News

In advance of his multiple playing appearances here on the Eastern Shore (as part of the 28th Annual Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival), Kara Dahl Russell chats with Double Bass player Anthony Manzo about “the beast” he plays.   From detachable necks, to stick bodies, to sleek carbon fiber shaping, Kara and Tony “get physical” with one of the largest pieces of furniture in the orchestra.  Tony also talks about his extensive performance/travel career, what makes a good teacher, and what best prepares a student to have something to say, musically. 

Ocean City is gearing up for the summer crowds.

And, the resort is launching a pedestrian campaign for the busy tourist season.

Last summer two pedestrians were killed and 13 injured in the town.

Officials say that is a significant rise from the year before when there were no pedestrian deaths and only 8 injuries.

So in these past few months town engineers have been re-timing signals and studying the traffic at key intersections.

They have also been installing no pedestrian cross signs to get people to use the crosswalks.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Sen. Mark R. Warner says he's introduced legislation that would better track the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Virginia Democrat says the legislation would require the Office of Management and Budget to compare costs and the performance of restoration activities by various federal agencies involved in the massive environmental endeavor.

The multi-year effort to clean up the bay involves at least 10 federal agencies, Virginia, West Virginia, four other states, the District of Columbia and more than 1,000 local governments.

You’ll be paying more for parking in the coastal towns of Delmarva this summer.

Rehoboth

DOVER, Del. (AP) - A Rehoboth Beach resident has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the town's new $40 parking permit fee for motorized scooters.

In a complaint filed Monday, Lawrence Myslewski says the new fee is unconstitutional because residents do not have to pay to get parking permits for their cars or other motorized vehicles.

DOVER, Del. (AP) - State officials are hosting a two-day conference for police, educators, attorneys and others on Delaware's child protection system.

The conference that begins Wednesday in Dover is aimed at improving how Delaware professionals work together to respond to child abuse and neglect cases from both a civil and criminal perspective. Organizers also plan to discuss prevention efforts to reduce child abuse.

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Legislative budget writers have appropriated $200,000 for a gun buyback program that would be administered by Delaware State Police.

Members of the Joint Finance Committee voted 7-to-5 Tuesday to appropriate the money, the same amount appropriated, but never spent, last year.

It's unclear whether this year's appropriation will ever be spent, but some lawmakers say budget language should be added to prohibit police from reselling any guns acquired in a new buyback program and require instead that they be destroyed.

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Legislative budget writers have approved more than $1.5 million in new spending to beef up security at Delaware courthouses.

Among the spending approved Tuesday by members of the Joint Finance Committee is $1 million to hire 16 new Capitol Police officers in the fiscal year starting July 1. Lawmakers also appropriated $392,000 for eight security officers to be assigned to Justice of the Peace courts.

The budget bill is to be voted on next month.

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - Authorities say an explosion that left a New Castle man critically injured Tuesday appeared to involve an old military mortar round, and several other mortar rounds were recovered afterward.

Investigators said the man was injured when he an opened an old ammunition container that had been discarded in his neighbor's trash, setting off the explosion Tuesday morning. The victim was taken to Christiana Hospital, where he was reported to be in critical but stable condition.

Job cuts are coming to the Wicomico County Public Schools.

Six positions are in jeopardy including a teacher an instructional assistant and professional development coach.

That’s the message for more than 200 parents who signed a friendly petition protesting the proposed budget by Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt.

His spending plan cuts the county contribution to the public schools by over $2 million dollars from the $40 million requested by the Board of Education to $38 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - Officials say a man has been injured in an explosion at a home in New Castle.

City police, firefighters and a state fire marshal responded to the home on Van Dyke Drive on Tuesday morning and several homes in the area were evacuated.

The man was taken to an area hospital with what officials at the scene described as shrapnel injuries.

There will be no hike in the property taxes for Sussex County residents.

The proposed $117-million budget unveiled this morning left the rate at 44.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

Meanwhile, the budget itself rose by 2.8 percent over the current fiscal year with general revenue funds up $3.7 million including a holdover of nearly $2 million from this year.

County employees would see a one-time bonus of 2 percent and a $5 million contribution to their pension fund.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The Anne Arundel County property owners are getting a break on a new stormwater fee.

The county council voted Monday to limit commercial property owners' fees at 25 percent of their property tax bill and phase in homeowners' fees.

The Capital of Annapolis reports that property owners with bills of $500 or more will pay 60 percent in 2014, 80 percent in 2015 and 100 percent in 2016.

The changes respond to protests to a bill passed over the county executive's veto last month.

The Salisbury City Council is looking to cutback a key development fee in Mayor Jim Ireton’s proposal for revitalizing downtown.

Ireton’s plan would set aside up to 317 credits for water and sewer connection fees.

But last night Council President Jake Day says he wants to make around 100 credits available for downtown projects leaving the rest for employers to bring in high paying jobs.

These fees are called equivalent dwelling units or EDU’s and run around $33-hundred each.

Governor Jack Markell told a Delaware panel on aging that the First State is facing a silver tsunami when it comes to health care for senior citizens.

The Governor’s remarks came during a meeting of the Imagine Delaware Panel on aging yesterday sponsored by PNC Bank and the Wilmington News Journal.

Markell said that the existing system is not sustainable.

NEWARK, Del. (AP) - Gov. Jack Markell is joining officials with GE Aviation to tout the addition of about 70 jobs at the company's Newark plant.

GE Aviation says it plans to add 70 jobs at the Newark site.

