October 11, 2012 – Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) along with Governor Markell and their partners today held the 2012 Governor’s Conference on Housing. The event brought together over 400 housing professionals and residents from throughout Delaware and surrounding states to discuss important issues in housing ranging from homeownership, affordable rental housing, special needs populations and other hot topics. Attendees had the opportunity to discuss regional, state and local perspectives on today’s affordable housing climate, and the event provided strategies to address current and future housing needs.

“Under Governor Markell’s leadership, Delaware has made important progress as we work to help homeowners stay in their homes and heal our housing market,” said Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, the conference Keynote Speaker.  “But even as homeowners begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel and emerge from this crisis, what makes Delaware unique is its ability to not just tackle the challenges of the crisis at hand, but to build the stronger, more inclusive communities we need in a 21st century global economy — and an economy built to last.”

“Affordable housing drives our economy and builds our communities,” said Governor Jack Markell.  “Homeownership not only needs to be affordable; it needs to be sustainable.  We are making sure we have the programs and policies in place to help people with any challenges in homeownership, home equity or rental housing.   We know how important it is to Delawareans to strengthen our housing market while ensuring people have access to affordable housing.”

Preeminent national economist Dr. David Crowe discussed national housing trends that impact the affordable housing industry in the opening plenary. Additionally, attendees had the opportunity to discuss a recent study released by the Delaware Housing Coalition that shows that assisted multifamily rental housing more often than not has a positive impact on home values in the neighborhoods in which they are located, contrary to what many have come to believe. The report also cited that the rehabilitation of existing multifamily rental properties can provide an immediate 20% positive movement in the value of surrounding homes, an effort that is a priority in DSHA’s mission.

“Housing is the cornerstone to providing working, viable communities and to building Delaware’s economy,” said DSHA director Anas Ben Addi.  “The topics covered today at the conference shed some light and brought some attention to the housing environment throughout the nation and how it affects us here in the First State.”

Topics covered at the conference ranged in scope from trends in housing including homeownership, special needs housing, multifamily housing and affordable housing to foreclosure and controlling affordable housing development costs. Additionally, Senator Tom Carper and Congressman John Carney joined Governor Markell and Secretary Donovan, as well as Van Gottel of Socialserve.org, to address attendees during lunch. DSHA has worked closely with Socialserve.org to launch DelawareHousingSearch.org, a free web-based service that allows landlords to provide details on their multifamily rental units and Delawareans to search for the home that fits their needs.

About the Delaware State Housing Authority

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), formed in 1968, is dedicated to providing quality, affordable housing opportunities and appropriate supportive services to low- and moderate-income Delawareans. In addition to its role as the State’s Housing Finance Agency, DSHA is unique in that it is also serves as a Public Housing Authority and acts as a Community Development and Planning Agency. As a Public Housing Authority, DSHA receives funding from HUD to build, own and operate public housing in Kent and Sussex counties, two of Delaware’s three counties. For more information about the Delaware State Housing Authority, please call: (302) 739-4263 or visit our website at: www.destatehousing.com.

National Wildlife Federation and Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife  to safeguard endangered habitat and combat rising sea levels

DOVER – Critical habitat for shorebirds, water birds, waterfowl, and fish is under growing threat from rising sea levels driven by manmade climate change.

That’s the focus of a grant to the National Wildlife Federation from the Wildlife Conservation Society through its Climate Adaptation Fund, established with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. A $250,000 investment is being made to work in partnership with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) for the project Climate-Smart Coastal Impoundments – Replacing Lost Functions and Values, an innovative effort to shift key coastal habitats inland in the face of rapid sea-level rise.

“This grant from the Wildlife Conservation Society will help ensure that the vital habitat of the Ted Harvey State Wildlife Area continues to sustain critical wildlife and provides premier hunting and birding experiences,” said Delaware Governor Jack Markell. “We are grateful for the partnership of the National Wildlife Federation as we advance our Bayshore Initiative to conserve our remarkable natural resources, promote outdoor recreation, and strengthen our state economy.”

