Delaware
Sussex County blocks state-approved plan for medical marijuana biz to open store
Chip Guy, the Sussex County spokesman, said Stark was mistaken in believing the county was awarding her a building permit.
“To be clear, the county DID NOT issue a building permit,’’ Guy said in an emailed response to questions about The Farm’s bid to put astore in Sussex.
Guy said an official “notified the applicant that the building plan review [tenant fit-out] had cleared initial steps. That is but one step that is part of the process in determining whether to issue a building permit in the first place.”
Guy said the county’s “due diligence’’ found that The Farm’s location simply did not qualify for approval.
Stark remains flabbergasted by the decision, saying she had relied on the state’s approval of the location as well as the state’s identified patient need for that area of Sussex.
“In my mind, when they approved that location and we started spending money and had rent to pay, and drawings put together, and had to start seeking other approvals and permits, it was an established use,” Stark said.
Robert Coupe, the state’s marijuana commissioner, said the state’s hands are tied as long as the current state law remains in effect.
“There’s nothing for me to do. They have to fight that fight,’’ Coupe said of Stark.
Coupe, whose office will soon issue 30 licenses for retail recreational marijuana stores statewide, added that Sussex’s “three-mile buffer, as it currently exists, definitely presents challenges for our selected applicants” in Sussex, where 10 retail licenses will be granted.
“If it appears that it will be difficult for them to find areas to operate, probably a focus for them will be on specific towns that have said they will allow operations,” he said.
Guy, who has not agreed to do any interviews on the Sussex law, wrote last month that he disagrees with the assertion that no parcels exist in unincorporated Sussex for retail stores. Yet he would not identify any permitted sites, or consent to a request by WHYY News to analyze the zoning map to find any.
Stark said she has spoken to a lawyer about her options, and if her efforts fail, is also considering whether to find a site elsewhere in Sussex, perhaps within the town limits of Frankford, which hasn’t banned cannabis stores.
“It’s ridiculous,’’ Stark said of her company’s predicament in Sussex. “And more people just need to know it’s ridiculous.”
Delaware
U.S. House GOP bans Delaware’s U.S. Rep. from same-sex bathrooms
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, has introduced legislation that would bar transgender women from using women’s restrooms and other facilities on federal property.
It comes just a few days after she filed a resolution intended to institute a bathroom ban in parts of the U.S. Capitol complex that she said was targeted at Delaware Congresswoman-elect Sarah McBride, a Democrat, who First State voters elected to serve as the first openly transgender person in Congress just two weeks ago.
Mace said to reporters Monday that McBride, who she misgendered during her comments, didn’t “belong in women’s spaces, bathrooms and locker rooms.”
While not specifically mentioning Mace’s bills, House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement Wednesday dictating that House policy in January would ban transgender women from using facilities — like bathrooms and locker rooms — that do not correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth.
“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” Johnson said in a statement. It was not clear how the policy would be enforced.
“Each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” he added.
Mace’s resolution, which she said she wanted to be included in the rules package for the next Congress, requires the House sergeant at arms to enforce the ban.
Delaware
Delaware Co. woman charged with DUI after crashing into Pennsylvania state police vehicle
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 10:33PM
A Drexel Hill woman has been charged with DUI after investigators say she crashed into a Pennsylvania State Police vehicle on I-476.
RIDLEY TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — A Drexel Hill woman has been charged with DUI after investigators say she crashed into a Pennsylvania State Police vehicle on I-476.
Police say Sara Lawver crashed into the troopers’ patrol car in Ridley Township just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Troopers were conducting a traffic stop at the time and barely avoided being hit.
No one was injured.
Lawver also faces charges of reckless driving and recklessly endangering another person.
Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Delaware
Today in Delaware County history, Nov. 20
100 Years Ago, 1924: From Washington, D.C.: The Census Bureau today made public estimates of the population of cities between 25,000 and 100,000 population as of July 1, 1924. The population of Chester was given as 66,602. These figures were published by the Times last July on special information from the Census Bureau. The last census, taken in 1920, gave Chester a population of 58,030.
75 Years Ago, 1949: Col. Frank K. Hyatt, Pennsylvania Military College president, is likely to remember today — his 64th birthday — a long, long time. At 7:30 a.m. Saturday, the popular prexy was routed from his bed by the din of the college band and the cheering of the students. When Col. Hyatt investigated the excitement at close range, he was presented with a television set and cries of “Happy birthday!”
50 Years Ago, 1974: Approximately 3,000 production and maintenance workers belonging to United Aerospace Workers Local 1069 went on strike early today against Boeing Vertol Co. It was the first walkout at the Ridley Township plant since 1968 when Local 1069 was out for four days. Local 1069 President Robert T. McHugh said today that negotiations had continued past the midnight deadline set by Local members when they voted to go on strike.
25 Years Ago, 1999: Aston police busted an underage drinking party after responding to a complaint early yesterday. Twenty-one arrests were made, with nine revelers from Aston, three from Delaware, four from West Chester, two from Glen Mills, and one from Folcroft, Media and Maryland. According to a report, officers responded to the 2200 block of Bridgewater Road about 2 a.m. They found two kegs of beer in a bathtub and began questioning those at the house. Officers quickly determined their ages were between 18 and 20. One 21-year-old male was also cited for public drunkenness.
10 Years Ago, 2014: A group of Widener University communications students published a magazine that features stories and photographs about the school’s home city of Chester. The project was undertaken by the five students of Sam Starnes’ magazine journalism course offered in spring. The students produced every aspect of the publication, including conceiving and writing stories, taking photos and helping to design the publication. “The students did all of the reporting and writing,” Starnes said. “We ran the class just like a newsroom.” Unveiled Thursday afternoon, the 28-page magazine includes photos and stories highlighting Chester’s arts community, Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Laran Bronze foundry and the locally owned Phatso’s Bakery.
— COLIN AINSWORTH
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