Dayhoff Westminster Soundtrack: 02/01/2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

BofA's Newest Insane Fee and news from Huffington Post Business Brief

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

BofA's Newest Insane Fee

This year South Carolina income tax refunds will arrive on prepaid debit cards unless taxpayers specifically opt for a check or direct deposit.

	Dow Hits Huge Marker
	General Electric Tax Rate 2.3 Percent Over Decade, Report Finds
	The New One Percent May Cost Health Insurers Big Time
	'Tip Theft' Bill Would Crack Down On Alleged Employer Skimming
	The Wall Street Guide To Making A Boatload Of Money

BLOG POSTS

	Marcelo Giugale: The Lingering Global Crisis and the New Poor The lingering global crisis is forcing us to rethink the objectives and the tools of social policy. Past meltdowns in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin-America provide us with some good hints on what to expect and how to respond.
	Arvind Ganesan: Corporate Crime and Punishment Should corporations have immunity for human rights abuses? Today, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that will decide whether corporations will be exempted from a crucial law that allows foreign victims of serious human rights abuses to sue them in US courts for civil damages.
	Sen. Ron Wyden: Trade Rules Matter If China is violating trade rules to help its industries undercut the price of solar panels and other environmental goods, it changes the competition from a race to produce better products more efficiently to a competition to cheat better.
	John Fullerton: Beyond Firm-Level Sustainable Capitalism We need the sustainable business community to join the ongoing systems level conversation about how to make the whole global economy truly sustainable, not merely less unsustainable.
	Women 2.0: The New Girls Network: Building A Bigger Pie for High-Growth Women-Led Companies There are incredible things happening in the startup world for women entrepreneurs.

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

Agencies would face budget cuts for repeat audit problems and more from MarylandReporter.com

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Bates proposes to cut budgets of agencies with repeat audit problems

Cutting the budgets of agencies that have problems with waste, poor policies, and lack of adequate controls will spur them to fix the problems more quickly, said Del. Gail Bates, R-Howard. Bates, a new member of the Joint Audit Committee, has proposed a bill that would allow budget committees to withhold up to 5% of an agency's funds if there are at least three repeated findings on the regular audit reports done every three years by the Office of Legislative Audits.

Quick Links

Sign up for newsletter

MarylandReporter.com homepage
Donate
More About Us

Different public defender bills to be voted on by both houses on Wednesday

The House and Senate sent separate versions of the Public Defender Act for a final vote expected on Wednesday, which will establish the time frame for a defendant's right to counsel and the appearance before a district court judge.

Analyst suggests fewer Wall Street investment managers would bring better pension returns

After officials from the State Retirement and Pension System shared a positive investment outlook with members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on Tuesday, Jeff Hooke of the Maryland Tax Education Foundation told the senators about his idea for bigger returns: fire the Wall Street managers.

Today's roundup of state news

Former Atty Gens. Curran and Sachs line up behind repealing death penalty; religious leaders file to start petition drive to repeal same-sex marriage; school safety cited as reason for long-term student suspensions; maintenance of effort and teacher pension shift continues to dominate county concerns; transgender bias bill gets a hearing; and Democrat John Delaney gets new campaign manager for 6th District race.

Editor and Publisher: Len Lazarick; Associate Editor: Megan Poinski; Roundup Editor: Cynthia Prairie

MarylandReporter.com is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, and contributions are tax-deductible. Donate here.

*****

Kevin Dayhoff - The Tentacle: #Orioles Spring Training - Opera without the singing or the horses http://tinyurl.com/73zogq4

Kevin Dayhoff - The Tentacle: #Orioles Spring Training - Opera without the singing or the horses http://tinyurl.com/73zogq4 http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4947

February 9, 2012: Eagle Archive McDaniel's new Gill Stadium will take its place in college's athletic history By Kevin Dayhoff, http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0212-20120208,0,3363909.story

Wednesday, February 15, 2012: www.thetentacle.com - http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4921 Sad Times for Eastman Kodak, TheTentacle.com: by Kevin E. Dayhoff

