Steve Forbes won the Delaware Republican Primary in 1996. .

“You know the old joke, when Bill Gates goes into a bar, the average net worth of a patron goes up 2 billion dollars,” quipped Steve Forbes in a speech he delivered to the Delaware Republican Party Saturday night at the annual Lincoln Day Dinner. And while other sites may have flashy video of his speech, all I have is AUDIO of it, and my own interview with Steve Forbes. (And yeah, I ask him if Rudy is broke).

Forbes spoke about his relationship to Rudy Guiliani’s presidential campaign, “I’m one of the co-chairs of his campaign and senior policy advisor and saw first hand what he did in New York City and was very impressed with the major things he did there.” AUDIO

I asked Forbes if Giuliani supported his idea of a flat tax for Americans and he told me a little about where Giuliani stands on taxation. “He’s a backer of radical simplification of the tax codes,” according to Forbes and he went on to say that Giuliani is “proposing the biggest tax cut in American history.” AUDIO

We talked about the race between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Forbes said the race would be a “fierce one,” but predicted that Obama would win South Carolina. AUDIO

And finally, is the Guiliani presidential campaign in financial trouble? Well, not according to Forbes, “No, they’re focusing resources on Florida…They have over $7 million on hand.” AUDIO

The background:

On April 6, 2006, House Bill 6 did something amazing, it passed the Delaware State House (34 - 4), and the Senate (15 - 4), and it was signed into law by the Governor, all on that day. The Bill was the General ASSembly’s reaction to a harsh rate spike for Delmarva Power and Light customers, and it started the process for Delaware’s first “cost-effective” utility:

To stabilize long-term pricing in the DP&L service territory, the Act provides for a request for proposals through a competitive process to build cost-effective merchant generation in the State, to be utilized to serve some of the load requirements of DP&L.

When the process was complete, the primary spot was filled by the country’s first off shore wind project, submitted by Bluewater Wind, with a back-up gas plant that would be built by either NRG Energy, (The company that bought the embattled Indian River Power Plant, Delaware’s worst polluter, from Delmarva Power and Light) or Conectiv, (Sister company to Delmarva Power and Light).

(Holy incest, Batman, could that be the reason why Delmarva Power and Light is fighting the wind project…it’s not being built by someone they’re in bed with? Hmmmm…and could that be why DP & L’s President, Gary Stockbridge, wanted to reopen the bidding process after Bluewater was chosen so other companies, like maybe Conectiv, could simply swipe Bluewater’s idea and propose their own wind farm?)

Delmarva Power and Light resisted negotiating, and at one point, the Delaware Public Service Commission deemed the project “not in the public interest” because of pricing issues. But on December 14th, after months of negotiations and Bluewater Wind cutting their price by digging into their profits, the Public Service Commission gave the project a thumbs up:

“Bluewater’s project is a cost-effective mechanism that takes control of Delaware’s energy needs and provides a price hedge against the unpredictable and volatile movement of the PJM market,” the staff wrote in the report.

But despite the PSC’s recommendation, on December 18th our General ASSembly, represented by Russ Larson, tabled the project, citing questions about which Delaware energy customers would pay for the project. HB 6 applied the cost to DP & L’s residential and small business customers, and the PSC could have, without the intervention of the legislature, spread those costs to Delmarva’s large business customers, too, significantly reducing the price.

The wrench in the works was thrown in by a handful of legislators, unknown until just this week, who questioned spreading the cost to all Delaware energy users, including Delaware Electric Cooperative customers. (Is this where I’m supposed to act stupid and think that this group of legislators were oblivious to this entire issue until the day before the final decision was going to be made? It was part of HB 6. Good grief).

So basically the Delaware General ASSembly, the body that passed HB 6 in one day because it was so important, is stalling the process over an issue that’s clearly spelled out in their own legislation, causing Delawareans who have followed the process to roll their eyes so much that the friction is causing the current warm spell.

