Delaware

The White House is expected to announce this week that an Irvine automaker will be setting up shop in a recently idled General Motors plant in Vice President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware. A source in the vice president's office said Sunday that Biden would be making an announcement at the closed plant on Tuesday but would not provide further details. The Associated Press reported that Fisker Automotive Inc. of Irvine intended to revamp a Delaware factory for use to produce one of its two electric plug-in hybrid vehicles.

A judge has tossed a lawsuit that accuses Intel Corp.'s directors of ignoring signs of allegedly monopolistic behavior. U.S. District Judge Joseph Farnan in Delaware ruled that the lawsuit didn't offer evidence about "what the directors actually knew about the 'red flags' and how they responded to them." The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all Intel shareholders. A lawyer for the plaintiffs declined to comment.

Re "It's not musical chairs," editorial, Dec. 10 I read with interest your editorial, which stated that "only qualified candidates should be considered" when filling vacant seats in the U.S. Senate. Ted Kaufman was chosen by Delaware's governor and will be a productive member of the Senate who will continue Joe Biden's legacy of getting things done for his constituents in Delaware and all across the nation. I have been privileged to know and work closely with Ted for a quarter-century, and I can confidently say that he is qualified to fill this seat.

"I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. And if I don't get what I want . . . then I'll just take the Senate seat myself." -- Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, as quoted in his federal corruption complaint. -- Rod R. Blagojevich may have gotten carried away by the heady opportunity to appoint a United States senator. But he is not the only chief executive of a state to face that exquisite quandary this season.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware said he would seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 and planned to file paperwork that would allow him to begin raising money. Biden has said for months that he has been trying to determine whether he has enough political and financial support for a bid. Now he is taking the next step, setting up an exploratory committee. "I am running for president," Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

A man accused of raping and killing a University of Delaware student, whose body was discovered in her burning apartment, was found guilty in Dover. James E. Cooke, 36, broke into Lindsey M. Bonistall's apartment in 2005, then raped and strangled the 20-year-old sophomore before placing her body in a bathtub and setting the fire, prosecutors said.

Re "Short staffs are a bear for parks," May 27 The trouble in Yosemite Valley referred to in this article is not the lack of visas for people "from Ukraine to Ecuador." It is in Delaware North Co.'s cutting costs by hiring people who need visas. Before the company took over the concession in Yosemite Valley, many local people worked in the park and would no doubt do it again if they were offered decent compensation, as they used to be. Delaware North has turned the concession that it is supposed to run for the public into its own moneymaking machine.

dover, del. -- Two students were shot and wounded, one seriously, at Delaware State University early Friday, prompting administrators mindful of the massacre at Virginia Tech to order a swift shutdown of the campus while police searched for the gunman. Police identified and questioned two students as "persons of interest" while students remained locked in their dorms and officers lowered gates to keep anyone from entering campus.

Police in Dover arrested a Delaware State University student in connection with a campus shooting that left two students wounded, one of them seriously, the college said. Loyer Braden, 18, a freshman from East Orange, N.J., faces charges including attempted first-degree murder, assault and possession of a firearm during a felony.

A lawyer representing Walt Disney Co. shareholders Wednesday asked Delaware's high court to reverse a ruling that found that the company's directors did not breach their duty when awarding former Disney President Michael Ovitz a severance package the shareholders value at $130 million.