20080414 News Clips

News Clips 04-14-2008

STATE NEWS

O'Malley issues ban on wind turbines in Md. state forests

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/04_12-51/OUD

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Saturday that his administration will not allow commercial wind turbines on state forest land, ending a heated four-month debate.
O'Malley said the ban applies only to conservation lands owned outright by the state and managed by the Department of Natural Resources. It is not meant to discourage wind power development on other local, federal or privately owned land, he said.
Advocates for state wind farm leases have cited the growing demand for energy in Maryland, which faces the risk of rolling blackouts as early as 2011 without additional power generation, according to PJM Interconnection, which runs the transmission grid for a 13-state area. David F. McAnally, whose company is seeking Public Service Commission approval for a 28-turbine project on private and county-owned property in Garrett County, said: "We must have wind projects in order for the state to meet its renewable policy priorities, as well as providing important jobs and tax revenue for local communities."

Slots will be next big fight

With session over, attention turns to November referendum

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/04_13-46/TOP

In only seven months, state voters will decide whether up to 15,000 slot machines - with a possible total of 4,750 in Anne Arundel County - will be legalized. No matter what the final decision is, the fiscal landscape of Maryland will be irrevocably changed. "We've got to have dollars flowing in somewhere," said Del. James King, R-Gambrills, one of the few Republicans to vote for the slots referendum. "You are left with few options." The economic storm is going to lead to a public relations tornado later this year, he said, as gambling interests from inside and outside Maryland jockey for position. "It is going to be one of the biggest media fights and political fights Maryland has seen in awhile," Mr. King said. Powerful lobbying groups already have started lining up behind the referendum in the waning days of the session.

Slots role could put Franchot to the test

Comptroller seen as O'Malley's rival

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.slots14apr14,0,2786191.story

A rift has developed over Comptroller Peter Franchot's role in the campaign against legalizing slot machines in Maryland, with some in the anti-gambling coalition unsure whether his high political profile will help or hurt the effort. It is a problem that both sides face as the multimillion-dollar campaign takes shape in the months leading to November's referendum on legalized gambling. Gov. Martin O'Malley acknowledged recently that his ability to enact his agenda over the coming years is strongly tied to the passage of the slots referendum, and he said he will campaign for it. The prospect that the public face of the anti-slots campaign could be Franchot, who has frequently clashed with the governor, has already led to Annapolis buzz that the vote could shape up as a quasi- gubernatorial primary between the two Democrats, a perception that could inject the issue of conflicting loyalties into the debate. Asked in an interview with The Sun's editorial board last week if he would campaign personally for the slots referendum, O'Malley said, "Yes. People keep asking me that. "There are some parts of the state where people have pretty much made up their minds," O'Malley said. "There are other parts of the state where I'll probably have to be more engaged, like Montgomery County and Prince George's and so on."
Those counties happen to be the heart of Franchot's base and, for many years, a hotbed of slots opposition.

County aims to consolidate agency buildings

Funding sought for the Global Space Utilization Plan

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-ha.complex13apr13,0,4745332.story

In the next few weeks, while members cope with budget issues, the County Council must also decide whether to approve the financing framework for an $82 million administrative office complex in downtown Bel Air. In addition to consolidating county agencies under one roof, the Sheriff's Office, the Health Department, the state's attorney's office and the court clerk would also benefit from the expansion. The plan calls for constructing an administrative building and sheriff's headquarters first and then moving on to other projects. State's Attorney Joseph Cassilly, whose offices are spread throughout four buildings, said he understood the magnitude of the decision facing the council and urged council members to act immediately. "People have not stepped up to the responsibilities the electorate has asked them to take on," he said. "We are not prepared for the future. We need to get started and do what you all know in your hearts is the right thing, the thing that anticipates the future of this county."

