20070822 News Clips

News clips

Aug 22, 2007

STATE NEWS

Republican debate in Baltimore still on, organizers say
Leading candidates have yet to commit; Thompson preparing
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.debate22aug22,0,1187749.story
The organizers of a Republican presidential debate in Baltimore next month said yesterday that the event is on, even though the leading contenders haven't agreed yet to attend.
The nationally televised forum would probably feature one of the first debate appearances by Fred Thompson, if, as expected, the actor and former Tennessee senator declares his candidacy next month and if the event comes off, as planned, Sept. 27.
A spokesman for talk show host Tavis Smiley, the debate organizer, said an announcement about which candidates will appear would be made this month. But, he insisted, the full complement of announced Republican contenders is anticipated onstage at Morgan State University.

Dixon goes negative in ad
Mayor counterattacks, questions Mitchell anti-crime commitment
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.dixon22aug22,0,3728971.story
In a move that could quickly change the tone of Baltimore's primary election, Mayor Sheila Dixon fired back at her leading opponent yesterday with a negative television commercial questioning her adversary's commitment to fighting crime.
Dixon's new television advertisement, which criticizes City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. for voting against a pay raise for police officers in 2001, is a sharp departure from the more genteel, above-th e-fray approach her campaign has taken to date.With less than three weeks to go before the Sept. 11 Democratic primary, it appears both campaigns are ratcheting up negative attacks, turning up the heat on each other at a time when voters are expected to start paying greater attention to the race.

Union urges uniform drug testing
Paid firefighters subject to random checks; most volunteers are not
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.testing22aug22,0,1170830.story
In the 2 1/2 years since Baltimore County began requiring career firefighters to take random drug tests, at least a half-dozen have been dismissed for substance abuse - proof, union leaders say, that the policy works.
But the county's estimated 2,000 volunteer firefighters and paramedics are no t required to take the tests. And union leaders say that is a problem. Baltimore County is one of at least three counties in the area - Anne Arundel and Howard are two others - with paid and volunteer firefighters.
Anne Arundel County requires all public safety employees, including career and volunteer firefighters, to take random drug tests, a fire official there said.
In Howard County, career firefighters must take random drug tests, but volunteers are generally tested only after accidents or if there is a "reasonable suspicion," officials there said.

Gov. O'Malley's union orders questioned by GOP lawmakers
http://www.examiner.com/a-893600~Gov__O_Malley_s_union_orders_questioned_by_GOP_lawmakers.html
Republican lawmakers are questioning the legality of Gov. Martin O'Malley's recent executive orders authorizing collective bargaining for home health and child care providers - a move repeatedly rejected in the General Assembly.Baltimore County Republican Del. Rick Impallaria this week asked Attorney General Doug Gansler to issue a legal opinion on the constitutionality of O'Malley's orders, which he signed quietly Aug. 6.
The issues were fiercely debated during the past legislative session, Impallaria said, and were found to be "deeply flawed."
"If he can do this, there's no sense in us being down there as elected officials," Impallaria said. "We've heard this issue for a couple of years now and we've shot it down every single time."State Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-Carroll, Howard, said the orders were O'Malley's way of paying back unions for their political patronage. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Service Employees International Union heavily lobbied for the measures and supported O'Malley's election campaign.

Fire official blasts report on Bay Bridge collision
http://www.examiner.com/a-893617~Fire_official_blasts_report_on_Bay_Bridge_collision.html
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department said a state report about a fatal collision on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge incorrectly said the department had communications problems with other local agencies.
"We want them to change that report to show the problem was not with the fire and EMS units," county Fire Battalion Chief Michael Cox said Tuesday."It would be great if we could have the latest and greatest technology to be able to talk to other agencies directly," Cox said. "But there are policies in places to make sure effective communications are at the scene."
Maryland State Police said it doesn't see a major communication problem with its department and it hopes its new program help improve connections.

O'Malley will propose changes to land program
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070822/METRO/108220039/1004
The O'Malley administration is expected today to introduce a major change to Maryland's land-conservation program, after several questionable deals during its first seven months in office. Program Open Space will prioritize how the state buys land and will establish new criteria for rating land purchases, said Olivia Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.Gov. Martin O'Malley will review the policy this morning with the other members of the Board of Public Works, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp

Md. Might Tighten Rules for Buying Land
Environmental Benefits Would Get Added Emphasis
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082101929.html
The administration of Gov. Martin O'Malley will propose several steps today designed to make tens of millions of dollars a year in state land conservation purchases more systematic and more transparent.
The move comes at a time when Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) and others have criticized the price and the process that led to some recent multimillion-dollar acquisitions under the state's four-decade-old Program Open Space."We have developed a much more rigorous and quantitative approach based on a variety of ecological criteria," said Eric Schwaab, deputy secretary of natural resources.
A draft "ranking protocol" obtained by The Washington Post awards points base d on several other factors as well, including a property's potential recreation and historic value and its consistency with local land-use planning.

$500,000 grant will go toward drug prevention efforts
Wicomico group plans to use funds for education, checkpoints
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070822/NEWS01/708220358/1002
A recent announcement will allow efforts to continue and increase drug and alcohol prevention for youths in Wicomico County.
U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md. and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., announced Tuesday the Wicomico County Drug Council will receive a Drug-Free Communities support mentoring grant for the next five years. "This funding is a federal investment in keeping our communities strong and thriving -- to prevent lost youth and lost opportunity," Mikulski said.
The DFC program will provide grants up to $500,000 during a five-year period to community organizations that facilitate citizen participation in drug-prevention efforts in their area.


EDITORIALS/OPEDS

Spread the word
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.medicare22aug22,0,376262.story
Nearly 5 million poor people may be eligible for drug benefits through Medicare but don't receive them, a new survey reported, largely because they don't know the help is available.
The prescription here seems obvious: Federal, state, and local agencies must redouble their efforts to spread the word - Medicare officials in particular.

Amid competing agendas, slots just not wor th it
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-op.schaller22aug22,0,6458363.column?coll=bal_news_opinion_util
Here are the vital facts you need to know about Hale Harrison, hotelier and small businessman from Ocean City: His family traces its Maryland roots back to 1690 and has been in the hotel business since 1951; he co-owns 10 motels and hotels in the area; and for the past 30 years he's had one position on bringing slots gambling to Maryland:
Don't do it.
What's interesting about many in Ocean City's small business crowd, as The Sun's Andrew Green and Chris Guy reported, is that they not only don't want slots in their town - they don't want them anywhere else in Maryland either.
During his term, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Mr. O'Malley's predecessor, spent a lot of political capital trying t o move several versions of a slots bill through the General Assembly, to no avail. He and other Republicans now complain that their efforts were thwarted precisely to deprive Mr. Ehrlich of a political victory before his re-election bid - and there's some truth to that. But slots were just as bad an idea during Mr. Ehrlich's term as they are now, under Mr. O'Malley.

City recall elections
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_editorial.htm?StoryID=64072
Attention has returned to the possibility of creating a recall provision for the City of Frederick's elected officials. Recent letters to the editor from both former mayor Jennifer Dougherty and Mayor Jeff Holtzinger have addressed the issue, and it was also discussed at a City Hall workshop last Wednesday.
While both Dougherty and Holtz inger appear amenable to a recall provision for elected officials, the requirements of such a measure are the real issue. It boils down to one fundamental question: How easy or difficult should it be for the voters of Frederick to recall their duly-elected officials? Recalling elected officials is divisive, disruptive, expensive and subject to political machinations. While recall elections should be possible, the process should involve rigorous requirements and meet high, legal standards. It should also be used sparingly and only as a last resort.