Jarek Rutz July 19, 2022 Headlines, Culture, Delaware Live
Wilmington library is one of three libraries nationally to receive the 2022 Museum and Library Service National Medal.
Wilmington Library ’s programming, which has included bringing Dennis Rodman and Angela Davis in as speakers, helped it win the highest award for libraries in America.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services selected the Wilmington Library along with five others across the country to receive t he 2022 Museum and Library Service National Medal.
There were two other libraries receiving medals out of a pool of 30 finalists: The Amistad Research Center in New Orleans and St. Louis County Library in St. Louis.
The Institute said medal winners “represent institutions that provide dynamic programming and services that exceed expected levels of service.”
The winners also “bring about change that touches the lives of individuals and helps communities thrive.”
Winning the medal was the latest in high profile events and awards.
In June, it was named the third most beautiful library in the country by Fodor’s Travel .
That followed the open-secret of Dolly Parton appearing in May at the library to celebrate the state’s involvement with her Imagination Library. That program gives one book a month to children from birth to age 5 in an effort to raise literacy.
Founded in 1788, the Wilmington Library is one of the oldest public libraries in America.
Part of its success, said director Jamar Rahming, is its commitment to being a mecca for different philosophies and mindsets.
“Recently we brought Dennis Rodman and the event was challenged because Dennis Rodman is known to be a friend of North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un,” he said. “Many said we should not have him, but as a library, we are a citadel of democracy, which means that we have to uplift intellectual freedom.”
The library also had actress Angela Davis speak during Black History Month and she’s a Marxist.
Jamar Rahming has been the director at Wilmington Library since 2015.
They played host to former NFL player Benjamin Watson, who’s vocal about his opposition to abortion.
“With Wilmington being a blue city, having people like them come was a conflicting worldview for many of our constituents, but they came in, they listened,” Rahming said. “When you sit in here, people can hear the context to their stories and their narratives, and they walk away no longer hating or loathing the person.”
Wilmington Library has an operating budget of about $2.5 million, but they use their endowment fund to hold events and hire speakers, and they don’t shy from controversy, said Rahming. He declined to say how much the endowment is.
“We decided that our role in the community was to be an innovative and inviting link for our constituents to the world so that they could be exposed to different worldviews and perspectives.”
Wilmington Library never uses taxpayer dollars to hire their speakers.
He said since starting his role as director in 2015, the pandemic was the greatest threat to the library.
“The biggest casualty of the pandemic was eroding a sense of community,” he said, “because people cannot come together and that’s where we find our strength.”
There’s power in community, he said, and that community engagement and social cohesion is what will stand the test of time.
Under Rahming’s leadership, Wilmington Library created their Community Engagement Marketing Department to bring a sense of family to those outside of the library’s walls.
One of their biggest initiatives has been Barbershop Books, where they set up pop-up libraries in barber shops throughout the city of Wilmington.
“We noticed that schools were having trouble with young black boys reading,” Rahming said. “The pop-up libraries made reading cool and added some swagger to it and associated reading with a male presence.”
Wilmington Library also has partnered with Harper’s Heart to provide free diapers four time a year to mothers in the community.
And, because Delaware’s food stamps do not cover baby formula, Wilmington Library holds risk-free feeding instruction sessions to train mothers how to feed their babies.
They also do backpack, shoe and coat giveaways throughout the year.
Rahmig said the need for libraries like the Wilmington Library is higher than ever.
“We have more information at our fingertips than ever before, but we’re dumber than ever,” he said.
People are educated by YouTube clips and social media minds, he said and don’t know how to tell real information from fallacies or propaganda.
Rahming will accept the medal Wednesday at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Carney agreed that a philosophy of trying to put kids into classroom seats clashes with restrictions on the economy.
