20070809 News Clips

News Clips

Aug. 9, 2007

STATE NEWS

Volunteers Welcome Troops At BWI

http://wjz.com/seenon/local_story_220161534.html

After six months overseas in Kuwait, hundreds of troops received a hero's welcome home Wednesday. "We appreciate the fact that they have protected our freedom, our liberties, our freedom of speech, and we are grateful," said volunteer Joyce Thomann. "They are coming off of a very long tour, they are exhausted, they are hungry, and the last thing they are expecting is to have a group of us standing here to thank them and welcome them home," said John Flynn.

Verizon says it missed over 20% of service calls

Executives appear before state PSC

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.verizon09aug09,0,470398.story

Verizon Maryland Inc. violated state regulations by missing more than 20 percent of the service appointments it scheduled with phone customers in five of the first six months of the year, the phone giant acknowledged in a state hearing yesterday.

The company provided the information while defending its service record during a sometimes-tense two-hour hearing in downtown Baltimore with the Maryland Public Service Commission, which regulates the utility.

Commissioners on Friday ordered Verizon executives to turn over documents and attend the hearing, saying the agency received 300 complaints this year about the utility's service - or 50 percent more than a year ago. State regulations require telephone companies to answer at least 80 percent of their service calls on time.

But Steven B. Larsen, the new chairman of the commission, said the public has a right to know why Verizon misses appointments and why it sometimes takes so long to restore phone service. He said the service problems were not just annoying, they were a health and safety issue because people without cell phones could not call for help.

New attention to 5 old CSX bridges

'Deficient' city spans are topic of meeting; who pays for repairs is issue

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.ci.bridge09aug09,0,6405603.story

Mayor Sheila Dixon and city and state lawmakers demanded yesterday that railroad conglomerate CSX fix its crumbling bridges in Baltimore before it's too late. CSX owns the Locust Point bridge that leads to Fort McHenry, as well as four other "structurally deficient" bridges in Baltimore. For more than a decade, the company and the city have argued over whose job it is to maintain the ailing spans.

Yesterday state Sen. George W. Della Jr. and Del. Brian K. McHale sent a letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, urging them to "exercise the goodwill and strength of your offices to require the responsible party(s) to replace or repair this bridge."

"If the responsible party here doesn't come to the plate, we can't wait until a tragedy happens," Della said.

State officials slam federal Real ID driver's license program

http://www.examiner.com/a-872288~State_officials_slam_federal_Real_ID_driver_s_license_program.html

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff boasted about the value of the federal Real ID driver's license program with lawmakers from around the country at the National Conference of State Legislators meeting here, but Maryland lawmakers said he offered little of anything new about an unfunded federal requirement that burdens the states and creates a threat to privacy.

County considers free flu vaccine for kids

http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/08_08-34/TOP

A nasal spray that immunizes children against the flu may make an encore appearance this fall at county elementary schools.

Inspired by last year's statewide project to prevent children from spreading the virus, county health officials want $150,000 in tax dollars to help buy the nasal vaccine and distribute 15,000 free doses to elementary students.So far, Anne Arundel appears to be the only county in Maryland poised to launch a self-funded, comprehensive repeat of last year's program. But the county's plans are not finalized.

County Executive John R. Leopold this week asked the County Council to approve $150,000 to buy 8,500 doses, and a public hearing on the matter will be held at 7 p.m. Sept. 4, at the Arundel Center, 44 Calvert St. in Annapolis.

EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

Fueling around

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.energy09aug09,0,1105290.story

Democrats running Congress can blame President Bush and their tiny Senate majority for most of the disappointments of their tenure so far. But on their bid to apply progressive policy to energy and the environment - potentially a signature issue - Democrats are getting beat by their own guys. If House leaders, in particular, can't find the discipline within their ranks to finally muscle past the auto industry and raise motor vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, voters might well ask what difference it makes which party is in charge.

Property taxes make Baltimore intolerable

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.citytaxes09aug09,0,2404506.story

The only sure things in Baltimore are crime and taxes. But since all of our local candidates are focusing on crime, I wanted to take a moment to cry out into the urban wilderness about taxes.

Like migrating birds, it seems as if every three years Baltimoreans can be seen climbing up to their rooftops to protest inflated assessments, only to go back into their nests to mournfully mull their situation. But unlike the recent past, where the patience to bear heavy tax burdens was sustained by the promise of ever-increasing home values, I fear the fortitude of taxpaying families in Baltimore is waning.

