Wrought iron and brick fence encircling the Edwin Johnson Homestead site just outside Maybell, Moffat County, Colorado.

Edwin C. Johnson served thirty four continuous years in public service to Colorado; Moffat and Routt County Legislator, Lt. Governor, three times elected Governor, and eighteen years as a United States Senator.

Ferne and Edwin Johnson erected this fence to preserve what was left of the home they built in 1910. This site is dedicated to all of the early homesteaders who helped settle Colorado.

Happy Fence Friday!

State legislators are again debating whether insurers should fully cover childbirth. Here’s why it’s different this time.

In Massachusetts, childbirth is subject to deductibles, copayments, and other out-of-pocket costs, which can be prohibitively expensive for the growing number of people with high-deductible health insurance plans.

Now, state legislators are once again considering a bill that would address these climbing costs by requiring insurers to cover the full spectrum of pregnancy care, from prenatal to delivery to postpartum, with no financial burden on members.

Napoleon I as Legislator, Musee d'orsay, Paris

Legislator Judy Jacobs (D-Woodbury) joined with members of the POB Seniors for a picture. Pictured with Judy are Loretta Obeda, RoseMarie Pinto, Marilyn Sacks, Rachel Staiano, Joseph Pinto, Connie Worrem, Abel Manha, Frank Staiano and Arnold Piellucci.

The "Full of Life", "Full of Fun", outstanding Plainview/Old Bethpage Seniors held their St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the Jamaica Avenue School in Plainview on Friday, May 19th. Wearing of the Green was the style of the day and laughter and good cheer filled the room.

Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France

Illinois, 16th District

What you see here; is a couple, blocking the bread I normally purchase. This was on 7-25-28, at 2:25 pm, at the Grand Junction, Colorado, Walmart. They were set up; before Koda and I, made the turn into the mile long bread section. They can be seen looking at us, as we turn, then stalling for several minutes. Directly in front of the bread I purchase. Blocking it completely. Maybe the guy thought I would be intimidated, by his size? Behind them, at the end of the aisle, was a Walmart employee, watching the whole skit. This is all captured on the Walmart, Grand Junction, Colorado, surveillance cameras. Can’t they, FBI Director Christopher Wray? This could be pretty much any Walmart, in the United States of America. Like the one in Laramie, Wyoming; depicted in my photostream.

They, along with many others; will set up in place. In front of items I purchase regularly. Like another woman on the same day. She had a small baby in her cart. She was attractive and nicely dressed. As Koda and I, approached the department I purchase a specific item in. She pushes her cart in front of that item, then walks away. Her cart had a small baby in it, wrapped in a baby carrier. She stepped away, then looks directly at us. This, again, was a conspired act. In hopes that I act out, and be persecuted for it. What are the chances that her child, will grow to be a bully in school, at work, or involved in Gang Stalking? We had another woman, using her teenage daughter, to get into Koda’s face, in hope he may act out. They followed us throughout the store.

Prior, to the above events; we were in the automotive section. A very well dressed, older woman; stood with her empty cart, in the oil section. She watched every move I made, and my oil selection. She was gathering information, for my next intentional blocking. She followed us throughout the store, then walked in front of our car, as we were leaving. Again, this is all captured on Walmart surveillance cameras. These cameras, many times, reviewed by our many Law Enforcement Agencies. So, why FBI Director Christopher Wray; don’t your Agents, do anything about Gang Stalking? They are fully aware of it, in the United States of America. They have been for decades!

We did come across a mother with two young children. One was in her cart, the other standing close to her, eating cheese squares. She said Mom, look at the dog. She was amazed at Koda, walking so calmly. We stopped, I very seldom do. I told the little girl “If you were to give him a piece of cheese, he will do tricks for you”. She smiled, but was afraid to approach Koda too closely. Koda sat patiently waiting a tasty cheese morsel. Her mother asked if it was OK. I said yes, but the little girl too shy, let her mother give it to him. Koda, was so gently taking it. He did several tricks for them, and the smiles were endless. We continued shopping, to be mobbed and harassed by others.

I’ve seen this over and over again, not the mother and two kids I just mentioned. Parents, willing to put their, and other children, possibly, in harms way, to harass my dog. This happened repeatably two years ago, in Grand Junction, CO. I called law enforcement, told the officer what was happening, showed him a couple of pictures. He said “next time this happens, take videos, and call me”. I did just that. After repeated phone calls and messages; he did not return any of my calls. These were people using young children, to harass Koda, right after I adopted him. American’s willing to put their children, in harms way, to harass a newly adopted, strange, dog.

Before we went to Walmart, we were at St Mary’s Hospital, in Grand Junction, Colorado. This like all hospitals; are supposed to be a place of help and healing. What we received was harassment and mobbing. Before we even entered the hospital, we were chased down by a guy with a weed-wacker. We walked towards the front side, of a patch of grass, so Koda could pee. As Koda, sniffs out a place to pee; the guy with a weed-wacker, comes rushing right at him. Koda, looked at him like the piece of shit that he is, and didn’t flinch or bark. I told Koda, as I do many times, “Koda, your working”. Me, on the other hand; walked up to the guy and asked “Is this how you harass a service dog, in Colorado”. He walked away quickly.

We walked into the main entrance of St Mary’s hospital, had a guy rush to crowd us, in the revolving door. Once we were in; there was a man playing a piano, in the main lobby. It was so loud, I couldn’t hear the woman, I asked for directions. She said something about the purple line. She had to repeat it several times. This tactic, is done to Targets, on a regular basis, They overwhelm you with noise, and talk over you; when you ask someone for help, or try to place a food order somewhere. In hopes, you are overwhelmed by the noise campaign, frustration, and won’t return. It didn’t faze me, Koda the Magnificent, and I, were on our way. We went to check into the clinic, but I was way early, and decided to go back to the main lobby. While I was driving, they called to schedule the appointment. It was at 1pm, but I scribbled down two number ones, making it look like 11. I get a lot of calls, while driving, or preoccupied by something.

The maniac, wasn’t smashing keys on the piano, anymore. I sat down, and Koda lay at my feet. There was a Security Guard standing in front of us. He and another guy, starts hugging each other. Perps, do this all the time; excessive, over-exaggerated, Public Displays of Affection. I mentioned before; these Perps have their tales, and they will throw it in your face. After the fake PDA, the other guy starts talking, almost yelling, pointing outstretched arm and finger, directly at Koda. He’s looking directly at Koda, while doing so. I said, “Sir, he’s a service dog”. The guy continues to point, talking extremely loud. He says to me, “I’ve raised more dogs than you’ll ever know”. He then starts doing a chicken dance. Flapping his arms. I looked to the Security Guard and asked, “are you going to allow this”. “This is a service dog”. He made excuses for the guy, and dismissed it. I asked if he knew the guy, he said he new his first name as Rod, didn’t know his last. They had pulled their skit, so the security guard walked away. They other guy was walking away too, but came back, pointing again. Again, It did faze Koda a bit. I nurse walked by, and I asked her; “is this the way you treat your patients”. She caught the tale end of it, as the Security Guard, just walked away from us. She said she would get a patient’s advocate, She did, the advocate spoke with me. I explained the situation, what had happens, as Koda lay at my feet. She said, she would gather more information, and call me back. She did, and told me the security guard, did tell her, he new the guy that was harassing Koda. The guard told me he didn’t really know him, just his first name.

Koda and I had enough of their bullshit. We had time to grab lunch, before our appointment. We walked about two blocks, to a Deli. As we waited for street lights across from the Deli. A woman came out from a child day care place. She stood in the small parking lot. She had something in her hand beside a phone. Then a car alarm went off, several feet from her. It continued, as the woman looked at us, in a stern manner. Once the light turn green, and we were able to cross, the car alarm stopped, and the woman went back inside. We get the car alarm treatment a lot. It’s another noise campaign, intended to onset anxiety in a Target. It didn’t faze Koda, we crossed, when the crosswalk audio began beeping.

We ordered our lunch, sat down and waited. There was no one ahead of us, but the stall began. The woman that took our order, clapping her hands for no apparent reason. She would walk behind the counter, throw her arms into the air, slap her palms to geather, and make a loud clap. It’s another Perp tale. They want you to know they are involved in Gang Stalking. She then brought out two big bags of ice, started slamming them on a counter, by the soda machine. She then, poured them into the top of the machine, as slow as possible. After that, she went back to clapping. A couple of people came in. A man that was eating when we came in, stood up, walked out of his way, to dispose of his trash. So he could stare Koda down, as he walked by.

We had our lunch and left. We just crossed the street, some guy was chasing us down with an electric cart thing. I’m supersized he didn’t have American flags, sticking out from the thing. I then heard a woman yelling, so I turned around. The woman that took our order at the deli, was yelling, asking if I left my credit card there. I knew I didn’t, I used a debit card. She asked if I was sure, I said yes. She wanted to stall me, as two young boys come racing at us on bicycles. The guy setting on the electric cart watching our response. These Perps, will do whatever it takes, to stall someone, until others show up to harass a Target. These same sequence of events, have been recorded and documented over and over. These conspired acts, have been repeated, from one state to another. It may change up a bit, but it’s always delaying a Target, so others can show up and get their licks in.

We made it back to the St Mary’s Hospital. We went to our clinic to check in. There was a woman in the clinic lobby, without a face mask. We get this often, in a required mask area. They want the Target to say something, to start a confrontation. I don’t bite, and the woman looked disappointed. The woman checking us in, wanted me to give her my social security and phone number out-loud. This was a small lobby, anyone in there could hear me giving personal information. Information, that can be used to steal your identity. The woman, even wanted me to repeat my social security number. Which was total bullshit. I told her, I shouldn’t be giving this information out-loud. They should have a form. She said they don’t, this is how they check people in. A lot of these acts, are designed to get a Target riled up, just before a blood pressure test. I just went with the flow, and got the ultrasound on my carotid arteries. The technician that did it, was decent, and enjoyed Koda. I told him, the only time Koda acted out, was when a doctor, had his finger up my ass, checking my prostate. I was kidding with him. This Hospital, has a 2 Star rating. I wonder why?

After our long morning of being baited, and hated; we headed back to camp. I spent the rest of the day, and night, trying to access, my medical records and MRI test. We vets, use MyHealthVet, to access this information online. I haven’t been able to access my MRI, and it was done on 5-27-22.

Here we are, and it’s Tuesday. I finally contact, tech support, with MyHealthVet. A woman named Monica, help me. I can’t give this woman enough praise. She spent over an hour with me. It wasn’t by catch, or browser. Someone had locked me out, my password was no longer valid, and I couldn’t reset it. She told me this happens often. I had the same thing happen, to my Flickr account. Monica, was finally able to remove my old password. This woman was extremely patient, kind and understanding.

