Welcome Chelsea Reid & Ghanima

I case you hadn't noticed, we have some new Contributors on Salisbury News. Chelsea, Ghanima, welcome aboard. We look forward to seeing your work.

Last Survivor Of The Unsinkable Titanic Dies At 97

By MEERA SELVA and JILL LAWLESS, AP


LONDON — Millvina Dean, who as a baby was wrapped in a sack and lowered into a lifeboat in the frigid North Atlantic, died Sunday, having been the last survivor of 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.

She was 97 years old, and she died where she had lived — in Southampton, England, the city her family had tried to leave behind when it took the ship's ill-fated maiden voyage, bound for America.

She died in her sleep early Sunday, her friend Gunter Babler told the Associated Press. It was the 98th anniversary of the launch of the ship that was billed as "practically unsinkable."

Babler said Dean's longtime companion, Bruno Nordmanis, called him in Switzerland to say staff at Woodlands Ridge Nursing Home in Southampton discovered Dean in her room Sunday morning. He said she had been hospitalized with pneumonia last week but she had recovered and returned to the home.

A staff nurse at the nursing home said late Sunday that no one would comment until administrators came on duty Monday morning.

Dean just over 2 months old when the Titanic hit an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912. The ship sank in less than three hours.

Dean was one of 706 people — mostly women and children — who survived. Her father was among the 1,517 who died.

Read more HERE.

Today's Wildlife Pictures On The Wicomico River

I want to give a special thanks to former Mayor Barrie Tilghman, Council People Gary Comegys, Louise Smith & Shanie Shields for voting to allow all this crap to freely flow through storm drains without any filtration and help me capture these unbelievable wildlife photos.

Without their help I could have never achieved such great shots and deliver to hundreds of thousands of you viewing this Blog and Googling the Wicomico River to view such beauty coming from Salisbury Maryland.

Your legacy will live on forever through these photos and I just want to be so bold as to take credit for being the photographer recognized for such images.

Now I think I'll head over to the WWTP that's failing after $82,000,000.00 was BLOWN to see just what kind of other FLOAT ABLES I can find in the Wicomico River there too.

To the new Mayor Jim Ireton, we can certainly understand why you have such a desire to CLEAN UP the Wicomico River. I hope these photos will wake up the Salisbury Taxpayers just how bad things are around here. Yes Jim, we know this was laid in your lap by the former Mayor.

So Folks, just how many of you are looking at these pictures and now want to support Mr. Ireton's goals on cleaning up the Wicomico River?

The Truth Behind NASCAR And Dover Downs

As many of you know, last year I was asked to participate in a new idea Executives at Dover Downs felt would be a great idea. Instead of their typical Cooking Show where Drivers took the time to cook up special meals with Chef Fred, they read a Post here on Salisbury News learning that I used to be a Professional Pool Player and thought perhaps they could pull off an event at Dover Downs.

I received a telephone call asking me what it would take to do so and if I'd be interested in putting the event together as a Host. They wanted to know what I would charge them to do so and after hearing their excitement about the idea I said, I'll tell you what. If you really want to pull off this event, I'll take the same risks as you and I won't charge you anything THIS YEAR. Should the event be a success you can start paying me next year. We agreed.

I asked Dover Downs to make contact with a couple of current Professional Players as well as lining up the Pool Tables. Three days before the event was supposed to go off I received a phone call from one of the Executives in a panic. The supplier that was supposed to deliver the Pool Tables called to tell them they could not fulfill their agreement and they were NOT going to deliver the Pool Tables for the event. Dover Downs was in serious trouble.

I told them to sit back for an hour or two and I'd see what I could do. I then called my good friend Bruce Hunter, (Bruce's Billiards) from Salisbury and I filled him in on the situation. I told them what Dover Downs was willing to put up money wise to RENT the Pool Tables for a day and it was almost as much as what he could sell the Pool Tables for. The major problem was, how were we going to pull this off in two days. Bruce rearranged his entire schedule, worked with Dover Downs and even agreed to Referee for the event.