The interview with Pete Schwartzkopf:

To gain some kind of insight into what happened, last week I spoke with Representative Pete Schwartzkopf, whose 14th District would be the most impacted by the project. Schwartzkopf supports the project, citing, among other things price stability:

“They can tell you on day one and they can tell you on day 3005 what you’re going to pay for power.”

And the creation of new jobs:

“A lot of jobs would be made, these are things that the leaders of our state should be looking at…” FULL AUDIO

With the proposed wind farm sitting 11.5 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach, I wondered what kind of feedback Representative Schwartzkopf was getting from his District:

“I only had one person contact me or give me any negative feedback on the wind farm location. They want the wind, they just didn’t want it off Rehoboth.” FULL AUDIO

A question I often hear from people when discussing the project is why are only DP & L residential and small business customers affected by it? Well, according to Representative Schwartzkopf, it’s partly because Delmarva’s customers were “thoroughly impacted with deregulation” and had to eat a 59% increase. AUDIO There’s also the obvious difference that DP & L is a for profit company while the Delaware Electric Cooperative, Delaware’s other main energy supplier, is non-profit and customer run, and as a non-profit, isn’t under the jurisdiction of the PSC.

Schwartzkopf sent an e-mail to the leadership expressing his disappointment at the project being tabled last month, and asking that they convene a meeting with the independent consultant:

I ask that you join me in requesting the House and Senate leadership to convene a meeting either jointly or separate and allow the independent consultant, not Bluewater Wind or Delmarva or the PSC, to address the many questions that we have followed by an explanation as to what happened leading up to the vote on 12/18/07. If Russ is voting on our behalf, then we need to be fully informed so that we can express our will on our leadership to represent us fairly.

Interestingly, Schwartzkopf told me that no one from the leadership ever asked him if he supported the project or not. The General ASSembly never had a vote on whether or not to table the project on December 18th.

Another issue we discussed was the cost of the project. Contrary to rumor, an extra charge on your bill for wind energy isn’t a given. According to Schwartzkopf, the numbers that we’re hearing attached to the monthly increases are based on, “Today’s prices for coal, and the worst case scenario for wind.” AUDIO

Until I spoke with the Representative, one of my main concerns was that the State would have to absorb the price of the project if it wasn’t completed. That’s not the case. Delawareans aren’t paying for the construction of the wind farm, and if, for any reason, the project is stopped before it’s completed, we won’t pay anything.

“This (the wind farm) is a win, win, win, win all the way around.” AUDIO

Finally, the 14th’s Representative has a message for supporters of the project, “Don’t give up.” AUDIO

We’ll keep you up to date on this issue as it unfolds…AGAIN.

Possible Republican Gubernatorial candidate, Alan Levin, was live and local on WGMD Radio Wednesday. Levin was joined by Costal Conservative Judson Bennett and a friend, and Sussex County Coulcilman Vance Phillips stopped by before we went on the air to show his support for Levin. 

The questions I asked Mr. Levin came from people around Sussex County…some were submitted by e-mail, some I sought out, some questions were asked by live callers, and Mike Protack, who may face Levin in a primary, stopped by the station earlier in the day to drop off his question.

HIGHLIGHT CLIPS: 

Alan Levin expresses his displeasure at the deal made between DNREC and NRG Energy, calling it “wrong.”  You can check out what he said HERE.

If you want to know if Alan Levin’s campaign contributions are a reflection of his voting record, you can LISTEN HERE.

A short and sweet summary of what Levin thinks should be done about the DSTP (the Delaware State Testing Program), can be heard by clicking HERE.

My favorite clip from Mr. Levin’s visit has to be when he urges Delawareans not to be “embarrassed” by Delaware Senator Joe Biden.  You can LISTEN to that classic clip HERE.

