Baltimore's spending board voted Wednesday to approve another property tax break for city homeowners, part of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's plan to cut property taxes by 22 percent over 10 years. The tax credit approved by the Board of Estimates would knock $140 off the median property tax bill on owner-occupied homes. (Balt. Sun)
The Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of a resolution Wednesday that declares Carroll as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County” by having the board of commissioners express its opposition to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013. (Carroll Co. Times)
Former Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has paid his court-ordered fine, choosing to give the money to the county he once led. By doing so, he gets a $25,000 discount off the $100,000 he was ordered to pay in March by retired Circuit Court Judge Dennis Sweeney. (Capital)
A bipartisan group of lawmakers pressed the Obama administration Wednesday to reduce the backlog of disability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs by improving cooperation between the several agencies that have a role in the process. (Balt. Sun)
Baltimore and its taxpayers had to pay an additional $1.4 million in fiscal 2011 due to faulty accounting procedures, auditors told the Board of Estimates on Wednesday. (Daily Record)
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's press secretary is leaving the mayor's office to become the spokesman for the city's fire department. (Balt. Sun)
As the city comptroller criticized a plan by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to raise the water rates for Baltimore residents, Baltimore’s spending board on Wednesday set a June 26 public hearing date to discuss the three-year, 37 percent hike. (Daily Record)
Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler is weighing an appeal of a decision by the state's highest court that would cost the state's counties and Baltimore City $128 million in taxes. (Examiner)
Eric Schwaab, a native Baltimorean who's spent the last three years in the federal government overseeing fisheries and coastal conservation efforts, is returning home to take a new post at the National Aquarium. (Balt. Sun)
An eerie fog hung over Montgomery County for most of the day Sunday, the kind that makes you think of ghosts and spirits and raising the dead. A too-simple metaphor, perhaps, but an unavoidable one, for Doug Duncan’s comeback attempt, on the day he happened to hold the first big public event of his 2014 campaign for county executive.
Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger gives Center Maryland his take on Maryland’s upcoming race for governor, including speculation that he might run. Other subjects include Ruppersberger’s reaction to recent news about the IRS. Center Maryland: Inside Out is a video politicast featuring Lisa Harris Jones and Damian O’Doherty.
Frustration on the part of well-intentioned Baltimore City Council members seeking to promote local hiring by businesses performing city contracts boiled over recently when Council President Jack Young reportedly chastised the city’s Law Department for not cooperating with council efforts. Young and other council members want to pass a bill mandating that 51 percent of new hires working for private-sector contractors on city projects be city residents. In fact, the bill is poised for final consideration as soon as June 3 at the next council meeting.
After six years as the Superintendent of the Baltimore City Schools—a title that is still more descriptive than CEO—Andres Alonso has announced his resignation. The early reviews—please don’t call them a Report Card—are almost universally positive even as the many challenges ahead are also noted. It’s clear that Alonso has made a real difference. The quality, real and perceived, of the school system is one of the key indicators of the health of Baltimore City and, although it gets less attention, of the economic competitiveness of the entire region.
Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger talks with Center Maryland about the importance of passing the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act to help protect against the significant amount of cyber attacks our nation faces on a daily basis. Center Maryland: Inside Out is a video politicast featured on Center Maryland.
Admirers of Anthony Brown are frequently pointing out what an asset his wife, Karmen Walker Brown, is going to be in his campaign for governor. Warm, vivacious, beautiful and poised, great at a podium and in one-on-one situations, she’s someone who humanizes this rigid lieutenant governor with the military background, the theory goes. They had a sweet mid-life courtship that they enjoy talking about, and they look GQ-perfect together. But based on Brown’s announcement event in Largo Friday night and his swing through Silver Spring Saturday morning, there’s another woman poised to play just as big a role in Brown’s campaign. In fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone else making his case as forcefully and effectively. We’re talking about Congresswoman Donna Edwards, who was the warm-up act to Brown in both Largo and Silver Spring.
