The News Journal | Delaware Voice | by Rep. John Kowalko When a 12 percent Bernie Sanders’ margin of victory in the Wyoming primary translates into a two-to-one delegate deficit for the winner, due to the Democratic Party, super-delegate aberration we can clearly identify a serious problem facing the sanctity of the electoral process. Here in Delaware as we rapidly approach the day, April 26, when Delawareans will be able to cast their vote of preference for the Democratic standard bearer in the presidential election, we are given small consolation in […]
Why Delaware government documents stay hidden
The News Journal | by Margie Fishman & James Fisher Frustrations flare by those seeking information through Delaware’s public records law, designed to keep government transparent. Unencumbered access to government records can shine a light on farms funneling waste into our drinking water, lobbyists currying favor with legislators over email, teacher misconduct in the classroom, patient abuse at psychiatric facilities and volatile neighbors packing heat. Yet, in Delaware, all of the above remain off-limits to public inspection. The state consistently ranks among the bottom nationwide when it comes to government transparency […]
Kowalko: Dollars & Sense
The News Journal | Delaware Voice | by Rep. John Kowalko When I originally sat down to the task of composing my thoughts on Delaware’s budget situation, we were facing a $200 million deficit. It was the end of session on June 30, 2015. The Democratic house leadership finally convened our first caucus meeting on Oct, 15, and details were given confirming the dire economic straits facing Delaware taxpayers. Recently it was announced that the Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DFAC) had concocted an estimate that included an extra $80 million in […]
Opting out of tests does not mean copping out on accountability
The Washington Post | Letter to the Editor | by Rep. John Kowalko As the author and primary sponsor of Delaware’s “opt-out” bill, I was hard-pressed to understand the position in the Jan. 9 editorial “Opting out of accountability,” supporting Delaware Gov. Jack Markell’s (D) veto of a bill that would allow parents to opt their children out of standardized testing. The governor is not “standing up for accountability” in vetoing the bill but rather standing firmly against parents’ wishes and rights. The legislation does not suggest or give “an […]
Le Delaware, paradis fiscal « made in USA »
Les Echos | by Lucie Robequain L’Etat américain du Delaware est devenu l’un des meilleurs endroits au monde pour créer une société fictive. Il échappe aux contraintes imposées récemment aux autres paradis fiscaux. Le bâtiment est tellement triste qu’on le passe sans s’en apercevoir. Avec son auvent vert et ses vieux néons, on l’imagine bien abriter un club de bridge ou une maison de quartier. Erreur : il héberge en fait 300.000 entreprises, parmi les plus puissantes d’Amérique. Les géants de la Silicon Valley (Apple, Google, etc.) et de Wall […]
A DuPont legacy: Pile by the Delaware
The Philadelphia Inquirer | by Joseph N. DiStefano More than 400 have signed this petition by Delaware State Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, calling on Gov. Jack Markell, also a Democrat, to demand that the DuPont Co. and its spin-off, Chemours, clean up decades of solid wastes, including dioxins, that Kowalko says will be left over when Chemours shuts down the titanium-dioxide white pigment plan at Edge Moor on the Delaware River later this year. With DuPont transferring Edge Moor and the nearby Hay Road waste storage site to Chemours, and […]
Kowalko tops liberal group’s lawmaker rankings
The News Journal | by Jon Offredo Firebrand and outspoken legislator Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, is top of the legislative class when it comes to issues of social justice and economic equality, according to rankings released Monday by a progressive advocacy group. And in the Senate, Congressional hopeful Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, tops the list. Delaware Americans for Democratic Action released their annual report card Monday. The rankings grade legislators on a points-based system based off of their support, or lack thereof, of measures the group feels are focused on […]
State lawmaker seeks removal of Edge Moor waste
The News Journal | by Jeff Montgomery A Newark lawmaker has opened a petition campaign to compel the removal of 500,000 tons of waste in a 15-acre landfill on Chemours property near the company’s soon-to-close Edge Moor pigment plant. Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark South, said he was concerned by the possibility that Chemours would sell its plant, creating what he said was a risk that pollution would escape under new ownership or if the land was eventually abandoned. That could leave taxpayers with the cleanup costs, he said, if contaminants […]
Delaware Education Desk on standardized testing
Newsworks | by Brian Drouin Standardized testing has become the most fiercely debated topic in Delaware education. In particular, there’s been a firestorm over whether parents should be able to opt their children out of a new, statewide assessment. Education correspondent Avi Wolfman-Arent talks about this simmering issue with opt-out supporter, Rep. John Kowalko, and Dr. Teri Quinn Gray, an opt-out opponent and the president of the State Board of Education. Read original article and watch video interview.
Delaware’s testing opt-out bill ignites firestorm
The News Journal | by Matthew Albright The simmering debate over standardized testing in Delaware exploded Wednesday in a charged hearing that saw lawmakers and parent advocates shouting over each other. At issue was a bill to allow parents to pull their children out of the statewide Smarter Balanced Assessment, a tough new test students took for the first time this year. Some Delaware parents have already pulled their kids out of the test, but the bill, sponsored by firebrand Rep. John Kowalko, would make it an explicit right in the […]