I set a password and was able to download, and view my MRI results, and the images. They were worse, than I had anticipated. I could go into detail, but I’ll spare you. If you read my last post; you would have read the bullshit the Neurologist, with Barrows Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, puts me through.

I had my fist visit with him on 4-14-22. He said he reviewed my records, and if I was having vision problem in only one eye; it could not be a neurological problem. He, along with my VA primary care doctor, wanted to dismiss my physical problems, as migraine headaches. Even though, I told them I don’t have migraine headaches, I very seldom have mild headache. I asked for an MRI, on my brain.

He said there’s nothing in my records, warranting an MRI. I had to insist. They didn’t return my many calls to see if they received my MRI, for a video call on 7-18-22. On that call, he talks down to me again, telling me, it’s my responsibility, to insure they had it. When his staff, and Phoenix VA, Community Care person, didn’t return my calls for weeks. He still set up the video call, knowing they didn’t have it. Then on the call he tells me “anyone can read your MRI, to you”. But, they are holding off, releasing me to another physician, and Neurologist. Because, he wants to have another video call, go over my MRI (that he didn’t want done in the first place), so they can bill the VA, again. He is postponing, my care. Even though I told my physician, and the Community Team in Phoenix, the bullshit, they have pulled. I want to repeat this; my care is being delayed, so a man that didn’t want me to have an MRI, who’s staff doesn’t return my calls, so they can continue to bill the VA. This mans actions, and lack of, show; he could care less about my outcome, or receiving the Neurological care that I need. The nurse that has been corresponding with me, on my primary care team; has been a real dick too. They don’t want to release me to Grand Junction, either. When a patient is transferred to another VA facility, they lose their funding for that patient. Meanwhile, I’m denied the urgent care, I desperatly need.

Now, I’m setting up for a video call, with my Rheumatologist, in Phoenix. She’s one of the good ones. She puts all the bullshit aside, and looks out for her patients. I’m going on line, a black Cadillac, yes a Cadillac, parks about 100 meters behind us. Then, I hear a small drone flying around. I take a couple of pictures, from a window. They gather their things and slowly leave. I get cued to click onto the link. As soon as I do, gunshots, just to the left side of our motorhome.

I’m on the call now, my Rheumatologist able to access my MRI. She said, Rick, you need to see a Neurologist ASAP. I told her, I know. She was angered at the shit I’m going through, told me to keep a close eye on my blood pressure. Just as she did, a Jet dives, right over the top of our motorhome. It was probably, a National Guard Jet. They have a small base, in Grand Junction. Planes and jets, flight paths, are often diverted over a Targets whereabouts. It’s another conspired act, of overwhelming harassment. It also helps validitfy, the amoral actions of all the other minions. I will set up at a new boondocking site, in the middle of nowhere. Within a couple of days, there’s planes and jets, buzzing our motorhome. Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona; it doesn’t matter where I’m at. It’s not that I camp within flight patterns. The flight patters are changed, so aircraft can harass, surveil, and intimidate a Target.

Then, within minutes, the Village Idiots, start showing up. I have documented and recorded this, for many years.

We head back to St Mary’s Hospital, that afternoon. I had an appointment with a Vascular Surgeon. As we get close to the clinic within the hospital. One of the clinic staff is walking towards us, with her mask pulled down. As we get closer, she pulls it up. She left the clinic for her break, like the staff did in at the license branch, in a previous post. We walk into the clinic, no one at the window, so we set down in the unoccupied lobby. One of the women calls us back, said the other woman is gone, she will check check us in. She called us back to a crowded small hallway, so Koda and I could be mobbed. This creepy older couple walk right up to us, as we stood there at the counter. Then, there were a couple nurses, that had to get in on the action. The woman behind the counter, says she will get my information. As the older guy starts fake coughing, right in our face. He, and the woman, give Koda the stare down. She disappears, the guy steps to our other side. He continues to cough, as others work their way closer to us. This, all, in a very small hallway. The woman behind the counter said, “Oh, we already have your information. So, we just stood there. I finally had enough, and said, “if your done with this show, we will be in the lobby”. She quickly says, the nurse will take you back now.

The first thing the nurse did, was take my blood pressure. You can imagine, how high it is by now. We get this treatment all the time, at the VA. They do everything they can it elevate your blood pressure, so they can document it in your chart. But, when you try to address your valid medical problems, they dismiss them. Saying, if we don’t see it, we can’t put it in your records. The nurse took my vitals, and said the doctor will be in shortly.

The doctor knocked on the door, then entered, with two young women. He introduces them; one as a nurse in training, the other as his Physicians Assistant. Koda, laying at my left side. One of the women positioned to stare directly at him; as the doctor told me, one of my carotid arteries my be completely blocked. He said, we have had patients describe the gray curtain, in their eyes, like you have. He then says, there is no chance of a stroke. Which was bullshit. He may have had the two Honey Pots in there, in case, he has to collaborate a story. I have see this a lot, in questionable doctors. Like my Primary Care Doctor, in Phoenix. She and the Neurologist with Barrows, wanted to dismiss the extensive blood flow restrictions, as migraine headaches. Now, I’m seeing physical proof, that they are not. I’m falling on my face; because my brain is not getting the blood flow it needs, to produce the neurons, that signal for my left leg to lift, when I need it to. The doctor says he will, discuses the gray spot with the Ophthalmologist, and get back to me in 2-4 weeks. I have one artery completely blocked, blockage in another one, and he will get back to me in 2-4 weeks. I have addressed this with VA doctor, after doctor, for over two years. I’m told I’ll have to wait another 2-4 weeks, for a game plan. As brain tissue dies off, because of blood flow restrictions.

This is what happens to Americans, not gust veterans, that dare question, their medical care, or lack of. People go to a hospital for help and healing, and are harassed and dismissed. If you dare question these doctors, or medical facilities; your life will be a living hell. Like they did to my mother, in another Catholic Hospital. She truly feared the nurse treating her, after she took a bad fall in her 80s. My sister was there to witness, the rude and dismissive treatment. My mother pleaded with my sister, not to say anything. There are many great people in the medical field. Their dedication and sacrifices, are often overshadowed by the Bullies, that work along side them. Gaslighting and Workplace Mobbing, is off the charts in the medical field. Administrators, and what is labeled as leadership, allow it. Like many, many in the corporate world. Like our FBI Director.

The rest of the week, is filled with the same conspired acts of gaslighting, harassment and mobbing. We have the Village Idiots, walking around the back and sides of our motorhome, as we lay in bed at night. When I get up to pee in the middle of the night, they zoom pass the back of our motorhome. Like the Bully pictured in the white Tacoma, in the previous post. They will then stop and shine their lights, into our bedroom windows. I even had one shining their lights in to the bathroom, while I took a dump. I don’t know what kind of fetish, these sick fucks have with poop. Koda can’t take one outside; with out a plane and these idiots, showing up to watch, and harass him, as he scrunches up to drop one. It happened again this morning.

I spent the rest of the week making phone calls and emails to patient advocates and my primary care provider in Phoenix. They won’t transfer my care to Grand Junction. I was told by a dick in my primary care team; they will not release my care because the Neurologist that didn’t want me to have an MRI, scheduled a video call to read it. They won’t release my care to another Neurologist. I’m told, I need to coordinate with him, for a meeting on 8-18-22. I don’t know how I’m suppose to do this, when his staff won’t return my phone calls. Meanwhile, they bill the VA, for video calls. When, on the last one, he told me “anyone can read your MRI”.

Now were into Friday. I started writing this the day before. We’ve had the Village Idiots keeping us sleep deprived for three nights now. Zooming pass the back of the motorhome, walking around it, hitting the motorhome with something, as we lay in bed. They don’t want to be captured on camera, so they pick up the harassment and mobbing at night.

I took Koda for a short walk. A plane the keeps showing up as we step out, is overhead. It has a black underbelly, with white wings. I ignore it, and try to get Koda a little exercise. After, we went back in. I began my phone calls again. I called the Phoenix VA, to continue, trying to get my care transferred. I told everyone; I didn’t want to see the Neurologist from Hell again, or have anything to do with him. I told the young woman about the young patient advocate, that laughed at me, as I tried to explained what was going on. The supervisor that was trying to cover for the person in Community Care, that didn’t return my calls. They don’t seem to fucking get it. Veterans die every day; waiting for a phone call, or authorization for care. My close cousin did. He died in his mothers living room recliner. She was making him breakfast, called him into the kitchen. He didn’t come, she went into the living room, and found him dead, in her recliner. He was a Vietnam War Veteran, waiting for authorization, to receive VA care. Thiis is what happens, when Bullies, and Administrators, can pick and chose who receives care.

The woman I spoke with said she will forward this to the head supervisor, but she may not respond because its Friday. It was the 1st thing Friday. While I was on the phone with her; one of the Village Idiots is stopped behind our motorhome, harassing Koda, as he looked out the window. I stepped out with my camera, he spins off, throwing gravel and dust into the air. Here comes a plane again, buzzing directly overhead. I take a couple picks, go back inside.

I decided to call the White House VA Hotline. This was recommend to me by a Community Care Nurse, here in Grand Junction, trying to get me transferred. I spent an hour and 24 minutes speaking to a woman. I told her about the Neurologist dicking me around for months, and still wants too. I told her about being laughed at, by someone who was supposed to be my advocate. I told her about the Village Idiots shooting their high powered rifles over and in front of our motorhome. From Colorado, to Wyoming, to Arizona. I told her about the Village Idiots, keeping us up at night, and sleep deprived. I told her about me, being locked out of my medical and testing records. I told her, this is not a Biden Story, or a Trump Lie; these are facts. She didn’t seem at all surprised. She said she would start a case, it would take 2-4 weeks, for them to possibly get a resolution. Now, I have to wait another 2-4 weeks. How many veterans will die, waiting 2-4 weeks for a response? How may, Mr Denis Richard McDonough, VA Secretary? Meanwhile, Republicans block a bill, that would help fund the care of veterans dying from exposure to burn pits.

It’s not just the Republicans. Look at all the legislators that jumped on board, for the 880 billion dollar spending bill for defense. Or the 280 billion, to subsidies their buddies in the tech field, that will make billions from chip manufacturing. We have a former president that lied, pushed his lie, to start a 20 year war. Now, our legislators, won’t take care of the men and women that served in that war. How many of these legislators, have spouses, family, and corporate friends, making millions from these contracts. AS, they turn their backs on veterans once again. Right Joe! Have another televised meeting with your corporate friends, like you recently did. Like you did last year too. So, they can tell the American people, how great you are. Meanwhile, veterans are dying, awaiting care. Other veterans, and other United States Citizens, are being used as test subjects, for Direct Energy Weapons. Right, Mr. CIA, and FBI, directors.