On Wednesday, Greater Baltimore Committee Chairman Brian C. Rogers put his finger on the nature of the disconnect between state lawmakers and business advocates on the issue of Maryland’s competitiveness for business location and growth.
A major power in Montgomery County politics is stepping aside this campaign season. Jon Gerson, the longtime – and controversial – political director of the county teachers’ union is no longer serving in that capacity. While he remains employed by the union, serving on its School Assistance Team, focusing on new teachers, he will no longer be part of the political operation.
Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz returns to Center Maryland to outline his tax neutral $2.8 billion operating budget for 2014. He discusses his proposed investments in Baltimore County’s growing school population, cost-saving public safety technology, county park improvements, and social services.
If nothing else, Anthony Brown will learn just how many truly committed supporters he has when he announces his candidacy for governor late this Friday afternoon at Prince George’s Community College. After all, it’s asking a lot of people to navigate D.C.’s rush hour on the Friday before Mother‘s Day, when there will be the usual pre-weekend traffic along with motorists heading out of town to visit Mom. So it’ll be instructive to see who turns up in Largo (Brown will also have events Saturday in Silver Spring, Frederick and Baltimore). The timing of Brown’s announcement is just one of the puzzling things his campaign has done recently. All that said, Brown enters the campaign as the frontrunner to succeed Martin O’Malley. Polls say it’s so, and so do many of the fundamentals of the Democratic race.
An axiom about life is: in order to know how to get somewhere, you need to know where you are in the first place. The Baltimore Development Corporation, Baltimore City’s economic development agency, is seeking a consultant to help it do just that in order to craft a much-needed strategic plan for strengthening the city’s business climate and economic development.
This past General Assembly session was by almost any measure a monumental one. Maryland underscored its standing as one of the most progressive states in the nation by passing a strong gun regulation law, abolishing the death penalty, and deciding to stop kicking the can down the road on transportation infrastructure funding. Following the previous year’s enactment of Marriage Equality and the Dream Act, there’s no doubt that you’re not in Kansas.
President and CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority Larry Twele announces 100 businesses will be visited during the week of May 6 as part of Howard County’s Business Appreciation Week. Twele also discusses the arrival of new business and the different ways Howard County is working to attract and help companies expand.
WINNERS: Annapolis stalwart Devon Dodson details the significance of the recent win for wind energy. Abby Hopper, Acting Director of the Maryland Energy Administration; Governor O’Malley; Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network; and Jim Lanard of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition are just a few of the big winners that put Maryland on the map for renewable energy.
Now that state lawmakers have passed legislation to raise an estimated $3.4 billion in new revenue during the next five years to address the state’s crisis in funding transportation infrastructure, the next transportation funding challenge looms not in Annapolis, but in Washington, D.C.
Saul Ewing LLP Partner Joseph “Max” Curran, III explains how Maryland is making progress encouraging renewable energy. Some of the specific subjects discussed in the interview are solar power, STRIDE legislation, offshore wind and smart meters. J. Joseph “Max” Curran III is vice chair of the firm’s Project and Resource Development Practice and a member of the Energy and Utilities Practice.
Jimmy Malone and Steven DeBoy are just the tip of the iceberg. When the House of Delegates convenes in 2015, there could be as many as 50 new members. That’s right, more than a third of the chamber could — could — turn over. Malone and DeBoy, conservative Baltimore County Democrats, were part of the first wave of retirements, signaling their intentions just after Sine Die. Del. Liz Bobo (D), a Howard County liberal, announced her retirement plans months earlier. Others are planning to seek higher office.
The second half of Towson President Maravene Loeschke’s interview focuses on Towson University’s commitment to Innovation to Teacher Preparation, STEM Education, a new Leadership Program and the important role the University has in the Towson community.
Towson President Maravene Loeschke comments on Towson University’s ability to work with the Governor to allot $300,000 out of the state budget to allow time for the university’s baseball program to become self sufficient by 2015. Part of the initiative was tackling Title IX requirements head on by assigning an additional $2 million for a new women’s softball field. Inside the Headlines is a video politicast featured on Center Maryland. Damian O’Doherty brings guests on the show to have in-depth conversations on major news happening in Maryland.
