20080416 News Clips

20080416 News Clips

NewsClips 04-16-2008

STATE NEWS

Anti Slots Campaign Heats Up In Maryland

http://wbal.com/stories/templates/news.aspx?articleid=4859&zoneid=2

Maryland's public referendum on slot machine gambling isn't until November. But opponents are starting their campaign to defeat the initiative today. A group called Marylanders United to Stop Slots is meeting this afternoon at an Annapolis church to announce their plans to campaign against slots. Opponents will argue today that the money should be made up through budget cuts and better enforcement of existing tax laws, not gambling.

Anti-Slots Effort Relies Heavily On Ex-Duncan Campaign Staff

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/15/AR2008041502948.html

Former Montgomery County executive Douglas M. Duncan is not expected to attend today's kickoff of a grass-roots campaign to defeat November's statewide referendum on slot machine gambling. But if the message at the event has a familiar ring, there is good reason: It is crafted by the people behind Duncan's 2006 Democratic primary bid against Gov. Martin O'Malley. Scott Arceneaux, who was Duncan's gubernatorial campaign manager, is now a senior adviser to Marylanders United to Stop Slots. "Politics is a small world, and Doug ran on an anti-slots program, so it's not surprising that we have all ended up working on this issue," Arceneaux said. "But this will be a much broader campaign, and it will include a diverse group of people." To that end, the fledgling anti-slots group plans to roll out the names today of almost 100 members of its steering committee, including Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-Md.), a longtime slots opponent who lost his 1st District primary in February to a more conservative state senator. At one campaign event, Duncan warned that legalization of slot machines would usher in a Las Vegas-style economy, in which generations of Maryland children would "sit in a cage, changing money for people" instead of pursuing careers in biotechnology and other more lucrative fields.

Council scolds school leaders

Officials clash over handling of proposal to not fill 200 teaching jobs

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.teachers16apr16,0,6704536.story

Angry County Council members yesterday accused the Anne Arundel County school system of vilifying the county government for the superintendent's proposal to leave 200 teaching positions unfilled, with the council chairwoman blasting school officials for running "one hell of a PR [public relations] scam." "Whoever's doing your PR over there is doing one heck of a job, not a fair one, but a good job," Council Chairwoman Cathleen M. Vitale scolded the district's top business and human resources officials. "I'm wondering when I will see the press release that says the superintendent cut 200 positions ... so [he] can move forward with other non-core programs and initiatives." Council members insisted they funded 294 new teaching positions last year, and it was the school district's decision to use the money in other ways and pull the funding from such a controversial area as classroom teachers. During the past three weeks, a grass-roots letter-writing campaign was launched in several schools. Parents met on playgrounds and school libraries and cafeterias to hammer out strategies for bombarding the County Council, Leopold, school board members and local media with letters of protest. They printed fliers and pamphlets with information on the budget. They are planning to speak before the school board tonight and into May.

State aims to help children without insurance

Letters to notify families who might be eligible for federal program

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-md.ho.health16apr16,0,525714.story

Inspired by Howard County's success in finding uninsured children eligible for federal health coverage, state officials are launching a search of their own. Health officials are preparing to mail notices to tens of thousands of people across Maryland whose family members might be eligible for a federal program that provides access to affordable health care. A bill approved this month by the General Assembly directs the comptroller's office to review state tax information to determine who might be eligible and then notify the families. Part of that plan is to use existing programs that people might not know about, such as the federally funded State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In addition to recruiting more uninsured children, state health officials said a second mailing will be conducted to notify families that are newly eligible for Medicaid following General Assembly approval of expanded eligibility criteria.

Governors act to cut harvest of crabs

Md.-Va. effort aims to protect species

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bay_environment/bal-te.md.governors16apr16,0,4479862.story

The governors of Maryland and Virginia have agreed to take immediate steps to reduce by one-third the amount of female blue crabs harvested from the Chesapeake Bay - an unprecedented joint effort to stop the skid of the bay's iconic species.
Maryland officials said they are prepared to offer other work to watermen to make up for lost income. Natural resources officials pointed out that there is $3 million in the capital budget to help the seafood industry. Some of it could be used to hire watermen to build oyster reefs or start aquaculture businesses, officials said.
"What will happen to our watermen and their livelihoods if we fail to take any action?" O'Malley asked. "The right thing for our watermen is that we act now, and that is what we are doing." Bill Matuszeski, former director of the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program, said now is a "unique time" for the bay because Kaine, O'Malley and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, also a Democrat, are working together instead of pointing fingers at one another. "This is a good sign," he said. "The governors of Maryland and Virginia are saying ... that this is essentially one crab population, and that it is not respectful of state boundaries."

Montgomery Weighs Rise In Energy, Land Taxes

Council Seeking Ways To Balance '09 Budget

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/15/AR2008041501566.html

Montgomery County residents would pay more to heat their homes and keep the lights on, under two council proposals introduced yesterday that would raise local energy taxes to help balance the budget and encourage conservation. The energy tax measures, which would each raise $11 million, are meant to give the council flexibility to scale back Leggett's call for the largest property tax increase in two decades to close a $297 million shortfall. "I see no way that we could make up this money through anything other than magic," council member Marc Elrich (D-At Large) said, calling a property tax increase all but inevitable. "It's unrealistic to say we're not going to go there; it's a question of how much we're going to go there."

