UPDATE: The News Journal is now spreading the same false information as the governor. Read my most recent post about the misinformation on the risks at daycares. DHSS and the governor have continued recommending that PRIVATE child care settings not be closed. They previously released a press release supposedly issuing “Guidance for Childcare Providers on Coronavirus”. Yet this information is not about providing guidance to child care providers. This is about telling parents to continue sending their children to child care “for structure” and “keeping non-public school childcare open helps […]
Testimony against Amazon corporate welfare
Here are the remarks I made in testimony before the Council on Development Finance in an unsuccessful attempt to have them deny the latest corporate welfare giveaway of taxpayer money to the obscenely wealthy Amazon corp. Please feel free to post or share as you wish. Please also note that on Friday, Amazon shares traded at $2,095 EACH. John Kowalko State Representative 25th District I am here today at the request of many of my constituents and on behalf of all Delaware taxpayers and their families. Enough is enough. I […]
Amazon’s corporate extortion supported by the “Delaware Way”
Once again Delaware taxpayers can bear witness to the ugliness and venality of the so called “Delaware Way.” Amazon, the multi-billion dollar conglomerate owned by the one of the richest individuals on the planet, Jeff Bezos, is asking for $4.5 million in Delaware taxpayer money to “establish its operations in Wilmington.” This is another “prime” example of wealthy corporations seeking corporate welfare from ordinary working families who struggle each day to afford basic essentials. Throughout my entire tenure as an elected State Representative, I have dedicated myself to exposing these […]
Closed door manipulations betray the public trust
Once again, our Governor and his staff have decided to conduct business involving Delaware taxpayers’ money behind closed doors. This all too common practice should and must be challenged and stopped. This particular secret land deal is being consummated without any consultation with the entire General Assembly and instead is being slipped into the Bond Bill, which is voted on in the waning hours of the session at the end of June. Further compounding the lack of transparency is a significant perception of favoritism. The prospective purchaser of the property […]
Kowalko: Hey, UD president: Not so fast with the stats, bud
The News Journal | Guest Column | by Rep. John Kowalko It is a fact that the University of Delaware is a premier secondary educational institution in Delaware. It is also a fact that total student enrollment has been growing steadily while the percentage of Delaware resident students has declined significantly. Receiving over $120 million in taxpayer monies each year should allow UD to provide more access and outreach to in-state students. Instead Delaware taxpayers and families are presented with statistical data by President Assanis that is purported to be […]
Representatives Kowalko and Baumbach File Delaware Bill to Phase Out Corporate Giveaways
Delaware General Assembly For immediate release: January 29, 2020 Representatives Kowalko and Baumbach File Delaware Bill to Phase Out Corporate Giveaways Legislators from around the country are unveiling a national bipartisan campaign to phase out corporate giveaways by establishing an interstate compact. This bold proposal seeks to liberate states from feeling like the have to participate in subsidy battles with other states, like the AmazonHQ2 process last year, by having states join together. As of Tuesday, the legislation is filed in Delaware, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Illinois, West Virginia, and […]
Legislators from 35 states oppose EPA’s proposed rollbacks to federal coal ash rules
Over 160 members of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), representing 35 states, have signed a letter in opposition to two recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposals to weaken water pollution limits for coal plants and rollback critical human health and safety standards for toxic coal ash. These rollbacks would allow millions of gallons of toxic wastewater to be dumped into waters daily, even though the technology to eliminate this pollution is widely used and affordable. It would also allow leaking ash dumps to continue to accept toxic waste. […]
Inspector General would expose corruption in Delaware
I am challenging all of my colleagues in Dover to join me in reforming Delaware’s lawmaking process. I am asking them to join me in supporting rule changes that disallow last minute votes on bills that have not been adequately vetted. I am asking them to support rule changes that disallow the use of “suspension of rules” to bring bills to the floor that have not been vetted by a committee or the general public. I ask them to pass legislation that will create an independent Office of Inspector General […]
DE Turf bill exposes Dover’s failures
Congratulations to News Journal reporter Sarah Gamard on her insightful article, “Why the DE Turf Vote Has Some Lawmakers Second Guessing,” regarding the passage of Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 178 on June 30, 2019, the final day of the legislative session. Her reporting has exposed some of the major flaws in the workings of Delaware’s General Assembly. One major concern is the fact that the legislation was presented as an economic development driver without any data to support the alleged success of the proposed venture. Secondly, the direct […]
Kowalko: State should have been tougher on asbestos contractor
The News Journal | Opinion | by Rep. John Kowalko More than four months after I joined residents, workers, and local union officials in calling for an investigation into the asbestos removal project at the former Boxwood GM site, DNREC has chosen to levy a negligible fine against EcoServices Inc. for its asbestos removal malpractices. As an asbestosis victim who suffers from the condition of asbestos exposure, I felt a significant personal stake in protecting the workers, their families, and the residents in the area from the consequences of improper […]