Press Lines: March 2023

Where are you from? Or Where did you grow up? Arizona, Home Grown Native! After being married in 2016 to my best friend I moved to El Paso, TX as he was stationed there. Then in October of 2016 he received orders for Hawaii. We actually lived on Oahu for a couple years. What an experience that was!

Prior employers and very brief job description? I previously worked as a Project Coordinator/Manager. Keeping up with monthly billing/weekly billing, scheduling jobs out, and ordering materials for job sites.

Hobbies/Interests: I grew up listening to a WIDE variety of music (I can thank my dad for that!) and probably would die without music! In addition to constantly listening to good music wherever, whenever... My husband and I own a Can-Am (side by side) and love to spend time outdoors camping and going to the Imperial Sand Dunes with family and friends and of course our fur baby Dakota goes with us everywhere. OH... and I love Boba and Pizza.

April Anniversaries

4/1	4	YRS	Kampmeyer, Ann	W Valley
4/7	2	YRS	Gray, Cooper	De Printing
4/12	19	YRS	Ryder, Allan	De State News
4/12	21	YRS	Dale, Lisa	Corporate
4/13	8	YRS	Conner, Courtney	De Printing
4/14	9	YRS	Koyanagi, Cathy	Salisbury
4/15	45	YRS	Kircher, Lori	Corporate
4/17	1	YR	Ochoa, Joey	Valley Printing
4/18	35	YRS	Clendaniel, Sheila	Corporate
4/19	30	YRS	Cregar, Heather	De State News
4/20	29	YRS	Horleman, Craig	De State News
4/29	5	YRS	Thomas, Stephanie	Valley Printing

Friday, March 3, 2023

West, Valania accept State News regional promotions State News at BaytoBayNews.com sees new leadership

By Laura Walter

Delaware State News

DOVER — Andrew West and Marty Valania have accepted new regional leadership roles for the State News at BaytoBayNews.com.

Mr. West, who has been with the Delaware State News since 1990, will oversee news direction and strategy, said Publisher Konrad LaPrade.

“I’ve been super impressed by Andrew and his ability to look at the big picture, think about strategy, readership and really examine the stories and issues from a large view—and help dial that in for our readers in a way that makes sense,” Mr. LaPrade said.

Following Mr. LaPrade’s recent move to publisher, he named Marty Valania as his successor as sales and digital director.

Mr. Valania will oversee advertising sales efforts in the region.

Independent Newsmedia Inc., USA’s Delmarva group includes the Delaware State News, Milford Chronicle, Sussex Post, Smyrna Extra, Salisbury Independent, Dorchester Banner and Crisfield-Somerset County Times and its regional website, BaytoBayNews.com.

With an MBA from the University of Delaware, his career in digital marketing covers more than 20 years and various media companies in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

“Marty’s one of the most talented sales leaders who I’ve worked with,” at three separate companies, said LaPrade. “I’m really grateful for his ability both to mentor, and lead a team as well as his focus on helping customers grow their business, whether through digital, print or looking at the whole picture and marketing plan.”

As Mr. West moves into his new role as editor-in-chief, he has named Greg Bassett as the managing editor for Maryland and Logan B. Anderson as the managing editor for Delaware.

Mr. Bassett has been editor and general manager of the Salisbury Independent since it was founded in 2014. He has more than 40 years of news experience.

Mr. Anderson, who has roots in southern Kent County, has been in the role of business and special projects editor at the State News for the past two years.

Kitt Parker, a Laurel native, will take the reins as web editor for BaytoBayNews.com.

“This is quite an honor. My roots run deep in Delaware and the Eastern Shore, so I’m thrilled to work with our other homegrown journalists on local stories that truly matter,” said Mr. West, who grew up in Salisbury and got his start in the business as a freelance writer for the Daily Times while in high school. “Our journalists take great pride in our company’s values and the work we do. We genuinely do want our communities to be great places to live, work and play.”