Praisner's Husband Wins Primary

Democrats Nominate Widower to Succeed Wife on Council

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/15/AR2008041501183.html

Don Praisner, the husband of the late Montgomery County Council member Marilyn Praisner, won the Democratic nomination yesterday to serve out his wife's term in District 4, a victory that reflected her popularity from 17 years in office. The winners of the primary contests will compete in a May 13 general election in District 4, where Democrats hold a wide advantage in voter registration. The election came at a turbulent time for the council as it faces a projected $297 million budget shortfall for fiscal 2009 and wrestles with decisions on raising taxes, cutting services or revising labor contracts.

Republican candidates were united in their opposition to Leggett's proposal to increase property tax revenue above the limit set by the county's charter. Fennel promised property tax relief. The other GOP candidates -- McKinnis; Thomas Hardman, an information technology developer; and Robert P. Patton, an athletic fields specialist -- also pledged to stick to the charter limit.

Anne Arundel wins some, loses some at General Assembly

http://www.examiner.com/a-1343277~Anne_Arundel_wins_some__loses_some_at_General_Assembly.html

Anne Arundel received millions of dollars in bond bills and higher fees in the 2008 General Assembly, but the county took a notable revenue hit, lawmakers said. The state legislature approved the county’s push to increase fees on well drillers and restaurants, approved a requirement for the Maryland Department of the Environment to repay the county for testing during the coal fly ash incident, and approved more than $1 million in grant funding for new art houses and homeless shelters. However, the General Assembly also made video bingo machines, hundreds of which are in Anne Arundel’s three bingo halls, illegal. The county collects nearly $2 million in taxes and fees on the machines, which must be out of the state by July 2009. Leopold didn’t receive additional money for public school teachers nationally certified in science, technology, engineering and math. The hope was to encourage better teaching in a fast-growing area of education, but it died in the Senate.

EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

The austerity option

Our view: County executive makes right call with lean budget

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.baltcounty16apr16001517,0,4211704.story

Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. probably shouldn't expect a lot of thank-you notes from his county employees this year. The $2.58 billion budget he unveiled yesterday doesn't give most of them cost-of-living raises. Teachers have expressed their displeasure with picketing and a work-to-rule protest. But the proposed budget does hold the line on spending and taxes - keeping property tax and personal income tax rates exactly where they've been for a decade and a half. Mr. Smith could have proposed raising taxes. That's what Gov. Martin O'Malley chose to do last year to address the state's structural deficit. But the county's financial situation is simply not as dire. Asking teachers and other county employees to tighten their belts for one year is the right call, but like a homeowner who defers maintenance, it's a strategy that can't continue forever.

The young, the proud, the Republican

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.vozzella16apr16,0,4504875.column

About 60 future lawyers turned out the other day to hear Bob Ehrlich speak to the Republican Law Society at the University of Maryland Law School. I didn't know there were that many Republicans in all of Baltimore. "You'd be surprised," said Sebastian Kurian, a third-year student and the society president. "We actually have a fairly large number of Republicans at the school." They just keep a lower profile than the Democrats on campus - and not just because, according to Kurian, "99 percent of the faculty and professors are Democrats and liberals."A lot of the Democratic students enroll in the law school "specifically to work in government or to run for office someday," he said, so they're likely to be politically active. (One alum, Gov. Martin O'Malley, attended his 20th reunion Saturday.) But Kurian said the Republican students are more focused on their futures in corporate law.
"We'd be more likely to give a campaign contribution but not exactly go out and do some grass-roots work," he said. "We're not as involved in the political scene." But they were still glad to hear from the former GOP Gov - and to hear that his firm, Womble Carlyle, will be on campus this fall to recruit interns for summer 2009.
If Ehrlich is looking for campaign recruits, sounds like he'd better look elsewhere. Kurian, who has a job lined up with Miles & Stockbridge, at least sounds willing to write him a check. "I'm going to be working for a big firm here in Baltimore, and I'm terrified of my first tax bill," he said. "So it would be nice to get as many Republicans in office as possible."

NATIONAL NEWS

Hoyer Wants to Make Your Taxes Simpler Next Year

http://www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/8240

As taxpayers in Maryland completed their tax returns today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) joined a majority in the House of Representatives in support of the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act, a bill that strengthens taxpayer protections and restores measures of accountability and fairness to the federal tax code. Rep. Hoyer also reported on how the 110th Congress is working to simplify the tax code, make it more equitable and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent more wisely.
“This bill takes action on behalf of America’s taxpayers with provisions that will strengthen protections and restore accountability and fairness to the tax code,” stated Rep. Hoyer. “While further action is required, the 110th Congress is moving forward in the right direction, after years of ill-conceived policy-making that made the tax code more complex, more onerous and less fair for the vast majority of Americans.” “For far too long, the tax code has given greater advantages to corporations and left middle class families to fend for themselves,” added Rep. Hoyer. “I am proud to back legislation that will require companies to pay their fair share and help ensure taxpayers who play by the rules get the assistance they need and deserve.”