Wednesday, February 22, 2012: www.thetentacle.com - http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4934: #Orioles #Baseball spring training & the “Magic” of Jackie Robinson http://tinyurl.com/7pmgjjg Wednesday,

www.explorecarroll.com - http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/community/ph-ce-eagle-archive-0226-20120222,0,6575174.story: Eagle Archive #Sports #History: In 1885, #Westminster did a little #Orioles bird hunting on the diamond http://tinyurl.com/7vxlmhx

www.sarasota.patch.com - http://sarasota.patch.com/articles/orioles-spring-training-in-sarasota-pays-homage-to-history-and-looks-to-the-future: SPORTS #Orioles Spring Training Pays Homage To History And Looks To The Future By Kevin E. Dayhoff: http://patch.com/A-rdbv

www.westminster.patch.com - http://westminster.patch.com/articles/orioles-see-changes-in-spring-training-in-sarasota: The history of Baltimore baseball goes back 130 years. http://patch.com/A-rdbW

Sunday, February 26, 2012: www.sarasota.patch.com - http://sarasota.patch.com/articles/spring-training-in-sarasota-and-the-florida-grapefruit-league-have-a-long-history: Florida Spring Training History: Wrestling Alligators and Cash - Spring training in Florida has had a colorful history with the temptations of the warm climate for players and temptations of cash for owners. By Kevin E. Dayhoff

++++++++++

Labels: Dayhoff photos, Dayhoff photos sports, Sports, Sports Baltimore Orioles 2012 Spring Training, Sports Baltimore Orioles Spring Training, Sports Baseball

Baltimore Orioles Spring Training 2012, Ed Smith Stadium, History sports, and Spring training 2012

*****

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Rebels whisk injured British reporter out of Syria - Washington Post Social Reader on Facebook

Washington Post Social Reader on Facebook: BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels smuggled a wounded British journalist out of the besieged central city of Homs Tuesday and whisked him to safety in neighboring Lebanon, activist groups said. They did not manage to evacuate a wounded French journalist or the bodies of two other Western reporters killed last week. ... https://apps.facebook.com/wpsocialreader/me/channels/22516/content/VCi2k?p=1&e=title&via=main_frontpage

'via Blog this'

*****

White House, NSA weigh cybersecurity, personal privacy - Washington Post Social Reader on Facebook

Washington Post Social Reader on Facebook: https://apps.facebook.com/wpsocialreader/me/channels/read/content/QkV41?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=headline&utm_campaign=wpapp

The National Security Agency has pushed repeatedly over the past year to expand its role in protecting private-sector computer networks from cyberattacks but has been rebuffed by the White House, largely because of privacy concerns, according to administration officials and internal documents.

The most contentious issue was a legislative proposal last year that would have required hundreds of companies that provide critical services such as electricity generation to allow their Internet traffic be continuously scanned using computer threat data provided by the spy agency. The companies would have been expected to turn over evidence of potential cyberattacks to the government.

NSA officials portrayed these measures as unobtrusive ways to protect the nation’s vital infrastructure from what they say are increasingly dire threats of devastating cyberattacks...

https://apps.facebook.com/wpsocialreader/me/channels/read/content/QkV41?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=headline&utm_campaign=wpapp

'via Blog this'

*****

Madoff-invested charities contributed $365k to Media Matters :Bernie Madoff | Media Matters | Foundations | The Daily Caller

Bernie Madoff | Media Matters | Foundations | The Daily Caller: "Media Matters for America accepted funding from at least three foundations whose money “grew” under the fraudulent stewardship of the now-incarcerated Bernard Madoff. One of those foundations was backed by a man many believe was in cahoots with the legendary financial criminal.

Madoff’s Wall Street empire crumbled in late 2008 after federal authorities were tipped off to his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme...