“The National Wildlife Federation is excited to continue our excellent partnership with the State of Delaware to implement this climate-smart coastal impoundment project as part of the Delaware Bayshore Initiative,” said Austin Kane, National Wildlife Federation Mid-Atlantic Regional Center’s Science and Policy program manager. “This is an opportunity to not only make a difference in Delaware, but to set an example for managing coastal impoundments all along the Atlantic Coast, and benefit the many migratory birds and other wildlife species that depend on them.”

“Enhancing and restoring our world-class wildlife habitat is a top priority of the Delaware Bayshore Initiative,” said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara. “This project will help preserve critical habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl and other wildlife for generations to come by adapting our impoundment infrastructure in the face of emerging climate impacts and sea-level rise.”

“In the face of the threats posed by sea-level rise, we need to ensure that this unique habitat type is still available for key wildlife species,” said Rob Hossler, Division of Fish and Wildlife environmental program manager. “Developing a strategic retreat approach, whereby small impoundments are constructed inland, is one of many climate-smart conservation projects being considered to both maintain and relocate our coastal impoundment habitat.”

The Mid-Atlantic region is the epicenter of a sea-level rise hotspot, with local sea levels rising three to four times the global average.

In Delaware, accelerated sea-level rise is threatening many rich coastal wildlife habitats. Coastal impoundments are especially endangered, where fresh and brackish water provide habitat for a wide array of wildlife including shorebirds, water birds, waterfowl, and fish species.

Recent assessments have shown these impoundments and their habitats to be highly vulnerable to sea-level rise, with a significant risk that many will be completely destroyed.

Delaware’s coastal impoundments are important habitat to birds such as red knot, least sandpiper, short-billed dowitcher, American black duck, least bittern, great egret – all of which are Species of Greatest Conservation Need identified in Delaware’s Wildlife Action Plan.

Losing these critical coastal habitats would be devastating in Delaware and along the East Coast, where migrating bird species depend extensively on coastal impoundments. If coastal impoundments are lost or water levels cannot be managed to provide food sources, roosting habitat, and nesting areas, the result could be significant loss of bird species populations and may also result in extirpation, or local extinction, of some breeding species from the state.

For this project, National Wildlife Federation will work with DFW to construct two new coastal impoundments at the Ted Harvey Wildlife Area that are inland and upland of existing impoundments. The new impoundments will serve as alternative habitats for those expected to succumb to rising seas.

Lessons from this effort will be shared with additional conservation partners throughout the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast, encouraging similar management approaches at other coastal impoundments to ensure that these important coastal habitats continue to be available to support the East Coast’s vast populations of migratory birds and other important wildlife species.

The National Wildlife Federation is America’s largest conservation organization inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future. For more National Wildlife Federation news, visit www.nwf.org/news.

This project is part of DNREC’s Delaware Bayshore Initiative, a landscape approach to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat, increase volunteer participation in habitat stewardship projects, enhance low-impact outdoor recreation and ecotourism opportunities, and promote associated environmentally compatible economic development.

Wilmington – Underscoring the importance of technology and the critical role State government plays in maintaining the security of cyberspace, Governor Markell signed a proclamation recognizing October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

 “We are increasingly reliant on information systems to maintain and enhance government services for citizens,” said Governor Markell. “It’s vital we remain diligent in our efforts to ensure those systems and the information they contain are secure.”

Delaware’s efforts, spearheaded by the Department of Technology and Information, recently received national recognition from the Center for Internet Security (CIS), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving cyber security in the public and private sectors. CIS conducted its 4^th annual Best of the Web contest to recognize state and local governments that use their websites to promote cyber security. The State of Delaware was the winner in the State Government Category.

 As part of a month-long awareness campaign, Delaware will join other states in promoting the Stop. Think. Connect. campaign, which aims to help Americans be more vigilant in practicing safe, online habits.

Wilmington –  In his weekly message,taped at the first National Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day, the Governor talks about the importance of supporting entrepreneurs.

“Most entrepreneurs – are in the business of providing goods and services, leveraging their personal experience to improve upon the customer experience,” said Governor Markell. “More great small businesses are being launched by people with decades of great work and experience to build on; people who’ve decided it’s time in life to be their own boss and are choosing to make their next career a start-up success.We need to be there at any stage of an entrepreneurs life to help.”

At noon every Friday, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form.  The message is available on:

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Governor’s Weekly Message Transcript: Entrepreneurs, Innovators and Economic Growth