Markell is scheduled to join officials Tuesday in announcing a $27 million investment to support increased production of ceramic matrix composites, lightweight materials that can withstand high temperatures.

The Salisbury Police are looking for some community help in seeking two men who tied up and shotTremayne Trader on Sunday night.The 31-yar old Trader was shot in his abdomen and groin area.

Salisbury police say they believe that the armed robbery and shooting resulted in a confrontation with Trader and a woman who escaped as the two men were demanding money from him.

The money is running out for the Job Centers that are provided at Delaware libraries.

And it could mean that they will be out of business by later this year.

Community Resources Administrator Bernadette Connell told WBOC that the program was funded by stimulus money which totaled just under $2 million and additional $1 million match.

That funding will end in September and without another funding source the centers will close.

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - The panel that sets Delaware's official financial projections is increasing its revenue estimates over last month's figures.

The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council on Monday boosted its revenue estimate for the current year by $15.4 million, mostly due to a $12 million jump in estimated corporate income taxes.

For fiscal year 2014, which starts July 1, the panel increased its revenue estimate by about $5 million, also due largely to corporate income taxes.

BALTIMORE (AP) - Maryland Lottery officials say a software problem made it impossible for some winners of the Powerball game to claim their prizes for a time over the weekend.

WBAL-TV reports the glitch is fixed and winners may now go to retailers to get their winnings. In Maryland, there were more than 180,000 people who won some prize as a result of Saturday's Powerball drawing.

Carole Everett of the Maryland Lottery says there were 11 winners of $10,000 or more in the state and more than 300 who picked the winning numbers for prizes of $100.

DARLINGTON, Md. (AP) - It's fish lift time at Harford County's Conowingo Dam.

WJZ-TV reports spring means it's time for fish to migrate upstream to spawn. But the Conowingo Dam is a massive roadblock. That's why the dam's fish lift was built in 1991. It helps fish get up and over the dam.

Water released from the top of the dam creates an artificial current that lures fish into a narrow channel. They're then lifted over the dam in what is essentially an elevator for fish.

One particular fish is the target of all the effort: The American Shad.

BALTIMORE (AP) - Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will officiate a mass wedding for same-sex couples during the Baltimore Pride Festival next month.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland, which organizes the celebration, announced last week that Rawlings-Blake would serve as grand marshal for the event in recognition of her support of gay rights.

Katelynn Dunlap who has accused Sussex County Council member Vance Phillips of sexual assault has issued her first public statement since filing suit against him.

She said that she went public only after she “diligently sought justice through the criminal legal system.”

The State Attorney General’s office decided against filing charges against Phillips last year finding that there was not enough evidence to move forward with a prosecution.

There could be a small increase in property taxes for Somerset County residents.

The proposed 2014 budget is expected to hike the rate from 88.3 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 91.5 cents.

This would allow the county to get the same amount of tax revenue as the current year to make up for the decline in assessed property values during the Great Recession.

But the new rate is lower than it was four years ago.

LEWES, Del. (AP) - The Cape Water Taxi has returned to the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal for a second season.

Service began Friday with a weekend schedule until seven-day service begins June 14.

A second vessel, The Discovery, 72-passenger boat with two restrooms joins the Mummichog, the 26-seat boat that operated last year. Owner David Green tells The Daily Times of Salisbury that the new boat will make the service's schedule more flexible when it debuts next month.

NEWARK, Del. (AP) - The University of Delaware and the City of Newark are joining together to recycle furniture from students moving out of the school.

Students can start dropping off unwanted furnishings and home goods on Monday at the former Curtis Paper Mill site at 225 Paper Mill Road. Donations can include furniture, appliances, lamps, fans, clothing, televisions, bed frames and unopened toiletries.

The goods will be given free to local charities. Any items that remain after charities take their pick will be sold to the general public.

Delaware public schools are laying off paraprofessionals and support staff in a rapid fashion with the federal cuts coming from the budget sequestration.

David Blowman the state’s deputy Secretary of Education told the Wilmington News Journal that the financial future for education is especially bleak.

Governor Jack Markell proposed that his $3.7 billion budget make up for the $27.4 million the state had gotten from the Education Jobs Act.

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) - The panel that sets Delaware's official financial projections is updating its revenue forecast.

The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council will meet Monday to update its revenue projections for the current and upcoming fiscal years.

Members of the legislature's budget writing committee will use those update figures as they begin marking up Gov. Jack Markell's proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. The Joint Finance Committee begins its mark-up process on Tuesday.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A television ad will begin airing in the Baltimore area that praises the gun-control measure recently signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley.

The ad is set to begin airing early this week. It's part of a campaign by supporters, who want to outline how they believe the law will be effective in preventing gun violence.

The Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence Education Fund is paying for the ad.

There’s a new product that will be showing up at Maryland farmers markets beginning June 1st.

A measure approved by the state legislature will allow wine tasting and Maryland wine to be sold at such sites.

Layton’s Chance winery in Dorchester County told WBOC that bringing wine to the table will attract more customers.

Carol Levy-Ruark, a vender at the Farmers Market in Cambridge, told the station that she thought this was an idea whose time had come.

But local police say that they will be keeping a close eye on who tastes and drives.

Tom Stevenson will be taking over the city administrator’s job in Salisbury on an interim basis but he told a news conference that he does plan to apply for the position.

He is head of the Neighborhood Services and code Compliance Department and has worked with just about every department over the last quarter century.

Stevenson will be replacing John Pick who announced his retirement this week and will depart June 28th.

Mayor Jim Ireton said that the city will hire a consultant in the national search for Pick’s replacement.