On June 18, I predicted Aaron Chaffinch (D)  would step in to fill the seat vacated by Representative Ben Ewing.  Today,  June 25th, WGMD news reports he has just filed to run:

Another hat has been thrown into the 35th District ring. Former State Police Superintendent Aaron Chaffinch is hoping to succeed Representative Ben Ewing for that seat now that Ewing has announced his retirement at the end of his term. Chaffinch is running as a Democrat against Sussex County Register of Wills David Wilson, who is running as a Republican.

I love that old time magic microphone!  Here is another vibe I’m getting:

Chaffinch will win.  So will former Representative and new Democrat John Atkins.  Looking at a few other statewide races and it seems like the Democrats will take over the Delaware House of Representatives in November.  Can you say Majority Leader Pete Schwartzkopf? 

That is supposed to be a 24 year old Barack Obama on the left of the photo in the mans hand.

Was Obama ever a Muslim?  His campaign claims he “never was” a muslim; his half brother might not have received that press release as reported in IsraelInsider:

In a remarkable denial issued last November that still stands on the official campaign website, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs issued a statement explaining that “Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian.”

Apparently Malik Obama, himself a Muslim, had not read the press release.

Melanie Phillips is the most recent commentator to draw attention to the massive body of evidence that leaves no doubt that Barak Hussein Obama was born a Muslim (Islam is patrilineal) and raised a Muslim (so registered in school, acknowledging attending Islamic classes, reported accompanying his step-father to the mosque, and able to recite the Koran in the original Arabic).

As the Jerusalem Post reports, “Barack Obama’s half brother Malik said Thursday that if elected his brother will be a good president for the Jewish people, despite his Muslim background. In an interview with Army Radio he expressed a special salutation from the Obamas of Kenya.”

Having a background as a Muslim would not be a problem, but lying about it and engaging in elaborate cover up today would be a problem.  This would not be “change we can believe in”.

I hope his campaign can provide more details to clear up the confusion.

From The Off-Color Coloring Book: The Political Circus

I mean, really, if you can’t get a little respect from a coloring book, what’s the rest of the world going to think?

The replacement Delaware Recreational Boat Fishing License.

Today we finally got the replacement 2008 Recreational Boat Fishing License from DNREC, you know, it’s that new sticker that goes on your boat so you can do a little salt water fishing…

Why a replacement? Because the original had a little “defect,” it wasn’t waterproof.

I called DNREC and thankfully the cost of replacing all of those licenses won’t rest on our shoulders, the company that printed them is footing the bill. Whew!

Yeah, that’s a picture of the multi-million dollar debacle at the Indian River Inlet slowly being taken down.

If only all of the mistakes the state has made could be fixed that easily….

A wind turbine in Rehoboth Beach that was cranking out energy relentlessly during the last storm.

While it may be a struggle to get a state (cough) to commit to the idea of mass generation of alternative energy, it seems that individuals are stepping up to the plate. But they’re not all doing it necessarily to “go green” as much as to save green.

It stands in a wheat field that is behind a farmhouse, which is down a long dirt road well outside the nearest town.

But Larry Baines’ 50-foot-tall wind turbine seems anything but rural or far-flung.

He’s planning on saving 60 percent on his electricity bill with it, in part because he doesn’t like the trickle-down effect of oil-rich Middle Eastern countries chipping away at his retirement income.

“Every dollar that I can deprive them of, I’ll do it,” he said. “I’m not beholden to anybody in Saudi Arabia.”

A business on Route 1 in Rehoboth with solar panels.

Now, if you want to check out what different solar panels and wind turbines cost and what look like and even feel like there’s a great resource in Sussex County…you can go to the Good For You Natural Market on Route 9 in Georgetown and after you check out their awesome selection of natural and organic groceries, you can go upstairs and check out Flexera.

I think this guy’s name was “Ben.” He told me about the different residential turbines and all about carbon credits.

This is like the turbine at the top of the page.

At Flexera, you can see and feel wind turbines and solar panels and get the low down on what they cost, what you get back, and about those mysterious things called “carbon credits” and how you can get in on trading them. (Trading carbon credits? I’d like to pay someone to lose weight and work out for me but it won’t make me any thinner or healthier. But what the heck, at $155.00 a piece, I’d be happy to sell them to Al Gore so he can fly around on his private jet like a rock star).

