Sunday, September 22, 2019

Privilege Has Its Rewards

Just the latest project for PEOPLE and quality of life happening in Newark proper, largely pioneered by State Legislators and Officials:

NEW PATH LINKS FAIRFIELD CREST TO POMEROY TRAIL
“This was our little haven. This was our little secret. Nobody else knew about this,” Garvin recalled. “Now, we have thousands and thousands of people who are going to take advantage of it, and it is an incredible thing for the city of Newark, New Castle County and the state of Delaware.”

Improving the trail has long been a priority for residents of Fairfield, Fairfield Crest and surrounding neighborhoods, as well as the cycling community.


 “This creates a really nice connection to our downtown to help promote alternative modes of transportation, riding your bike, walking, improving your health, getting into nature. All these things are really important for our quality of life and reasons why people would want to come to Newark and live and work here.”


State Rep. Paul Baumbach said the trail is a long time coming. “The connection makes all the difference here,” he said. “This connects us, the community, to the university, to the state park, to the city parks. It finishes these pieces that are so important.”


“The trail connects with the other parks and other places, but people connect, too,” McBride said. “They connect with each other, they connect with the natural world, and they connect with their best selves.”


Other people projects . . .


Council approves additional funds for controversial bike bridge

Last estimated at $1.75 million, the project’s cost is now expected to surpass $2 million, though the exact amount won’t be known until the project goes out for bid, according to Newark Parks and Recreation Director Joe Spadafino.

Newark Country Club creates Certified Wildlife Habitat

The Newark Country Club recently revamped its grounds to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife program.

Curtis Mill Park set to open Oct. 17

The park will include a plaza, a meadow, landscaping and a 12-to-15 car parking lot. Workers salvaged a number of bricks from the smokestack that once stood on the property and will use them in the construction of a plaza area that will contain kiosks with historical information and photographs of the former paper mill.

Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail

Local and state dignitaries toasted the newly completed Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail Monday as a premiere hiking and biking destination that will set a recreational standard throughout the region.

Too bad that Ogletown-S. Newark will never see these kinds of amenities. Living in this grossly disenfranchised region of New Castle County among the "unwashed" as viewed by Senator Townsend, Rep Osienski and NCC's Matt Meyer and Elisa Diller, "quality of life" doesn't stand a chance. For these four -- all Democrats -- a Wawa or Royal Farms with 12 gas pump islands is "place-making" and building communities.

How rotten and disgusting they really are, especially Senator Townsend as the highest ranking and easily the most influential Legislator in the bunch. For both he and Rep Osienski, throwing away the Orphanage Property and the last chance for a regional park was payback time to their campaign donors, mainly consisting of developer and building interests.


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Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Townsend and Son celebrate environmental destruction on Labor Day

From Senator Townsend's Facebook page:

This toddler loves heavy equipment, dirt, and the book “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.” Thanks to BG for taking the time to help make a little guy’s story times into a reality -- and thank you for all workers who help build the progress, safety, and values at the heart of Labor Day!

What kind of world does Townsend expect to leave his children given the myriad of scientific data and reports coming at us daily about the grave situation our planet is now in? According to The Guardian among countless others:

=> Up to 1M species are at risk of annihilation, many within decades, according to a leaked draft of the global assessment report, which has been compiled over three years by the UN’s leading research body on nature.

=> The 1,800-page study will show people living today, as well as wildlife and future generations, are at risk unless urgent action is taken to reverse the loss of plants, insects and other creatures on which humanity depends for food, pollination, clean water and a stable climate.

And here's the Wilmington News Journal, for a more local perspective:

=> Nearly half of Delaware’s native plants are either threatened or already extinct. More than three-quarters of the state’s freshwater mussels are gone. One in five of our native fish species have disappeared.

=> It’s time to recognize species loss as a canary in a coal mine and act now, while we still can. Wildlife has no borders; neither does extinction, and neither should our response. I urge our congressional delegation to support RAWA now, before it’s too late. 

Let's revisit Townsend's page where he attempts to vindicate himself of wrongdoing in selling out the 180 acre Orphanage Property, its wetlands and critical habitat area -- and with that, the last remaining chance for a regional park for his Ogletown constituents:

=> This picture is one of deep hopes more deeply dashed. As a state senator, I have been proud to pass key legislation for Delaware and to serve constituents in my district. Sometimes my efforts have been unsuccessful. One of the deepest regrets I will ever have is that I was unsuccessful in my efforts with State Rep. Ed Osienski to preserve the open space on the orphanage property along Route 4 near Ogletown. This land could and should have become a regional county park for densely populated, hard-working neighborhoods. Instead, it will become mixed housing.

=> What happened is a complicated story, and Rep. Osienski and I have posted the details [here]. But this photo shows how I feel about it. I grew up in one of the neighborhoods next to this open space and flew kites here as a child. I wanted to fly kites here with my son someday, in a county park. I wanted every child and family along Route 4 to be able to do so, for generations to come. It meant so much to me as a legislator and as a father who grew up in this community. I did all that I could, and I will always regret that my efforts fell short.


Now lets talk about what really happened, by simply looking at Senator Townsend's campaign donor list, breaking it down among several categories including individual donors. His legislative companion, Ogletown's State Rep. Edward Osienki, is similarly weighted with builder interests.


No wonder the two concealed the Chestnut Hill "Preserve" from their constituents for two full years from the time it was first conceived in 2013. Doing so kept environmental and quality of life Advocates at bay, and allowed the development plans to reach a point of no return. From there, the two could make excuses and lie their way to its finished conclusion.

Senator Townsend (along with his Democrat minions in the House and NCC Council) will have to answer someday for why he trampled the wishes of the overwhelming majority of his constituents. He will have to answer for his failure to defend their quality of life in an entire region of Delaware, and in the grand scheme of things, hastened climate change and mass extinction.