by James DeChene

During the State Chamber hosted its Developing Delaware event in Dover this week, Governor Carney told over 250 attendees a story about being approached by a gentleman claiming to have a catchy new slogan to market Delaware (a la “Virginia is for Lovers or I love NY). After the reveal of “DelaWow”, and the laughter that accompanied it, Governor Carney went on to make the point that there are things happening in Delaware surrounding economic development that are working (more on that later).
 
The Developing Delaware event featured insights on Delaware by the numbers from TIP strategies outlining Delaware’s workforce makeup, the types of industries represented here, and other key factors that businesses looking to locate here take into consideration in their decision-making process. That was followed by a conversation with site selectors tasked with comparing states, metro areas and other locations for their clients looking to set up shop. Key were the insights on the need to be nimble, to approve projects quickly, and to have a pipeline of sites shovel-ready to market and attract companies to Delaware. For more information and a recap of the event, visit www.dscc.com/developingdelaware.
 
Also this week was the groundbreaking at DOT Foods for their new 150,000-square-foot redistribution center on Wrangle Hill Road and Red Lion Road. DOT Foods is the nation's largest redistributor of food products in the US with 3.5 million-square-feet of warehouse space, $7 billion in sales and 4,800 employees. They will be creating over 250 new job opportunities with an expected $6 million annual payroll.
 
See, Cerron Cade—I can write on positive news too.

by James DeChene

The CZA Regulatory Advisory Committee met earlier this week for the fifth time. During the meeting,  reports were given from the various working groups focusing on individual components of the legislation’s requirements, including how to account for sea level rise, providing financial assurance, and how to monitor bulk product transfer. Of the reports, an agreement of sorts was reached on definitions related to bulk product transfer, while the other topics will be revisited in future meetings based on the amount of material needed to review. Regulations are to be finalized by 10/1/19, and with a little less than a year left, there remains quite a bit of work to be completed.
 
The State Chamber’s Healthcare & Employer Advocacy and Education Committees hosted a joint event focused on the legal and human resources issues of opioids, drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Attendees were presented with three case studies involving small, medium and large businesses, with a variety of circumstances surrounding employee behavior, benefits and worst-case scenarios.
 
Next week is the State Chamber’s “Developing Delaware” event taking place in Dover at the Modern Maturity center. Focused on how Delaware compares with surrounding states when reviewed by site selectors, looking at Delaware “By the Numbers” and hearing success stories from around the state, this is a great opportunity to learn about economic development activity happening in Delaware. With over 200 attendees already registered, it will be a great networking event, too. To register, visit: http://web.dscc.com/events/Developing-Delaware-Conversation-Collaboration-Innovation-2175/details