First for June 23, 2017

State of bees
Welcome to summer. For many people, it’s a time to enjoy all that nature has to offer. A big part of that is the relationship between bees and nature. In January the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee was added to the endangered species list. But Delaware is taking steps to keep track of such things. In this week’s First Look, we visit some Delaware beehives and meet the state’s new leader charged with keeping track of the bee population.

Delaware Education Desk
With $37 million dollars in budget cuts for public schools looming next year, protesters gathered on the steps of Legislative Hall in Dover this week to urge an alternative. They propose an increase in income taxes that will be enough to avert the loss of teaching jobs and school programs. One idea is fraught with controversy: having school boards raise taxes without letting voters decide in a referendum. With us today to discuss the issue is Kenny Rivera, a teacher who serves on the board of the Red Clay District.

Student Story Tellers
The flip side to all this talk about school funding can be found at Serviam Girls Academy. It’s tuition free for low-income families. The academy partnered this school year with award winning story teller Jesse Berdinka. It turned out both student and teacher taught each other something valuable.

State of Play: Boosting the pay of correctional officers
Earlier this week, Governor Carney announced an agreement to boost the take home pay for correctional officers by 22 percent. It was one of the recommendations in the state report on the prison riot at the Vaughn Correctional Center in February. Steve Tanzer of DelawareLiberal.net is here to discuss that and other topics in this week’s State of Play.

First Experience: Marvin and Eve Stone
For more than 35 years Marvin and Eve Stone worked as graphic artists for DuPont. Both Marvin and Eve are classically trained artists and after retirement they continued to do what they love, painting. We visited their home studios to see their lifelong love of art. It’s a love that is still going strong.