It had been another taxing morning. It was mid afternoon, I was drained. I went to the bedroom, laid down to take a nap. Koda, lays at my feet. Withing 5 minutes, there was a jet, that dove right at, and over the top of, our motorhome. Not shortly, after my call, to the White House VA Hotline. Seriously people, this shit happens! The rest of the day was filled with noise campaigns, Village Idiots zooming pass, on a state highway. Every time we stepped out of the motorhome.

This is what happens to United States Citizens, that dare to speak out, about the vast corruption within our government, the defense and medical industry, and corporate America. This is what happens to Targeted Individuals, in the United States of America. It’s not a Biden, Bullshit Story, or a Trump Lie; these are facts. I don’t want your sympathy, your money. I want everyone to know the truth.

All photos, and content of my photostream, are free to download, copy, print and share. All I ask, is that they maintain my logos and copyright info. Help me share the truth! Knowledge, Truth and Exposure, are powerful tools. Please bare with me; when I try to post these truths, my internet speeds slows, or drops completely. Many times, unable to award those very deserving, in the many Flickr groups. I was even unable to edit my last post, from spelling and grammar.

Thanks for visiting our photstream. I have to go. Koda, is trying to protect me from the chipmunk, at our door. The poor guys has been a bit, stressed. He had to take a double poo, this morning; while planes and the Village Idiots, bombarded him with noise. Oh shit, here comes another National Guard Jet. I’m going to get some serious hate, from this post. My connection, just timed out.

Governor Greets Legislators As They Return for Session by Staff at House and Senate Chambers. 100 State Circle, Annapolis MD 21401

Some Indiana lawmakers concerned that operators with nefarious intentions could turn peeping drones into peeping Toms are pushing to criminalize using the high-tech flying gadgets for voyeurism.

Republican Sen. Eric Koch’s bill creates regulations that in part target operators who could...

www.dronewatchdogs.com/indiana-legislators-propose-laws-a...

Pennsylvania Congressman, Scott Perry, has mostly kept under the radar. He is now the head of the GOP's Freedom Caucus, part of the extreme right wing of the party. Like many, he tried to stop his state's legitimate 2020 electoral votes from being counted. Read more about the former retired Army National Guard brigadier general and some of the conspiracy theories he's pushed.

Americans have lost confidence in their government. We no longer trust our legislators and the Supreme Court to solve our country’s problems: income inequality, affordable health care, a woman's right to decide what’s best for her health, the economy, and climate change. Governance has become a series of battles. It’s no longer just political ideology. We are at war over cultural issues while our politicians ignore our basic needs.

The morals of our GOP legislators and their sycophants are just as important as their economic policy. How can we trust a party that Alex Patton, a Florida-based Republican consultant and pollster, has characterized as a party that “has become mean and driven by emotion on whom we dislike.”? “But,” he says, “that is the driving force in American politics right now.” That is the driving force of the GOP, not the Democrats. This is not an example of the equality of "bothsidesism."

In my essay, “It’s Time to Release Our Own Kraken!” I outlined the history of the Republican Party’s “below the belt” tactics. They continue to be underhanded to this day. But with the low level of civility in our present polarized country, many Republican legislators now in office have hit new ethical lows.

As a visual artist who has spent over a decade creating posters about the sorry state of American political discourse, this year I began a new series of portraits, “Faces of the Republican Party.” The men and women in this series deserve to be taken to task for their unwillingness to compromise, belief in conspiracy theories, and disdain for the LGBTQ+ community, women’s rights, and our children’s education. The purpose of our government is to solve our nation’s problems. It’s not a place for personal vendettas or manufactured cultural issues.

“Faces of the Republican Party” is not a partisan series of portraits. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person, especially one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance.” The people depicted in these images are the partisans. Instead, my series is a documentary and op-ed showcasing the facts in 2022. All of these people had a hand in trying to overthrow the government. These images are MAGA Republicans who put their blind allegiance to Donald Trump and their careers ahead of the needs of the American people.

The results of the 2022 midterm elections showed we are tired of autocratic and self-absorbed politicians. We would simply like our officials to do the jobs we elected them to do. Everyone deserves a piece of American Exceptionalism. As it stands, there is nothing exceptional about the tribalism these people promote.

Republicans are perfect examples of Patton’s “driving force.” This force is dirty, mean, misogynistic, selfish, and wastes our tax dollars. These people are just a small sampling of individuals responsible for the loss of credibility and faith in America’s institutions. And worse, they couldn’t care less.

Feel free to pass this poster on. It's free to download here (click on the down arrow just to the lower right of the image). Each has a special Creative Common's copyright that allows you to share these images as long as there is attribution, no derivatives, and you do not use these for commercial purposes.

See the rest of the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here (click the down arrow on the lower right side of the image). Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.

Follow the history of our country's political intransigence from 2010 to 2020 through a eight-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture.

These are photographs from the gun-control rally held at the Broward

County Courthouse on February 17th, 2018 in response to the vile

murder of 17 children and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

School in Parkland, FL.

5MGP2524

Americans have lost confidence in their government. We no longer trust our legislators and the Supreme Court to solve our country’s problems: income inequality, affordable health care, a woman's right to decide what’s best for her health, the economy, and climate change. Governance has become a series of battles. It’s no longer just political ideology. We are at war over cultural issues while our politicians ignore our basic needs.

The morals of our GOP legislators and their sycophants are just as important as their economic policy. How can we trust a party that Alex Patton, a Florida-based Republican consultant and pollster, has characterized as a party that “has become mean and driven by emotion on whom we dislike.”? “But,” he says, “that is the driving force in American politics right now.” That is the driving force of the GOP, not the Democrats. This is not an example of the equality of "bothsidesism."

In my essay, “It’s Time to Release Our Own Kraken!” I outlined the history of the Republican Party’s “below the belt” tactics. They continue to be underhanded to this day. But with the low level of civility in our present polarized country, many Republican legislators now in office have hit new ethical lows.

As a visual artist who has spent over a decade creating posters about the sorry state of American political discourse, this year I began a new series of portraits, “Faces of the Republican Party.” The men and women in this series deserve to be taken to task for their unwillingness to compromise, belief in conspiracy theories, and disdain for the LGBTQ+ community, women’s rights, and our children’s education. The purpose of our government is to solve our nation’s problems. It’s not a place for personal vendettas or manufactured cultural issues.

“Faces of the Republican Party” is not a partisan series of portraits. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person, especially one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance.” The people depicted in these images are the partisans. Instead, my series is a documentary and op-ed showcasing the facts in 2022. All of these people had a hand in trying to overthrow the government. These images are MAGA Republicans who put their blind allegiance to Donald Trump and their careers ahead of the needs of the American people.

The results of the 2022 midterm elections showed we are tired of autocratic and self-absorbed politicians. We would simply like our officials to do the jobs we elected them to do. Everyone deserves a piece of American Exceptionalism. As it stands, there is nothing exceptional about the tribalism these people promote.

Republicans are perfect examples of Patton’s “driving force.” This force is dirty, mean, misogynistic, selfish, and wastes our tax dollars. These people are just a small sampling of individuals responsible for the loss of credibility and faith in America’s institutions. And worse, they couldn’t care less.

Feel free to pass this poster on. It's free to download here (click on the down arrow just to the lower right of the image). Each has a special Creative Common's copyright that allows you to share these images as long as there is attribution, no derivatives, and you do not use these for commercial purposes.

See the rest of the posters from the Chamomile Tea Party! Digital high res downloads are free here (click the down arrow on the lower right side of the image). Other options are available. And join our Facebook group.

Follow the history of our country's political intransigence from 2010 to 2020 through a eight-part exhibit of these posters on Google Arts & Culture.

Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

State Representatives David Livingston, Michael Carbone, Quang Nguyen, Tim Dunn, Selina Bliss, Consuelo Hernandez, Alma Hernandez, Leo Biasiucci, Lupe Diaz and Teresa Martinez, and State Senators Frank Carroll, Sine Kerr and T. J. Shope speaking with the media at a press conference for HB2509 at the Arizona State Capitol building in Phoenix, Arizona.

Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.

LPG Tanker

Year Built: 2022

Flag: Liberia

Home Port: Monrovia

Legislators, invited guests and members of the media attend a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 16, 2019, in High Bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The VAB is getting its first commercial tenant. Northrop Grumman signed a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA for use of the facilities. The company will assemble and test its new OmegA rocket inside the massive facility’s High Bay 2. The company also will modify MLP-3 to serve as the launch vehicle’s assembly and launch platform. Northrop Grumman is developing the OmegA rocket, an intermediate/heavy-class launch vehicle, as part of a launch services agreement with the U.S. Air Force. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

Deatil of the place settings in the dining room at the Springwood estate of Franklin D. Roosevelt. All furnishings are original, and the house remains unchanged since the day Eleanor Roosevelt vacated it in 1946. To the rear is the breakfast nook added by James Roosevelt, Sr. (FDR's father).

The table and chairs are walnut. The table is set for two, but can seat up to 12. Most of the dinnerware and serving dishes in the home are from China. The glassware and silverware are American.

This is at the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York. The claim of Native Americans to the area was ignored by King William III and given to nine New York City businessmen in 1697, and called the "Great Nine Partners Patent". A two-story wood frame house facing east was built on the property sometime between 1790 and 1805. It was 46 feet by 39 feet with a heavy timber frame. Crude bricks were mortared in place between the framing timbers. The house was covered in wide clapboards, with minimal decoration in the Federal style. The windows were two rows, each three panes wide. There were two sashes (one window above, one below), and both could be moved. (In jargon, this a "six-over-six double-hung sash".) These were symmetrically placed in the façade. (The house still features some of these in the central part of the building.) It also had a full basement.

Josiah Wheeler purchase a one-square-mile portion of the property in 1845. Wheeler added a three-story tower to the south end and a two-story servants' wing to the north. The Wheelers also added a garden to the north and east of the house and planted a hemlock hedge around it. (This hedge survives to this day.) Wheeler also added acreage to the estate, enlarging it to 110 acres. He also added a large stable (1850), laundry house (1850), small ice house (1847-1865), and gardener's cottage (1845-1865).

