20070721 Woodsboro Lehigh Cement to close according to Frederick News Post

Frederick News-Post: Woodsboro Lehigh Cement Plant on MD 194 to close

Lehigh Cement to close

Originally published July 21, 2007 By Ed Waters, Jr. News-Post Staff

WOODSBORO ----After 44 years, Lehigh Cement Co. is shutting operations at its plant on Md. 194.

The decision will affect 33 employees, according to the company. Six union employees and nine salaried employees will remain to continue grinding and shipping operations of existing inventory.

"This decision was tremendously difficult," said Dan Harrington, president and chief operating officer of Lehigh North, based in Allentown, Pa.

"Since 1964, the Woodsboro employees have made significant and important contributions."

[…]

Read the entire article here: Lehigh Cement to close

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20070719 AP: Denmark Pulls Out Dozens of Iraqi Aides

Denmark Pulls Out Dozens of Iraqi Aides

July 21, 2007 – A colleague who spent a tour of duty in Iraq has expressed, on a number of occasions, concern over the health safety and welfare of the Iraqi translators with whom he worked.

When I get a chance I’ll go over one of his e-mails about the matter and post it on “Soundtrack.”

Denmark Pulls Out Dozens of Iraqi Aides

Thu Jul 19, 2007

Karl Ritter, AP Writer

KARUP — Before the withdrawal of its 480 combat troops from Iraq next month, Denmark has pulled out scores of Iraqi aides and their families.

The last of three Danish military flights carrying a total of 200 Iraqis left Friday, the government said. The flights were kept secret because of fears that militants would try to attack the planes.

The aides, many of them translators, worked with the Danes in Basra, a risky job that has turned them into traitors in the eyes of militants fighting the U.S.-led coalition. The government decided in June to offer the aides a chance to seek asylum.

The United States and Britain have been reluctant to accept large numbers of Iraqi asylum-seekers — including those who worked for their military or civilian operations. The Danish move came only after months of heated debate.

[…]

Sweden, which isn't even part of the coalition, has taken in more Iraqi refugees than any other Western country has — though it is now tightening its asylum rules.

The United States has admitted fewer than 800 Iraqis since the start of the war but has promised to take in nearly 7,000 more starting later this year.

"We're working aggressively to try to process Iraqi refugees who have been classified as refugees by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said this month. "While we want to meet our humanitarian obligations here, we also want to make sure we do so in such a way that our borders and the American people are protected."

Particularly at risk are the tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians who have worked for — or are currently employed by — U.S.-led coalition members. Their work has involved everything from translating to driving. Many of their colleagues have died in attacks directed at coalition forces; others have been abducted and killed outside of work.

"These people are particularly targeted, and of course people know who they are," said Bjarte Vandvik, secretary-general of the European Council of Refugees and Exiles.

[…]

In May, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives proposed that over the next four years the U.S. accept up to 60,000 Iraqis who worked for at least a year with the U.S. or U.N., affiliated contractors or subcontractors or American-based non-governmental organizations. The Senate is considering similar legislation.

Translators may get special attention. In June, the U.S. government launched a resettlement program to process Iraqis living in Jordan who have worked as translators for the U.S. government or military or who worked for the Coalition Provisional Authority. The program provides a way to apply for refugee status separate from the UNHCR referral process and will be run by the International Organization for Migration.

[…]

Read the entire article here: Denmark Pulls Out Dozens of Iraqi Aides

Iraq War Iraqi translators and interpreters, D9000

20070720 Northern VA Therapeutic Riding Program suffers fire

Northern VA Therapeutic Riding Program suffers fire

Posted July 21, 2007

I found this by following a thread called to my attention by the Delusional Duck.

Disclosure: I volunteer for the 4-H Therapeutic Riding Program of Carroll County. For more posts about the 4-H Therapeutic Riding Prog. of Carroll Co. on “Soundtrack.” The web site for the 4-H Therapeutic Riding Program of Carroll County is: http://www.trp4h.org/

For additional information on the Northern VA Therapeutic Riding Program fire click on: July 20, 2007: Horses Accounted For In Fairfax Co. Barn Fire – and - [WRC-TV] nbc4.com Barn Fire Hampers Therapeutic Riding Program

Northern VA Therapeutic Riding Program in Clifton Loses Barn, Riding Equipment To Fire

http://www.nvtrp.org/pressrelease707.pdf

Contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Breeana G. Bornhorst, Program Director

Northern VA Therapeutic Riding Program

PO Box 184, Clifton, VA 20124

703-867-1698

info AT nvtrp.org

THERAPEUTIC RIDING PROGRAM LOSES BARN, RIDING EQUIPMENT TO FIRE

Fairfax, VA – July 20, 2007 – The Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program (NVTRP), a nonprofit organization located in Fairfax, VA, lost its barn and all riding equipment due to a barn fire on Thursday night.

The fire occurred sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. No people or animals were seriously injured in the fire. At this time the cause is still undetermined. Lessons have temporarily been suspended.

According to Breeana Bornhorst, Program Director, “Of our 12 horses, Clancy was the only horse in the barn during the fire. Miraculously, he was able to kick out his stall door to escape.

