Ethics Board member resigns, accepts vacant City Council seat
In light of former councilperson Holly Little's resignation earlier this month, the council selected Jim Baker to fill the vacant seat. The motion to nominate Baker came from Council Member Justin Young.
"He's been a lifelong resident and currently [serves] on the Ethics Board," said Young.
Council Member Anthony Ortega seconded the motion, which councilpersons Kelly Greene, Stacy Benge, and Judd Weaver also supported.
Baker turned his Ethics Board resignation in to Mayor Randall Weddle following the council's unanimous vote. The resignation was effective Friday. The former Ethics Board member will be sworn in by Laurel Circuit Judge Gregory A. Lay Tuesday.
Although a first reading of Ordnance 2025-08 — a budget ordinance for the upcoming fiscal year — was on the agenda, Council Member Greene made a motion to table the matter. Greene's motion was seconded by Council Member Young and received majority support.
Acting City Clerk Ashley Taylor then conducted the second reading of Ordinance 2025-07. The ordinance rezones property owned by Todd and Diana Lee White from Residential R1 to Commercial C2. Weaver made a motion to approve the ordinance, seconded by Greene. The motion passed, followed by another to adjourn.
London City Council will meet in special session again next week, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 22, to discuss the tabled budget ordinance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
History from News Journal July 13-19: ice rink debate, lottery problems, hero rescues two
"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at July 13, 2000, The News Journal Four of five Wilmington City Council members at a stormy committee meeting Wednesday opposed Mayor James H. Sills Jr.'s proposed portable ice-skating rink in Rodney Square. The 13-member council is scheduled to vote next week on spending $1.3 million for the rink. Seven votes are needed to approve the expense. Council President James M. Baker said he prefers a permanent rink at a yet-to-be-built park near the Amtrak station on the Christina riverfront. That prompted Greg Williams, director of the city's parks and recreation department, to say the project has become politicized at the expense of Wilmington's children. He favors the Rodney Square site. Baker, who is running against Sills in the Sept. 9 Democratic mayoral primary, said the Sills administration has advocated the concept of a rink somewhere in the city for three years. The council's requests to explore several locations were not successful, Baker said. 'This is not a political football,' Baker told Williams in a raised voice. 'You guys failed us; we didn't fail you.' Councilman Gerald Brady, who presided over the park and recreation committee meeting, declared the meeting out of order. 'Bring it back to order then,' Baker said. He then left and did not return. Brady and Councilmen Paul Bartkowski and Kevin Kelley said the money should not be spent on the rink because there are more pressing concerns in the city, such as aging infrastructure and neighborhood projects. 'I've got sewers and sidewalks that need to be fixed,' Brady said. Councilwoman Stephanie Bolden said the mayoral race has impeded progress on the rink, which she thinks should be in Rodney Square…. If council approves the project, the rink would open this year or in 2001. The 157-by-75-foot rink would cost $275,000 a year to operate. Two corporations have pledged to pay operating costs for the first five years. City officials would not identify the corporations, saying they want to remain anonymous until the city decides whether to pay for the rink. Recent Wilmington-area news: Approved SEPTA budget would kill Delaware rail service in 2026 without more funding July 16, 1975, The Morning News The Delaware Lottery may not be well, but it is alive. Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt has yet to appoint a new lottery director, and until he does the game can't start again. In the meantime, a loaned staffer and a volunteer have been kept busy for the past month paying the debts and settling the accounts of the defunct Loto-Superfecta, which ended in April after five money-losing weeks. Tribbitt said he has five or six candidates in mind for the lottery director's job, but has not been able to settle on one. He said one person, who was not named, accepted the post but refused it later for health reasons. ... Because bills need to be paid and accounts reconciled, Tribbitt asked the state planning office to temporarily assign Lou Jordan, a planning administrator, to the lottery. ... Jordan said since he started on June 16 he has paid about $90,000 to cover the rent through June, equipment rentals, payments, advertising and tickets. ... Jordan said he has sent out checks for five $100 tickets since June and another $70 to $80 for smaller prizes…. It is generally assumed that Delaware's second venture into public gaming will more closely follow the typical state lotteries rather than something new again. The Loto-Superfecta let people choose their own numbers and used a horse race to determine the winning number. However, there were no first place winners, and the public steadily lost interest. The General Assembly has put aside $130,000 