Vote by mail

Vote by mail bill heads to Delaware governor

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

Gov. John Carney has taken possession of a bill to allow Delawareans to vote by mail in all future elections. Carney has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to either sign or veto the bill. Senate Bill 320 creates an opt-in vote-by-mail system wherein voters will have to request a ballot before one is sent. Ballots and ballot applications will not be …

Delaware considering mileage-based user fee

Drivers, get ready for a mileage-based user fee

Ken MammarellaGovernment, Headlines

As state and federal leaders push to get more electric vehicles on the road and lower the consumption of fossil fuels, a reckoning will come about how to pay for roads if nobody is buying gasoline at the pump. Taxes on the sale of gasoline fund a huge portion of roadwork, including repaving and safety concerns, and the push is …

Brandywine, Christina, and Red Clay will all vote on whether to join the Wilmington Learning Collaborative at their August school board meetings.

Brandywine board divided on joining Learning Collaborative

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Delaware Live, Education

The Brandywine School District Board is divided on whether or not to join the Wilmington Learning Collaborative.  At its meeting Monday night, several members of the board expressed concern about finances and obligations.  The board announced it is continuing to negotiate with the governor’s office, that it will hold a town hall before its Aug. 15 meeting, during which it …

Red Clay, Christina and Brandywine school boards are getting their first debriefing of the Wilmington Learning Collaborative's draft agreement before voting whether to commit.

Wilmington Learning Collaborative: Who will sign on first?

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Delaware Live, Education

Red Clay Consolidated School District may become the first district to vote on the agreement that would formally set up the Wilmington Learning Collaborative. Both Red Clay and Christina district boards had a synopsis of the 16-page draft agreement read to them Tuesday night. Both agreed to consider the issue in their next meeting. Christina will meet Aug. 9, but …

House Bill 430 is the state's latest attempt to combat its teacher shortage.

More legislation in the works to address teacher shortage

Jarek RutzDelaware Live, Education, Headlines

A bill that would help address the state’s lingering concern over a teacher shortage was unanimously released by the Senate Education Committee Wednesday.  House Bill 430, now headed to the Senate floor, would encourage schools to begin a Grow Your Own Educator Program, which supporters believe will improve recruitment, retention and diversity of teachers in the First State’s public schools. …

The Wilmington Learning Collaborative held an event Tuesday to explain details of the new draft agreement to community members.

Wilmington Learning Collaborative: Executive director by fall

Jarek RutzDelaware Live, Education, Headlines

Wilmington Learning Collaborative organizers say they hope to have an executive director in place by early fall. That was one of the new details about their operating draft agreement that came out Tuesday in a community meeting at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington.  It was the second meeting since the collaborative published its draft agreement outlining the roles and responsibilities …

Gov. John Carney, Education Secretary Mark Holodick, and Chief Equity Officer James Simmons published a joint letter to outline the key points of the Wilmington Learning Collaborative (Unsplash)

State Ed. officials plug Wilmington Learning Collaborative agreement

Jarek RutzDelaware Live, Education, Headlines

The Wilmington Learning Collaborative will hold its second community meeting since it released its draft agreement on on Tuesday, June 21. The event will be at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. It’s billed as an opportunity for people to learn more about the agreement that will guide the efforts of the state and the …

Diwali is Hindu's festival of lights, a celebration lasting 5 days.

Delaware schools pushed to declare Diwali a holiday

Jarek RutzDelaware Live, Education, Headlines

A Hindu activist last week praised Brandywine School District as the first in Delaware to close so students could celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. Students will be off, but only because that is a day the district designated for parent-teacher conferences. Staff members will be working. In 2023, Diwali falls on a Sunday. But the system has not …

Emissions

Carbon emissions goals released from Senate committee

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

A controversial bill setting Delaware’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions was released from the Senate Environment and Energy Committee Wednesday and will advance to the Senate floor for a vote.  Senate Bill 305, the Delaware Climate Change Solutions Act, would require Delaware to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% before 2030 and by 90% before 2050.  Opponents said the …

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House votes against overriding Carney’s marijuana veto

Charlie MegginsonGovernment, Headlines

An attempt to override Gov. John Carney’s veto of a bill to legalize marijuana possession failed in the Delaware House of Representatives Tuesday. With the vote, this year’s endeavor to end marijuana prohibition in Delaware is all but certainly dead.  Numerous lawmakers who previously voted to pass House Bill 371 voted against the veto override Tuesday out of an apparent …