Seven other horses were in an adjacent paddock at the time, but were able to break through a gate and into an adjoining field to get away from the intense smoke. We are extremely fortunate that our riders, staff and horses are doing well.”

NVTRP provides equine assisted activities to more than 60 children and adults with disabilities every week. It has operated in the Clifton community for 27 years and relies heavily on donations to provide therapeutic horseback riding lessons. “The fire has delivered a big hit to our program, but we are determined to persevere.

We are reaching out to the local community to help us get the program up and running again without delay,” said Rhonda VanLowe, NVTRP Chair, Board of Governors. “We are assessing the situation and may need to find a new location to operate. We will also have to replace all of the tack, equipment, equine medications and feed we lost in the fire. We are asking for the community to help us get back on our feet so that our riders are able to get back on the horses as soon as possible. Anything will help.”

Lessons are a major contributor to the riders’ overall mental and physical health. “I’ve seen what a difference this program can make. Since he started riding with the program, my son has gained a better sense of balance, is more confident getting around, and more enthusiastic about being around others,” said Tootie Rivera, parent and board member. “It would be tragic if our riders were unable to ride. For many of them it’s their one opportunity to get out on their own and feel free.”

To donate or for more information, visit http://www.nvtrp.org or contact Breeana Bornhorst at 703-867-1698.

# # #

20070620 Shortage of Doctors Affects Rural US AP

Shortage of Doctors Affects Rural U.S.

Jul 20, 2007 By CHRIS TALBOTT, AP

GREENWOOD, Miss. - A national shortage of doctors is hitting poor places the hardest, and efforts to bring in foreign physicians to fill the gap are running into a knot of restrictions from the war on terror and the immigration debate.

Doctors recruited from places such as India, the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa to work in underserved areas like the Mississippi Delta and the lonesome West already face an arduous and expensive gauntlet of agencies, professional tests and background checks to secure work papers and permanent residency.

[…]

The government estimates that more than 35 million Americans live in underserved areas, and it would take 16,000 doctors to immediately fill that need, according to the American Medical Association. And the gap is expected to widen dramatically over the next several years, reaching 24,000 in 2020 by one government estimate. A 2005 study in the journal Health Affairs said it could hit an astonishing 200,000 by then, based on a rising population and an aging work force.

The rest of the article extensively explores the challenge of the doctor shortage in chronically underserved areas. Read the rest here: Shortage of Doctors Affects Rural U.S.

Related: Vital Need for Foreign Docs

http://www.examiner.com/a-838925~Shortage_of_Doctors_Affects_Rural_U_S_.html

20070721 Happy Birthday Ernest Hemingway

Happy Birthday Ernest Hemingway

July 21, 1899

Ernest (Miller) Hemingway

Hemingway posing for a dust jacket photo by Lloyd Arnold for "For Whom the Bell Tolls", at the Sun Valley Lodge, Idaho, late 1939. Born: July 21, 1899 Oak Park, Illinois Died: July 2, 1961 (aged 61) Ketchum, Idaho

According to Biography.com, Ernest Hemingway was a “Writer, born in Oak Park, Illinois, USA. The son of a doctor, he never attended college but became a journalist for the Kansas City Star (1917–18). He served with the Red Cross Ambulance Corps in France (1917–18) and was wounded while accompanying the Italian army into battle. He worked as a journalist, covering the... Read Full Biography Article:”

biography.com/search/article.do?id=9334498

For additional information…

####

PS: The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is one of my many favorite short stories by Mr. Hemingway. Published in 1936, it was initially overshadowed by “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” which came out the same year. It was later made into a movie, which featured Gregory Peck and Joan Bennett. I have never seen the movie but have told that it is a classic…

The story is a quick read at 11,188 words. It can found on the net here: The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

20070720 News Clips

News Clips

July 20, 2007

STATE NEWS

GOP: Tax cut not to blame for budget deficit
http://www.gazette.net/stories/072007/polinew222448_32364.shtmlRepublicans are objecting to Gov. Martin O'Malley's recent statements that the state's fiscal woes are, in part, a result of a tax cut in 1998. The GOP said Thursday that blaming a projected $1.5 billion deficit on the tax cut is ''patently false."
At several recent events, O'Malley (D) has said the income tax cut and the Thornton education aid reforms, approved with bipartisan majorities, have led to the cash shortfall.
The real culprit to Maryland's budget is years of excessive spending," Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market said in a statement. ''If you agree with their argument that tax rates need to be increased, then why did Maryland bring in more revenues AFTER the tax rate reduction than before?" Brinkley asked.
''The Annapolis tax and spend crowd is trying to suggest that if we had not cut the tax rate, all of that revenue would have been locked up in a piggy-bank and we would have all of this money to fix the deficit," Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R-Dist. 36) of Stevensville said in the statement. ''When we all know that money would have been spent as fast as it came into that Comptroller's office. Our state government has a spending problem, not a tax problem."