The Greater Baltimore Committee on Wednesday urged the City Council to defeat a bill that would require businesses working on major city projects to mostly hire local workers. “We support the goal,” GBC CEO Donald C. Fry said in a statement. “But this legislation, as currently proposed, is not a constructive way to achieve it.” (Balt. Bus. Journal)
Gambling started Wednesday afternoon at the Rocky Gap Casino Resort right after the state approved the opening of its fourth casino, one that Western Maryland leaders hope will lure not only gamblers but also their families to a region eager for more tourist dollars. (Balt. Sun)
Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development and the 300-plus jobs that come with it could soon leave Crownsville for new digs in Prince George's County. The state Board of Public Works at a meeting next week is scheduled to consider a lease agreement with an affiliate of Rockville-based Berman Enterprises for a new site at 7800 Harkins Road in New Carrollton. (Capital)
Prince George’s top economic development officials say they are detecting signs of new interest from retailers. Wrapping up a five-day trip to Las Vegas for a major retail convention, both David Iannucci and Gwen McCall said a county booth at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention logged about 200 unplanned visits from prospective retailers. (Wash. Post)
Domino's Pizza is growing in the Baltimore area. And it's looking to hire. The pizza delivery chain needs 200 additional workers for its 48 Baltimore stores – delivery drivers, assistant managers and general mangers. (Balt. Sun)
Move over M&T, BB&T, SunTrust and Bank of America. MECU wants to join the ranks of financial institutions that have their names on buildings in downtown Baltimore. The Baltimore credit union has an application pending before the city’s Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals for permission to put a sign with its name atop the bank’s headquarters at 7 E. Redwood St. (Balt. Bus. Journal)
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center plans to spend $1.7 million on upgrades to a patient floor in the Towson hospital. The project would add privacy to patient rooms and treatment areas, improve infection control and add new resources to the west side of the hospital’s seventh floor. (Balt. Bus. Journal)
Legg Mason Inc. has lost two key employees of its Legg Mason Capital Management, including portfolio manager Mary Chris Gay. Gay, manager of an overseas version of the subsidiary's well-known Value Trust fund, and Randy Befumo, head of research at Legg Mason Capital Management, left May 15 and are "pursuing other opportunities," said spokeswoman Mary Athridge. (Balt. Sun)
A public utility law judge in Baltimore has set a procedural schedule and agreed to allow individuals to participate in the Maryland Public Service Commission’s investigation of complaints against Potomac Edison, according to a Frederick, Md., resident present at Monday’s pre-hearing conference. (Herald-Mail)
T. Rowe Price plans to launch a new series of 11 target-date retirement funds later this summer, the Baltimore-based money manager said Wednesday. (Balt. Sun)
Wells Fargo & Co. has committed to spending another 10 years in the company’s 95,000-square-foot office at 7 St. Paul St. downtown. (Balt. Bus. Journal)
Three Prince George’s County technology companies took top honors in a Maryland Technology Development Corp. business contest. (Wash. Bus. Journal)
The Maryland State Department of Education may have to pay back up to $540,000 in federal money intended to help the state's poorest schools after a scathing audit found that Baltimore City was one of two school districts that misspent the funds, using the money for dinner cruises, makeovers and meals. The report, reviewing grant expenses from 2009 and 2010, was conducted by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education. It found similar misspending in Prince George's County schools. (Balt. Sun)
Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker is asking the interim superintendent of the county school system to extend his contract through the summer. (WTOP)
Maryland has allocated $2 million to help fund programs throughout the state that will allow students to take high school and college courses at the same time, Gov. Martin O’Malley said while taking a tour at the Academy of Health Science at Prince George’s Community College on Wednesday. (Wash. Post)
Though no one on the Carroll County Board of Education was satisfied with the teacher cuts, staff reductions and technology funding decreases in next year’s proposed budget, a majority of the board approved it anyway Wednesday. (Carroll Co. Times)
Organizers of a petition drive to block Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III’s plan to restructure the public school system from taking effect said during a news conference Tuesday that they have a couple of hundred canvassers collecting signatures at megachurches, graduations and community gatherings as their deadline approaches. (Wash. Post)