Election Could Tilt The Balance on Council

Death Has Left Members Divided

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/12/AR2008041201918.html

Montgomery County's special election Tuesday to fill the vacancy left by the late Marilyn Praisner could have far-reaching implications for the balance of power on the County Council as it decides whether to raise taxes, cut spending or revise labor agreements to cope with a deep budget shortfall. Four Democrats and four Republicans are running in the April 15 primaries to represent the county's District 4, with the winners going on to a May 13 general election. On the Republican side, the candidates are marketing analyst Mark D. Fennel, 42; information technology developer Thomas Hardman, 49; real estate agent and IT businessman John McKinnis, 33; and athletic fields specialist Robert P. Patton, 33. The Republican candidates have been energized by the county's fiscal debate. The election comes as the council must decide whether to raise taxes or trim spending to balance the fiscal 2009 budget. Leggett has recommended that the council exceed the county's charter limit on property tax revenue. The Republicans are pledging to stick to the limit.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Without educators, future looks grim

An open letter to County Executive John R. Leopold:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.letter13apr13,0,27965.story

Recently, it has been brought to my attention that five positions are going to be terminated at our school. Four are classroom teachers and one is a teacher who helps children who are having difficulty learning in the regular classroom environment. On top of taking our educators you will be adding more special-needs children to the already packed classrooms. Our school is older and the classrooms are small. Jamming more children into those classrooms will pose fire safety issues and mean less interaction with the children who excel and more time spent trying to catch up the children who need that individual attention. If your agenda is to keep advancing mediocre or substandard students, then you are surely achieving your goal. I hope upon realizing the severity of our situation that you will make yourself more aware of the individual schools so that you make better judgments pertaining to the well-being of your future voters and the citizens who voted you into office.

EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

Crab soup

Our view: Restrictions on harvests are only a first step

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.crabs13apr13,0,6812627.story

In the Chesapeake region, the blue crab is king. But uneasy rests the crown. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is predicting that harvests of female crabs will need to be reduced 20 percent to 40 percent to ensure a sufficient spawning population. The science behind the proposal is clear enough: Surveys show blue crab stocks are down and in danger of falling much lower. Crabs have been at risk for much of the decade despite conservation efforts. If further action is not taken, the species could go the way of once-abundant oysters or yellow perch But if crabs aren't given an opportunity to recover, not just one livelihood will be lost. It would also spell the demise of a critical asset for not only Maryland's economy but its very identity. Ultimately, blue crabs need more than a short-term fix. As long as the fishery is regulated in such a way that watermen have a strong incentive to take the most they can whenever they can, the danger of overfishing will remain.

Why Cheney was right: Polls shouldn't make policy

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.polls14apr14,0,500384.story

In a now-famous recent exchange on Good Morning America, ABC reporter Martha Raddatz asked Vice President Dick Cheney about the fact that "two-thirds of the American people say [the war in Iraq] is not worth fighting." The vice president said, "So?" and Ms. Raddatz asked, "So you don't care what the American people think?" Mr. Cheney responded that "you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls." Six days later, Mr. Cheney reasserted that his answer was about "polls," adding, "The point I wanted to make, and I would make again ... is the president of the United States ... can't make decisions based on public opinion polls. ... He cannot make judgments based upon what the polls say." Irrespective of one's position on the Iraq war, the vice president is correct about the proper use of polls insofar as making policy decisions is concerned. The Declaration of Independence doesn't demand "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind" as measured by polls. There is a difference between what the American people think and what public opinion polls say they think.

In Annapolis, you can have your cake and compute it too

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.fraser13apr13,0,7286252.column

universal linkages of legislative life are on display almost every day in the state capital, but never more so than on the hectic last day of the 90-day annual session. It's springtime for strange bedfellows. I give you this year's sweet nexus of cake and computers. We are talking the repeal of a tax on computer services and an effort to make the Smith Island cake Maryland's official dessert. The sky was going to fall. You think I'm kidding? Didn't you know that computer service people are hyper-mobile? They can pick up and leave Maryland in (what else?) a nanosecond. So, in the interests of saving the Free State, if not the free world, the tax had to be repealed. By the end of the legislative session, the association was lending its list of offended geeks - senatorial district by senatorial district - to the governor's legislative team, by now working furiously to kill the tax. The state Senate had given the cake quick approval for the designation of official state dessert. In the House, though, Delegate Elmore's bill was met with disdain Mr. Elmore was offered an opportunity. If he would vote for repeal of the computer services tax in the House Ways and Means Committee, his bill might pass. House Speaker Michael E. Busch thereupon hand-carried Delegate Elmore's bill to passage, 111-27. There's been vote trading before in Annapolis, friends, but this one takes the cake.

It's time to form a safety coalition

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-md.dresser14apr14,0,285290.column

Maryland's speeders can rest easy another year. Thanks to the tender concern of the Maryland General Assembly, they are free to race through your neighborhoods and through highway work zones without fear of being nailed by speed cameras. Gov. Martin O'Malley's modest gesture toward highway safety passed both chambers but expired when the House and Senate couldn't resolve their differences. So here's a worthy challenge for the governor of Maryland: Persuade the Assembly to make it state policy to cut the number of road deaths by more than half - to under 300 - in 10 years. Get legislators to write it into law, the way they did with education funding in 2002, and then figure out how to do it. It's hard to achieve anything bipartisan in this wildly polarized state, but here's how we might get there: A Democratic governor would be well-advised to seek out a prominent Republican who cares about this issue - and there are many - to help lead such a commission. After all, highway carnage knows no party. Pair that person with a widely respected Democratic co-chair who knows his way around Annapolis and has a track record on highway safety. Fill out the panel with law enforcement officers, judges, traffic safety experts, highway engineers, religious leaders and lawmakers from both parties. Add some relatives of crash victims to keep the motivation level up. Then set the panel loose with a mandate to develop a program to reach the goal.

Two-party choke hold prohibits true democracy

http://www.examiner.com/a-1339119~Kevin_Zeese_and_Linda_Schade__Two_party_choke_hold_prohibits_true_democracy.html

Citizens from across the political spectrum in Maryland worked together for a dramatic reversal in how Maryland votes. Since 2002 Maryland has experimented with paperless electronic voting. That experiment will end in 2010 when Maryland adopts a paper-based voting system with optical scan recounts. Voters wanted a transparent voting system and the ability to recount the original intent of the voter. The new system avoids machine problems seen with touch-screen voting including machines failing to start or freezing in the midst of voting, and machines producing blank memory cards. And it avoids the security problems of a computer-based system security experts described as filled with holes. Work is still needed. Maryland needs to require routine audits of a percentage of precincts to ensure the op-scan machines count correctly. Marylanders working with TrueVoteMD will work on that in 2009. Maryland needs to end one-party rule, open up its democracy, remove prejudice against alternative parties and allow more participation and new ideas. Then, there will be a better chance of solving those problems. The experience of TrueVoteMD, turning Maryland away from its massive investment in risky voting technology, provides hope that citizens working together can solve seemingly unsolvable problems and face the challenges of the future.

Slots or not? A big decision faces the voters

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/04_13-33/OPN

Gov. Martin O'Malley's long-term plans for balancing the books rest on the state's voters, who will be asked about seven months from now to approve a referendum clearing the way for up to 15,000 legal slot machines in Maryland, up to 4,250 of them in Anne Arundel County. Polls keep showing a majority of Marylanders supporting slots, at least for now. But the multibillion-dollar gambling industry knows that such referendums usually lose, and so will pour money into the state to make sure. The industry will be opposed by modestly funded grass-roots organizations with one big advantage: Some people have a deep-seated revulsion to state-proffered gambling, particularly if it is going to be anywhere near them. There are other questions for Marylanders: Do we really think extra revenue from slots will someday reduce taxes? Do we trust the current group in Annapolis to cleanly and efficiently set up what amounts to a state-supervised gambling cartel? Are the purported benefits being weighed against the full costs - gambling addiction, crime, the effect on neighborhoods? Are all of the slots players really going to be Marylanders who are now driving out of state, or is some of the revenue dumped into those heavily taxed machines going to be diverted from local businesses? It's just as well Marylanders have seven months to prepare for this crucial decision.

When 137 to 0 Is Not Enough

An Annapolis whodunit

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/13/AR2008041301999.html

THE DEATH this month of legislation in Maryland authorizing Montgomery County to adopt a system of public financing for local elections is an Annapolis whodunit. Practically every delegate and state senator from the county itself backed the bill, which would have established a voluntary system of public financing for qualifying candidates for county executive and the nine seats on the County Council. No lawmaker in either chamber of the Maryland General Assembly publicly opposed it. In the House of Delegates, the measure sailed to passage by a vote of 137 to 0. In the Senate, where the bill was assigned to the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, a single witness testified on the bill (council member Phil Andrews), explaining its merits and encountering nothing but favorable reactions from the senators who were present. And then, mysteriously, the bill never came up for a vote. Call it death by silence. It's unclear who administered the coup de grace to the Montgomery bill. Some suspect Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), an opponent of campaign finance reform at the state level -- but he denies it. Whoever the culprit, the bill's death is a fine example of the opaque art of legislating in Annapolis, where transparency and good government are no match for the special interests, monied contributors and backroom deals that are the General Assembly's stock in trade.