Memos at Random

The state's financial crisis is not over, but the outlook may be a tad brighter. For the first time in several months, the Delaware Economic & Financial Advisory Council is about to favorably revise its forecasts.

In all likelihood, the nonpartisan public-private sector panel will forecast revenue of $2,348.1 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. That would be down from $2,425.7 million in fiscal 2002, but $21 million, or just under 1%, higher than was anticipated in December. Most of the increase in the projection, $16.3 million, resulted from a higher-than-expected return in calendar 2002 from the bank franchise tax. The much-watched state take from slot machine gambling, said to be adversely affected by the smoking ban, is described as inconclusive. February was a bad month, but snow and the state of the general economy shares blame. The take at Atlantic City, N.J., casinos in February was 14% less than in the same month in 2002.

On the other side of the ledger, the estimate of spending by state agencies this fiscal year will be nudged downward by about 1.5% from the December forecast when the council meets on Mar. 17. Expenditures of $2.473.4 million would be up from $2,453.8 in fiscal 2002, but $37.3 million less than the $2,510.7 million expected in December. The biggest element there is spending on salaries and pensions, which accounts for somewhat more than half of all state spending. The hiring freeze in effect since last summer is said to be effective, but that has been partly offset by lower employee turnover as a result of the tight economy and greater overtime costs because of increased workloads.

The key revenue forecast for fiscal 2004, which the General Assembly is required to use as the basis for the state's general spending budget will not be changed from December. Panel members want another month or so to see what the Iraq war does to the national economy.

ROUTE 1 ALMOST FINISHED: Delaware Department of Transportation has set May 15 as the date by which the last segment of the State Route 1 Odessa-Smyrna-Dover bypass will be completed and open to traffic. There is to be a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the state's most extensive single capital project ever on May 19. No additional toll booths are planned along the stretch of roadway between Odessa and Smyrna. The route continues through the seashore area of Sussex County to the Maryland state line. It is unknown whether it will be extended north from Churchmans Crossing along Limestone Road to Pennsylvania, as originally planned.

It will cost $2 to travel between the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal and the Air Force base south of Dover. Until now, the stretch between the canal and Odessa is believed to have been the most expensive-per-mile turnpike travel in the nation.

The first hint of spring in the air brought out a larger-than-unusual crowd to the St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown Wilmington on Mar. 15. Marchers appeared to enjoy getting out after a hard winter as much as the spectators. The annual observance continued through the weekend and the actual feast on Mar. 17.

MONORAIL DOUBTFUL: A $1.3 billion price tag has all but derailed any possibility of a building a monorail or other 'automated guideway' transit system. Although she said the report on a study of the feasibility of such a system to link Glasgow and Blue Ball by way of Churchmans Crossing and Wilmington, originally due last October, is not quite finished, Heather Dunigan, senior planner for the Wilmington Area Planning Council, confirmed an article published in the University of Delaware's student newspaper to the effect that emulating what is being done in other U.S. and Canadian cities and has been done for some time in European cities cannot be economically justified here.

The estimated cost, she said, may even be understated and, in any event, is greater than total anticipated transit spending in New Castle and Cecil Counties during the next 20 years. "Seattle [Wash.] is spending that much to extend its system. The only way it might work here would be with a combination of public-private arrangement like they have in Las Vegas [Nev.]," she said. The U. of Del. reporter quoted Ralph Reed, a council representative, as saying, "With that much money, we could almost pay [people] to stay at home" as a way to alleviate commuter traffic problems. State representative David Ennis, who has championed a monorail project, declined comment pending publication of the feasibility study report.

HEADED WEST: Ted Matley, executive director of the Wilmington Area Planning Council, has resigned to take a position with the Federal Transit Administration, a unit of the U.S. Department of Transportation, in San Francisco. He has headed the staff of the two-county planning agency here since July, 2000. Somewhat ironically, considering the apparent rejection of a proposal to build a monorail in New Castle County, the agency for which Matley will work has responsibility for the federal program to provide financial assistance to help meet capital costs of locally-planned transit 'guideway' systems. Its literature speaks of a goal of making "hundreds" of them available around the nation.

IN SAFE HANDS: Delaware Department of Transportation has assumed custody of the Delaware Olds tiles and will keep them in protective storage in Dover until the community decides where they should be put on display, Secretary of Transportation Nathan Hayward said. Preservation of the art deco tiles, which illustrate several items associated with the automotive industry in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, was a condition for allowing the one-time automobile dealer showroom on Governor Printz Boulevard just north of Wilmington to be torn down to make room for erection of a data and communications center for Bank One.

The new Brandywine branch library is scheduled to get its first books on Mar. 11 -- 2,100 boxes of them. That shipment is the vanguard of 150,000 items expected to be on hand when the faciity, a unit of the New Castle County library system, opens for business on Apr. 12.