The Prince George’s County Board of Education released an e-mail statement Wednesday about its decision to hire 15 new employees to work for the school board. (Wash. Post)
Some safety officers at Carroll Community College will be armed as a result of a memorandum of understanding signed this week between the college and the Carroll County Sheriff's Office. (Balt. Sun)
Nine Frederick County high schools rank among the best in the country for the seventh consecutive year, according to three national lists of America's best schools. (News-Post)
A Montgomery County panel will explore loosening liquor laws and integrating more bars and restaurants aimed at young people in new developments in an effort to make the county more hip. The county's Nighttime Economy Task Force, created earlier this month, has started meeting to find ways to make the county more attractive to young adults. (Examiner)
Maryland's new gun control law doesn't launch until the fall, and state police aren't wasting any time getting ready. They'll be hiring 66 new civilian employees to help out with extra background check paperwork. (WMAR-TV)
The Virgin Mobile FreeFest — the annual, all-day music festival that brought Jack White, Skrillex, Alabama Shakes and more to the area last October — will return to Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion this year. (Balt. Sun)
Prince George’s County officials are encouraging residents to sign up for its NotifyMe alert system that provides real-time information about everything from weather emergencies to traffic jams. (Wash. Post)
Those accused of prostitution, human trafficking and gang activity may no longer be the only ones in trouble for the illegal activity; a Prince George’s County proposal also seeks to target the owners of the properties where the crimes take place. (Gazette)
John Richard "Dick" Irwin, a tough, accurate veteran police reporter with a heart of gold whose signature Police Blotter became required reading for both crime aficionados and the just plain curious, died Wednesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center of complications from diabetes. (Balt. Sun)
Some of springtime's more notable heralds appear to be fading away, as a new study finds frogs, toads and salamanders disappearing at an alarming rate across the United States. (Balt. Sun)
The 7,000 households in Carroll County that receive public water from Liberty Reservoir are expected to see a slight increase in the water and sewer bills. (Balt. Sun)
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently identified two findings of very low safety significance involving diesel fuel issues at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby. (Recorder)
The city's spending panel on Wednesday approved a $72,000 payout to three family members who accused Baltimore police of assaulting and falsely arresting them outside of a Federal Hill bar. (Balt. Sun)
A county executive can’t pay equal attention to every aspect of the government he or she is trying to manage. But you can bet Laura Neuman will following the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. closely. She obviously has strong opinions on how that operation should be run, and is looking for a new chief for it who will hew to her vision. One of her views is that the agency needs to be of more use to small businesses — and with that, we couldn’t agree more. (Capital)
As the Carroll County commissioners prepare to continue their seemingly unending debate today over how little they can get away with spending on the school system, they might want to consider practicing what they preach when it comes to budgetary decisions. (Carroll Co. Times)
For too long, many environmentalists have been ambivalent about nuclear energy. It conjures fears: meltdowns, cancers, Chernobyl, Fukushima, overtones of nuclear bombs. Yet, we also know that nuclear power provides 70 percent of all the greenhouse gas-free electrical power in the United States (hydropower, in which dams block many great rivers like the Susquehanna to fish migration, provides much of the rest). Neither does nuclear energy produce the nitrogen oxides of fossil fuels that are a major Chesapeake pollutant, or the mercury from coal plants that contaminate so much of our seafood. (Balt. Sun)
Just when Washington looked like it was completely preoccupied with the scandals, real and imaginary, swirling around the White House, a group of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate managed the unexpected (and, these days, extraordinary): They agreed on something. The vote Tuesday night in the Senate Judiciary Committee to forward to the floor a massive overhaul of the nation's immigration system was, to be sure, a small step and doesn't guarantee success in the full Senate, much less the House of Representatives. But it is, at least, a hopeful sign that gridlock in this divided government is not inevitable. (Balt. Sun)