Franklin Roosevelt's father, James Roosevelt, bought Springwood in 1866 for $40,000 (at a time when a factory worker's earnings were $325 a year ). Roosevelt added two elements to the dining room: One was a deep bay (now the breakfast nook) to enlarge the dining space. The other was a two-story, modified hexagonal tower to the north of this nook. On the first floor, this tower was accessed via a door in the breakfast nook, and contained a smoking room. On the second floor, there was a small bedroom accessible from the "Chamber #6" bedroom. When the drawing room was refinished and new furniture added, the old furniture went into the south parlor. A delicately carved mantelpiece was installed there in 1887 to add class. In 1892, the main staircase leading from the lobby to the second floor was installed, and a year later the verandah was extended around the southwest and south parts of the house. James Roosevelt also added another 490 acres of land to the property, and not only farmed the property but used it for forestland. He also added a very large kitchen garden (1880), coach house (1886), duplex house (for staff housing; 1895), and large ice house (1898).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882. The Roosevelts had no other children, and James Roosevelt died in 1900. (Franklin had an older half-brother, "Rosey", who lived in a mansion just south of Springwood.) Franklin married his first cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1905. Sara had a "life estate" in the house. This meant that she could live there until she died, although the mansion belonged to Franklin. FDR's first child came in 1906, and he and Eleanor had five more over the next 10 years. With a rapidly expanding family, and Sara living in the house, major changes were needed. Springwood was electrified in 1908. In 1915, a massive upgrade was made to the structure, designed by Hoppin and Koen of New York City. The clapboards were removed and the exterior of the house finished in stucco. A new tower was constructed around the south parlor to match the north tower, and stone north and south wings added to the building. The south wing had a library on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second. The north wing had a large new kitchen in the rear (complete with "cold room"), and a servants' hall and small classroom (that later became FDR's study) for the children in the front. A loggia was added to the front of this wing, and a porch to the north side. On the second floor of the north wing were eight small servants' bedrooms, two new baths, a trunk room, a tiny valet's room, and a new servants' stairs. An entirely new third floor was added over the main building that contained a large playroom, nursery, three bedrooms, two baths, and two tiny "visiting servants" bedrooms. The third floor also featured elliptical and half-round windows capped with swags. The main entrance was also gussied up, with a four-columned portico. Window panes in bo0th new wings were eight-over-eight double-hung sash windows, and a roof balustrade placed atop the entire structure. Over time, Franklin also added a greenhouse (1906), garage (1911), rose garden (1912), and pump house (1916), and added another 900 acres to the property. During his lifetime, Franklin Roosevelt planted more than 200,000 trees (some in tree farms, others in orchards, some as reforestation projects) on the estate.

Until 1941, the two ice houses were filled with ice from the two large artificial ponds on the property. FDR claimed the ice had a special taste that made cocktails better. The night before each election day, Roosevelt's neighbors came in a torchlight parade to the front of the house to wish him good luck. He spent every election night in the dining room with his advisors. From the study in the north wing, Roosevelt delivered some of his famous "fireside chats".

James Roosevelt, his first wife Rebecca Rowland, and his second wife Sara Delano were art collectors. Franklin, too, was a collector – albeit of naval prints and taxidermied animals. Springwood contains family heirlooms going back more than 200 years; numerous pieces of porcelain, jade, wood, and painting from China; an extensive collection of family portraits (some by famous painters, like Gilbert Stuart); and statuary (bronze and marble).

The only building at the Springwood estate which is not original is the large Stables. The original structure burned to the ground in 1971, and was replaced by a steel-beam reproduction in 1974.

Interestingly, the Greenhouse (which cost a staggering $3,700), has three sections. The south and largest section is a hothouse for roses. The middle section is sealed to create moisture for ferns, and the northern section is cooler for plants like carnations. It remains in use today, providing plants for Springwood.

The Gardener's Cottage and Duplex House are both used as employee residences today.

In 1935, Franklin Roosevelt donated the Springwood mansion and 33.23 acres of land around it to the United States. He also donated 12 acres of land for a library, and designed and constructed on that land a presidential library. Congress accepted the donation by passing the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and legislation accepting the library building in 1939.

About 600 feet to the northwest of the Springwood mansion is Bellefield, the mansion of the Newbold/Morgan family. Originally constructed about 1795, the 16-room house was greatly enlarged between 1840 and 1860. Thomas Newbold, a wealthy local investor and state legislator, purchased the residence about 15 acres of land in 1885. The Newbolds, and their descendants the Morgans, were good friends of the Roosevelts. It is used for employee housing and office space today.

Governor Greets Legislators As They Return for Session by Staff at House and Senate Chambers. 100 State Circle, Annapolis MD 21401

Senator James Beach visited Stockton University as the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy's fall Legislator-In-Residence.

Photo: Stacey Clapp/ Stockton University

Statue of Phillip, Department of Lands building, Bridge St, Sydney.

Each facade has 12 niches whose sculpted occupants include explorers and legislators who made a major contribution to the opening up and settlement of the nation. Although 48 men were nominated by the architect, Barnet, as being suitable subjects, most were rejected as being 'hunters or excursionists'. Only 23 statues were commissioned, the last being added in 1901 leaving 25 niches unfilled (Devine, 2011). In Nov 2010- a new statue of colonial surveyor James Meehan (1774-1826) was created and placed in an empty niche on cnr. Loftus/Bent Streets.

Phillip, Arthur (1738–1814)

by B. H. Fletcher

This article was published in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (MUP), 1967

Arthur Phillip (1738-1814), admiral and governor, was born on 11 October 1738 in the parish of Allhallows, ward of Bread Street, London, the second child of Jacob Phillip, a language teacher who came to London from Frankfurt, and Elizabeth, née Breach, former wife of Captain Herbert, R.N., a relative of Lord Pembroke. It was possibly the influence of his mother that was instrumental in determining his future seafaring career. On 24 June 1751 he was enrolled on 'the establishment of poor boys' in the Greenwich school for the sons of seamen. Thus began a period of apprenticeship in the mercantile service that was completed in 1755 after two years at sea under Captain Redhead in the Fortune. During the Seven Years' war he saw active service in the navy, to which he had transferred. On 7 July 1761 he was provisionally appointed lieutenant, the promotion being confirmed a year later following an engagement resulting in the capture of Havana. With the coming of peace on 25 April 1763 he was retired on half-pay.

Save for the months between 13 November 1770 and 8 July 1771, when he served in H.M.S. Egmont, his connexions with the British navy in the next fifteen years were largely nominal. Probably much of his time was taken up with the properties known as Vernals Farm and Glasshayes which he acquired at Lyndhurst, Hampshire. There he had settled with his wife Margaret, the widow of John Denison, a prosperous London merchant. The marriage was celebrated on 19 July 1763, but could scarcely have been happy for by 1769 the two were separated. In 1774-78 Phillip served with distinction in South American waters as a captain in the Portuguese fleet, which he entered with the Admiralty's permission after the outbreak of the Spanish-Portuguese war. In 1778 he returned to the English navy. In November 1781 he was made a post captain and was given command of the 24-gun Ariadne; on 27 December 1782 he left her to take charge of the 64-gun Europe, taking with him his friend, Lieutenant Philip Gidley King. His sealed orders sent him to India, but he saw no action in either vessel and was again retired on half-pay on 25 May 1784, after the signing of the peace treaties which ended the wars connected with the struggle of the British colonies in America for independence. He then spent a year in southern France and, when appointed the first governor of New South Wales on 12 October 1786, was engaged in survey work for the Admiralty.

By then Phillip was a man of mature years whose attainments, though not particularly outstanding, were solid. From inauspicious beginnings he had risen largely through his own merit, attracting favourable comment from those under whom he had served. The Portuguese authorities had described him as brave, honest, obedient and self-sacrificing. Experience had broadened without hardening or coarsening his somewhat sensitive nature and in a variety of ways prepared him for his new task. He was accustomed to command men and had even, while in the Portuguese navy, transported convicts from Lisbon to the Brazils. His naval training proved invaluable on the trip to Botany Bay and stood him in good stead when exploring the hinterland. Work on his Lyndhurst property had made him familiar with at least the rudiments of farming and added yet another dimension to his qualifications. How far these considerations weighed with the British government is difficult to say, for the circumstances surrounding both their offer and his acceptance of the governorship remain obscure. The first lord of the Admiralty had nothing to do with it, for Lord Howe, though prepared to accept the decision, stated that he personally did not think Phillip suited to the task. The governor's detractors maliciously claimed that he was chosen to rid the authorities of one pressing for preferment. It has also been suggested that Lord Sydney, faced with the need hurriedly to find someone for a mediocre post that no one else wanted, offered it to Phillip who was known to be reliable and trustworthy. Perhaps the most likely explanation is that the appointment was made on the advice of Sir George Rose, treasurer of the navy, who lived near Lyndhurst, knew Phillip and was impressed by him. Whatever the reason Phillip was presumably attracted by the prospect of returning to active service in a capacity that could satisfy his desire for adventure and his wish to command.

To the British government the new settlement was primarily to be an outlet for convicts whom it was undesirable to keep at home and impossible to transport elsewhere, but Phillip was inspired by the vision of a new outpost of empire growing up in the South Seas. He showed himself anxious to encourage free settlers to migrate, drew up plans for their reception, urged the extension of British law for their protection and resolved to insulate them from the contamination of convicts. 'As I would not wish convicts to lay the foundation of an Empire', he observed, 'I think they should ever remain separated from the garrison and other settlers that may come from Europe', even after their sentences were completed.

When these words were written Phillip was immersed in preparations for the sailing of the expedition and the planning of the actual settlement. His correspondence with the authorities between October 1786 and May 1787 revealed a sound grasp of administrative detail and a degree of foresight that confirmed the wisdom of their choice. In contrast to his superiors he displayed an awareness of the multitudinous problems inevitably involved in transplanting Englishmen to a little-known land on the far side of the globe. Not all his proposed solutions were accepted, but enough were incorporated to support the claim that he made a noteworthy contribution to the organization of the venture. Besides offering practical advice Phillip also enunciated some of the principles that were intended to guide his conduct. He proposed to treat the Aboriginals kindly and to establish harmonious relations with them. He resolved to try to reform as well as to discipline the convicts. In these respects his views were in keeping with the more advanced opinion of his age. Similarly his rational approach to life and indifference to religious fervour stamped him as a product of the eighteenth century and a not untypical member of the contemporary Church of England into which he had been baptized.

The First Fleet left England on 13 May 1787 and arrived at Botany Bay on 18 January 1788 after a voyage whose success again owed much to Phillip's care. The original site proved unsuited to settlement. Three days later Phillip discovered an appropriate spot at Port Jackson and on 26 January landing operations began there. All told 1030 persons went ashore, of whom 736 were convicts, including 188 women, the rest marines and civil officers, 27 with wives, and 37 children. These people formed the human material for a gaol and not surprisingly were placed under a form of government that gave an unusual amount of power to the governor. Phillip's first and second Commissions, dated 12 October 1786 and 2 April 1787, appointed him as the representative of the Crown in an area embracing roughly the eastern half of Australia together with adjacent Pacific islands. His responsibility was solely to his superiors in London and he was expected to carry out their orders as embodied in his first Instructions of 25 April 1787, his second Instructions of 20 August 1789 and official dispatches. Within these limits his powers were absolute. The Crown vested him with complete authority over the inhabitants and gave him the right to promulgate regulations touching practically all aspects of their lives. He combined executive and legislative functions and could remit sentences imposed by the Civil and Criminal Courts established under a warrant issued on 2 April 1787. Only the crimes of treason or wilful murder were exempt from this provision, but even here he could grant a reprieve while awaiting advice from London. Distance from Britain and the relative indifference of the Home Office towards the affairs of the infant colony enlarged even further the scope of the governor's initiative and increased his responsibilities.