Here's where things got interesting. While Bruce and I both never thought we'd see a sell out crowd at this event, we arrived the day of the event with a crowd standing in line like I had never seen before. We met with several other people Dover Downs had brought into the picture as referee's and we held a pre meeting where a new guy, (another executive) started the meeting by telling ALL of us we were going to be referee's. I stood there kind of dumbfounded and said, excuse me but that's NOT what I had been brought in for. He said, "Well Things Change, Do You Have A Problem With That." I turned to him and I said, do you know who put this entire event together? He replied, you did. I then said, do you know how much money you paid me to pull this entire event off? He said, I don't believe we did pay you. I said, that's exactly right. Now I didn't do all this work and travel all this way just to be told like a puppet that I was going to be one of your referee's. I was brought in to commentate and Host this event, not referee. Again, he said, well things change, do you have a problem with that.

I looked at him, walked over to my suit, grabbed my Pool Cue and said, nope, I have no problem with it at all. Good luck with the event. I then walked out of the building, leaving Bruce Hunter behind. I got the Valet People to go get my car where my cigars were and just as they pulled up with the car Bruce came out and said, what are you going to do. I told him I wouldn't leave him high and dry, (as I drove him to the event) but I'd have nothing to do with these a-holes. He said, so you're just going to leave? I said, no, I expect my phone to ring any minute now because there's no way they're going to pull off this event without me, just think of the Post I'll have up on the Blog about it.

Within 2 minutes George, (one of the executives) was calling me on my cell and he said, Joe, we need a referee. Can you help us out during the beginning of the event and then we'll have you commentate the event for the Finals? I said, sure, that works for me. Bruce was smiling and laughing like there's no tomorrow because he knew I wasn't going to take any sh!t from these people.

If you've never seen the final event, here's my Post on it and the VIDEO of the actual event.

All that being said, this weekend Dover Downs pulled off this event once again, this time sponsored by Brunswick and Hosted by Ewa Mataya Lawrence, a very dear and old friend of mine. Did I get a call from Dover Downs asking to be a part of the event? NO. Did Bruce Hunter get a call from them asking for Pool Tables, NOPE! They used us last year and while they said they did not expect much of a crowd the first year, the place was sold out, they offered absolutely nothing.

So for those of you who have any ties whatsoever with Dover Downs, they're users and do NOT come through with commitments or agreements. A lot of time and effort went into pulling this event off and while I support it for the good of the sport, I do not appreciate the fact that Bruce Hunter called this year to see if they could provide us with guest seats for the Billiard Event or even tickets to the races, they refused to offer anything.

Over my many years of being around Pool, this is somewhat common. However, our agreement and understanding was that I would take the same risk because I felt bad that they may not have much of a crowd and I wanted to GIVE BACK to a sport I love so much.

Dover Downs, YOU'VE JUST BEEN BLOGGED!

I'm sure my friend Bruce Hunter will chime in to this Post and confirm or adjust anything and everything that is or isn't 100% accurate, as I would expect him to do. We waited some 5 or 6 months, (if not longer) just to get them to deliver the video they agreed to provide from the beginning. Bruce also had a VERY hard time collecting the money they promissed him for the tables. They came back saying they didn't agree to that much money, (yet Dover Downs made a small fortune on the event) and we had e-mail messages back and forth confirming the money agreed upon. He did finally get paid but it was like pulling teeth and Bruce dropped everything to help them out! It was just another learning curve in life but the true lesson will come when hundreds of thousands of people, (if not millions) Google NASCAR and or Dover Downs and this Post pops up.

It would have been nice to at least be offered guest tickets to the event this weekend but some people forget where they come from and Karma is a bitch. By the way, I hope this years event went well as well as future Billiard Events at Dover Downs. Oh, I'll bet you as million dollars Ewa didn't knock the Nine Ball in on the break as many times in a row as I did.

Here's this years promo video of the event.