Awareness has significantly heightened in recent years about the frequency and danger of concussions in football and other “collision” sports. Among the revelations is that concussions have been documented not only in hard-hitting professional sports, but all the way down to the little ones playing club-level football. The good news here is that the Maryland State Board of Education is addressing these important issues. (News-Post)
During the week of May 19-25, Maryland joins the rest of the nation in celebrating National Emergency Medical Services Week. I commend the Maryland EMS providers who respond every day of every month to emergency situations, making our statewide EMS and trauma system a national model for life-saving care. (Daily Times)
One of the first things that an incoming Boy Scout must learn is the Scout Law. It's become so famous that many people outside the organization likely recognize it. "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent." (Balt. Sun)
Letter: Saturday's "your turn" pieces on education reform ("The fallacy of reform" and "Diversity, choice key for schools," May 18) did not seem to address Baltimore City schools' educational history nor requirements in a practical, yet considerate way. (Balt. Sun)
Letter: Reading the article on Del. Don Dwyer's boating-while-intoxicated sentence was interesting ("Dwyer sentenced to 30 days in jail in drunken boating incident," May 14). Drinking and boating is playing Russian roulette. If you are in an accident you may survive but you may destroy others lives. He stated that "those who made the laws have an obligation to obey them." When he found out he would have to spend 30 days in jail, his obligation ended. He's appealing his conviction. (Balt. Sun)
Baltimore's spending board voted Wednesday to approve another property tax break for city homeowners, part of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's plan to cut property taxes by 22 percent over 10 years. The tax credit approved by the Board of Estimates would knock $140 off the median property tax bill on owner-occupied homes. (Balt. Sun)
The Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of a resolution Wednesday that declares Carroll as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County” by having the board of commissioners express its opposition to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013. (Carroll Co. Times)
Former Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has paid his court-ordered fine, choosing to give the money to the county he once led. By doing so, he gets a $25,000 discount off the $100,000 he was ordered to pay in March by retired Circuit Court Judge Dennis Sweeney. (Capital)
An eerie fog hung over Montgomery County for most of the day Sunday, the kind that makes you think of ghosts and spirits and raising the dead. A too-simple metaphor, perhaps, but an unavoidable one, for Doug Duncan’s comeback attempt, on the day he happened to hold the first big public event of his 2014 campaign for county executive.
Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger gives Center Maryland his take on Maryland’s upcoming race for governor, including speculation that he might run. Other subjects include Ruppersberger’s reaction to recent news about the IRS. Center Maryland: Inside Out is a video politicast featuring Lisa Harris Jones and Damian O’Doherty.
Frustration on the part of well-intentioned Baltimore City Council members seeking to promote local hiring by businesses performing city contracts boiled over recently when Council President Jack Young reportedly chastised the city’s Law Department for not cooperating with council efforts. Young and other council members want to pass a bill mandating that 51 percent of new hires working for private-sector contractors on city projects be city residents. In fact, the bill is poised for final consideration as soon as June 3 at the next council meeting.
The Greater Baltimore Committee on Wednesday urged the City Council to defeat a bill that would require businesses working on major city projects to mostly hire local workers. “We support the goal,” GBC CEO Donald C. Fry said in a statement. “But this legislation, as currently proposed, is not a constructive way to achieve it.” (Balt. Bus. Journal)
Gambling started Wednesday afternoon at the Rocky Gap Casino Resort right after the state approved the opening of its fourth casino, one that Western Maryland leaders hope will lure not only gamblers but also their families to a region eager for more tourist dollars. (Balt. Sun)
Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development and the 300-plus jobs that come with it could soon leave Crownsville for new digs in Prince George's County. The state Board of Public Works at a meeting next week is scheduled to consider a lease agreement with an affiliate of Rockville-based Berman Enterprises for a new site at 7800 Harkins Road in New Carrollton. (Capital)