The subordinate officers appointed to assist him proved of varied merit. Some worked diligently enough in their particular spheres and in addition made their mark as explorers or commentators on the contemporary scene. Several left behind journals of literary merit and historical value. Rarely, however, did they share Phillip's vision and enthusiasm, and most quickly came to despair of their mission, wrote home in gloomy tones of the hardships they were obliged to endure and urged the abandonment of the settlement. None felt more strongly on this score than the marine officers and their testy commander, Major Robert Ross, who was also lieutenant-governor and Vice-Admiralty Court judge, and described New South Wales as the 'outcast of God's works'. The officers, construing their duties as being primarily military, caused Phillip much trouble. They refused to help in supervising the activities of the convicts even though, through the oversight of the British authorities, few suitable persons were available, and they objected to having to sit on the Criminal Court. Their discontent was heightened by the fact that unlike emancipists they were denied free grants of land and lacked the opportunity to secure any of the other perquisites traditionally associated with colonial service. Ross made matters worse by his high-handed actions, such as the arrest of five of his officers, which created friction in the mess and prompted Lieutenant Ralph Clark to describe him as 'the most disagreeable commanding officer I ever knew'. Although at first on reasonable terms with Phillip, Ross soon became quarrelsome, acting both as a focus of discontent and a major irritant. He supported and encouraged his fellow officers in their conflicts with Phillip, engaged in clashes of his own, and complained of the governor's actions to the Home Office. Phillip for his part, more placid and forbearing in temperament, was anxious in the interests of the community as a whole to avoid friction between the civil and military authorities. Though firm in his attitude he endeavoured to placate Ross, but to little effect. In the end he solved the problem by ordering Ross to Norfolk Island on 5 March 1790 to replace P. G. King, the commandant there, whom he had previously decided to send to England to report personally on the establishment.

Far from being able to fall back on his aides in the initial trying years, therefore, Phillip had to struggle against widespread defeatism and occasional opposition. The attitude of the marine officers affected their men and possibly the convicts who had least cause of any to feel content with their lot. Partly to counter this attitude Phillip in his dispatches highlighted favourable developments and concealed the personal misgivings that constant tribulation must have led him to experience from time to time. Not the least of his accomplishments was to help to keep faith in the venture alive in official circles in London, and provide the optimism as well as the leadership without which morale in New South Wales itself might have crumbled completely.

Phillip's enthusiasm is all the more remarkable in view of the fact that during his five year term of office the colony assumed a shape that was not in accord with his wishes. Instead of the migrants whom he sought to encourage with grants of from 'five hundred [202 ha] to one thousand acres [405 ha]' and the assistance of 'not less than twenty men' maintained at government expense for two years, only convicts arrived. Nor was this surprising. When the Home Office finally dispatched Instructions to Phillip in August 1789 authorizing him to give grants to migrants it was on terms far less generous than he had contemplated. People leaving England lacked any real incentive to come to New South Wales and continued to sail for more accessible parts of the empire that were untainted by the stigma of convictism. Only thirteen venturesome souls departed for Sydney in the first five years and none of these landed until after Phillip's departure. The governor had expected a variety of advantages to flow from the presence of migrants; besides forming the basis for the kind of settlement he hoped would emerge, he thought they would also prove of practical value from the penal standpoint by assisting in administration and convict control, by employing the prisoners and by setting an example for them to follow. Inspired as they must be by the profit motive they would quickly make the settlement self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs. Their failure to materialize forced Phillip to depend on methods which he would have preferred to drop and which further increased his burdens.

Between 1788 and 1792 about 3546 male and 766 female convicts were landed at Port Jackson and handed over by the contractors to the governor, who faced the task of deciding how their sentences were to be served. Anxious to keep costs low the British government insisted that they be disposed of in such a way as to involve the Treasury in a minimum of expenditure. Previously, in the American colonies, settlers had taken them into employment, but in the absence of private employers in New South Wales most convicts remained in government hands throughout the first five years, and upon Phillip devolved the responsibility for directing their energies. The task was not made easier by the characteristics of the convicts themselves. Historians no longer regard them as the innocent victims of adverse social conditions and a harsh penal code. In dispelling this myth recent research has presented them as including a high proportion of professional criminals drawn from the more worthless element in society. Certainly they were for the most part unfit subjects for an experiment in colonization. Not unnaturally they resented being wrenched from their homeland and taken to a harsh, hostile and uncivilized land. Phillip found them lazy and anxious to escape work by any means possible. Few were mechanics or knew anything of agriculture, and each of the fleets that arrived up to 1792 contained a high proportion of aged and sick who were unfit for work. Worst of all was the Second Fleet which arrived in June 1790 after losing more than a quarter of its 'passengers' en route through sickness. Phillip's reports on the unscrupulous behaviour of the private contractors helped to produce improvements, but not until after the Third Fleet had arrived bearing convicts whose physical condition appalled him once more.

Matters were made even worse by continuing privation within the settlement itself resulting from the shortcomings of local agriculture and the failure of supplies to arrive on time from overseas. The crisis reached a peak in 1790 after the wreck of the storeship Guardian off the Cape of Good Hope; although the situation eased in 1791, it remained uncertain and even when the full ration could be issued it was generally unappetizing and often of poor quality. Under such conditions the health of the convicts deteriorated and they found prolonged manual labour difficult. Faced with a lack of suitable personnel to act as supervisors Phillip selected superintendents from among the better-behaved convicts, placed them under the few free men in the settlement, ex-marines, a few from the ships' crews, and some whose sentences had expired. He encouraged gardening. He had dispatched a party to Norfolk Island within a month of his arrival, and constantly reinforced it when he found that the island was more fertile than the land around Sydney. He exercised great care in distributing the ration and insisted on complete equality for all regardless of their standing. Some writers have attached the label communism to this egalitarian system. Such a term connotes a body of dogma completely foreign to Phillip and is highly misleading. The governor based his actions on no particular set of beliefs except a broad humanitarianism. By nature self-sacrificing he was not prepared to inflict greater suffering on others than on himself and he felt that gradations in the ration were unfair in time of scarcity.

Phillip's measures at best proved mere palliatives, but they helped to keep the settlement alive in its early years. In 1791 the marines were replaced by the New South Wales Corps. In the light of what was to come this may appear unfortunate, but Phillip's relations with the corps, though marked by occasional disagreement, were reasonably pleasant, partly because its officers had not then acquired the economic interests that led to conflict with later governors. The military commandant, Major Francis Grose, was easygoing and affable; his only recorded disagreement with Phillip arose from his action in permitting his officers to charter a vessel to procure necessities from the Cape of Good Hope. Unlike Ross, Grose was highly impressed with the colony, and his attitude was shared by many of his officers and a number of the convicts, who showed an increasing tendency to settle after their sentences were completed. The more regular arrival of ships from overseas and the beginnings of trading contacts with foreign speculators lessened the feeling of isolation besides improving supplies. More important, however, by now much of the initial spadework had been completed and the outlines of a permanent settlement were becoming more firmly etched.

The community which, under Phillip's guidance, was gradually establishing itself, remained confined to a minute portion of the vast region over which his jurisdiction extended. The governor himself had from the outset been anxious to gain information about the hinterland of Port Jackson. Curiosity, the need to find areas of good soil, and a desire to escape tensions at headquarters all played a part in prompting his explorations. The difficulties of the terrain, the problems involved in provisioning a lengthy expedition through inhospitable country and the impossibility of being away long from the centre of affairs prevented him from penetrating very far inland. Nevertheless trips in which he took part resulted in the discovery of the Hawkesbury River and the gaining of detailed knowledge about the area between it and Port Jackson, including the Parramatta district. With his encouragement later expeditions were made that established the relationship between the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers and gained additional information about the quality of the soil. Meanwhile knowledge of the coastal area had been enlarged by whale-fishing and other sea-going parties.

Phillip opposed the settlement of the Hawkesbury because the area was too isolated and too little known, and 'proper people to conduct it' were lacking. The Parramatta region, on the other hand, he thought ideally suited because of its good soil, ready accessibility and proximity to water. There he moved many of the convicts from late 1788 onwards after the shortcomings of Sydney for agricultural purposes had become apparent. In this area Phillip established a small township, which quickly emerged as the main centre of the colony's economic life; his naming one choice site within its bounds Rose Hill has been interpreted as additional evidence that Sir George Rose had been helpful in securing his appointment. Sydney, which he named and helped to design, and for which he planned broad streets, directed to suit the prevailing winds as well as the contours of its hills, remained important as a port and as the focus of social life, but its economic significance was slight until after the turn of the century, and his plans for its development had by then been abandoned.

Besides determining where the inhabitants should live Phillip also decided how they were to be occupied. At first he gave priority to the construction of necessary buildings, diverting most convict labour to this end; however, some public farming was carried on almost from the outset, originally at Farm Cove and later at Parramatta and Toongabbie. Its slow progress reflected the governor's inability to find adequate means of surmounting the many obstacles in his path. Poor seasons, the lack of suitable equipment and the difficulty of clearing and cultivating the thickly wooded land added to his problems. By 1791 a mere 213 acres (86 ha) were under crop and the number of farm animals amounted to only 126 head, for some of the cattle brought out had strayed, while others had died or been slaughtered. The building programme, by contrast, had advanced more satisfactorily, resulting in the erection of dwelling places for the governor, the officers, the convicts and some of the troops, together with several store-houses. Having completed these and other essential tasks Phillip was able to give more attention to farming. The area cultivated by government labour expanded much more rapidly after 1791 and by October 1792 some 1017 acres (412 ha) were under crop on the public domain; although livestock was still scarce important advances had been made towards the attainment of self-sufficiency in grain. The community was still vitally dependent on overseas supplies for most of its needs, but no longer was survival thought to be impossible.

Providing for material needs formed only part of the task of running what was primarily a prison. Effective discipline was a vital necessity in an isolated community where convicts far outnumbered their gaolers and where it was impracticable to segregate them behind bars. Phillip housed the convicts in a series of huts so arranged that they could be policed at night; but the watch of necessity had to be drawn mainly from among the better convicts, and this caused further trouble with the marines who complained bitterly on the odd occasion when a convict policeman detected one of their number breaking the law. Offences committed within the colony were, if only minor, tried by the magistrates, or when more serious by the Civil and Criminal Courts. Phillip sat on neither bench, but he was able within limits to determine their composition and to vary their sentences, thereby influencing the course of justice. Before leaving England he had stated his opposition to the death penalty save for murder and sodomy, which crimes he felt best punished by handing guilty persons over to be eaten by 'the natives of New Zealand'. This harsh sentence was never imposed, but there were some executions, particularly for the theft of food in time of scarcity. More usual was the lash, then a standard punishment in the army and navy, or committal to a gaol-gang.