DID WORCESTER COUNTY VIOLATE THE “SUNSHINE LAW”?

Last week, citing “personnel matters” the Worcester County Commissioners conducted a hastily called closed session meeting about the budget for FY 2010. It resulted in 12 County employees being fired, but the meeting also covered other matters, including the consolidation of several county departments. That action, at least in the common perception, is not a “personnel matter” because it involves the organization and operation of the County government as its primary aspect.

This is already a major story in regard to the layoffs, but it may have an even bigger impact under the State’s Open Meetings law if someone challenges the proceeding. Stay tuned!

By the way, the vote that occurred on these matters was 4 to 3.

Bias Case Looms Large for Nominee

Ruling on Firefighters' Lawsuit Raises Questions About Sotomayor's Philosophy

Judge Sonia Sotomayor has heard thousands of cases and has issued as many rulings in her nearly two decades on the federal bench, but the early debate over her judicial philosophy in her Supreme Court confirmation battle comes down to one paragraph.

It is the 134-word summary order in Ricci v. DeStefano, which upheld the decision of New Haven, Conn., to throw out the promotion test it had given city firefighters when no African Americans and two Hispanics qualified for advancement.
The case is under review by the Supreme Court that Sotomayor would join. If the decision is reversed -- which, from the tone of oral arguments in April, seems a distinct possibility -- the high court's ruling will probably come at the end of June, just as the Senate and the nation begin to consider Sotomayor's qualifications.
The White House, concerned that a reversal would be seen as an embarrassment for its nomination, is rolling out a multi-pronged strategy to explain the case and Sotomayor's role in it. The first step was to offer a collection of legal experts who say the ruling marks Sotomayor not as a judicial activist, or even a supporter of minority rights, but as a conservative jurist whose actions show how closely she hews to court precedent.
But White House strategists face a tough challenge in the sound-bite war. The New Haven case raises complex issues about workplace bias and how far governments may go to ensure they are not discriminating against minorities before they intrude upon the rights of those in the majority.
The white firefighters who brought the suit say it can be reduced to this: They were denied the promotions they earned because of the color of their skin.

Moreover, the scant order by a unanimous three-judge panel that included Sotomayor was devoid of legal reasoning for affirming the decision of a lower district judge, a curious dismissal for a case that represents significant questions of law and the Constitution.

Although most of Sotomayor's colleagues on the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit agreed with the approach, it was roundly criticized by her mentor, Judge José A. Cabranes, who was also appointed to the circuit by President Bill Clinton. Cabranes wrote on behalf of the Republican-appointed judges in denouncing the cursory nature of the review and in urging the Supreme Court to review the case.
"The opinion contains no reference whatsoever to the constitutional claims at the core of this case," Cabranes wrote. "This perfunctory disposition rests uneasily with the weighty issues presented by this appeal."
In New Haven, tensions between white and minority firefighters are the real-life consequences of the suit, and Sotomayor's nomination has ratcheted up the attention.
Gary Tinney, president of the local chapter of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, said relations are not good in the department, where no one of any race has been promoted since the test was given in 2003.
"The feeling in there is just total isolation," Tinney said. "You have to watch your back."

More from the Washington Post here.

Indian River Inlet Bridge Monitoring Devices Installed

One Lane and Shoulder Closure Needed

Indian River -- The Department of Transportation (DelDOT) will be performing maintenance work and installing various devices to monitor the condition of the existing Indian River Inlet Bridge next week, Monday June 1 through Thursday, June 4, 2009. The work will require the right lane and shoulder of Route 1 northbound in the vicinity of the Indian River Inlet Bridge to be closed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Therefore, only one lane of traffic will be available going northbound on Route 1 over the bridge.