THE INTERVIEW:

I’ve broken down the interview by question, and it’s in the order the questions were asked, so without further ado, here is Alan Levin answering Delmarva’s questions:

Are you running for Governor?  LISTEN

If you run, what would prompt you to do it?  LISTEN

Question from a Cape educator on the DSTP:  LISTEN

Local Sussex Countian, Bob Coleman’s question about illegal immigration:  LISTEN

A live caller asks about the cigarette tax:  LISTEN

Rich Collins from the Positive Growth Alliance has a question about free enterprise:  LISTEN

Alan Levin answers Judson Bennett’s question about infrastructure:  LISTEN

Most Frequent Caller, Frank, asks Levin about his campaign contributions to Delaware Democrats and about casino gambling in Delaware. LISTEN

Sussex County doctor and small business owner, Dr. Jeff Hawtoff, has a question about health insurance:  LISTEN

A question from a “concerned citizen” about the deal between DNREC and NRG Energy:  LISTEN

Steve Elkins from Camp Rehoboth has a question about civil rights:  LISTEN

Mike Protack, who Alan Levin will meet in a GOP primary for Governor if Levin decides to run, has his question answered:  LISTEN

A live caller asks Levin a more in depth question about illegals:  LISTEN

Captain Bill Baker’s question was about the new salt water fishing license, and Mr. Levin admitted to not knowing the answer, he’ll get back to us on this one:  LISTEN

Levin answers Dr. Jeff Hawtoff’s question about the 2 hour delay for emergency neonatal transportation in Sussex County:  LISTEN

A “concerned citizen’s” question about nuclear power in Delaware is addressed:  LISTEN

And these are Mr. Levin’s final comments to the people in WGMD’s listening area:  LISTEN

I’d like to thank everyone who submitted questions for Alan Levin, some of which I didn’t get a chance to ask…but maybe next time….

This is the Indian River Power Plant, Delaware’s worst polluter. Two of the units, built in the 1950s, have never had pollution controls installed. Yummy, what’s for dinner?
Thanks to photographer Gary Cooke for the photograph that I zoomed in on.

There was some dispute this weekend when I was on the air about whether or not Sussex County would suffer power outages if one of the units at the Indian River Power Plant shut down. I have the answer to that question from both Delmarva Power and Light and the Delaware Electric Cooperative.

I spoke with the CEO of the Delaware Electric Cooperative, Bill Andrew, and DP & L spokesperson Matt Likovich, and they answered the question, “If Indian River shut down a unit, would Sussex County see any outages?”

According to Bill Andrew, “Just one shouldn’t cause blackouts or rolling blackouts on 95% of the days.” But he did have a reminder about an outage in 1999.

“In July of 1999 we lost 3 units and we had rolling blackouts.” - Bill Andrew, CEO, Delaware Electric Cooperative

Matt Likovich’s answer was, “Not necessarily,” and he pointed out that units at plants shut down for routine maintenance without power outages. He also went on to explain about “The Grid.” Yes, The Grid.

“We’re connected to the PJM Grid that serves the Mid Atlantic region for 51 million people, 13 states and DC…PJM keeps the grid stable and there are fail-safes and backups, there is reserve capacity…You can feel confortable knowing you’re being serviced by the model grid in the US.” - Matt Likovich, spokesperson DP&L

Likovich also explained that if there was a major problem with a plant that, “PJM would ask other utilities to put more units online and conservation would be advised.”

You can read more about the PJM Mid Atlantic grid HERE, on their website. Likovich noted that PJM is the “oldest grid in the US.”

And we’ll see for sure in 2010 and 2011, when NRG Energy will be shutting down the two oldest units at Indian River as part of their current deal with DNREC. This deal was reached after NRG Energy appealed the 2009 deadline to curb harmful emissions set by DNREC last year.

A recent Zogby poll says that a majority of Americans feel like giving China the one finger salute by supporting a boycott of that Country’s dangerous products.

A Zogby poll that came out today shows that “nearly two-thirds” of Americans would back a boycott of Chinese products and that a majority of Americans just don’t trust the products that China is cranking out:

Asked by pollster Zogby International whether they were concerned about buying Chinese products, 82 percent of respondents said yes and only 30 percent said they believed food imports from China were safe.