Phillip's discipline was firm, but by the standards of his time could not be considered unduly harsh or severe. Moreover he recognized the need to encourage good behaviour as well as to punish bad conduct. He rewarded signs of industry by personal commendation and sometimes by appointment to positions of trust, which carried various privileges. He granted twenty-six pardons to exemplary characters, including fourteen prisoners who had behaved well when the Guardian was wrecked. In a further effort to encourage the convicts Phillip made it clear that land grants would only be given to those who proved their worth while under sentence. These measures indicated his desire to reform his charges, an object to which the Home Office paid only lip service. How much success attended his efforts is difficult to say. Contemporaries as well as more recent writers, however, have paid testimony to the effectiveness of his rule. In general the convicts responded well to his guidance. Crimes against the person were rare and while thefts were fairly common many of these resulted from sheer desperation and hunger.

One of the offences Phillip refused to tolerate was ill treatment of the Aboriginals. In his Instructions he had been ordered to establish contact and maintain friendly relations with them and he took these humanitarian injunctions seriously. He interested himself in the life of the natives whose customs also attracted considerable attention from his fellow officers. He made them presents, placed two, Colebe and Bennelong, under his personal care, and did his utmost to win and keep their friendship. At first he seemed to have succeeded. The Aboriginals evinced no desire to drive the whites out and showed admiration for their power and their leader whose missing front tooth apparently possessed symbolic value. Friction later developed and matters eventually reached the point where Phillip was forced to take punitive action, though he continued to exercise restraint even after being wounded by a spear at Manly Cove. Throughout he sought to maintain harmony while gradually persuading the Aboriginals of the superiority of British civilization. Settlers who interfered with their pursuits remained liable to heavy punishment.

Although in 1788-92 convicts and their gaolers made up the bulk of the population there gradually appeared others who fell into neither category. As early as July 1789 a small batch of convicts sought their freedom, claiming that their sentences had expired. Through oversight Phillip had not been supplied with their records and being unable to verify their claims shelved them. Later this deficiency was remedied enabling the governor to liberate the growing number of convicts who each year completed their sentences. By 1792 some 350 persons, of whom the majority were men, had been restored to freedom. Some secured passages home but most were unable to do so and were obliged with diminishing reluctance to stay in New South Wales. There they found employment mainly on government works, but a minority struck out on their own and took up farming, introducing a new element into an economy dominated by public enterprise.

Phillip's second Commission dated 2 April 1787 had given him the power of granting land to approved persons, defined in his first Instructions as former convicts. The British government was anxious to encourage people of this kind to remain at Port Jackson and for this reason offered them small plots of land and full maintenance during the early months of operations. The Home Office also indicated its willingness to make grants to the non-commissioned officers and privates of the marines who might elect to remain after completing a tour of duty, and to any migrants who might arrive. Phillip was ordered to examine the soil, report on its quality and suggest terms on which it might be alienated. Without fully waiting for his advice, however, the secretary of state dispatched on 22 August 1789 fresh Instructions on the granting of land.

The only residents not permitted to own land were the civil staff and military officers, whose pleas for this concession were not satisfied until after Phillip had departed. The governor himself had viewed their requests with no great enthusiasm. While willing to allow them to grow foodstuff in time of shortage or run livestock on plots of crown land he was not happy at the thought of their becoming property owners. He feared their attention might be distracted from their duties. He realized that they would wish to employ convicts, and these he thought might be left too much to their own devices. Shortly before leaving England he stressed that insufficient convicts were available to make it possible for the officers' likely demands to be met. Phillip was also reserved in his attitude towards the issuing of land grants to emancipists, for he rightly felt that many would never succeed at farming.

Historians have been unable to agree as to the exact area he alienated. Judging by the Register of Land Grants, which has not been used by earlier writers, he granted 3440 acres (1392 ha) on the mainland. At Norfolk Island he was obliged to recall some of the grants originally issued and by December 1792 had reallotted titles to a mere 49 acres (20 ha), making a grand total of 3489 acres (1412 ha). This was considerably less than the area alienated by his immediate successors, a fact which resulted not from niggardliness but from the unwillingness of more than a handful of persons to try their hand at what was to most an unfamiliar occupation. Apart from James Ruse there were no requests for land until 1791 and by December 1792 only seventy-three persons occupied holdings on the mainland.

With characteristic thoroughness the governor did his utmost to ensure the success of a group whose activities might improve the food situation. He personally selected land for them in the vicinity of Parramatta close to water, protection, market and supplies. Where necessary he varied his Instructions in their interests providing them with aid for eighteen months instead of the year stipulated by the British government. Originally he had been ordered to reserve between each 150-acre (61 ha) block 'a space of ten acres (4 ha) in breadth and of thirty acres (12 ha) in depth'. Realizing the dangers of natives lurking in the undergrowth on such land and convinced of the need for farmers to live side by side so as to provide mutual aid he successfully recommended the abandonment of this injunction. To deter settlers from disposing of land he incorporated in the title deeds, whose wording he himself devised, a clause forbidding them to sell their grants until they had occupied them continuously for at least five years. On two occasions he took land away from men who had made little attempt to cultivate it. The progress of farming, however, was inevitably slow, for the settlers possessed few resources, inadequate tools and little experience. By December 1792 they had cleared little more than 517 acres (209 ha), owned scarcely any livestock and were still mostly dependent on government aid for survival.

Although Phillip's reputation as an administrator must rest primarily on his work on the mainland of New South Wales, Norfolk Island also came under his control. In 1787 he had been ordered to settle this potentially useful spot to forestall occupation by any other power. On 12 February 1788 he made P. G. King the first commandant and two days later dispatched him to the island with a party of twenty-one, including fifteen convicts. Others were sent later mainly to ease the famine in New South Wales. By late 1792 the population totalled 1115 persons, and the island's activities, which at first had been dominated by government enterprise, were diversified by settlers from the marines. Effort had also been made to grow flax though little had been accomplished. The real burden of controlling these and other developments fell on the rulers on the spot, successively P. G. King, Major Ross and Captain William Paterson; nevertheless Phillip was in constant communication with them and as the person responsible for the island's management laid down some of the principles on which their actions were based.

On 11 December 1792 Phillip sailed for England in the Atlantic to seek medical attention for a pain in his side which had involved him in constant suffering. His work in New South Wales has been widely commended and, given the circumstances under which he was obliged to operate, it is difficult to see how he could have accomplished more than he did. Many of his hopes, including those for the encouragement of whaling off the coast which he recommended very strongly, were not realized. Despite these frustrations he retained his optimism to the end, displaying a fortitude and sense of duty that carried him through periods of great difficulty and physical pain. He left at a time when developments loomed which were to undo much of his work. One consequence of the discovery of the settlement by overseas merchants was that in increasing numbers they brought cargoes including liquor for sale. Phillip recognized the dangers of permitting the convicts to obtain spirits and the one occasion, in October 1792, when he allowed it to be sold to the other residents confirmed his fears, for there was widespread drunkenness and disturbance. The episode was not repeated but it must remain a matter of doubt whether, had he stayed much longer, Phillip could have countered the many problems that were to arise from the liquor trade. Similarly his departure preceded by only two months the arrival from London of orders allowing civil and military officers to own land, an event which provided these men with an opportunity to promote their interests and heightened the possibility of their conflict with a governor anxious to favour no single element in the community. It was perhaps fortunate that Phillip was unable to follow his original intention of returning to Port Jackson once his health was restored, but medical advice compelled him formally to resign on 23 July 1793. One of his first tasks upon returning to England was to raise an additional company for service with the New South Wales Corps; this was his last practical contribution to the settlement but he maintained an interest in its affairs and continued to be consulted on them for some time, though his recommendation of King as his successor was turned down.

By 1796 Phillip had sufficiently recovered his health to resume active naval duties. After successively commanding several ships, of which the last was the 98-gun Blenheim, he was given a shore appointment in 1798 as commander of the Hampshire Sea Fencibles whose purpose was to defend that county against invasion by Napoleon. Early in January 1799 he became a rear admiral of the Blue and soon afterwards was given charge of the Sea Fencibles throughout England. This task fully absorbed his energies and involved him in much travelling and administrative work until he retired in 1805. The last nine years of his life saw him steadily advancing in the naval hierarchy while living in retirement at 19 Bennett Street, Bath, with his second wife Isabella, née Whitehead, whom he had married on 8 May 1794. He died on 31 August 1814 three months after receiving his last promotion to admiral of the Blue. He left an estate worth about £25,000 and was buried in the church of St Nicholas, Bathampton. A memorial to him is in Bath Abbey, and portraits are in the National Portrait Gallery, London, and the Mitchell and Dixson Galleries, Sydney.

Legislator Building

Co. H, 154th N. Y. Infantry

The Ottawa Herald, Saturday, Jan. 1, 1916, Pg. 1 & 6

Died: Jan. 1, 1916

Buried in Highland Cemetery, Ottawa, Franklin County, KS.

JUDGE BENSON, NOTED

OTTAWAN, DIED TODAY

______

END CAME TO JURIST AND LEGISLATOR

IN TOPEKA

______

DRAFTED PROHIBITION LAW

______

FUNERAL TO BE HELD IN OTTAWA

TOMORROW AT 2 O'CLOCK

______

Came Here in 1869 After Serving in

War and Was Mayor, County Attor-

ney, District Judge, U. S. Senator

Member of Supreme Court---

About 73 Years Old.

______.

Judge Alfred W. Benson of Ottawa, former soldier, mayor of Ottawa, county attorney, district judge, United States senator and justice of the Kansas state supreme court died at 6 o’clock this morning at the home of his daughter, Mrs. H. Ward Page, in Topeka.

He had been in ill health for several weeks. Paralysis is stated as the cause of his death. He was stricken late Wednesday night at the Benson apartments, 915 Quincy street, Topeka, and later taken to the Page home, 801 Lane street.

No funeral services will be held in Topeka. The body will be brought to Ottawa at 11 o’clock Sunday morning. Funereal services will be held at 2 o’clock in the Congregational Church Third and Hickory streets. Mr. Benson was a member of that church.

The Rev. W. A. Elliot, pastor of the First Baptist Church of this city will conduct the services. Short talks at the services will be made by District Judge C. A. Smart of this city and the congregational pastor of Topeka who will accompany the funeral party.

Burial will be in Highland Cemetery on the family lot where four of the Benson children are buried. All services will be short and simple.

The body will not lie in state.

Pall bearers will be old friends of Judge Benson. Three members of the George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R. and association will officiate. The men are: Veterans---J. N. Harrison, S. F. Beeler, Peter Kaiser; Lawyers---C. A. Smart, F. M. Harris, W. S. Jenks.

Judge Benson is survived by his widow and one daughter, Mrs. H. Ward Page of Topeka. Four children are dead. Two died in infancy and two Kate and Marian, died after they reached young womanhood.

Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Harrison, former Ottawans, and probably representatives of the state supreme court and other Topeka friends of the Benson family will accompany the funeral party here. A delegation of Ottawa veterans of the Civil War will go to Lawrence Sunday morning to meet the funeral party.

The deceased was one of the foremost figures in state law circles for nearly half a century and was the only man in Kansas ever promoted to a United States senatorship by telephone. His death recalls detail of one of the most unique lives in the annals of Kansas.

Was Born in 1843.

Alfred Washburn Benson, born in Jamestown, N. Y., July 15, 1843, was of English descent. The Benson family was established in America in the early days of the Massachusetts colony by an ancestor from England. Judge Benson’s grandfather, Consider Benson, was a native of Massachusetts, as was also his father, Peter Benson, who served in the war of 1812, Judge Benson was the descendant of an old stanch Massachusetts family on his mother’s side also, his grandfather, William Washburn, having been a revolutionary soldier. Members of both the Benson and the Washburn families removed from Massachusetts to the state of New York in an early day and were united by the marriage of Peter Benson and Hannah Washburn, to whom were born five children, only two of whom survived until the present day. These are James H. Benton of Chautauqua county, N. Y., and Judge A. W. Benson.

Judge Benson was reared on a farm. He attended the district schools of Chautauqua county and the academies at Jamestown and Randolph, N. Y., until 18 years of age, when he became a teacher, and was thus engaged during the winter of 1861-62 in Warren county, Pa.

Went to the War.

In July of 1862 he enlisted in Company H, 154th New York volunteers. This regiment was composed mainly of Cattaruqua county young men, many of whom were students at Randolph academy as was young Benson. It was assigned to duty in Northern Virginia under Major-General Bigel and was in various marches about Manassas and old Bull Run, battlefield until the spring of 1863, when it moved with the Eleventh corps to Chancellorsville, where in May, Benson was wounded.

Left for Dead in Battle.

He was left as dead on the field at Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863. A Confederate minie ball had pierced his right lung and put him out of the fighting. Later two Confederates found him still alive, relieved his suffering as far as they could and filled his canteen with water. He was a prisoner on the field for eleven days after the battle. On May 13, those prisoners who were able to march were sent off to Richmond, while the wounded were paroled. Benson recovered slowly.

After securing his release from the Confederate army by which he had been taken prisoner he was sent to Chestnut Hill military hospital at Philadelphia and while there received his first commission---that of second lieutenant. In October following, he rejoined his regiment then at Bridgeport, Ala., and was detailed acting adjutant. The Eleventh corps was soon afterward consolidated with the Twentieth, in which corps he served to the end of the war.

Came Out as a Major.

Mr. Benson was in the march to the relief of Chattanooga, the battle of Missionary Ridge, all of Sherman’s campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and from Savannah to Raleigh. He participated in the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, New Hope church, the battles around Kenesaw mountain, at Peace Tree Creek, and the capture of Atlanta.

He received his commission as a captain at Atlanta in September 1864, and served as a member of the division court martial at Atlanta and Savannah. While the corps was at Savannah he was recommended for major of the regiment and received his commission as such at Goldsboro, N. C. in April, 1865. When the war ended he marched with his regiment from Raleigh to Washington where he took part in the grand review before President Andrew Johnson on May 25, 1865.

To Ottawa in 1869.

After the war Judge Benson entered the office of Cook & Lockwood at Jamestown, N. Y., to resume the study of law which he had begun at Randolph before his enlistment, and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, N. Y. in November, 1866. In the following January he commenced the practice at Sherman, N. Y. in partnership with A. A. VanDusen, who was later a county judge of Chautauqua county. While living at Sherman he was elected a member of the board of county supervisors, which office he resigned when he moved in 1869 to Ottawa, Kans. heeding Horace Greeley’s cry: “Go west, young man, go west.”

He was elected mayor of Ottawa in April, 1873, and April, 1879; was county attorney of Franklin county; was a state senator from 1881 to 1885, during which time he was chairman of the committee on Temperance, which framed the first Kansas prohibitory law; was elected, judge of the Fourth judicial district, composed of Franklin, Anderson and Douglas counties, in 1884 and served three successive terms—twelve years---declining to be a candidate for re-election, and resumed his law practice.

State and National Legislator.

In the fall of 1904 he was elected a member of the Kansas house of representatives and served as chairman of the judiciary committee until his resignation on June 11, 1906 to accept the appointment by Governor Edward W. Hoch, of United States senator in the place of Joseph R. Burton. He served as senator until January 29, 1907, and on August 1, 1907 was appointed by Governor Hoch to a position in the supreme court of the state to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Adrian L. Greene. In 1908 he was elected to that office for a term of six years. He was a candidate for re-election in 1914 but was defeated. Then he became a permanent member of the faculty of the law school of Washburn College at Topeka, where he had been a lecturer for several years.

Judge Benson was a charter member and on of the organizers of the Kansas State Bar association. For ten years he was a lecturer on code pleading at the Kansas University school of law at Lawrence and his position at Washburn at the time of his death was similar to that.

Mrs. Benson’s Family.

Judge Benson was married at Sherman, N. Y., to Unettie L. Towsley, May 10, 1870. She was a native of Manchester, Vt. She was the daughter of Darius and Lydia (Fowler) Towsley. Both the Fowlers and the Towsleys were pioneer families of their respective states of New York and Vermont. Nathaniel Towsley, father of Darius, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Two of Mrs. Benson’s brothers served in the Union army, one of whom, Leonard Towsley, was killed at Antietam. The other brother, Nathaniel Towsley, is still living, residing in Manchester, Vt.

Judge Benson was a master Mason since 1867.

Many reminiscences regarding Judge Benson were revived today when word of his death was received in Ottawa. Although it was known here that Judge Benson was critically ill, his death came as a shock to his many friends in the city and county.

In connection with Judge Benson’s appointment to the United States senate, Henry J. Allen, former owner of The Herald and now of the Wichita Beacon, used to tell a story on the judge.

“I had known Judge Benson for a great many years,” Mr. Allen said, “and in all that time his natural modesty- had been proverbial in Franklin county, but the sudden appointment to the Senate brought out the fact that so far as dress was concerned he was just like the rest of us. Senator Chester I. Long telegraphed me urging that I plead with Judge Benson to accept the tendered appointment offered and start for Washington at once. I called Judge Benson on the telephone and delivered Senator Long’s message. The judge hesitated, and then replied: “I don’t see how. I can start so soon, Henry, I haven’t the clothes one should wear in the senate.”

H. F. Sheldon and Judge Benson were boyhood friends back in New York. Mr. Sheldon came to Kansas ahead of Mr. Benson. Mrs. Sheldon and Mrs. Benson were also girl friends in the East. When Judge Benson came to Ottawa Mr. Sheldon met him and entertained him at the Sheldon home.

Where Bensons Lived.

When the Bensons first came to Ottawa they lived in a house near the present Missouri Pacific station. Then they moved to a house near Third and Elm street and later to Ninth and Cedar streets, later sold to Mrs. F. C. Polsdorfer. Mr. Benson then purchased the property at Fourth and Willow streets, occupied now by Albert C. Carpenter and family. The property belongs to the Benson family now.

His Law Record.

Upon establishing a law office in Ottawa Mr. Benson became a partner of the late H. P. Welsh. Later he was in business with W. L. Parkinson and then practiced alone. After leaving the district bench here he and Charles A. Smart were law partners. When Judge Smart ascended to the district bench Mr. Benson associated with him Fred M. Harris. That firm remained until Mr. Benson went to the supreme court. Many volumes of Mr. Benson’s law library are in Mr. Harris’ library now.

Was an Active Lawyer.

Judge Benson was a vigorous and active lawyer. His military training was shown in later life. Everything under his direction moved with precision and rapidity. He was firm but not dictatorial.

The judge practiced law throughout his long career. Only a month ago he appeared before the Supreme Court to make arguments in one of the Rorschbach-Diven cases from Franklin county. It was one of his last appearances in the court on whose bench he had been an efficient jurist for several years.

Students Liked Him.

Judge Benson’s popularity with the law students of Washburn College was well known. When the anniversary of the grand review of the Union armies was held in Washington a few months ago Judge Benson wanted to attend but did not wish to leave his work in Topeka. The students learning of his desire, unanimously decided that their instructor should attend. With much good feeling they made all the arrangements for the judge to take part in the parade down Pennsylvania avenue in Washington, fifty years after he had marched down the same avenue as a major in his regiment.

Commanded G. A. R. 6 Years.

Judge Benson was one of the charter members and the first commander of George H. Thomas Post No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic, of this city. The post organized February 11, 1880, and the judge served as commander for six years. He was universally liked by the veterans of the Civil war here and their grief at his death today was marked. Member of the post will act as pallbearers at the funeral.

Tribute to Benson.

In speaking of Judge Benson today, District Judge Smart said:

“In every station in life and every position he ever filled he was preeminently a high-minded, conscientious man.”

Various other Ottawans who knew Mr. Benson for many years spoke of him in the highest terms. News of the judge’s death was a shock to H. F. Sheldon, old friend of the deceased. Mr. Sheldon has been ill recently. He is eleven years older than Mr. Benson.

“I have always felt that if I have learned any of the highest principles of the practice of law or the best ethics of the profession. They came from Judge Benson,” said Mayor F. M. Harris who was a law partner of the deceased from January, 1901 until the judge went to the supreme bench. “I have never seen a man who had the interests of the young man in the law profession as close to his heart as Judge Benson.”

Ottawa was “Home.”

Ottawa was always “home” to Judge Benson. Until a few months ago when his health began to fail he always cherished the idea of returning to Ottawa to live quietly and in retirement from public affairs. Although he and Mrs. Benson have lived in Topeka since 1907 they generally returned for every gala occasion here. The judge always came to Ottawa to vote and attend most of the memorial day and other G. A. R. events.

A young man in Ottawa spoke of Judge Benson in endearing terms today. On a snowy Sunday several years ago the judge fell in front of the Congregational church just as services were dismissed. The youth helped the man to rise, picked up his snow-covered Bible and Sunday school books and aided him in recovering his balance. The judge never forgot that young man and always greeted him warmly whenever in Ottawa.

Volume III, part 1 of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912.

Alfred Washburn Benson, of Ottawa, justice of the Kansas supreme court, is of English descent. The Benson family was established in America in the early days of the Massachusetts colony by an ancestor from England. Judge Benson's grandfather, Consider Benson, was a native of Massachusetts, as was also his father, Peleg Benson, who served in the war of 1812. Judge Benson is the descendant of an old stanch Massachusetts family on his mother's side also, his grandfather, William Washburn, having been a Revolutionary soldier. Members of both the Benson and Washburn families removed from Massachusetts to the state of New York in an early day and were united by the marriage of Peleg Benson and Hannah Washburn, to whom were born five children, only two of whom are now living, James H. Benson, of Chautauqua county, New York, and Judge Alfred W. Benson.