Jane Brady, back to camera, talks to Republicans Saturday at state convention. Photo by Ethan Lang Jane Brady was re-elected as chair of the Delaware Republican Party Saturday, beating 2020 gubernatorial candidate Julianne Murray to hold on to her office. The vote came during the party’s convention, which featured a spirited debate between Brady and Murray, as well as calls for unity among Delaware Republicans. About 200 delegates and alternates met in Milford to vote on rules changes and officers to prepare for the upcoming midterm elections in 2022. Others were present on Zoom. “There is a fervent debate of the ideas going on here, and I, for one, am for it,” said Albert Boyce, one of the delegates from Kent County. “There are a lot of new faces here.” Brady prides herself on her communication and transparency. “I’m working on informing the public on various issues,” said Brady. “Delawareans don’t support what they are doing, but they don’t know. They don’t know how they are using their tax dollars in Dover.” Brady is ready for the midterm elections in 2022. “Every incumbent is subject to redistricting, and we are encouraging candidates both old and new to run,” she said. “If districts come to Sussex and leave New Castle, that gives us an incredible opportunity.” Brady hopes to expand the party and increase its reach. “We need to reach into communities with personal and particular relationships,” said Brady. “I want to take the party and grow it. We need to look beyond our core and reach out to these people who feel alienated and left behind.” About 200 Republicans gathered in person and on Zoom Saturday in Milford. Murray said she had nothing against Brady, but felt like she could take the party to the next level. Murray said that her campaign gave her a lot of traction and helped her make political inroads with voters who are disgruntled. “I have many people behind me that I can bring to the party,” she said. “I’m hard to ignore, and I can bring in grassroots involvement.” The shift to the left by Democrats has created a vacuum, Murray said. “There’s a large class of voters that don’t feel at home,” she said. “Democrats, a lot of them have been left behind.” Murray wants to include these voters under the Republican tent. “If they don’t want to register as Republican, at least consider our Republican candidates,” she said. She believes the party needs to be more visible: “We need to go on the offense.” “We’re not the party of just old, white men,” said Murray. “We need to show that the party has room for a broad amount of people, and we need to make sure more people feel included.” Also re-elected were Vice-Chair Pam Bakarian, who beat challenger Janyce Colmery, and Treasurer Dennis Cini. Former insurance commissioner candidate Julia Pillsbury was elected as secretary. Speaker Chris Kenny, chairman of A Better Delaware, talked about addressing economic opportunity and creating a higher quality of life for families in the state. Kenny also is the owner of DelawareLive. He stressed unity in the party. “We need to dispel this talk of RINOs in the party,” he said. “You need to have room for a diverse set of ideas and beliefs to grow the party and be successful.” Chris Kenny, right, speaks to the state Republican Convention Saturday Keynote speaker Paris Dennard is a national spokesperson and director of Black Media Affairs with the Republican National Convention. He’s been active with the Republican Party since he was 17 in Phoenix, Arizona, and worked with the Bush White House for four years and later returned to the RNC. He said it’s essential to be involved at the local level and tailor messages to specific states. “In my position, I want to take our message into as many households as possible,” Dennard said. “I want to increase our outreach, especially in markets we don’t usually reach.” Efforts like that helped former president Donald Trump more than double his percentages with black women and got 26% of the black male vote, Dennard said. “Our methods of engagement with the black community are making inroads, and we are going to continue,” he said. “What we are doing has never been done before by any national party; this level of engagement, this level of intentionality, it’s never been done before. We are growing the party.”
Delawareans under the age of 21 would be prohibited from purchasing, owning, possessing or controlling a firearm or ammunition under a bill passed by the House of Representatives Tuesday. The move comes just days after the House voted to ban most semi-automatic firearms. Exceptions include if the person is an active member of the armed forces or a qualified law-enforcement officer who possesses or uses a firearm as part of their job. Concealed Deadly Weapon Permit holders would also be exempt from the law. House Bill 451 does not apply to shotguns and shotgun ammunition, muzzle-loading rifles and deadly weapons other than firearms. Delawareans under the age of 21 would be allowed to possess or control a firearm for hunting, instruction, sporting, or recreational activity while under the direct supervision of a person 21 years of age or older. “We have not been on the news with our own version of Buffalo or Uvalde but that doesn’t mean we’re immune to the growing trend of mass shootings by young people,” said House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, the bill’s sponsor. “There’s also conclusive scientific research shows that human brains are still developing in young adults ages 18 to 21 which impacts with decision making, self control, aggressive impulses and risk taking behavior.” Mass shooters have typically been men between the ages of 18 and 21, Schwartzkopf pointed out. The age to purchase any alcohol and tobacco products in Delaware is 21, though numerous Republicans noted Delawareans do not have a constitutionally guaranteed right to drink or smoke. Their right to bear arms is protected, and not just by the United States Constitution. Delaware’s state Constitution says, “ A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State, and for hunting and recreational use.” “Frankly, before all these bills came up, I thought that that was just absolutely airtight,” said Rep. Rich Collins, R-Millsboro. “ I do not see why…a legal abiding person is required to give up their rights when you have language like that in your own state Constitution.” “This age-old argument between me and you about constitutional, whether we have the right to do this or we do not have the right to do this, we’re never going to settle it,” Schwartzkopf responded. “It has to be settled in the court and I’d just as soon get it there.” Schwartzkopf said he’d “live with whatever the judge says.” RELATED: Dem. bills would ban semi-automatics, under 21 