Thousands Greet Crew Re-Creating 1608 Voyage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/07/AR2007080702277.html

Jefferson Patterson Park played host to more than 3,000 visitors as the crew re-creating Capt. John Smith's 1608 exploration of the Chesapeake Bay sailed into St. Leonard.

Maryland Indian leaders, politicians and park officials shared a stage Sunday to welcome the 12-person crew, which has spent nearly three months in a 28-foot wooden boat attempting to re-create the captain's historic voyage.

When the boat, called a shallop, stopped in Annapolis in July, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) went on board. At Jefferson Patterson Park in Calvert County last weekend, Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), former Democratic U.S. senator Paul S. Sarbanes and Calvert County Commissioner Susan Shaw (R-Huntingtown) were on hand to welcome the crew.

"It's a very big deal" for Calvert County, Shaw said as she strolled around the park checking out Native American demonstration booths. "This is living history. It's like once in a lifetime. It really is."

NATIONAL NEWS

Primary Season Getting Earlier

S.C. GOP's Move Could Push Votes For 2008 Into '07

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/09/AR2007080900642.html?hpid=topnews

South Carolina's Republican Party on Thursday moved its 2008 presidential primary forward to Jan. 19, a decision almost certain to spark a cascade of calendar changes that could push the start of voting to New Year's Day or even to before Christmas.

The move, announced today, is likely to cause the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucuses to be shifted at least to early January, and other states are actively angling to stake out spots earlier in the process. The maneuvering has injected a new note of uncertainty into what is already the earliest-starting presidential campaign in history, and top strategists for the candidates said it would force them to revise their carefully worked out plans.

Tom Croft running against Bartlett

http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_220135203.html

Tom Croft insists he's not a gimmick. The Hagerstown native's campaign proposes a new system of voting on Capitol Hill, one where his constituents can directly send him their votes on any legislation.

"I'm going in to wi n; I want to win," said Croft of Middletown, who will run as a Republican against Roscoe Bartlett for Maryland's 6th District seat in the House of Representatives. "...I'm an alternative... If I can get my name out there I have a pretty good chance of knocking (Bartlett) off."

Let's make college more affordable
http://www.gazette.net/stories/080907/carrcol211544_32357.shtml

For decades, the United States has been committed to ensuring that qualified students could go to college, regardless of family income. Student aid programs have made it possible for millions of American students to gain access to college and the American Dream.

Unfortunately, for the last 20 years, Congress has not held up its side of the bargain. During that time, the cost of college has more than tripled, while buying power of student aid prog rams has diminished.

Growing barriers to higher education have a profound effect on our nation, and often affect the most basic life choices of college graduates. College graduates often cannot pursue jobs in the public sector because they typically pay less than private-sector jobs and many college graduates are strapped with large debt.

Army hasn't finished plan for relocating Fort Monmouth staff

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070809/NEWS/708090399/1004/NEWS01

Contrary to claims made last week by Maryland legislators, the Army has not finished developing a plan to transfer thousands of employees from Fort Monmouth to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

A spokeswoman for Army Materiel Command - which oversees Fort Monmouth - said this week that the command is still developing its plan to transfer the post's mission to Aberdeen.

And while AMC has outlined construction projects at the proving ground, the command is still working out how and when the fort's more than 5,000 employees would make the move, according to Michelle McCaskill, an AMC spokeswoman.

But in a release issued Aug. 2, U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin, along with Reps. Steny H. Hoyer and C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger - all D-Md. - said AMC "has developed a step-by-step time line for moving assets into Maryland and a detailed funding plan to support these moves."

Boonsboro schools get technology funding

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=172032&format=html

Washington County Public Schools will receive $55,000 to upgrade technology at three Boonsboro schools. The grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was announced Wednesday by Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., and Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md.

The money will be used to install 2,300 feet of fiber optic cable and buy 100 desktop computers, along with routers, switches and other equipment, officials said. The upgrades and equipment will benefit students at Boonsboro Elementary, Boonsboro Middle and Boonsboro High, said Arnold Hammann, director of information management and instructional technology for Washington County Public Schools.

Bowie Night Out attracts large crowd to stadium

http://www.bowieblade.com/vault/cgi-bin/bowie/view/2007B/08/09-19.HTM

The public safety evening became an annual nationwide event in 1984. Since then, countless neighborhoods have embraced the anticrime social gatherings which usual ly feature a community block party with representatives from local law enforcement and businesses.

The Bowie Night Out saw Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Prince George's, the House majority leader, join the large crowd. Hoyer recently got a bill through Congress that allocated $500,000 for the Bowie Police Department to install an interoperable radio system. The communications gear will allow city police to better communicate with nearby jurisdictions and to act more swiftly in the case of an emergency.