Cameras at Concord Pike and Naamans Road have caught what transportation secretary Nathan Hayward called "an unbelievable number" of drivers running red lights.

As of the last count, just under $53,000 in fines have been collected from more than 600 violators there. But, according to Delaware Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Williams, that is just something over half the number who were caught in the act. Another 700 vehicle owners signed affidavits claiming that someone else was driving. Even if you believe them, he said, the law provides that the registered owner is responsible for paying the $75 fine no matter who was actually driving. If the owners don't cough up the money, they will be flagged when they next go to renew their registration.

So far, the busy north Brandywine Hundred intersection is the leading all camera locations in the state, Hayward said. The sophisticated equipment is beginning to pay for itself even though it is intended to improve safety at places with high accident counts rather than as revenue generators, he said. DelDOT will press for authorization to expand the program. Two cameras at Concord and Naamans went into operation on Jan. 21. They monitor traffic turning left onto the pike from westbound Naamans and going north on Concord through the intersection.

Statewide, 22,477 citations were issued through Jun. 8 for violations recorded at the 20 intersections which are being monitored.

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NOT ANOTHER ONE: Residents of the Paladin Club are nonplused about yet another postponement by the Board of Adjustment of a hearing on the appeal by Edgewood Village l.l.c. of a Department of Land Use order to rebuild an historic wall it had partly destroyed. "The whole process is beginning to take on an awful smell ... [a] smell like the politics of old," said Jim Jones, president of Friends of Paladin, a civic group which is pressing to have the wall restored. That seems more so, he added, because the new hearing date, Jul. 7, is during the week of the Independence Day holiday "when many people are away."

The latest postponement, the third, was "due to a scheduling conflict," according to Vince Kowall, assistant land use administrator. In response to a Delaforum inquiry concerning apparently conflicting schedule information advertised in Brandywine Community News, he said the weekly newspaper's deadline had passed before "we learned of the continuance." The News Journal ad listed the continuance as a separate item, but he blamed an "oversight" for the case also being listed in the agenda for the Jun. 23 hearing included in the same advertisement. (CLICK HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)

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PRINCIPAL APPOINTED: Brandywine School Board confirmed the promotion of assistant principal Lincoln Hohler to be principal of Harlan Intermediate School. He succeeds Anita Thorpe, who is retiring. Another personnel action at a board meeting on Jun.13 was the hiring of Barbara Meredith, project director for Blenheim Homes, to be director of support services. She was co-chair of the facilities taskforce which produced the building renovations plan for which district residents approved financing in the recent referendum. She succeeds William King who resigned to take a position at Purdue University.

Most of the board meeting was devoted to a workshop session initiating the process for developing a five-year strategic plan to follow the present one, which runs until 2007. Superintendent Bruce Harter said the new plan's theme will be "moving from a very good school district to a great one." The district is out "to create a performance breakthrough," he added. It is hoped that the new plan will generate sufficient community support to secure approval at a tax referendum in spring, 2007, to finance it. The workshop focused on developing a charge for a volunteer taskforce to recommend provisions of the plan.

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ONE DOWN, FIVE TO GO: New Castle County has come to terms with the first of six unions whose contracts expired on Mar. 31. Under terms of the new three-year pact with the United Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 165 school crossing guards will get annual pay raises of 3% and an improved benefits package. County Executive Christopher Coons declined to say if the settlement is indicative of what between 1,200 and 1,300 other employees will receive. Continuing negotiations "are steadily making progress," he said, adding that the parties "are under an agreement not to [publicly] discuss details."

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COMMISSION TO BE REVIVED: County Council agreed to confirm long time civil rights activist and community leader James Gilliam as chairman of the Diversity Commission. That is to be the first step in a move to reconstitute the five-member commission. It has been inactive since terms of its members expired. Gilliam told Council's executive committee on Jun. 6 that his goal is to extend commission concerns beyond employment to provide opportunities for firms owned by persons identified as members of racial and ethnic minorities in county government's procurement and contracting activities.