According to the poll, “51 percent” of the people polled have doubts about China’s efforts to clean up their manufacturing. And a surprising, “70 percent of respondents said they were confident in non-food products from China.” But the poll was taken BEFORE Fisher-Price recalled 967,000 toys made in China for high levels of lead in the paint.

You’re smack in the middle of dinner – or your favorite TV show and the phone rings – telemarketer. 

Wait a minute – you signed up for the Do Not Call Registry when it first started!  Why are you getting telemarketers calling you again? 

There’s the rub – the registry is only good for 5 years!  If you signed up for the Do Not Call Registry after June of 2003 – you have to re-register again before your registry entry expires in 2008 – if you want to keep telemarketers from calling you at inconvenient times. 

Lois Greisman at the Federal Trade Commission tells WGMD the Do Not Call Registry has been hugely successful and they have over 147 million phone numbers registered. 

Some facts on the Do Not Call Registry:

• Not all telemarketing calls are included – political organizations, charities and phone surveyors are still permitted to call, as well as companies you have an existing business relationship with or want to receive calls from.
• When you register, your phone number will be on the registry the next day, however telemarketers have 31 days from the date you register to stop calling you
• The registry is only for personal telephone numbers and you will receive an email from the registry which needs to be responded to before your registration is complete.  You can register up to three phone numbers
• Cell phone numbers can be registered, but it is an urban legend that cell phone numbers will be released to a public listing allowing telemarketers to call you on a cell phone number.   
• If you do receive unwanted calls – get as much information as you can – a phone number from caller ID, business name – or the number the telemarketer asks you to call if it’s an automated call.  Then register a complaint with the FTC.

Does the registry work?  YES!  I signed up just after Do Not Call began – and I’ve seen a marked drop in telemarketer calls.  However – I still see a lot of calls that spam my answering machine that are usually bogus “non-profits” which I now plan to file a complaint about if they persist.  I will miss the occasional prank I played on some telemarketers – my favorite was when MCI still existed and they were rabidly promoting their “Friends & Family” service.  My response to the telemarketer was that I had no friends and was an orphan!  My Mom thought it was funny - but I never heard from MCI again!

You can sign up for the Do Not Call Registry either by phone at 1-888-382-1222 or online at http://www.donotcall.gov/ .  You would use either of those options also if you want to verify an existing registry entry – or register for the first time.

 

 

As reported on WGMD news, a 52 year old Washington, DC man was arrested in Rehoboth Beach on July 20th, at 3:45 in the afternoon, after being caught by police “pleasuring himself” in the public restroom on Delaware Avenue and the boardwalk. This is a picture of that very bathroom:

This is a picture of the bathroom where a 52 year old man from DC was caught by police fondling himself and being creepy and watching people. Look at what’s immediately to the left of the bathroom.

Yep, right next to Funland, and look what’s on the other side of the bathroom:

On the other side of the bathroom is an arcade, and where you see those dolphins on the roof, that’s an awesome miniature golf course up there.

I went out onto the boardwalk, right in front of the bathroom, and asked parents to read the news release. Then I showed them where the bathroom in question was, right next to Funland and the arcade, and their reactions were all the same, shock and outrage.

You can listen to a woman from New Castle County, Delaware, tell you what she thinks about the nasty bathroom event HERE.

A man from Pennsylvania with two young boys had this advice to solve the problem.

After I went to the boardwalk, I went to the Rehoboth Beach Police station where Chief of Police Keith Banks was kind enough to see me without an appointment. I asked Chief Banks how often this kind of stuff was going on and he had THIS to say. Check out the part about people “making rude comments” and “suggestions” to children.

Then I asked the Chief what his Department was doing to stop this kind of thing from happening and THIS was his response.

