News Clips
July 23, 2007
STATE NEWS
O'Malley's frugality under scrutiny
Budget statements overstate savings, some experts say
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.spend23jul23,0,6924105.story
When Gov. Martin O'Malley began discussing the state budget deficit with a group of businessmen at a Frederick County Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week, he pitched his administration's frugality as the first step in putting Maryland's fiscal house in order.
True, spending under O'Malley this fiscal year is projected to grow at a slower rate than it increased in Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s final-year budget, which ended June 30. Recent cuts O'Malley pushed through the Board of Public Works make the contrast even stronger. But the difference is not as stark as the new governor suggests.
O'Malley's claim, based on total spending, ignores details about the nature of Maryland's fiscal crisis and about Ehrlich's budget that make a material difference in evaluating how his spending plan compares with his predecessor's, budget experts agree. When those factors and the recent spending cuts are taken into account, O'Malley increased spending by about 6.4 percent and Ehrlich by about 10.5 percent.
Sen. David R. Brinkley, the minority leader from Frederick County, said he was "rolling my eyes" when he heard O'Malley compare his spending growth with Ehrlich's. "He was talking apples and oranges, which, in their quest to rewrite history, he tends to be rather free with," Brinkley said. "It was just totally bogus."
Constellation nuclear plans in fiscal peril
http://www.baltimoresun.com/busine ss/bal-te.bz.nuclear23jul23,0,3564364.story?page=1
Constellation Energy Group has been planning to build a second nuclear reactor in Lusby for more than two years. The company might not get crucial financing without federal loan guarantees. Michael J. Wallace, who heads Constellation's nuclear business, said bankers won't finance the company's half-dozen proposed nuclear reactors unless the Energy Department agrees to back 100 percent of the debt rather than the 90 percent the agency has offered. The outcome of the Energy Department's deliberations could have far-reaching effects on Maryland utility customers.
"There is a lot of frustration among members of Congress about the way the Department of Energy and Office of Management and Budget have implemented the loan program," said Matt Letourneau, Republican communications director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "Specifically, the amount that the federal government will guarantee is not consistent with what Congress intended."
Letter presses to open BRAC
GOP senators want decisions made in public on base expansion
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-ha.brac22jul22,0,4906908.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
Three Republican state senators are demanding that any decisions about the impact of the impending expansion at Aberdeen Proving Ground on the county be made in a public forum. The senators representing Harford County wrote to Democratic Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who is leading the administration's base-realignment planning effort, complaining of closed-door meetings, including the most recent one July 13 in Aberdeen.
Republican Sens. Nancy Jacobs, J. Robert Hooper and Andrew P. Harris called the sessions "troubling and undemocratic" in a letter to Brown dated Thursday. "Legislators were disappointed that we were not only denied an opportunity to attend the subcabinet's deliberations that were held behind closed doors, but also that we were not afforded ample time to address our concerns," the senators wrote.
Signs law is struck down
Balto. County rules restrict free speech, federal judge says
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.sign21jul21,0,5184591.story
A federal judge struck down yesterday Baltimore County regulations on political campaign signs in yards, saying the law violated the right to freedom of speech. The ruling could affect laws in other parts of the Baltimore region, where many local governments have restrictions similar to those passed by the Baltimore County Council in December.
County defends cuts to Hispanic groups
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/07_19-22/GOV
County government took its defense of grant cutting on the road last night, justifying the reductions to Hispanic nonprofit groups in a room full of Hispanic activists.Sheryl Banks, the county's special assistant for minority affairs, answered questions about why County Executive John R. Leopold cut $115,000 to Centro de Ayuda and the Organization for Hispanic and Latin Americans.
The county executive said he made the cuts to Centro de Ayuda and OHLA as part of his pledge to withhold money from any group giving support to illegal immigrants. "That does not mean we do not support the Hispanic community . with the limited resources we have," Ms. Banks s aid.
With Close Contacts, Md. Wind Project Gets Boost
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/22/AR2007072201200.html
When his plan for clean energy ran smack into a rare habitat on a rocky Appalachian ridge, Annapolis businessman Wayne L. Rogers turned to people he knew could help: his contacts in the Maryland General Assembly. State law and the environmental protections it afforded all but scuttled his proposal last year for 24 windmills atop Backbone Mountain at the state's western edge. So Rogers waged a successful campaign to have the law changed -- and environmental review gutted -- for wind-energy projects such as his.
Wind farms are turning air into electricity across the country. But they've been a tough sell in Maryland, where the best gusts blow on a steep, craggy habitat for birds, bats and other wildlife, land well protected by state regulations.