for the revised lottery, bringing the total state investment to date to more than $600,000. ... The state auditor has charged that lottery officials illegally spent $186,000 more than they had in their $400,000 budget. ... Recent lottery news: Wilmington man hits Delaware Lottery twice in a week. Here's where he bought his tickets July 18, 1925, Wilmington Morning News A double rescue was made in Rehoboth yesterday afternoon when C.C. Thompson, of Seaford, fought a strong undercurrent to drag Miss Marcella Fairchild, 19, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and William Bounds, 12, of Salisbury, Md., from the water. Thompson, an all-round athlete who rescued a woman from drowning last summer, was walking along the beach with a lifeguard when they were attracted by the screams of a woman a short distance from the shore who had been caught in a heavy undertow. Both men jumped into the water and were also caught in the undertow, but Thompson managed to reach the young woman before she had been carried out very far. Keeping the girl's head above water, he waited until the lifeguard joined them, and the two of them managed to get her ashore. Just as they reached the shore, another cry from the water attracted Thompson's attention. Turning, he discovered a small boy who had gotten out in water beyond his depth and had also been caught in the undertow. Leaving the young woman in the care of the lifeguard and the large crowd that had congregated, Thompson swam out to the boy and caught him just as the boy was going down for the third time. After he succeeded in getting the boy ashore, it was discovered he was unconscious, and Thompson, although weakened from his double fight with the undertow, assisted in reviving him by using a stomach pump. Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: History from News Journal: ice rink debate, lottery problems, rescue
Scientific American
2 days ago
- Scientific American
Marjorie Taylor Greene Plans Probe into Geoengineering
CLIMATEWIRE | On a day when the EPA administrator elevated concerns about weather modification as his agency downplayed those worries, an outspoken House Republican said she would hold a hearing on the issue. In a statement provided to POLITICO's E&E News, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she plans to use her perch as a subcommittee chair on the House Oversight and Government Reform panel to investigate geoengineering, a nascent field in which chemicals are dispersed in the air to lower temperatures. 'Let's be clear: Weather modification is no longer a 'conspiracy theory.' It's real, it's happening, and the American people deserve a voice,' said Greene, who in the past has peddled fringe theories. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Such baseless assertions have been widespread in the aftermath of the deadly floods in Texas this past weekend, including that cloud seeding may have played a role in the disaster. On Thursday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin released a video empathizing with people who have questions about contrails and geoengineering, which have been fodder for online conspiracists. He did not mention the floods in Texas; the new EPA webpages mostly debunked "chemtrails" and other such theories. In her statement Thursday, Greene said that she planned to hold a hearing of her DOGE subcommittee "on this critical issue and advancing my legislation to make it a felony to inject, release, or disperse chemicals into the atmosphere for the purpose of altering weather, climate, temperature, or sunlight.' Moreover, this past weekend, Greene posted on social media that she planned to introduce legislation to bar such weather-changing technology. She said she was heartened by EPA's actions. In his video Thursday, Zeldin said, 'To anyone who's ever looked up to the streaks in the sky and asked, 'What the heck is going on?' or seen headlines about private actors and even governments looking to blot out the sun in the name of stopping global warming, we've endeavored to answer all of your questions at the links on your screen." He added, 'In fact, EPA shares many of the same concerns when it comes to potential threats to human health and the environment, especially from solar geoengineering activities.' Democratic lawmakers mocked the EPA administrator for discussing contrails — the benign condensation often seen from aircraft. One called him 'a full-on kook.' In her statement, Greene said she spoke with Zeldin on Thursday morning. 'I'm glad weather modification and geoengineering are finally getting the attention and transparency they deserve, and I'm greatly appreciative to the Trump administration for it,' the lawmaker said. Some have suspected cloud seeding could have caused the drenching rain in Kerr County, Texas, leading to flooding that killed more than 100 people. That has been deemed impossible by experts, The Washington Post reported, and dismissed by elected officials, including Republicans in the state. 'Let's put an end to the conspiracy theories and stop blaming others,' Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement Wednesday. This story also appears in E&E Daily.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Newsweek
Home Sale Tax Would Be Eradicated Nationwide Under New Bill
