News Briefs
Rehoboth commissioners to meet
The Rehoboth Beach commissioners will meet at 7 p.m., Friday, July 19, in the city commissioners’ room to consider an agreement with EDiS Company to provide schematic design architecture, engineering and estimating services for a new City Hall complex.
An approval would mark the beginning of the next phase of planning for the proposed $15 million project. In addition, the commissioners will confirm additional appointments to the City Hall Complex Master Plan Task Force. The commissioners will also consider an appointment to the Board of Elections to fill the unexpired term of Patrick Richardson.
Finally, the commissioners will consider the recommendation from the personnel committee to authorize the committee to contract with an executive search firm to help in the selection process for a new city manager. The city is looking for a successor to current City Manager Greg Ferrese, who plans to retire Thursday, Dec. 5.
DelDOT announces holiday traffic stats
This past holiday weekend, 860,505 motorists passed through Delaware’s three toll plaza locations on I-95 in Newark, Route 1 at Biddle’s Corner, and Route 1 in Dover.
Beginning July 4 through July 7, the I-95 Newark Plaza served 383,094 vehicles; Route 1 Biddle’s Corner served 248,641 vehicles; and Dover’s Route 1 Plaza served 228,770 vehicles. It is estimated that $2.4 million was collected in tolls during the four-day period at Delaware’s toll plazas.
More than 57 percent of the counted trips utilized the convenience of E-ZPass, the electronic toll collection system. To get an E-ZPass account, go to www. ezpassde.com and click on “Get E-ZPass.” Customers can also register for an E-ZPass account in person at any toll plaza customer service center 24 hours a day, or by calling 1-888-397-2773 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Motorists can adjust their routes or travel times by using DelDOT’s smartphone application. The DelDOT App is available for Apple and Android smart phones and tablets, and can be downloaded free at the Apple and Google Play stores.
View video of live traffic conditions at www.DelDOT.gov/information/travel_advisory.
Joe Wright joins Sussex County staff
Sussex County government welcomes Joe Wright as its new assistant county engineer, a position that will support the county in the planning and management of major capital projects that include the ongoing airport runway extension, building renovations, parking lot improvements and sewer system expansions.
Wright comes to Sussex County with more than three decades of public service; he retired in May from the Delaware Department of Transportation, where he dedicated nearly33years of his career in a variety of capacities, including project engineer, project manager, assistant dire c tor of various programs, Sussex County district engineer, and statewide director of maintenance and operations.
Wright has already taken on a number of duties since joining the county on June 10. In addition to overseeing four project engineers who manage ongoing projects, he will be responsible for assisting County Engineer Michael Izzo and other staff with consultant selection, negotiation, and management, as well as the review and update of standards and specifications for numerous future projects. A graduate of the University of Delaware, Wright holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and is a registered professional engineer in Delaware. He resides in Lewes with his wife and two children.
Delaware Stonewall to honor Peterson, marriage equality
Delaware Congressman John Carney and gay Colorado Congressman Jared Polis will take part in the 10th anniversary of Barbara Gittings Delaware Stonewall Democrats, at an event to be held at Mariachi Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach Saturday, July 20, beginning at 2 p.m. The event will honor lesbian Delaware Sen. Karen Peterson for her work toward achieving marriage equality and her support of the LGBT community.
It will commemorate Delaware’s LGBT Democratic organization and the past leaders of the organization, and the strides it has made toward full equality since its inception in 2003. The organization wrote the first LGBT legislation to become law, hospital visitation rights for LGBT families, and was a prime mover in getting non-discrimination, civil unions, marriage equality and gender identity through the state Legislature.
The honoree, Peterson, has long been a champion for civil rights and marriage equality, while congressmen Carney and Polis have taken leadership roles in promoting equality nationally. Also attending will be Rick Bayard, who was one of the first party leaders to recognize this group. His ancestry consists of five U.S. senators.
In the past, honorees have included Congressman Barney Frank and New York elected gay officials Daniel O’Donnell and Tom Duane. For further information about the celebration go to www.Delawarestonewall.org or contact Mitch Crane or John Workman at 302-703-2804.