C. Ronald Franks, who was then the department secretary, said he advised the agency's scientists to be judicious. "I said I do not want them stopped for some minor, trivial situation," Franks recalled. "But by the same token, I did not want to give them carte blanche to ruin an endangered habitat."
How schools get it right
Experienced teachers, supplemental programs are two key elements to helping students thrive
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/k12/bal-te.md.scores22jul22,0,546385.story
Tucked amid a block of rowhouses around the corner from Camden Yards is an elementary school with a statistical profile that often spells academic trouble: 76 percent of the students are poor, and 95 percent are minorities.
But George Washington Elementary has more academic whizzes than most of the schools in Howard, Anne Arundel, Carroll and Baltimore counties.
These students don't just pass the Maryland School Assessment - they ace it.
An analysis by The Sun of 2007 MSA scores shows that most schools with a large percentage of high achievers on the test are in the suburban counties, often neighborhoods of middle- and upper-middle-class families. But a few schools in poorer neighborhoods, such as George Washington, have beaten the odds. Whether they are in wealthy or poor neighborhoods, schools with lots of high-scoring students share certain characteristics. They have experienced teachers who stay for years, and they offer extracurricular activities after school. Sometimes, they have many students in gifted-and-talented classes working with advanced material.
EDITORIALS
Citizens should go to transportation meetings
http://www.examiner.com/a-841381~Editorial__Citizens_should_go_to_transportation_meetings.html
If we, our children and grandchildren are stuck in traffic or packed on a decrepit train or bus some day, we won't have anybody to blame but ourselves. We can shape our destiny, and we'll get eight chances to do so through Aug. 28 when the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board meets on its 2035 outlook and recommendations for projects.
Five area county executives and the mayors of Baltimore and Annapolis are on the board because the whole thing about transportation is that it doesn't stop at government boundaries.
Folks, hang on to your wallets
Gov. O'Malley is talking about income tax changes
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070723/OPINION01/707230330/1014/OPINION
Marylanders of means had better button their back pockets and keep close tabs on their wallets: Gov. Martin O'Malley is making it increasingly clear that his battle to close a budget shortfall next year could result in higher income taxes.
Of course, the governor is also saying loud and clear that the tax changes would only be applied to Maryland's more affluent residents, hinting that tax breaks could be in store for those making less money. That's what conservatives like to call income redistribution.
But most of all, the matter comes down to a basic question that the governor will be expected to answer completely and loudly: Does anyone really believe that Marylanders are really undertaxed?
Reading essentials
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.reading22jul22,0,1880142.story
Baltimore's health commissioner, Joshua M. Sharfstein, and schools CEO Andres Alonso are rightly urging parents, particularly low-income parents, to read to their young children. That may sound like a no-brainer, but too many young children are not read to regularly, making them ill prepared even for preschool and decreasing their chances for academic success and healthier lives. That is as true in Maryland as elsewhere; some parents here need more support to give their children a better educational foundation.
FEDERAL NEWS
Md. bids for aid on BRAC growth
Lawmakers say billions needed for schools, transit as military bases expand
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.earmark23jul23,0,4871584.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
With tens of thousands of new workers expected in the next five years, Maryland's representatives in Congress are trying to loosen the first federal dollars to help local communities cope with military base expansion in the state. "The requests this year are a down payment for the future," said Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, who represents the communities surrounding Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Meade. "We hope that there's more next year." "The Department of Defense made a decision to come here," the Baltimore County Democrat said. "We tried to prove our case. But now that they've made the commitment, we need their help."
Delegation members are using "earmarks" - federal funding that lawmakers secure for their pet projects - to get that assistance. Ruppersberger wants $1 million for roads that lead to Aberdeen Pro ving Ground in Harford County. Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen is looking for $1 million to improve safety on the road that passes in front of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski is trying to nail down $13 million to expand the MARC commuter rail system. Some local officials worry that the money isn't coming quickly enough. While Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold lauds the effort to secure federal money for mass transit, he has expressed concern that the highway improvements won't be finished by 2011, when new residents begin arriving en masse.
Bay cleanup could get funding boost
http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/07_22-84/TOP
Efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay could get a major funding boost under the fa rm bill moving through Congress.Environmentalists have said for years that such a funding increase is needed, but previously found little support on Capitol Hill. This year, a group of lawmakers from the watershed - which stretches from southern Virginia to upstate New York - pushed for the bay to be singled out for federal funds. Vocal backers of the increased funding include Maryland Democrats Steny H. Hoyer, the House majority leader, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen.
Answering questions from a Snowman
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