Friends and neighbors,
The second leg of the 151st General Assembly is only a few short months away! In the meantime, I want to share a few legislative and community updates with you.
In this email, you’ll find updates on legislation I sponsored, local DelDOT projects, and two historic events that acknowledge and celebrate Delaware’s women’s suffragists.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, community concerns, or just to say hi. I can be reached by email at nicole.poore@delaware.gov, on Facebook, or by calling my Senate office at (302) 744-4164.
Thank you,
Nicole Poore
Senator, 12th District
Legislative Updates
In Delaware, our regular legislative session runs each year from the second Tuesday in January through June 30. To watch recordings of past proceedings, click here.
SB12 will expand the SEED scholarship program to working adults looking to develop new skills through Delaware Tech’s non-credit workforce development programs or its academic credential courses.
SB 123 expands the death benefit to all surviving spouses of persons killed in the course and scope of employment in order to ensure that all surviving spouses, including those who decide to remarry, are treated equally under Delaware’s Workers’ Compensation laws.
HB 125 adds Delaware to a growing list of states banning “ghost guns”, firearms made at home with kits or 3D printers to avoid background checks.
HB 122, also known as the Jamie Wolf Employment Act, ends the unfair practice of paying people with disabilities at a lower rate than Delaware’s minimum wage.
DelDOT Update
All Way Stop Control Pilot – Delaware Street and Sixth Street
Project Description: The existing traffic signal is being evaluated for removal and the traffic signal will be converted to an all-way stop control as part of a one-year pilot study.
Project Justification: In 2016, a traffic engineering study concluded that the existing traffic signal was not warranted based on traffic volumes and crash trends. The study also found that all-way stop control operations should satisfy safety concerns, operational expectations, and field condition considerations.
Project Timeline: Scheduled to begin on November 5, 2021.
Project Update: New stop signs, warning signs, and pavement markings will be installed along both Delaware Street and Sixth Street. Motorists should expect delays leading up to the conversion date, due to the presence of flaggers for the installation of signing and pavement markings.
Lane Closures on St. Georges Bridge for Deck Repairs
Deck repairs will be made to both directions of the St. Georges Bridge.
Project Timeline: The northbound lane closure will begin on Monday, November 8 from 7 a.m. and is scheduled to conclude by midnight on Wednesday, November 24, pending weather. The southbound lane closure will begin at 7 a.m. on Monday, November 29 and is scheduled to conclude by midnight on Friday, December 24, pending weather.
Message boards will be posted and detour signage will be posted for motorists
Dedication of the Equal Suffrage Study Club Historical Marker in Delaware City
The Equal Suffrage Study Club was founded in 1914 by and for Black women advocating for women’s voting rights and the inclusion of Black women in the suffrage movement. Earlier this month, we celebrated the Club’s ties to the 12th District.
As one of the most active suffrage organizations in the state, the Club led many lobbying efforts, marches, and community outreach initiatives. On April 13, 1920, with the encouragement of two Delaware suffragettes, Florence Bayard Hilles and Alice Dunbar-Nelson, a verbal resolution in support of the 19th Amendment was passed by the Club right here in the 12th District, at a colored schoolhouse formerly located near the site of a newly erected historical marker along the Michael N. Castle Trail.
It was an honor to join Rep. Longhurst, Jackie Griffith, and Dick Carter to recognize the work and leadership of the Equal Suffrage Study Club, Mrs. Bayarad Hilles, and Mrs. Dunbar-Nelson, to secure our right to vote, advance women’s equality, and make our state a better place for all women.
Where to find the marker: South of Kathy’s Crab House along the Mike Castle Bike Trail in Delaware City.
Unveiling the Delaware Women’s Suffrage Centennial Monument at Legislative Hall
Looking back 101 years, the ratification of the 19th Amendment seems so obvious to us now. But like all rights won by women, our right to vote did not come without a fight.
Brave women, strong women, like Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Blanche Stubbs, Ethel Black and so many others whose names we know and whose names have been forgotten to time fought and fought hard to have their voices heard.
They were shunned. They were arrested. They took up legal action again and again and were told to sit down and shut up.
Nevertheless, they persisted.
Earlier this month, we celebrated their determination and their legacy that has allowed women not only to be empowered, but in power, with the dedication of a monument at Legislative Hall.
Original source can be found here.