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, introduced a bill on Thursday that, if passed, would eliminate federal taxes on home sales. "No more taxing the American dream," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Families who work hard, build equity, and sell their homes shouldn't be punished with a massive tax bill." The bill, known as the No Tax on Home Sales Act, would eliminate the federal capital gains tax on the sale of primary residences—a measure that the Republican congresswoman said would help homeowners struggling with affordability issues and encourage mobility in the U.S. housing market. It would not apply to home flippers or real estate investors, who have been blamed in recent years for their role in reducing inventory across the country and bringing up prices. Newsweek contacted Greene's spokesperson for comment by email on Friday morning. What Is the Federal Capital Gains Tax on Home Sales Greene's bill is trying to eliminate the levy imposed by the Internal Revenue Service on profits made from the sale of a home. This tax is often described as one of the hidden costs of homeownership as buyers often do not think about it before buying or selling a property. For homeowners who bought their homes during the pandemic homebuying frenzy and are now trying to sell them, the tax could be considerable as home values have massively appreciated since 2019. For example, a home purchased five years ago for $250,000 and sold on the market for $500,000 would give the seller a profit of $250,000—which could be subject to the capital gains tax. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on February 12. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on February 12. ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images At the moment, the IRS allows homeowners to reduce or avoid paying capital gain taxes, especially if the home they are selling is their primary residence. Under U.S. law, homeowners can exclude up to $250,000 in capital gains from taxation when selling a primary residence, or up to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly. This exemption is allowable once every two years. These limits, however, have not been updated since 1997—which means the current thresholds do not take into consideration how the U.S. real estate market has exploded in recent years. As a result, many more homeowners—including middle-income households—are finding themselves hit by the tax, which was initially meant for the wealthiest sellers only. An 'Unfair Burden' Greene's bill wants to do more than update and increase the existing exclusion limits. Instead, it wants to eliminate what she calls the "unfair burden" of the tax altogether—regardless of the profits home sellers make. According to the congresswoman, the bill would help "homeowners unlock their equity" by keeping more money out of their sale, bring "fairness back to the tax code" and boost supply. "Homeowners who have lived in their homes for decades, especially seniors in places where values have surged, shouldn't be forced to stay put because of an IRS penalty. My bill unlocks that equity, helps fix the housing shortage, and supports long-term financial security for American families," Greene said in a news release. While inventory has risen considerably across the U.S. and was 28.9 percent higher in June than a year earlier, according to data, the country's housing market is still missing millions of affordable homes to be considered balanced. In the Northeast and the Midwest, the housing shortage remains more acute, while in the South and the West, more construction projects over the past few years have contributed to bringing up supply. Reactions to the Bill Greene's bill is likely to be popular among American homeowners, who have long been struggling with sky-high prices and historically elevated mortgage rates and are now facing growing economic uncertainty. Even as inventory has surged in recent months and sales have fallen as a result of ongoing affordability issues, prices are still rising across the country. During the four weeks ending July 6, according to the latest Redfin data, the median sale price of a typical U.S. home reached an all-time high of $399,633, up 1 percent compared to a year earlier. Many responses to the Georgia lawmaker's X post about the bill have been positive, with users thanking Greene for looking out for them. Others, however, said they would rather see lawmakers fight to abolish the property tax, a topic that has riled up Republicans across the country. Property taxes have also surged in recent years as a result of the pandemic boom in the U.S. housing market, triggered by historically low mortgage rates. This issue affects almost all homeowners, hitting seniors on fixed income particularly hard. Several GOP-led states are trying to drastically cut or even abolish property taxes at the state level. You can read more about it here. Critics of Greene's bill are worried that the legislation could disproportionately benefit higher-income individuals, who naturally stand to make more profits from a home sale. There are also concerns that the bill would negatively affect federal revenues. The legislation has not yet moved through committees or received the backing of another lawmaker.