State gets a 'D' on financial disclosure
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.disclose20jul20,0,5262784.story
Maryland gets a grade of "D" when it comes to the information governors are required to provide about their fin ances, according to a national watchdog group. The Center for Public Integrity, a Washington-based nonprofit dedicated to making the nation's institutions more transparent, gave the state a marginal rating of 62.5 on a 100-point scale measuring how extensively governors are required to report their personal finances and how accessible those records are to the public.Leah Rush, the center's director of state projects, said full disclosure allows people to know whether elected officials are acting in the public's interest or in their own.
"Getting this information out in the public domain is an important function as far as gaining the public's trust in their government to be open about all the different hats public officials wear," she saidMayor's decision to oust may pay off politically

Hogan's departure leads to scramble
Committee seats, vice chairmanship in play following senator's resignation
http://www.gazette.net/stories/072007/polinew222436_32358.shtml
Patrick J. Hogan's decision to resign his Senate seat could set off a long line of political dominoes, lawmakers said this week. Now, state legislators are preparing for a scramble to fill several key positions that Hogan will leave vacant - most notably the vice chairmanship of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller will likely topple the first domino by naming a new vice chairman. And he might not wait for Hogan to be replaced in District 39, he said Tuesday.

Mayor's decision to oust may pay off politically
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.ci.dixon20jul20 ,0,5135124.story
While the political consequences of firing a police commissioner two months before an election remain unclear, several experts predicted yesterday that the potentially risky decision may ultimately pay off for Mayor Sheila Dixon's campaign.
She is already ahead in the polls, and her ouster of Leonard D. Hamm seemed to have an instant effect on the tenor of the race, neutralizing criticism by her leading opponents and presenting the image, at least, that the mayor is taking decisive action.

On a mission to help trace missing kids
Police Department arms families with bracelets in pilot program
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-ho.lifesaver20jul20,0,5273108.story
Roger Miles called for his 10-year-old son, Harrison. He looked in every roo m of his Clarksville home, but could not find him. "We started frantically searching our neighborhood," said Miles, recalling the October 2004 incident. "I felt panicked. ... It was a very chaotic situation. We were totally blindsided. We didn't know what to do." Howard County police searched for Harrison, who has autism, finding him 45 minutes later.
Harrison now benefits from Project Lifesaver, which outfits a person who is prone to wandering with a bracelet that emits an assigned radio frequency. The bracelet, which can be worn on the wrist or ankle, allows law enforcement officers to find a missing person quickly and easily. "You're using one to two people for 30 minutes instead of your search escalating to hundreds of people and days," said Gene Saunders, chief executive officer of Project Lifesaver International.

Report links farmers, the bay
Group says they need help to fight global warming
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bay_environment/bal-md.warming20jul20,0,392450.story
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the agricultural community is on the front lines of the fight against global warming and needs to do more. Farmers across the bay watershed and their political leaders have only implemented a fraction of the "conservation agriculture" practices needed to reduce the flow of nutrients into the bay, said Beth McGee, the bay foundation's senior water quality scientist.

Chesapeake Bay will 'never be perfect'
http://www.examiner.com/a-837970~Chesapeake_Bay_will__never_be_perfect_.html
William Baker is the president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which began in 1967 as an advocate for creating strong and effective laws and regulations to protect the Bay, according to the foundation's Web site. The state could stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money for the Chesapeake Bay if we do not meet federal environmental standards by 2010. It is incumbent upon our elected officials to act and to act fast.
The Examiner interviewed Baker on Thursday in Annapolis and questioned him about the Bay's health, efforts to work with farmers and the Bay's future.

Crofton in the Money
Town makes magazine's Top 100
http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/07_19-06/CCR
Money magazine just declared something that Crofton residents say they already knew: the community is one of the 100 best places to live in the nationma."I'm very pleased. Crofton has matured nicely," said County Councilman Ed. Reilly, a Crofton resident for 30 years. Crofton was the smallest of Maryland's five communities to make the list with 21,600 residents. It was joined by Olney, ranked 17th; Elkridge, 42nd; Catonsville, 49th; and Eldersburg, 56th.


Farmers await possible drought disaster designation
http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/07_20-06/OUD
The federal Department of Agriculture has already designated most of Maryland as having moderate to severe drought. Now Maryland officials are waiting to see whether federal authorities designate the region as a drought disaster, which would open up federal aid for farmers who have suffered from the drought.
A spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley said state officials are considering asking the federal Department of Agriculture to declare a droug ht emergency for parts of Maryland. The federal designation would free up federal aid for farmers who have lost crops, said O'Malley spokesman Sasha Leonhardt.




LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Editorial and Opinion page of The Frederick News-Post has made a hard turn to the left. I was hoping that with the departure of Joe Volz the paper would again provide unbiased and thoughtful commentary. Unfortunately, Katherine Heerbrandt has taken his place as the spokesperson for the far-left.
In her commentary "Dream on, congressman," Heerbrandt repeats a familiar piece of liberal propaganda that the war in Iraq was started by President Bush in order to steal that country's oil. This type of nonsense belongs in a left-wing magazine rather than in the pages of a legitimate newspaper.
Heerbrandt's columns along with those of Elizabeth Cupino have tilted the paper to the far left. Furthermore, the paper's editorials a re usually nothing more than endorsements of liberal policies.
I certainty don't mind reading the opinions of liberals, but I would like to see The Frederick News-Post offer a balanced editorial page that doesn't consistently tilt toward the left. I would also like to see a stop to the use of ridiculous propaganda by the columnists of this paper. This type of rhetoric does nothing to further political debate and instead only continues to disgrace The Frederick News-Post.
MICHAEL HOUGH
Frederick

EDITORIALS
Bring in a police chief from outside
http://www.examiner.com/a-837936~Editorial__Bring_in_a_police_chief_from_outside.html
Mayor Sheila Dixon can undo damage done by then-Mayor, now-Gov. Martin O'Malley when she replaces Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm with a law enforcement leader with national credentials and armor-clad character. Averaging a commissioner a year is incontrovertible evidence of a systemic problem that certainly does not start with dedicated, hard-working police on the beat. The problem starts at the top and extends into the upper command ranks, where senior positions are political instead earned.

NATIONAL NEWS
She brings home the bacon
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/reporters_notebooks_display.htm?StoryID=62741
The Citizens Against Government Waste targeted Maryland U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski this week for earmarking one of the "most egregious pork-barrel projects" in fiscal 2008 Senate Economic Development Initiative grants.

Warming Poses Threats To Chesapeake, Group Says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071901112.html
Climate change has already begun to alter the Chesapeake Bay, warming and raising its waters in a way that could unbalance delicate ecosystems and doom low-lying islands, according to a report released yesterday by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The report, citing scientific research from around the bay, sketched a prognosis that was troubling even by the standards of the Chesapeake -- a beautiful but polluted estuary that environmentalists have spent decades trying to save.
On low-lying Smith Island, in the Maryland section of the bay, waves are now just a quarter-mile away from the village of Rhodes Point, said Rick Edmund, the minister of Smith Island's three Methodist churches. He said residents are hoping Congress will approve a $9.4 million plan, proposed by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), to build artificial breakwaters offshore.

Overhaul Plan for Vote System Will Be Delayed
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/washington/20vote.html?hp
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are slowing their drive to revamp the nation's voting systems, aides said yesterday. Under pressure from state and local officials, as well as from lobbyists for the disabled, House leaders now advocate putting off the most sweeping changes until 2012, four years later than planned. State and local election officials, weary from all the changes they had already made, argued that it is already too late to make such significant changes without creating chaos next year. Advocates for the bl ind and the disabled also threatened to oppose the bill if it went too far in discouraging the use of touch-screen machines before the optical scanners were made easier for them to use. And House officials - led by the majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, who is trying to broker the deal - said they wanted to avoid another buying spree if better equipment might be available later.

20070719 News Clips

News Clips

July 19, 2007

STATE NEWS

State leaders look at Md. income taxes
First new brackets in 40 years are a progressive plan, advocates say
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.taxes19jul19,0,6067557.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
State leaders are considering the first changes to Maryland's income tax brackets in 40 years to make them more progressive - and to help erase the state's projected $1.5 billion budget shortfall. Gov. Martin O'Malley said this week that he wants to find ways to make the state's tax structure more progressive, and key legislators, including Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, have expressed support for at least a temporary tax increase on top earners, such as one that helped Maryland weather its last major fiscal crisis, in the early 1990s. Maryland will find itself at a disadvantage if it raises its rates on top earners, said Del. Gail H. Bates, a Howard County Republican who is an accountant. "Wealthy people do pay more," Bates said. Sen. David R. Brinkley, the minority leader from Frederick County, said Republicans are not going to go for the idea. Brinkley, who attended the governor's Chamber of Commerce speech, said the impression he got was that O'Malley is less committed to making the income tax fair than he is to finding a way to sell a tax increase to people.

Hamm resigns
Rising homicides, low police morale help end tenure
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-te.md.ci.p olice19jul19,0,5307598.story
Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm, hired to stabilize a department in turmoil but recently under fire as the city's homicide count soars, has resigned, sources close to the decision told The Sun yesterday. Mayor Sheila Dixon is expected to make the formal announcement at City Hall today. Dixon asked for Hamm's resignation during a City Hall meeting Tuesday night after some in the administration felt that the public had lost confidence in him and that his tenure had become a distraction, sources said. Frederick H. Bealefeld III, the deputy commissioner of operations and a 26-year police veteran, is expected to serve as acting commissioner. O'Malley officials declined to comment last night, but the governor -- at a political event in Baltimore on Tuesday -- said he thought that the transition of power this year and the nonstop state and city political campaigns of the past two years are at least partl y to blame for low police morale and crime.