If you want an update on Delaware’s proposed off shore wind farm, you can check out the blog Tommywonk, by Tom Noyes. Tom has the skinny on that $240.00 DP&L is trying to get you all riled up about.

What is the current status of the proposed wind farm that would sit off the coast of Rehoboth Beach Delaware, you know, the one that the state chose as the winner when they went out to bid a few years ago for a price sustainable, Delaware based utility? Well I have the update.

When last we heard about action on the wind farm, it was way back in April when the Delaware House of Representatives passed HCR 38 by a 22-11 vote. That was the Resolution that compelled Controller General Russ Larson, who represents the General ASSembly, to give his thumbs up to the wind farm. The Resolution went to the Senate.

In May, a story ran that there were enough votes in the State Senate to pass HCR 38, the wind farm resolution:

Sens. Karen Peterson, D-Stanton, and Colin Bonini, R-Dover South, who both describe themselves as Bluewater backers, said they believe the support is there to pass the resolution on the Senate floor.

But unfortunately the resolution is sitting in the infamous “desk drawer” of Bridgeville’s Senator Thurman Adams.

Sen. Thurman Adams, D-Bridgeville, the chamber’s president pro tem and one of the most powerful orchestrators of legislative business, will decide if the resolution receives a hearing.

Amazing, isn’t it, that one man can prevent the entire Senate from voting on a piece of legislation? No committee hearing, no discussion, nothing.

Even more amazing is the fact that Senator Thurman Adams is the same guy who had his 35 years in the State Senate party back in April, and Joe Farley, Sr., Delmarva Power and Light’s lobbyist, was the master of ceremonies for the event!

Now here’s a little kicker, Controller Russ Larson doesn’t even need to wait for the Senate to pass the resolution, the law doesn’t require the General ASSembly to even vote for, or against the project. All Larson needs to know is that the majority of the Legislature is in favor of it.

OK, I’ve got to stop writing, I’m rolling my eyes so much I’m contributing to the global warming if it is, in fact, man-made.

Senator Harris McDowell’s wind farm hearings may have cost the tax payers a bundle in DC lawyers and expert witnesses, but today, those few days of hearings resulted in a report, a long report. And long must mean it’s good. You can read it HERE.

That report was immediately refuted by a Minority Report put out by members of the same committee. You can see where other Senators are in disagreement with that report HERE.

But the report that everyone seems to ignore, is the Public Service Commission’s final staff report that is based on over a year of hearings, negotiations, studies, and the work of several independent consultants. That report, for those of you who can handle it, is HERE.

Meanwhile, Pat Gearity from Citizens for Clean Power is asking the Senate Energy and Transit Committee for the MOTHER LOAD of information about what they’re doing and the money they’re spending.

More to come…

Democrats and Republicans from the Delaware House and Senate are introducing legislation that would prohibit Delmarva Power and Light from charging their customers for for the costs they’re racking up while fighting to prevent having to enter into a long term contract for wind power.

SYNOPSISThis concurrent resolution recommends that the Public Service deny any request by Delmarva Power to recover from or pass-through to its ratepayers the costs it has incurred opposing the Power Purchase Agreement negotiated between Delmarva Power and Bluewater Wind pursuant to the criteria established in House Bill No. 6.    READ IT HERE…

 This is from a Sponsor of the legislation, Representative John Kowalko of Newark:

This resolution was crafted to reinforce my previously stated position that Delmarva Power and Light and its agents have always and will continue to put the interests of the company before that of the ratepayer. Statements made to me by President Stockbridge and VP Glen Moore at various public venues have always been consistent that they (Delmarva/Pepco) intend to pass through to the ratepayers expenses incurred in waging an obstructionist campaign against the mandates of HB6 and the best interests of their customers. They are certainly entitled to financial outlays accrued in meeting the obligations of HB6 but since that PPA was on the table December 18,2007 all subsequent expendetures should be their burden to bear. 

Looks like it’s on!

