News Clips
June 25, 2007
STATE NEWS
http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=59754
City officials from across
Mayor calls for 'thorough' review of pension system
http://www.examiner.com/a-797424~Mayor_calls_for__thorough__review_of_pension_system.html
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said she will conduct a "thorough" review of the city's pension policies after a controversial pension was awarded to former Deputy Police Commissioner Marcus Brown.
Slots fail to keep bettors at track
Crowds gal lop to casino games as horse racing declines throughout region
78 fired by gov., figures show
300 others resigned, retired; observers draw Ehrlich parallel
Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration has fired 78 employees since he took office, and nearly 300 others have left state government through retirement or resignation since he was inaugurated, according to figures his office released yesterday.
It is unclear how that total compares with the 340 firings Democrats attributed to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. during his term. The O'Malley administration did not say how many of the resignations and retirements were voluntary and how many were forced - making it difficult to compare O'Malley's personnel practices with those that launched a yearlong investigation into his predecessor.
"In six months, they've gotten rid of as many people as Ehrlich was criticized for in four years," said Republican Sen. David R. Brinkley, the minority leader from
Maryland Republican Party Chairman Jim Pelura said he has no problem with the notion that a new governor should be able to bring in his own people. The issue, he said, is the "brouhaha" over Ehrlich's practices - and the lack of outcry over O'Malley's.
"It's kind of humorous when you see the double standards applied," Pelura said. "Bob Ehrlich's firing of the 300 or whatever should not have been a story to begin with, and it is unconscionable that they spent taxpayer dollars investigating such a nonstory."
Canned with compassion
http://www.gazette.net/stories/062207/poliras222356_32361.shtml
Rather than be fired by Transportation Secretary John Porcari, Royster announced he was stepping down after just two years on the job. His sin? Having been appointed under Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich.
Reporters Notebook: Three ex-delegates in a room together = the BPW
http://www.gazette.net/stories/062207/polinew225322_32364.shtml
Oy!
As the state Democratic Central Committee elected Michael Cryor as party chairman last week, congressional candidate Donna Edwards was tossed out of the Lanham meeting.
Presidential politicking
His boss was quick to jump on Hillary Clinton’s White House bandwagon, but so far Anthony Brown isn’t throwing his support to anyone.
“D” for domain
County, state coping with gypsy moth woes
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=168773&format=html
Weathering the worst gypsy moth outbreak in 12 years,
Bob Tichenor, chief of Forest Pest Management for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, has been dealing with gypsy moths for 25 years. He says their population seems to go through five-year cycles, and 2007 is right in the middle of a big one.
"We have defoliation from Cecil to Garrett (counties), and possibly some spots south," he said.
Green is a rage in political fashion
Amid growth concern, area Republicans and Democrats back environmental causes
Howard's Ken Ulman is a Democrat and Anne Arundel's John R. Leopold is a Republican, but on environmental issues these days, it may be hard to see much difference between the two county executives.
Leopold and Ulman were also the two first county executives in
Arundel suspends 'stepping out' practice
As the funeral for Howard County Police Officer Scott Wheeler was under way yesterday, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold ordered a 30-day halt to the practice of officers stepping out into traffic lanes to flag down speeding drivers caught on radar. Leopold's order makes
Charter school doomed at start?
Some blame closure on weak state law
http://capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/06_24-33/GOV
The announcement that one of the county's two charter schools is closing was made on Wednesday. But its fate was sealed four years ago , supporters of alternatives to public education said. When the Knowledge is Power Program Harbor Academy shut its doors after failing to find an adequate building, eyes turned to the state's charter school law, which some believe has dealt heavy blows to the ability of the fledgling institutions to survive.
"It is really an uphill struggle in a state like
Tax revenue a big topic for elected officials
A shortage of state tax revenue weighs heavily on the minds of elected officials these days, and a lunchtime crowd at a Columbia interfaith center got a preview of the General Assembly's coming struggle over the issue.Maryland is expecting revenue to fall $1.5 billion short of expenses next year if nothing is done, and five Howard County legislators expressed their views to worried members of the Association of Community Services, a group of social service agency leaders who gathered last week at the Meeting House in Oakland Mills. Robey said he feels slot machines are "almost a certainty," although Dels. Elizabeth Bobo and Gail H. Bates said they oppose slots.
STATE NEWS
Mikulski, Cardin back transit grant
Funding would provide shuttles for
Maryland Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin sent letters this week to the
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/reporters_notebooks_display.htm?StoryID=61730
Rep. Roscoe
Give pork a chance; as spending goes, the feds could do worse
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=168632&format=html
If you have listened to the news lately, you know that the two greatest threats to
When asked by The Herald-Mail, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett helpfully released a list of his earmarks, which included funding for
Mikulski aims to trace guns used in crime
Senator wants ATF to share its database with local police
For five years, the National Rifle Association and its allies have successfully lobbied Congress to limit the ability of local police to access federal gun trace data. Now, by moving to remove those limits and increase the ability of local officers to track so-called crime guns, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski is venturing into what is rapidly emerging as the latest battlefield in the war over gun rights.
Obstacle course
Security clearance process to present challenge for BRAC construction
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/06_24-57/BUS
The Base Realignment and Closure process will create plenty of jobs for military saavy co ntractors that want to cash in on construction projects and support services at Fort George G. Meade. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-MD, recently announced a spending bill for $984.2 million for projects at
The 'Do-Nothing Congress' - Big Salary, Little Work, Free Trips
Americans are not happy about the job that Congress is doing, and with very good reason. According to the results of a Gallup Poll completed last week, only 14 percent of the American people have a lot of confidence in Congress. The first clue that members wouldn't be working harder was when House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced that the House would take a day off during the first week in session.
Magnet school program needs serious commitment
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/06_24-67/OPN
It's great that Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Baltimore, is supporting north county magnet schools - but is this more political piffle or are he and other Maryland politicians going to find federal money to make it happen?
Cummings questions maritime fairness
Records indicate bias in Coast Guard's courts
The chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for oversight of the U.S. Coast Guard said yesterday that he will convene a hearing to explore allegations that the agency's administrative law system is biased and that its judges are pressured to rule in the Coast Guard's favor.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Baltimore Democrat, said he also plans to ask Commandant Thad W. Allen to consider immediate action to protect the rights of defendants whose cases are now before the Coast Guard's courts.
"This needs to be looked at quickly," said Cummings, chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. "Even the appearance of injustice or impropriety cannot be tolerated."