Md. loses bid for U.S. biodefense laboratory
The proposed site was in Beltsville
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.lab19jul19,0,7698731.story
Maryland has been eliminated from a national competition to land a $450 million laboratory for research dedicated to protecting the country's agriculture and food from disease and terrorism threats. The 520,000-square-foot lab is expected to play a critical role for the country in assessing bioterrorism threats over the next five decades. It could have helped the state boost its already growing presence in the biodefense research field and created hundreds of new jobs. Sources close to the selection process said yesterday that one reason Maryland was nixed is because the proposed site in Beltsville is too close to Washington - an d that other applications near major urban areas were also turned down. The project was launched by DBED officials when Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. was in office. Aris Melissaratos, Ehrlich's DBED secretary, said he is disappointed. "Obviously I'm not happy, I thought we put together a great partnership," he said. "It would've been a major investment from the federal government.

Best Places to Live: State's growth pulls it in
http://www.examiner.com/a-835983~Best_Places_to_Live__State_s_growth_pulls_it_in.html
Business is the heart of a community. At least that's what seems to be the case with the five Maryland communities that made Money magazine's Best Places to Live: Top 100 list. Focusing on areas with populations of 7,500 to 50,000, the magazine judged communities on a "combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community."

Seafood event hooks politicians
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070719/METRO/107190056/1004
Even during an election off-year, Maryland"s top crab feast is all about the politics.The 31st annual J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake yesterday drew more than 5,600 visitors to the southern tip of Maryland"s Eastern Shore to talk politics and feast on such Eastern Shore favorites as clams and hard-shelled crabs. Candidates for the House seat held by U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest came to the feast even though the Feb. 12 primary election is still more than six months away. Queen Anne"s County prosecutor Frank M. Kratovil Jr. and private lawyer Christopher Robinson, both Democrats, joined state Sen. Andrew P. Harri s, Baltimore County Republican. All brought entourages to help Eastern Shore voters learn more about their candidates.

State awards $3 million grant to Carroll Creek Park
http://www.gazette.net/stories/071907/frednew43139_32360.shtml
Frederick's Carroll Creek Linear Park project has received a $3 million grant from the state's Transportation Enhancement Program. The Transportation Enhancement Program is run by the State Highway Administration. The funds will be used to construct pedestrian and bicycle paths and visitor amenities throughout the 1.3-mile park.

EDITORIAL

BRAC process must be open
http://www.examiner.com/a-835979~BRAC_process_must_be_open.html
Harford lawmakers and county officials did all of Maryland a favor when they raised some - well, let's call it heck - over Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown's BRAC subcabinet meeting in secret. Secrecy and credibility are mutually exclusive. If the subcabinet is going into closet mode routinely as it meets in affected areas around the state, Maryland voters and local government officials will lose confidence in the process of preparing for the biggest economic impact here in decades.
Harford delegates and county officials are intensely focused on Brown's BRAC performance because that sylvan, rural area is home to Aberdeen Proving Grounds which gets the most direct jobs.

O'Malley must find a way out of state' s power dilemma
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/07_12-37/OPN
Now is the summer of Marylanders' discontent, as they contemplate their swollen power bills and wonder if getting relief from the oppressive heat will empty their bank accounts.
Their mood isn't brightened by recalling one of last year's most effective campaign ads. That's the one about energy bills that intoned, "The special interests already have their governor. We need one of our own . Martin O'Malley - taking on BGE to stop the rate hikes." At the time, Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. argued that Mr. O'Malley's pugnacious attitude didn't matter. The rate hikes, Mr. Ehrlich insisted, flowed directly from the state's 1999 utility deregulation plan and couldn't legally be averted. Since then, events have vindicated Mr. Ehrlich.


NATIONAL NEWS

Homeland security funds for state rise
$56 million total more than doubles last year's grant
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.security19jul19,0,716504.story?page=1&coll=bal_tab01_layout
Baltimore and Maryland will receive a total of more than $32 million in U.S. homeland security grants, the federal government announced yesterday. The amount represents a major increase over last year but falls short of the nearly $40 million in 2005.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski cautioned that the federal grant for communications systems was not guaranteed and that Maryland must formally apply for the money. Mikulski said Maryland should have gotten more. U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, a Baltimore County Democrat, called the announcement "a step in the right direction," adding that most of the money will go to "building infrastructure and supporting people at the local community level, which is exactly where it needs to be to make sure that you respond to any kind of disaster or incident in a comprehensive way." Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, another Baltimore County Democrat, said he was "very pleased" to see funding to improve public safety communications.

Challenger gears up for Democratic House primary
Realtor aims to oust incumbent Wynn
http://www.gazette.net/stories/071907/prinnew145738_32358.shtml
George Mitchell has no intention of being the also-ran candidate in his race for Congress.''There's a need to run. I didn't just wake up one day and decide to run for Congress. This district - we need help," Mitchell said. District 4 spans parts of Prince George's and Montgomery counties.Mitchell, 52, quietly filed as a Democrat to challenge eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn of Mitchellville in April, around the same time Fort Washington attorney Donna Edwards launched her second bid for Congress. Edwards came within three points of beating Wynn last year and is widely viewed as the challenger with the best chance of unseating Wynn, but Mitchell says he's just as capable of energizing voters' discontent with the incumbent.