THE WAY IT WAS:

The Grand Opera House in the 800 block of Market Street
has changed since the post card was published
circa 1906-08. There has been a third floor added,
but the lower portion of the entranceway remains similar.
(Note that 'House' is misspelled 'Housee' on the card.)

The Garrick Theater shown on the card was replaced by
a motion picture theater which became the
Loews Aldine. It was torn down several years ago
and the 'Baby Grand' theater now stands at that site.

This is another in a series of 'then and now' views of Wilmington. It draws on the extensive collection of local picture post cards accumulated by Terry Craig. Current views of the same scenes are Delaforum digital photos. See previous views in this series.

BENEFITS PACKAGES COMPARED: Brandywine School District is "favorably positioned in the market" in terms of employee benefits for teachers, according to Nancy Doorey, vice president of the school board. An internal study presented to the board found Brandywine's combined state- and locally-paid benefits to rank third among Delaware districts responding to a survey -- behind the Christina and New Castle County Vocational-Technical -- and eighth among 22 districts in the region. The study concluded that Brandywine is "highly competitive" in health care insurance, but below the other district in tuition reimbursement.. Unlike other districts, Brandywine picks up the cost of health insurance during the first 90 days of employment.

POLICE BEEF UP CLAYMONT SECURITY: State Police have launched a 'Claymont initiative' in response to a rash of burglaries and break-ins during the past six months at business establishments along Philadelphia Pike. State representative Gregory Lavelle pressed for additional efforts after six such incidents occurred in the vicinity of Commonwealth Avenue during a single evening in late February. The legislator expressed concern that there is a strong possibility that an inadvertent confrontation with one of the burglars could easily lead to a business owner or employee being injured or killed. He and other legislators who represent the area met on Mar. 3 with top police officials to map a strategy.

Police Major David Baylor said that at least eight officers will be involved in the initiative for an indefinite period. In addition to assigning patrols from the Penny Hill troop to concentrate on the area, uniformed officers on overtime status will be used to provide an additional police presence during evening hours. In addition, he said, detectives will immediately "begin proactive investigative work" to solve the crimes which have been committed and the probation and parole will step up surveillance in an attempt to come up with suspects. Community liaison officers have reported that activation of State Police officers who also are military reservists has left Penny Hill and other troops short-handed.

HURDLE CLEARED EASILY: Planned for the proposed Bank One data center on Governor Printz Boulevard just north of Wilmington breezed through a New Castle County Planning Board hearing on Mar. 3. The board took the project under advisement, but indicated it will recommend approval. The only qualifying point raised was the number of parking spaces to be provided -- 54 against a normal requirement of 813, based on application of the formula in the Unified Development Code. The fact the 235,600 square-foot building will have only 45 to 50 employees to run the highly automated operation justifies the wide disparity, according to Charles Baker, general manager of the Department of Land Use. (Read previous story)

WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY: When she joined County Council in November, the first 'cause' that Patty Powell took up was to get committee meetings to run on time. She had the staff install a clock in the conference room and supervised its placement in the presider's direct line-of-sight. When named chair of the land use committee, she vowed to set an example and actually began her first meeting on time. On Mar. 3, however, that panel's scheduled half-hour meeting convened 25 minutes after the appointed hour and ran for more than an hour. No broken political promise was involved, however. Council president Christopher Coons announced at the start that he was filling in for the Sixth District councilwoman who was away on vacation.

Violins and other string instruments will return to four schools in the Brandywine School District with a planned expansion of the music instruction program.

Tom Alderson, supervisor of arts education, told the school board on Mar. 3 that the eventual goal is to extend the program to all schools, looking to establish a district orchestra. If a teacher can be found and hired in time, the new effort for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders will get underway as part of the summer fine arts session. With the start of the academic year in September, small group instruction will be offered at Harlan and P.S. du Pont Intermediate Schools, Talley Middle School and Mount Pleasant High School. The in-school program, he said, is intended to supplement private lessons and those provided by such places as the Wilmington Music School.

Although the board was not required to specifically approve the proposal, all its members strongly endorsed the idea, which Superintendent Bruce Harter described as a component of the district's strategic plan for educational improvement. Its cost will be included in the budget for the 2003-04 academic year, he said. Alderson said that, although marching and concert bands are big at many schools, "strings have really suffered in this state for some time." He said having such a program in Brandywine, where parental interest in music education has traditionally run high, will likely attract students from other district as well as private and parochial schools.

After board member Mark Huxsoll noted that orchestras from two Philadelphia high schools have performed in Europe and Asia, Alderson remarked, "If it can be done in Philadelphia, it can be done here."


	A potpourri of miscellaneous news SCRIBBLED IN A REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK