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State leaders sock it to seniors: Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor
Editorial cartoon

State leaders sock it to seniors

I just opened our 2017 property tax bill and found it $142.78 higher than the last.

It seems our esteemed representatives made good on "socking it to" Delaware seniors by reducing our school tax credit by $100. These are the same seniors who have not received a cost of living increase we can see in 3 years.  

Instead of reducing spending, waste and fraud, you just penalize the people who need it the most.
You should all be ashamed and, I hope, not re-elected.

Marilyn Helton

Smyrna

Wildlife protections need funding

Despite being the second smallest state, Delaware is home to over 2,800 unique fish and wildlife species thanks to our wide range of habitats. While many of Delaware’s wildlife species are thriving, others are declining in numbers. 

State fish and wildlife agencies have identified 12,000 species nationwide in need of conservation action. In Delaware alone, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has identified 688 species that are declining, including horseshoe crabs and weakfish. 

Nearly two decades ago, Congress created a program that would help prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. However, this program has remained woefully underfunded.

This means hundreds of species — birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and others—continue to slip through the cracks. 

We need annual dedicated wildlife funding from the federal government that is directed towards state-led efforts to help wildlife species in decline.

Without dedicated funding, hundreds of species will face increasing risks. We need leaders like Sen. Tom Carper, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Committee, to address America’s wildlife crisis by championing proactive conservation that is good for wildlife, good for taxpayers and good for business.

Let’s help DNREC and environmental protection agencies across the nation fulfill the goal of keeping today’s wildlife from becoming tomorrow’s memory.

Jim White

Senior Fellow of Land and Biodiversity, Delaware Nature Society

Why is climate change hard to grasp?

“Global climate change” – only three words, but evidently not so easy to understand.

A couple of winters ago, U.S. Sen. James Inhofe brought a snowball onto the Senate floor to make fun of the “hysteria” about global warming. More recently, a letter to The News Journal argued against global climate change on the grounds that it "has been a relatively cool first two weeks in August here in Delaware."

Now let’s see. “Global” — that means the whole world, the globe, not just one town or area such as Washington or Delaware.

“Climate” — that means weather over a long period of time, not just today’s weather or weather over the last few weeks. “Change” - Okay, so they got one out of three.

I guess it could have been worse.

Fred Schueler

Wilmington

Appeal the Overbrook decision 

The decision of the Chancery Court regarding the vote of two members of the Sussex County Council against the rezoning needed to create the Overbrook Town Center invites an appeal to the State Supreme Court.

The Vice Chancellor could not find in Councilman Wilson's concerns a reason for his vote against the rezoning. I had no trouble at all understanding that he was troubled by the addition this project would add to a growing traffic problem in the region.

The impact of the traffic on farms in the area and the difficulties that might be caused to crop dusting were also part of his concern. He said he was the only person on council who spoke for the interests of farmers.

Given the importance of Sussex County farming to the Delaware economy, that makes his belief that the rezoning would negatively impact the general welfare extremely important.

The court appears to have lacked some perspective on the thinking he expressed. An appeal to the Supreme Court should result in a different outcome, and a hearing en banc might be even better.

As one who can no longer drive to the beaches because the traffic on Route 1 is too much for me to handle, I applaud the Sussex County Council for responding to public concerns.

Christine Whitehead

Christiana Hundred