National Petroleum Council hides the hard truths about energy instead of facing them
http://www.energybulletin.net/32221.html
Congressmen Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Tom Udall (D-N M), co-chairmen of the Congressional Peak Oil Caucus, held a Capitol Hill news conference to discuss the scheduled release today of an embargoed report by the National Petroleum Council (NPC), "Facing the Hard Truths about Energy." "Instead of 'facing the hard truths about energy,' the NPC report hides them," said Congressman Bartlett. Congressman Bartlett added, "The issue is not the report's touted headline that 'the world is not running out of energy resources,' it's whether the ability exists to deliver supplies of oil and natural gas to meet rising world demand."

Federal Bill Includes Funding to Stem Local Gangs
More Than 1,000 People Are in Montgomery Police Database of Active Gang Members, Officials Say
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/ 2007/07/18/AR2007071801299.html
Federal lawmakers will soon vote on a bill that includes grants totaling $600,000 to fight gangs in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) announced this week.
The funding includes $275,000 for the Montgomery and Prince George's gang task force; $200,000 for CASA de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group; and $125,000 for the City of Gaithersburg.The grants are part of the Commerce, Justice, Science funding bill, which recently passed the appropriations committee.

20070720 Maryland drought deepens by Frank Roylance

Maryland drought deepens by Frank Roylance

Posted by Frank Roylance on July 20, 2007 8:44 AM | Permalink

Posted on Soundtrack Friday, July 20th, 2007 9:35 AM

The drought that has plagued the southeastern United States this spring and summer has been spreading northward gradually into Maryland. Last week, 37 percent of the state was in what the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers "moderate" drought.

With the issue of the new Drought Monitor map yesterday, the percentage of the state in moderate to "severe" drought has expanded to almost 85 percent.

(Drought conditions are determined by a complex formula that takes into account measurements of soil moisture, streamflow, precipitation and the health of vegetation as measured by satellite imagery.)

[…]

The state's worst conditions have settled over Southern Maryland, including Charles, St. Mary's and southern Calvert counties, all now in a severe drought. Here's the state map.

[…]

It is the most widespread drought in Maryland since October 2005…

Read the rest of Mr. Roylance’s post on his “Maryland Weather” blog on the Baltimore Sun here: Maryland drought deepens by Frank Roylance

20070720 Quote of the day Ernest Hemingway on the price of time

Quote of the day – Ernest Hemingway on the price of time.

Friday, July 20^th, 2007

“There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring.”

Ernest Hemingway Death In The Afternoon

Photo above: Ernest Hemingway’s desk and typewriter in his studio office in Key West, Florida. February 14th, 2007 www.kevindayhoff.net

20070719 The Pentagon Issues a warning to Senator Clinton

The Pentagon Issues Warning to Clinton

By Kate Phillips, July 19, 2007, 10:10 pm

Issuing a stunning rocket, one of the Pentagon’s top officials sent a letter to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton earlier this week that essentially told her that any outline of plans for withdrawing American troops from Iraq is tantamount to reinforcing “enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia.”

The letter from Defense Undersecretary Eric Edelman was in response to Senator Clinton’s request in May for the Defense Department to draw up proposals to get the troops out of the battlefields. It was first obtained by the Associated Press, which termed Mr. Edelman’s missive “a stinging rebuke.” (Both Senator Clinton’s initial request and Mr. Edelman’s response are now on the senator’s Web site.)

Here is Mr. Edelman’s language:

“Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia,” Mr. Edelman wrote.

He added that “such talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks.”

The backstory, according to the A.P. and elsewhere, is that Senator Clinton, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, has been asking the Defense Department to develop a detailed proposal for withdrawing troops, which could be complicated, she said in May, …

Read the rest here: The Pentagon Issues Warning to Clinton

20070719 Sterling Financial Corporation to Merge with PNC

Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, PA to Merge with PNC

(See timeline and business footprint of Sterling here.)

For more information on Business and Banking on “Soundtrack” go here: Business Banking. For more posts on Business, economics and banking go here: Business economics and Investments. For Business go here: Business. For business retail…Business Retail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –July 19^th, 2007

Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, PA, (NASDAQ: SLFI) announced today that it has agreed to merge with The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA (NYSE: PNC). Sterling shareholders will receive approximately $19.00 in PNC stock or cash for each share of Sterling stock.

The total deal value is approximately $565 million and it is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and approval by Sterling shareholders. This transaction has been approved by both boards of directors.

Integration of the two operations is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2008. For Sterling customers, little will change during the time leading up to the conversion.

They are asked to continue to use their same branch offices and relationship managers. And since both companies have extensive experience in this type of integration, a seamless transition is anticipated.

“We are really pleased with PNC as a strategic partner. It is a great transaction for our shareholders and adds a level of convenience and product depth that will enhance the banking experience for the Sterling customer,” said J. Roger Moyer, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Sterling. “Our customers will be able to bank across the mid-Atlantic area utilizing PNC’s extensive branch, ATM, and online banking network.”

Sterling complements the PNC branch network nicely by filling in its south-central Pennsylvania presence anchored by Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Baltimore.