From the AP:

The Senate energy committee has approved a draft report critical of a proposed wind farm off the Delaware coast. The panel voted 4-2 in favor after dropping a recommendation that the Senate vote to instruct the legislature’s controller general to vote against the wind farm, which would kill the idea. 

The panel instead recommended that the Senate instruct the controller general to give serious weight to its report.

Stanton Democrat Karen Peterson, who voted against the report, said the hearings on which it is based were biased.  Three of four state agencies delayed a vote after controller general Russell Larson said there was no consensus in the General Assembly.

I spoke with Representative John Kowalko (D-Newark) and he was to the point:

“I consider the report bogus.” ~ Representative John Kowalko

I’m sure there will be more to come…

We are four different bloggers (two Republicans and two Democrats) with four distinct points of view. But we have come together because we agree that it’s time for Delaware to say yes to offshore wind power.

Bluewater Wind’s offshore wind farm has been reviewed in hearings, subject to repeated analyses, supported by thousands of letters and e-mails from citizens, selected in a competitive process, survived intense negotiations, and endorsed by a majority of members of Delaware’s House of Representatives.

One hurdle remains: House Concurrent Resolution 38, which enjoys the support of 35 legislators of both parties, has passed the House, and is headed to the Senate. We are calling upon the Senate to take one last decisive step to make Delaware the first state in the U.S. to make offshore wind power a reality.

We offer this joint statement as a prologue to our separate posts on the subject. But together we agree that the time has come to say yes to our energy future.

Dave Burris
Maria Evans
Jason Scott
Tom Noyes

TIME TO INVEST IN DELAWARE FIRST

Tourists will need a few extra quarters so their kids can check out the wind farm from the boardwalk with cool binocular things like they have on the top of the Empire State Building

Let’s face it, I’m not that green. I’m a global warming skeptic. I drive a car that’s less than stellar on gas mileage. I would march a billion rats into a laboratory for testing to ensure I’d have one less wrinkle a decade or two down the road. But I’m in favor of the wind farm proposed to sit off the coast of Rehoboth Beach.     

The wind farm construction, according to Bluewater Wind, will bring in around “400 - 500 construction jobs and 80 – 100 operations and maintenance jobs for the life of the 25 year contract.” Along with that, a regional shipping hub would be established at the Port of Wilmington and there’s a commitment to a teaching and training program for wind farm technicians.

For Sussex County, I can imagine opportunities beyond what Bluewater Wind is offering the state.

Charter boats can take tourists sightseeing or fishing at the wind farm. Souvenir shops will have little windmills to sell next to the light houses. Windmill t-shirts and earrings and snow globes…those cool binocular things on the board walk that you can put a quarter into so your kid can see the wind farm up close…local artists capturing the wind farm in oil and water and on film…other governments coming to our shores to check out the first off shore wind farm in the United States.  

But instead of investing in the state of Delaware, Delmarva Power wants to enter into long term contracts with on shore wind companies in other states. Gary Stockbridge, the President of Delmarva Power called these contracts, “an exciting day for the development of renewable energy in the region,” but I’m not sure why. “The region” will simply be paying for other states to develop and build wind farms. Somehow that’s not “exciting” to me.

It’s time to bring some new life into Delaware.  Call your State Senator today and tell them you want your money invested in Delaware’s future, not shipped off to Illinois or Indiana.

Click HERE find your Senator and their contact information.  

From Tom Noyes at Tommywonk:      

Given that worldwide energy demand will grow at least 50 percent over the next 20 years, it is hard to imagine how energy prices will not continue to climb. Instead of costing us extra, offhsore wind will almost certainly save us money. READ MORE ….  

From Jason at Delaware Liberal:

For Christians, the choice is clear. Disciples of Christ are called to love and to allow concern for justice shape their daily lives. As an extension to that calling christian spiritual leaders agree that, stewardship of the environment is a permanent reality. READ MORE…  

From Dave at Delaware Politics:

A week ago, one prominent Delawarean told me that the project was dead, the deal had been cut, that all of the players, including Senate leadership and the Governor candidates, were involved. It was over. DP&L was one of the good old boys and BWW was not and that was it.

I say that’s bullshit. I have two kids that have to breathe in Eastern Sussex County for the next 80 years, God willing. It’s only dead if YOU let it die…. READ MORE…