But the bottom line is that some guy was doing creepy stuff to himself in a public restroom directly next to Funland and an arcade with a miniature golf course on top, and he received a charge of disorderly conduct and was released after paying a $200 fine. So this guy is right back on the streets. Why? According to Chief Banks, it was because the people who called to complain, didn’t hang around to talk to police, so there were no witnesses.

I wasn’t sure if I should even call it an “update” since nothing has happened since the last time I checked in with the Marsh family on June 22, when nothing was happening.

You may recall that the Marsh’s run a horse farm in Milton that backed up to woods that were razed by the developer of the Heron Bay subdivision, Mario Capano. There was supposed to be a 30 foot tree barrier between the Marsh’s and the new development of squashed together, one story houses, but that didn’t happen. The previous land owner/developer had planned for a community with larger, luxury homes.

Today, while I was driving by, I took a series of pictures down the road where the Marsh’s live, to give you an idea of how badly they were screwed by the developer. I’m standing on the opposite side of the road taking these pictures:

This is an example of a property bordering Heron Bay on one side of the Marsh Farm. While I didn’t go back to see if those trees had the same severe root damage as the couple of trees left behind the Marsh’s property, it is a beefier treeline, though you can still clearly see Heron Bay encroaching behind it.

This is the picture I took previously of the root damage done to the few trees left on the border between the Marsh’s and Heron Bay. Tree roots are rumored to hold trees in the ground so they don’t fall over.

This is another property bordering Heron Bay on the same side of road the as the Marsh’s.

This is the Marsh Farm. The picture goes fence, horse track, soybean field, line of brush and vines that was supposed to be a 30 foot tree buffer, and the little houses jammed into Heron Bay.

This is the house directly on the other side of the Marsh’s property. Their treeline was pretty much unaffected by the Heron Bay development, and gives you an idea of what used to be behind the Marsh’s horse farm.

I asked Jewell Marsh today if there were any new developments in their story and she told me “no.”

I have to wonder if the developer and Sussex County officials are hoping this issue will just go away if they stall long enough. (I drive past this debacle at least 10 times a week, so good luck if that’s the plan).

A young man enjoying a bike ride.

Jacobs Babtie, a UK based company that “advises local authorities on sustainable transport projects – including how to get more people to switch from four wheels to two,” has “banned” it’s own employees from riding bicycles or motorcycles:

It has told staff at its 36 offices across Britain that they must drive or use public transport. They can use bicycles only if they are working away from roads, such as on canal towpaths.

In an e-mail to all employees, a copy of which has been obtained by The Times, the company’s health and safety manager says: “It’s patently obvious that if you are struck by a wayward vehicle when you are on a bicycle or motorbike you are going to be more severely affected than if you were in a car. The reason for this policy is to protect our employees from other vehicles on the road.

Kevin Mayne, from the Cyclists Touring Club thinks it’s “ironic” that a company would ban cycling on “health and safety grounds.” I’d have to say that the “irony” is “patently obvious.”

Chinese “state media” has announced that “new safety rules” for oral care products are on the horizon, after tainted toothpaste from the Hellish manufacturing country was found in stores around the globe.

A set of “strict certification and evaluation procedures” are being drawn up by China’s Health Ministry and the China Certification and Accreditation Administration, the China News Service said, citing an announcement made during a national symposium. No other details were given.

Yeah, that’s comforting. Excuse me if I still jam up the isles in stores looking for products made anywhere but China. As a reminder, here’s a small sample of the lovely stuff the Chinese were exporting:

* Contaminated wheat gluten that ended up killing our pets.
* Toxic fish and shellfish.
* Thomas the Tank Engine trains coated with lead paint.
* Juice with unsafe coloring.
* Toxic toothpaste.
* Fake eyeballs filled with kerosene.

And EVERY toy recalled in the USA this year.

But let’s face it, cleaning up the stuff Chinese manufacturers do that will kill us is really just a start. How can we keep ignoring this country’s terrible human rights record? I’ve covered these topics before, HERE and HERE.