Added Glenn Walz, chairman of Sterling Financial Corporation, “This transaction demonstrates our commitment to enhance shareholder value following the impact of the irregularities found at EFI earlier this year. We are

extremely pleased to obtain such a fine transaction for our shareholders as well as a quality partner for our customers and employees.”

Under the merger agreement, Sterling will merge into PNC. The transaction values each common share of Sterling stock at $19.00 based on PNC’s closing NYSE stock price of $73.87 on July 17, 2007.

The aggregate consideration for the Sterling common stock is composed of approximately 4.540 million shares of PNC common stock and $224 million in cash, subject to adjustment, and is based on 29.425 million shares of Sterling

common stock currently outstanding.

The consideration a Sterling shareholder will receive is equivalent to 0.1543 shares of PNC common stock and $7.60 in cash per share of Sterling common stock.

Sterling shareholders will be entitled to elect to receive the merger consideration in shares of PNC common stock or in cash, subject to proration if either cash or stock is oversubscribed. All Sterling stock options have vested as a result of Sterling’s agreement with PNC.

Options not exercised by the closing date will convert to PNC options for the remaining term at the conversion date.

The actual value of the purchase consideration to be paid upon closing to each Sterling shareholder will depend on the average PNC stock price shortly prior to completion of the merger, and the cash and stock components on a per Sterling share basis will be determined at that time based on the average PNC stock price so that each share of Sterling receives consideration representing equal value.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, respectively, acted as the financial and legal advisers to Sterling in this transaction. More information on the two companies and this transaction will be available on Sterling’s web site at www.sterlingfi.com .

Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: SLFI) is a diversified financial services company based in Lancaster, Pa. Sterling Banking Services Group affiliates offer a full range of banking services in south-central Pennsylvania, northern Maryland and northern Delaware. The group also offers correspondent banking services in the mid-Atlantic region to other companies within the financial services industry, and banking related insurance services. Sterling Financial Services Group affiliates provide specialty commercial financing; fleet and equipment leasing; and investment, trust and brokerage services.

Visit www.sterlingfi.com for more information.

Banking Services Group -- Banks: Pennsylvania: Bank of Lancaster County*; Bank of Lebanon County*; PennSterling Bank*; and Pennsylvania State Bank*. Pennsylvania and Maryland: Bank of Hanover*. Maryland: Bay First Bank*. Delaware: Delaware Sterling Bank & Trust Company. Correspondent banking

services: Correspondent Services Group (provider of Sterling services to other financial institutions). Insurance services: Lancaster Insurance Group, LLC (independent insurance agency) and Sterling Financial Settlement Services, LLC (title insurance agency).

*Divisions of BLC Bank, N.A.

Financial Services Group -- Specialty commercial financing: Equipment Finance LLC* (commercial financing company for the soft pulp logging and land clearing industries, serving primarily the paper industry in the southeastern United States). Fleet and equipment leasing: Town & Country Leasing, LLC* (nationwide fleet and equipment leasing/financing company). Trust, investment and brokerage services: Sterling Financial Trust Company* (trust and investment services), Church Capital Management, LLC (registered investment advisor) and Bainbridge Securities Inc. (securities broker/dealer).

Forward-Looking Statements

This filing contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. These include statements as to the proposed benefits of the merger between Sterling and PNC (the “Merger”), including future financial and operating results, cost savings, enhanced revenues and the accretion/dilution to reported earnings that may be realized from the Merger as well as other statements of expectations regarding the Merger and any other statements regarding future results or expectations.

These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements.

Sterling cautions readers that results and events subject to forward-looking statements could differ materially due to the following factors, among others: the risk that the businesses of Sterling and PNC in connection with the Merger will not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the Merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame; revenues following the Merger may be lower than expected; customer and employee relationships and business operations may be disrupted by the Merger; the ability to obtain required governmental and stockholder approvals, and the ability to complete the Merger on the expected timeframe; possible changes in economic and business conditions; the existence or exacerbation of general geopolitical instability and uncertainty; the ability of Sterling and PNC to integrate recent acquisitions and attract new customers; possible changes in monetary and fiscal policies, and laws and regulations; the effects of easing of restrictions on participants in the financial services industry; the cost and other effects of legal and administrative cases; possible changes in the credit worthiness of customers and the possible impairment of collectibility of loans; the effects of changes in interest rates and other risks and factors identified in each company’s filings with the SEC. Sterling does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, relating to the matters discussed in this filing.

Internal and governmental reviews and investigations relating to the previously announced issues associated with Sterling's Equipment Finance, LLC unit, as well as litigation arising out of those issues, are on-going and the timing and impact of completion of those reviews, investigations, and litigation are uncertain and could impact the timing of completion of the acquisition or the timing or realization of the anticipated benefits to PNC.

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Additional Information About this Transaction

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. and Sterling Financial Corporation will be filing a proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents concerning the merger with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

WE URGE INVESTORS TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE MERGER OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Investors will be able to obtain these documents free of charge at the SEC’s web site (www.sec.gov). In addition, documents filed with the SEC by The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. will be available free of charge from Shareholder Relations at (800) 843-2206. Documents filed with the SEC by Sterling

Financial Corporation will be available free of charge from Sterling Financial Corporation by contacting Shareholder Relations at (877) 248-6420.

