But planning for next year will not be easy. State government spending has increased at about twice the rate of inflation for nearly a decade. State agencies and others who get grants have gotten used to the good times and won't relinquish their claims without a fight. The General Assembly's Joint Finance Committee and the leaders of the two houses will have to be rigorous in establishing budget priorities Education is Gov. Minner's top priority. That's excellent news.
Education is the key to economic success.
With reforms just starting to go into effect, it would be disastrous to try to run public schools with less money. When Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki announced last October he wanted all soldiers to trade their traditional dress caps for black berets, it provoked outrage in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment and its alumni. Since 1975, only Rangers were authorized to wear black berets, which set them apart from other Army troops as a specially trained unit with a glorious history. While the Army's Airborne corps would keep its maroon berets and the Special Forces its green ones, the distinctive Rangers' black beret would become standard uniform for everyone else, including Rangers. Delaware's adjutant general, Maj.