The moves essentially position the leadership team to build on the success of the company’s regional website, which covers Delaware and a large area of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

“Having the experience that Greg, Logan and Kitt bring to the table—that makes a really dynamic team,” said Mr. LaPrade. “I can’t wait to see the journalism they do, as they continue to work in Delmarva to report the news.”

Welcome to Michael McDaniel

Please welcome Michael McDaniel to our Arizona region as a reporter. Michael is single and he grew up in Chicago. He is a huge Cubs and Bears fan and says he has the food in his heart.

He previously worked for Courthouse News as a Legal Reporter covering some of the Kari Lake legal cases and other civil and human interest stories. He worked at the Phoenix Business Journal -- Interned here as a business journalist. I had fun writing profiles of people. And then at the Arizona Republic -- Worked breaking news.

Michael served in the United States Army as an advisor to the Afghan army in Afghanistan.

When asked about his hobbies and interests he stated I work out religiously as a member of Orange Theory Fitness. My favorite class is a 90-minute Saturday class.

Crisfield-Somerset County Times Mission Story February 2023

County Times spells out community’s sewer challenges

In Crisfield-Somerset County Times coverage, editor Richard Crumbacker outlined a struggle a community is having with sewer solutions.

A resident of the Annemessex Ridge waterfront subdivision is just beyond the reach of Crisfield’s municipal sewer system. His appeal that his neighborhood be connected to the sewer through the Somerset County Sanitary Commission, however, was received with sympathy but little more.

Andrew Karolick, who owns a home connected to a holding tank on Annemessex Road, said alternatives including a new septic system won’t be approved by the health department.

“All of the homes in our community are getting toward the end of their life cycle with their septic drain fields,” he said, and while some have new septic systems, “there is no alternate viable solution” if one fails inspection especially when selling a home.

Delaware State News Mission Report for February 2023

How would Delaware handle a railroad disaster?

Did you ever wonder what all those cars are carrying and how local first responders would handle an incident like what just happened in East Palestine, Ohio?

Localizing a national story, reporter Craig Anderson answered some of those questions in a package of stories Feb. 26 in the Delaware State News and at BaytoBayNews.com.

Delaware officials are monitoring progress in Ohio, where five of 10 cars on the derailed train contained vinyl chloride. The Associated Press reported that the possibility of a explosion prompted an evacuation of half the town and a surrounding rural area. Then, crews released the toxic chemical and burned it.

In Kent County, Delaware State News readers were reminded of a 2006 incident when a styrene leaked from a rail car at the Dow Reichhold plant near Cheswold.

In related stories:

Whether it’s during an impromptu meeting at a Redner’s or via a social media post, Mayor Robin Christiansen wants to share a message: He believes the city of Dover and its statewide partners are well prepared to address a large-scale hazardous material emergency.

Five to 10 minutes. That’s the average time it takes for environmental first responders in Delaware to mobilize following a call.

Banner Mission Story February 2023

Banner brings Black graphic arts history into modern light

In February, as part of continuing Black History Month coverage, correspondent Debra R. Messick published an extensive interview with Pierre Bowens Bowens, a professor of graphic design at George Mason University. Bowens, a Dorchester County native, helped create the online course, “Black Design in America: African Americans and the African Diaspora in Graphic Design.” His exhibition, “The Sin of Omission,” was featured at Dorchester Center for the Arts.

But, as Messick wrote, one doesn’t have to visit a museum to view what are essentially everyday masterpieces created by African Americans: They're everywhere – posters, album covers, ads, logos, book illustrations, even the designs behind objects known and loved, like childhood favorite, the View-Master.

While dedicated to his craft, Bowens became painfully aware just how few design artists of color, like himself, seemed to be represented professionally at conferences and meetings. To understand this sense of isolation, Bowens began a personal quest to collect historic graphic design artifacts. And what he found was reassuring, yet disturbing.