A look at Michigan ahead of Tuesday’s GOP primary

A look at Arizona ahead of Tuesday’s GOP primary

Santorum Michigan success tied to Democrats

Gingrich targeting Super Tuesday states

Romney fights to avoid home-state embarrassment

Madoff-invested charities contributed $365k to Media Matters

Kid Rock gets wild and free for Romney event

DOJ denies knowledge of bribed prosecutors in Virgin Islands corruption case

Bob Barr: Libertarians should vote for Gingrich

'via Blog this'

*****

Monday, February 27, 2012

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by S&P

Financial Times February 27 S&P puts Greece in selective default

S&P on Monday night declared that Greece was in selective default on its long and short-term ratings, pointing to the terms of the sovereign debt deal offered to private bondholders last week. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9dffdd30-6147-11e1-a738-00144feabdc0.html

More: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ix=seb&ie=UTF-8&ion=1#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=Greece%20in%20selective%20default&pbx=1&oq=&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&fp=8fffa4365236a613&ix=seb&ion=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1199&bih=625

+++++++++

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by Standard and Poor
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-27/greece-ratings-cut-to-selective-default-by-s-p.html

By Greg Chang - Feb 27, 2012 4:36 PM ET

Greece had its long-term sovereign credit ratings cut to selective default from CC by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which cited an action by Greece’s government regarding its sovereign debt that began a “distressed debt restructuring.”

The downgrade was triggered after Greece retroactively inserted collective action clauses in the documentation of certain sovereign debt series last week, according to S&P.

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by Standard and Poor

Greece Ratings Cut to Selective Default by S&P

Orestis Panagiotou/Landov

The Stock Exchange in Athens on Feb. 21, 2012.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-27/greece-ratings-cut-to-selective-default-by-s-p.html

Canadian Dollar Trades Within Half-Cent of Parity for Fourth Straight Day

Treasuries Rise After Group of 20, Pushing 10-Year Yields to One-Week Low

Buffett: Energy Future Bet at Risk of Losing Value

Bank of America Mortgage Bond Settlement Returned to N.Y. State Court

Harford County Board of Education Feb. 27: Board to Oppose Governor’s Proposed Shift of Teacher Pension Costs to Local Governments and more from The Daily Dagger - 02/27/2012

Harford County Board of Education Feb. 27: Board to Oppose Governor’s Proposed Shift of Teacher Pension Costs to Local Governments

Feb 26, 2012 08:34 pm | Cindy Mumby

The February 27 meeting agenda for the Harford County Board of Education includes a recommendation that the Board oppose Governor Martin O’Malley’s proposed shift of teacher pension costs from the state to local governments.
Kathy Carmello, government relations coordinator for HCPS, will provide Board members with an update on… Continue Reading

comments | read more

Harford County Charter Review Board Recommends Council Term Limits, New Redistricting Procedure, Modernized Public Notification

Feb 26, 2012 05:34 pm | Brian Goodman

The Harford County Charter Review Board, established on July 12 with the goal of cleaning up and modernizing the Charter, issued its final report last week and has recommended several substantial changes – including term limits for the council president and members, a new procedure to ensure fair political participation… Continue Reading

comments | read more

Whiteley: “This Bill Will Give Us Taxpayers Internet Access to Residential Worksheets Much Like the Real Property Data Search Sheets Already Available on the Department of Assessment and Taxation Website”

Feb 26, 2012 05:26 pm | A Dagger Reader

From Roy Whiteley, Founder, Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation:
HB 789 PROPERTY TAX — ASSESSMENT WORKSHEETS — INTERNET ACCESS
HEARING DATE FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Short notice – but great news?? This gives us a second chance?? We apologize for not knowing of this sooner. Delegate Susan McComas just informed… Continue Reading

comments | read more

“Destination Study” Recommending Economic Development and Tourism Options for Harford County to be Released Tuesday

Feb 26, 2012 05:24 pm | Dagger News Service

From Harford County government:
Harford County Executive David R. Craig, joined by Donald C Fry, President and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee and Jim Richardson, Director of the Office of Economic Development will speak to the release of the “Destination Study for Harford County” on Tuesday.
The “Destination… Continue Reading

comments | read more

Aberdeen Agenda Feb. 27: Council Liasons Removed from Certain Boards and Commissions; Swim Club Pool Filter Renovation; Wastewater Awards

Feb 26, 2012 05:23 pm | Brian Goodman

The Aberdeen City Council is expected to vote Monday night on an ordinance which would remove the requirement to maintain city council liasons as appointed members of certain boards and commissions.
Specifically, the ordinance would strike the requirement that a council member must be appointed to the Economic Development Commission,… Continue Reading

comments | read more