The monitoring devices were installed in cooperation with research performed by the University of Delaware and are just one of many efforts being made to ensure the existing Indian River Inlet Bridge remains stable while the new bridge is built. Additional efforts include:
1. Visual Structure Inspections: As part of the monitoring program, DelDOT performs annual bridge inspections of the structure. The next inspection is scheduled for August 2009.
2. Underwater Dive Inspections: Also part of the program, DelDOT performs annual underwater dive inspections. The next inspection is scheduled for the October 2009.
3. Bathymetric Surveys: DelDOT continues to conduct annual bathymetric/fathometer surveys to examine the streambed area around and between the piers until the new bridge is complete. A fathometer study was recently conducted in April. The study indicated that there have not been any significant changes over the last year. This routine survey will be completed again in spring 2010. Additional surveys are conducted after severe storm events. In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers has provided DelDOT with their periodic bathymetric surveys, the most recent from 2007. The technology has improved over the years allowing the viewer to essentially see an underwater picture of the site. These renderings are posted on www.irib.deldot.gov.
4. Land Survey Equipment: Land survey equipment is used to monitor movement on the existing bridge on a regular basis (monthly). These readings have indicated little to no movement of the bridge. Any movement indicated is a result of normal expansion and contraction due to temperature effects.

Is This The Perfect Déjà Vu?

Is this the perfect déjà vu?

This amazing cartoon was in the Chicago Tribune in 1934. Look carefully at the plan
of action. Remember the adage, "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."

Jesus and the Burglar

A burglar broke into a house and shined his flashlight around looking for valuables.

He picked up a CD player when a strange, disembodied voice echoed from the dark saying: 'Jesus is watching you.' He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked off his flashlight and froze.
When he heard nothing more he continued. Just as he pulled the stereo out he heard: 'Jesus is watching you.'

Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically. Finally, in the corner of the room his light beam came to rest on a parrot.

Did you say that?' he hissed at the parrot. 'Yep,' the parrot confessed, then squawked, 'I'm just trying to warn you that he's watching you.'

The burglar relaxed. 'Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?'

Moses,' replied the bird.

Moses?' the burglar laughed. 'What kind of people would name a bird Moses?'

"The kind that would name a Rottweiler Jesus

How Government Works

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night."

So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job. Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?"

So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies. Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?"

So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports. Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?"

So they created the following positions, a time keeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two people. Then Congress said,
"Who will be accountable for all of these people?"

So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary. Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost."

So they laid off the night watchman.

SUSSEX COUNTY SHINES AMIDST ECONOMIC TURMOIL

Sussex County shines like a glowing beacon even amidst the current economic recession. As other Counties, including Wicomico, scramble to find ways to streamline their budgets, Sussex County already has a 2010 budget that calls for no new property taxes, and, no sales tax. Yes you heard it right. . . and I'll repeat it . . . a 2010 budget that calls for no new property tax, and no sales tax.

Even with falling revenues, they devised a way to cut spending without having to raise taxes. Here are the details:

1. County workers are going to pay slightly more for their health benefits - (note: workers in the private sector are already having to pay a significantly higher portion as compared with Wicomico County workers, especially, if you are retiring school teacher - as they just voted last week . . .you guessed it for a substantial increase).

2. Here is the key - Sussex County has not grown its government amidst the boom in the housing market and then sudden crash whereby their transfer tax revenues plummeted and other housing related revenues declined.

3. Sussex County requires a public referendum on mammoth public works projects like schools, prior to, initiation of construction. This policy symbolizes accountability to the most important sector - the working taxpayers.

Sussex County, despite the declining revenues, cut its debt and spent its money prudently.

I can tell you first hand folks that having expanded my own business into this State I have seen first hand how they handle economic downturns. First, the building departments in most localities are run by Free Enterprise. In fact, they will guarantee you an inspector to your site within 24 hours in most jurisdictions.

I have watched Governor Jack Markell propose legislation that will require only one business license as opposed to carrying multiple business licenses thus streamlining the license process. This is pro-business . . . not to mention that Delaware has one of the best renewable energy policies in the entire nation. Just watch what is happening offshore as the wind turbines start to mobilize.

Maybe Maryland's lower shore Counties could learn a lesson or two and take heed to some of Delaware's policies as they embark on next years budget.