The committee, meanwhile, was told that Council and the county executive have a ways to go to bring 17 boards and commissions up to strength. Among them, there are 34 vacancies and 29 serving members whose terms have expired. The executive is charged with making some of the appointments and Council with others, but Council president Paul Clark said he expects a cooperative effort to fill the seats. Most of the appointees serve in a volunteer capacity while a few receive what amounts to token compensation. This table lists the current status of the panels.

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NEW DAY DAWNING: County Executive Christopher Coons praised1 the Friends of Rockwood for having held fast during the previous administration and said the volunteer organization will have a major role to play in promoting the park and assisting with activities there. "You could have chosen as a group not to re-engage," he said. "We have all endured some difficulty [during] the past few years. ... You can [now] look for a different relationship with New Castle County." He obviously was referring to the clash over its role with his predecessor, Thomas Gordon, but did specifically name him.

Speaking at a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the park's new visitors center on Jun. 5, Coons said county government "spent $16 million of taxpayer money" to restore and redesign the historic site. The center cost $6 million of that. Although he and others have criticized that as, at best, extravagant, Coons referred to the park as a "gem" and lauded it as a venue for educational and recreational activities for a broad array of patrons. Before Gordon and his administration decided to make it a showplace, the property was sparsely used and largely unrecognized for a quarter century since being donated to the county in 1976. (CLICK HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)

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AUDITOR LEGISLATION PASSED: The state House of Representatives passed a bill to redefine the role of the New Castle County auditor. Expected Senate approval of the measure, sponsored by Representative Gregory Lavelle, could end the long-running controversy over the position. Lavelle said a somewhat revised version of the legislation, upon which the House acted, was a compromise worked out with county officials. County Council in March enacted a resolution which included a version of what it would like to see enacted.

The proposed law would not specify a term for the auditor who would be appointed by County Council, but would require a two-thirds vote to fire him or her. The auditor would have to be a certified public accountant and would not be allowed to engage in partisan political activity. It calls for an audit committee of outsiders to oversee auditing activity and sets forth a procedure for initiating and reporting audits. Prior review by and comments from affected persons would be required before an audit report would be made public. (CLICK HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)

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It had to happen sooner or later -- Delaforum recently spotted a youngster conversing on a cellphone while riding her bicycle near Brandywine High.

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FINANCING SOUGHT: County Council has been asked to provide $614,721 in start-up money to launch two of County Executive Christopher Coons's initiatives. One of two resolutions expected to be voted upon on Jun. 14 would close out the housing development revolving loan pool to provide $414,721 to finance the 'problem properties' program. The other would move $200,000 from the fund to assist first-time homebuyers to the new 'hometown heroes' fund to assist emergency response personnel buy homes. Both of the funds from which the money is coming are self-renewing through repayment of previous loans.

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CONFIRMATION: It should come as no surprise to anyone who's been out on the highway lately, but a survey by G.M.A.C. Insurance found that Delaware is home to a lot of dumb drivers. The state ranked 35th -- tied with Kentucky and Mississippi -- in average score on a test on the rules of the road given nationally to 5,000 licensed drivers. General driving habits also were surveyed. Not to feel too bad, though. We outscored Pennsylvania (38th), Maryland and New York (tied for 44th) and, of course, New Jersey (47th). Rhode Island had the worst average score; Oregon the best. One out of 10 people who took the test failed it.

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Brandywine School District voters gave virtually unqualified endorsement to the school board and administration by overwhelming approving the final phase of its building renovations plan.

"This is one great community," exclaimed board president Nancy Doorey as she and other officials and supporters watched a decisive victory unfold as referendum votes were counted. The totals showed better

which approved the second phase of the three-phase plan. It will provide the district with all up-to-date facilities when completed in 2012. Planning is to get underway during the coming fiscal and academic year, while the second phase is being completed with renovations to Talley Middle and Lombardy Elementary. First project in the third phase will be complete renovation of P.S. du Pont Intermediate in fiscal 2007. (CLICK HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)

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