Messick was able to communicate how numerous African Americans had been actively engaged in design arts, yet there was no mention of them in graphic design textbooks – what Bowens calls “the historic canon," leaving no way for future artists to understand that they're truly not alone.

The story generated considerable positive reaction. It was an occasion in which the Dorchester Banner was able to convey history, while also shedding light on current-day problems.

Salisbury Independent Mission Stories February 2023

Salisbury Independent shines light on county executive action

In February, Salisbury Independent provided leading coverage on the new Wicomico County Executive’s effort to hire a political ally for public office – and how her effort exploded under the light of news coverage.

Julie Giordano sought to hire former gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox as Wicomico’s special legal counsel, placing the controversial Republican on retainer to handle cases outside the expertise of the county government’s normal legal team roster. Giordano terminated the contract of the county’s longtime outside counsel, Kevin Karpinski, shortly after she assumed office.

The County Executive’s effort was handled in a most low-profile way – at least until Salisbury Independent began writing about it. We relied on internal documents and a review of the Karpinski saga to inform readers. When the executive assailed Karpinski in another media platform, Salisbury Independent reported those inflamed comments in detail – Giordano’s comments are likely to result in a legal action.

Thanks to Salisbury Independent’s reporting, the community spoke out on the issue.

The hiring went down to a lopsided defeat at the hands of the County Council.

Florida Mission Stories for February 2023

February is always a busy time for the INI Florida Group with a community festival every weekend – sometimes more than one! In addition to festival coverage, the Florida group covered a variety of interesting news in February.

County to pay 1.2 million to family of woman killed in 2013 crash

In 2013, an Okeechobee County deputy responding as backup to a domestic violence call was involved in a traffic crash that took the life of an Okeechobee woman. The subsequent investigation determined the deputy was traveling at a high rate of speed – over 80 mph in a 35 mph zone – without lights and sirens. When the sheriff’s office insurance company could not reach a settlement with the family, the case went to trial and the jury awarded the family $5 million. But due to Florida law, any payments of more than the insurance covers require a claims bill approved by the Florida Legislature. That process dragged on for years, with the Legislature failing to pass a claims bill. In February, attorneys for the family, insurance company and the county came to an agreement in which the family will accept payments of $300,000 per year for four years. This story has been on and off in the news for the past decade. The Lake Okeechobee News story gave readers the update they have been waiting for, along with a summary of the background for those who were not in town at the time of the original accident.

https://www.southcentralfloridalife.com/okeechobee/stories/county-considers-payment-of-12-million-to-family-of-woman-killed-in-2013-crash,54147

Florida Cracker Trail Ride celebrates history

Each year, the Florida Cracker Trail Ride travels from Florida’s west coast to the state’s east coast, along the trail used for cattle drives until the railroad made them obsolete in 1939. The Lake Okeechobee News has often covered the ride as it passes through Okeechobee County. This year, editor Katrina Elsken saddled up and rode along to get the story firsthand.

https://www.southcentralfloridalife.com/stories/florida-cracker-trail-ride-celebrates-history,54261

Jewish community to be built in Glades County

Okeechobee area residents noticed some site work along State Road 78 in rural Glades County and wondered what was going to be built there. The answer: A new Jewish community, complete with schools, restaurants, synagogue and more. The development could include up to 1,300 homes. Construction will start as soon as 150 families have committed to the project. At last report, 800 families have expressed interest.

https://www.southcentralfloridalife.com/stories/yiddish-community-coming-to-okeechobee,54323?

https://www.southcentralfloridalife.com/okeechobee/stories/lakefront-estates-has-800-families-interested-in-moving-to-florida,54381?

Katrina and Callie were back on the trail

Lake Okeechobee News Executive Editor Katrina Elsken and her horse Callie were back on the trail Feb. 23, participating in the Florida Cracker Trail Ride, which honors the historic cattle drives that cross Florida from coast to coast. For the story, see the southcentralfloridalife.com website.

Thursday, March 23, 2023

INI Idea Exchange

Welcome Makenna Siegel