Judge Benson was born at Jamestown, Chautauqua county, New York, July 15, 1843, and was reared on a farm to which his parents had removed. He attended the district schools of Chautauqua county and the academies at Jamestown and Randolph, N. Y., until eighteen years of age, when he became a teacher and was thus engaged during the winter of 1861-62 in Warren county, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1862 he enlisted at Randolph, N. Y. as a private in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-fourth New York regiment, New York volunteers, with which he served until the close of the Civil war. This regiment was composed mainly of Cattaraugus county men, many of whom were students at Randolph Academy as was young Benson. It was assigned to duty in northern Virginia under Major-General Sigel, and was in various marches about Manassas and the old Bull Run battlefield until the spring of 1863, when it moved with the Eleventh corps to Chancellorsville, where on May 2, 1863, Judge Benson was shot through the left lung in a charge made by Stonewall Jackson's corps. In the retreat which followed he was left on the field, where some Confederate soldiers found him later, gave him water to drink, and treated him with great kindness. After they left him a furious cannonading by the Union forces indicated their position to the wounded man and stimulated him to reach them which he did by walking and crawling through the woods, until he reached the Union skirmish line. He was taken to a field hospital in an old Virginia barnyard. The next day the battle was resumed and in a short time this hospital was in the Confederate lines. The wounded soldiers who were unable to march south were paroled ten days afterward, and Judge Benson was finally sent to the Chestnut Hill Military hospital at Philadelphia, and while there received his first commission—that of second lieutenant. In October following, he rejoined his regiment then at Bridgeport, Ala., and was detailed acting adjutant. The Eleventh was soon afterward consolidated with the Twentieth, in which corps he served to the end of the war. He was in the march to the relief of Chattanooga, the battle of Missionary Ridge, all of Sherman's campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and from Savannah to Raleigh. He participated in the battles of Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, New Hope church, the battles around Kenesaw mountain, at Peach Tree creek, and the capture of Atlanta. He received his commission as captain at Atlanta in September, 1864, and served as a member of the division courtmartial at Atlanta and Savannah. While the corps was at Savannah he was recommended for major of the regiment and received his commission as such at Goldsboro, N. C., in April, 1865. When the war ended he marched with his regiment from Raleigh to Washington, where he took part in the grand review on May 25, 1865. After the war Judge Benson entered the office of Cook & Lockwood, of Jamestown, N. Y., to resume the study of law which he had begun at Randolph before his enlistment, and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, N. Y., in November, 1866. In the following January he commenced practice at Sherman, N. Y., in partnership with A. A. Van Dusen, who has since served as county judge of Chautauqua county. While living at Sherman he was elected a member of the board of county supervisors, which office he resigned when he removed to Ottawa, Kan., where he has since resided. Since that time he has held numerous positions of increasing honor and trust. He served as mayor of Ottawa; as county attorney; was a state senator from 1881 to 1885, during which time he was chairman of the committee on temperance, which framed the first Kansas prohibitory law; was elected judge of the Fourth judicial district in 1884 and served three successive terms—twelve years—declining to be a candidate for reëlection, and resumed his law practice. In the fall of 1904 he was elected a member of the Kansas house of representatives and served as chairman of the judiciary committee until his resignation on June 11, 1905, to accept the appointment by Gov. Edward W. Hoch, of United States senator in place of Joseph R. Burton. He served as senator until Jan, 29, 1907, and on Aug. 1, 1907, he was appointed by Governor Hoch to a position in the supreme court of the state to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Judge Adrian L. Greene. In 1908 he was elected to that office for a term of six years, in which position he is now serving. He is a charter member and one of the organizers of the Kansas State Bar Association. For ten years he was lecturer on code pleading at the Kansas University School of Law and is at the present time serving in that capacity in the Washburn College Law School.

Judge Benson was married at Sherman, N. Y., to Unettie L. Towsley, a native of Manchester, Vt., where she was born to Darius and Lydia (Fowler) Towsley. Both the Towsleys and Fowlers were pioneer families in their respective states of Vermont and New York. Nathaniel Towsley, the father of Darius, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Two of Mrs. Benson's brothers served in the Union army, one of whom, Leonard Towsley, was killed in the battle of Antietam. The other brother, Nathaniel Towsley, is still living and resides in Manchester, Vt. Judge and Mrs. Benson have one daughter, Mrs. H. Ward Page of Topeka. Judge Benson has been a Master Mason since 1867; associates fraternally with his old comrades in arms as a member of George H. Thomas Post No. 18, Grand Army of the Republic, at Ottawa, Kan.; and is a member of the Congregational church of that city.

The DMPS Community Legislative Action Team hosted Coffee with Legislators in the Hubbell Elementary School library on Saturday. The event was standing room only. The group will continue to host these coffees every second Saturday from 9 - 10 a.m. through the end of the session.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently continued his listening tour of the state, visiting with legislators in Corpus Christi. Pictured are (left to right) Rep. Abel Herrero, Legislative Director Sen. Ken Armbrister, Rep. Juan Garcia, Gov. Perry, and Rep. Solomon Ortiz, Jr.

Legislators, invited guests and members of the media attend a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 16, 2019, in High Bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The VAB is getting its first commercial tenant. Northrop Grumman signed a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA for use of the facilities. The company will assemble and test its new OmegA rocket inside the massive facility’s High Bay 2. The company also will modify MLP-3 to serve as the launch vehicle’s assembly and launch platform. Northrop Grumman is developing the OmegA rocket, an intermediate/heavy-class launch vehicle, as part of a launch services agreement with the U.S. Air Force. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

Legislators attend the inaugural ceremony activities.

授權方式及範圍：中華民國總統府│政府網站資料開放宣告

Authorization Method & Scope:

Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan) | Government Website Open Information Announcement

Legislators, invited guests and members of the media attend a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 16, 2019, in High Bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana autographs a portion of the ribbon for a guest. In view, at far left, is Tom Engler, director of Kennedy’s Center Planning and Development Office. The VAB is getting its first commercial tenant. Northrop Grumman signed a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA for use of the facilities. The company will assemble and test its new OmegA rocket inside the massive facility’s High Bay 2. The company also will modify mobile launcher platform-3 to serve as the launch vehicle’s assembly and launch platform. Northrop Grumman is developing the OmegA rocket, an intermediate/heavy-class launch vehicle, as part of a launch services agreement with the U.S. Air Force. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

Legislators and invited guests clap during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 16, 2019, in High Bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The VAB is getting its first commercial tenant. Northrop Grumman signed a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA for use of the facilities. The company will assemble and test its new OmegA rocket inside the massive facility’s High Bay 2. The company also will modify mobile launcher platform-3 to serve as the launch vehicle’s assembly and launch platform. Northrop Grumman is developing the OmegA rocket, an intermediate/heavy-class launch vehicle, as part of a launch services agreement with the U.S. Air Force. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

October 4, 2019

Photo Credit: Jamie Prendergast

© 2019 Volvo Group Trucks

www.stvincent.edu | Photos from legislators touring campus.

2020 Individual Legislators

Valencia Student Government hosts Lunch with the Legislators on the West campus on April 3, 2018 in Orlando, Fla. Featured guests included State Senator Randolph Bracy and State Representatives Bruce Antone and Kamia Brown.

Governor Charlie Baker and Secretary of Veterans’ Services Cheryl Lussier Poppe join Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, as well as military families and other state and local officials to celebrate the signing of the SPEED Act at Hanscom Air Force Base on Oct. 25, 2022. The SPEED Act is a comprehensive new law that makes Massachusetts a more welcoming place for military families and strengthens efforts to support and honor the Commonwealth’s veterans. [Joshua Qualls/Governor’s Press Office]

Virginia state legislators visit Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Aug. 8, 2017, at Fort Pickett, Virginia, to learn more about their training and thank them for their service. State Senators Frank Ruff and Bryce Reeves and Delegates Scott Lingamfelter and Rocky Holcomb visited the Expert Infantryman Badge and Best Sapper training events and also had the opportunity to rappel down Fort Pickett's new tower.(U.S. National Guard photo by Cotton Puryear)

Orange House 2019

Governor Welcomes Legislators Back to the State House by Staff at House and Senate Chambers, State House, 100 State Circle Annapolis Maryland 21401

Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.

Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.

“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”

Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”

The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:

1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:

a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.

b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.

d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).

2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:

Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)

East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)

Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)

Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)

Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)

Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)

Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),

Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)

Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),

Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)

Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)

West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)

3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:

a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.

b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.

c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.

The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.

“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”

The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.

Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”

Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”

Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.

“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”

“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”

Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.

The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.

Secretary Fudge Speaks at The National Black Caucus of State Legislators Conference

PCC welcomed state government representatives to campus last week for a meeting in the Walter & Marie Williams Building. The session gave administrators and trustees a chance to thank the legislators for their support of the college and share details with them on Pitt’s efforts to support and serve students in spite of the pandemic. It was also an opportunity for PCC officials to discuss the college’s goals and needs for continuing to prepare a skilled workforce for local business and industry.

Governor Charlie Baker and Secretary of Veterans’ Services Cheryl Lussier Poppe join Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, as well as military families and other state and local officials to celebrate the signing of the SPEED Act at Hanscom Air Force Base on Oct. 25, 2022. The SPEED Act is a comprehensive new law that makes Massachusetts a more welcoming place for military families and strengthens efforts to support and honor the Commonwealth’s veterans. [Joshua Qualls/Governor’s Press Office]

Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.

Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.

“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”

Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”

The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:

1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:

a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.

b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.

d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).

2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:

Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)

East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)

Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)

Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)

Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)

Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)

Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),

Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)

Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),

Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)

Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)

West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)

3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:

a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.

b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.

c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.

The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.

“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”

The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.

Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”

Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”

Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.

“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”

“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”

Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.

The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.

State Representatives Tim Dunn, Selina Bliss, Consuelo Hernandez and Alma Hernandez, State Senator Janae Shamp, State Representatives Leo Biasiucci, Lupe Diaz, David Marshall and Teresa Martinez, and State Senators Frank Carroll and Sine Kerr speaking with the media at a press conference for HB2509 at the Arizona State Capitol building in Phoenix, Arizona.

Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.

Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.

Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.

“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”

Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”

The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:

1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:

a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.

b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.

d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).

2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:

Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)

East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)

Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)

Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)

Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)

Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)

Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),

Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)

Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),

Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)

Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)

West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)

3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:

a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.

b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.

c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.

The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.

“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”

The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.

Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”

Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”

Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.

“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”

“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”

Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.

The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.

Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.

Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.

“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”

Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”

The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:

1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:

a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.

b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.

d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).

2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:

Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)

East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)

Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)

Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)

Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)

Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)

Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),

Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)

Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),

Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)

Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)

Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)

West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)

3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:

a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.

b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.

c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.

The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.

“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”

The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.

Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”

Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”

Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.

“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”

“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”

Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.

The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.