possession Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, R-Clayton, said he thinks the bill could also be unconstitutional because it deprives gun owners between the ages of 18 and 21 of their property without remuneration. “Right now, 18, 19 and 20-year-olds do legally possess these items,” Spiegelman said. “This bill says that they will no longer be able to legally possess these items without performing other things which have costs associated with them…The concern I have is that is constitutional taking of property.” “I don’t believe so,” Schwartzkopf responded. “They could still use their weapons that they own — they just can’t do it by themselves. They have that supervision of someone 21 or older.” In a blog post Monday, the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action said the bill violates Delawareans’ Second Amendment rights. The bill infringes on the rights of people “who are legally adults and are deemed old enough to vote, serve on a jury, enter into binding contracts, get married, and enlist in the military, unless they first pay fees to the government and go through red tape to get their rights back,” the NRA wrote. Republican lawmakers were unsuccessful in attaching the following amendments to the bill: House Amendment 2: Exempts rimfire rifles and ammunition from the list of deadly weapons. House Amendment 4: Exempts married persons under 21 who own or jointly own a home or property. House Amendment 5: Exempts married persons under 21 who have been married for at least 6 months. House Amendment 7: Allow persons between 18 and 21 to purchase, own, possess, or control firearms if their parent or guardian consents in writing at the time of purchase. Two Republican-backed amendments were successfully passed and attached to the bill: House Amendment 3: Exempts members of the Delaware National Guard. House Amendment 6: Ensures a person who has control of a paintball gun will not be found guilty of unlawfully dealing with a dangerous weapon. Schwartzkopf added an amendment that allows individuals under the age of 21 to possess or control certain firearms that are otherwise excluded from the bill while legally hunting during hunting season. The amendment also makes clear that a person would not be in violation of the law if they use a firearm to defend themselves or their property so long as the use of force is justifiable under the state’s self defense laws. “I don’t know that you can ever take all these guns out of [mass shooters’] hands and make them not do that,” Schwartzkopf concluded. “I don’t know if we can do that. But we can make it harder.” RELATED: House committee OKs semi-automatic, under 21 purchase ban The House also unanimously passed two bills affecting guns Tuesday. HB 276, sponsored by Rep. Andria Bennett, D-Dover, makes clear that qualifying patients under the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act are not disqualified under Delaware law from possessing a firearm. That remains illegal at the federal level, but Delaware would not seek to prosecute such an offense. The bill passed 41 to 0 and heads to the Senate for consideration. HB 423, sponsored by Rep. Larry Mitchell, D-Elsmere, would reinstitute Delaware’s Firearm Transaction Approval Program, known as FTAP. Federal law allows states to conduct background checks through a state agency instead of directly through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS. Delaware used to operate its own system, but as a cost-saving measure in 2011, lawmakers voted to abolish the program and have federal firearm licensees conduct checks […]
Can declining numbers at Food Bank drive-thru mobile pantries be another sign the economy is coming back? The Food Bank of Delaware says that number of families picking up food at its monthly drive-thru mobile pantries has dropped in half since January’s round. The numbers have dropped so steadily that after the July round, the Food Bank will re-evaluate whether to continue them. The mobile pantries started in all three counties right after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring 2020 and tens of thousands of Delawareans lost their jobs. Even into January 2021, they were serving as many as 1,400 families at a single county site. Last month, though, about 700 people took advantage of the drive-thru in their county, said Kim Turner, spokeswoman for the Food Bank. “Numbers are dropping, which we are happy to see,” she said. “We are planning to hold the monthly distributions through July and then we will re-evaluate.” As the number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are dropping and the number of those vacacinated has risen, restrictions have changed and many businesses are operating more fully. Restaurants are allowed to bring more people inside, movie theaters are opening and travel and rental agencies say business is hopping. With businesses complaining they can’t find people to fill jobs, and many blaming it partly on high unemployment payments, Gov. John Carney has told the Delaware Department of Labor to reinstitute the requirement that someone on unemployment must prove that they have looked for a job in order to stay on unemployment. Many businesses are offering signing bonuses and more. The Delaware Restaurant Association — hardest hit by pandemic layoffs — has started a service that matches workers to restaurant jobs. All of that may add up to more opportunities for jobs, fewer people on unemployment and fewer people in line for help with food. Here’s what the Food Bank’s site breakdown looked like in 2021: January: Kent County, 1,000 (food ran out and was upped for next events); New Castle County, 1,234; Sussex Coun ty, 1,356. March: Sussex, 1,109; Kent, 1,264; New Castle, 1,109. April: Sussex, 827; Kent, 840; New Castle, 613. May: Sussex, 700; Kent, 771; New Castle, 649. February’s pantries were snowed out. June’s mobile pantries will be the week of Monday, June 7. The Sussex County event at Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown will start at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 7. Register in advance here. The Kent County site will be at Dover International Speedway in Dover starting at 11 a.m, Wednesday, June 9. Register in advance here. The New Castle County site will at Frawley Stadium and start at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 11. Register in advance here. The Food Bank will be prepared to serve up to 1,000 households at each pantry. While drive-up is available, receipients are asked to register and bring proof of ID and that they live in Delaware t to receive assistance.
Redrawing districts normally would happen in January, but because federal census data may not until summer, a special session will be called
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