The directors, executive officers, and certain other members of management and employees of Sterling Financial Corporation are participants in the solicitation of proxies in favor of the merger from the shareholders of Sterling Financial Corporation. Information about the directors and executive officers of Sterling Financial Corporation is set forth in the proxy statement for its 2007 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 2, 2007. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus and the other relevant documents filed with the SEC when they become available.

Financial:

Tito Lima

Chief Financial Officer

717-735-4547 or tllima@sterlingfi.com

Media:

Mike Lambert

Director of Communications

717-735-5558 or mwlambert@sterlingfi.com

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7/19/2007Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, PA to Merge with PNC

7/10/2007Bank of Hanover Joins Carroll County Development Corporation

7/02/2007New Bay First Branch in Elkton Completed

6/26/2007Sterling Financial of Lancaster, PA Announces Capital Restoration on Track

5/24/2007Sterling Financial of Lancaster, PA Announces Initial Investigation Findings; Significant, Sophisticated Loan Scheme Uncovered

5/22/2007Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Receives Nasdaq Staff Determination Letter - Sterling to Appeal

4/30/2007Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Expects To Restate Financial Statements and Postpones 2007 Annual Meeting

4/19/2007Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Postpones First Quarter Earnings Release

2/28/2007Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Announces Quarterly Dividend

1/23/2007Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End Earnings

12/27/2006Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Divests Selected Insurance Businesses

11/21/2006Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Announces Quarterly Dividend for Fourth Quarter 2006

10/27/2006Bay First Bank to Serve Cecil and Harford Counties in Maryland

10/24/2006Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Announces 3rd Quarter Earnings

9/20/2006Sterling Financial Corporation Named One of 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Central Pennsylvania

8/22/2006Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Announces Quarterly Dividend for Third Quarter 2006

8/08/2006Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Recognized as One of America's Finest Companies

7/25/2006Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Announces Record Earnings

5/31/2006Sterling Financial Corporation Recognized Again for Increasing Shareholder Dividends

5/24/2006Sterling Financial Corporation of Lancaster, Pa., Announces Quarterly Dividend

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7/19/2007A big day for Sandler O'Neill, Sullivan & Cromwell

7/19/2007SunTrust Robinson Humphrey maintains Sterling Financial at 'reduce'

7/19/2007Ferris Baker Watts cuts Sterling Financial to 'sell'

7/19/2007PNC sees dilution in '08 from Sterling deal

7/19/2007Branch map: PNC to acquire embattled Sterling Financial

7/19/2007PNC to acquire embattled Sterling Financial

7/19/2007NEWS FLASH: PNC to acquire Sterling Financial

7/12/2007Sterling Financial affiliate opens third Elkton, Md., branch

6/28/2007Sterling Financial enters into $80 million credit agreement

6/27/2007SunTrust Robinson Humphrey reiterates Sterling Financial at 'reduce'

6/27/2007Ferris Baker Watts raises Sterling Financial to 'buy'

6/25/2007Another law firm investigates Sterling Financial's 401(k) plan

6/15/2007Law firm files complaint against Sterling Financial

6/14/2007Law Firm of Stull Stull & Brody files lawsuit against Sterling Financial units

6/14/2007Another law firm sues Sterling Financial

6/13/2007Law firm files complaint against Sterling Financial units

6/11/2007Brodsky & Smith confirms lawsuit against Sterling Financial

6/6/2007Another law firm investigates Sterling Financial's 401(k) plan

6/5/2007Sterling Financial faces another lawsuit

6/5/2007Another law firm sues Sterling Financial

20070718 Those losing jobs at Merc get 11 pages of spaghetti by Jay Hancock

Those losing jobs at Merc get 11 pages of spaghetti

Jay Hancock

July 18, 2007

As psychological trauma goes, losing a job ranks with divorce and the death of a loved one at the top of the scale.

Shame there's so much paperwork. The 11-page contract that laid-off employees from PNC Financial Services Group must sign is the most complicated severance deal I've seen for anybody without a regular seat on a corporate jet.

Hundreds of former Mercantile Bankshares workers have to think about whether to select "Option A" or "Option B" in their PNC separation deals. They're supposed to apply for state unemployment benefits, even while collecting severance checks from the company. They must decide whether to extend medical coverage, sign a confidentiality agreement and agree not to sue.

All while worrying about lost income, looking for a new job and potentially sinking into depression, which is common for the jobless.

"You have been advised to review this agreement and discuss your options with an attorney you choose," reads the PNC severance contract. Who can afford a lawyer? These folks are about to be unemployed.

[…]

In March, Pittsburgh-based PNC paid $6 billion for Mercantile, a legendary Baltimore institution and the largest banking company still based in Maryland.

PNC told more than 900 Mercantile employees in Maryland and nearby states that their jobs are gone. Hundreds are in Maryland, including 323 in Linthicum, where Mercantile had a back office.

Read his entire column here: Those losing jobs at Merc get 11 pages of spaghetti

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