifying Business Records (Class A Misdemeanor), and Official Misconduct (Class A Misdemeanor). If convicted on all charges, Ramirez faces a statutory maximum sentence of 9 years in prison.

Anyone who feels they may have been impacted by Ramirez’s actions and has questions may email DCRPT at publictrust@delaware.gov or contact the Delaware State Police via DSP’s Customer Satisfaction Survey.