Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Governor calls budget package "good for all Marylanders." Republicans say burden to local governments may force county governments to increase taxes.
The Maryland House of Delegates gave final approval Wednesday to a package of three bills that increases taxes on some state residents, shifts part of teacher pensions to local governments and undoes the so-called "doomsday budget." The votes Wednesday afternoon capped the three-day special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley in order to override more than $500 million in cuts made in a budget passed in early April. The Senate approved the same three bills Tuesday. As part of the package, legislators approved by a vote of 86-51 what amounts to a 50-50 split of teacher pension costs with local governments. The split will be phased in over the next four years beginning July 1 with the new budget year. That bill also includes a doubling of…
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Protestors argued that pit bulls are being unfairly targeted by the Maryland Court of Appeals.
Annapolis resident Stehle Harris is afraid she won't have a home. As the owner of a bull terrier, Harris said the recent Maryland Court of Appeals opinion that pit bulls and pit bull crossbreeds are dangerous could lead to a slippery slope. The opinion also states that landlords can prohibit the dogs from their properties. "I think pit bulls capacity to do damage is no greater than a chihuahua," she said. "I'm more apprehensive about smaller dogs." Harris was one of a group of Marylanders protesting the court's opinion at Lawyer's Mall in Annapolis on Tuesday afternoon. Erin Harty, of Baltimore, said Harris' fears aren't unfounded. As a volunteer at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, she said the center is already being …
Friday, May 11, 2012
Paving will begin Friday and run through two weekends this month.
Route 1 will be limited to lane closures on the Conowingo Dam this weekend as the State Highway Administration paves lanes on the bridge deck. Lane closures on southbound U.S. Route 1 will begin Friday at 6 p.m. and run through 6 a.m. on Monday. Traffic will be limited to one lane again between May 18 and May 21, according to a statement from the SHA. The paving on southbound Route 1 is to be complete by the end of May. For live traffic updates, utilize the Patch Commute tab. Motorists should be on the lookout for flag operations as well as message signs to direct traffic. Northbound lanes will be shut down in similar fashion next month with the goal of having both lanes completed by June 30. The $1.2 million patching and resurfacing …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
A group of the Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASAs, is scheduled to be sworn in next week.
Harford County is about to have 13 more trained volunteers to advocate for the interests of abused and neglected children in the court system. The local group will be sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASAs, having completed 30 hours of classroom training and at least two hours of court observation, according to a release from CASA. Volunteers are assigned to the case of a child within the juvenile court system who is ruled in need, based on past abuse or neglect, according to the CASA of Harford website. They advocate for the best interests of these children in the judicial, educational, medical, and social service systems, the release states. “Children are so vulnerable in our society and so easily pushed aside,” Mary …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
In an interview on ABC News, the president says he supports same-sex marriage. The issue is likely to go to referendum in Maryland this fall.
President Barack Obama picked the day after a decisive vote in North Carolina to announce that his "evolution" on the issue of same-sex marriage was complete—he now supports it. In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Obama said: I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage—at a …
Katelyn O'Connor was recognized at Monday's meeting of the Bel Air Board of Commissioners.
Katelyn O'Connor was among 39 semifinalists in the Maryland Municipal League's Mayor's Essay Contest. The contest is designed to help youth understand government. During Monday's meeting, the town recognized Katelyn, a fourth-grade St. Margaret's School student, for her achievement. "We're biased, we think you should have one," Mayor Edward Hopkins said to Katelyn during the presentation. Katelyn also read her essay aloud to the audience in Bel Air Town Hall. "If I were mayor I would face all the challenges head-on," Katelyn said. The essay tackled issues such as being environmentally friendly and obesity. Katelyn was one of several students recognized for achievements during Monday's meeting, including John Carroll School student Austin …
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Bel Air Town Hall
39 N Hickory Ave, Bel Air, MD
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Plan to fix "Doomsday Budget" includes $247 million in tax increases and elimination of exemptions for single filers earning $100,000 or more and joint filers earning $150,000 or more.
UPDATE (5:59 p.m.)—Some Maryland residents will pay more taxes in the coming year under a plan worked out between Gov. Martin O'Malley and legislative leaders. O'Malley, accompanied by House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, announced the nearly $35.8 billion plan during a Wednesday morning news conference in Annapolis to discuss the upcoming special session. "To leave this budget incomplete, to leave this budget as it stands right now, would damage the very forward motion that all of us, together, have worked so hard to achieve for our state," O'Malley said. "Progress is a choice," O'Malley said. "Job creation is a choice. Building America's number one schools, making a college education affordable, …
Columbia Gas Transmission says pipeline from Owings Mills through Oregon Ridge Park to Fallston will add reliability to existing natural gas service to BGE.
A proposed extension of a natural gas pipeline has Warren Alperstein thinking a lot about the well that provides water to his house these days. Columbia Gas Transmission wants to build a 21.4-mile extension of an existing pipeline from Owings Mills through Oregon Ridge Park to Fallston. The extension is part of a larger system that stretches from the Gulf of Mexico. The extension would run along side another existing line, but would require the company to expand its current right of way from a width of 50 to 75 feet. Some of those easements will extend onto or near existing residential property, some residents said. The line would also run through the backyard of Alperstein's Reisterstown home. "The thought of a bulldozer backing into my …
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1901 Fallston Rd, Fallston, MD
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The senator protested the project at a public hearing before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at Oregon Ridge Lodge.
When Senator Bobby Zirkin moved to his new residence in Reisterstown nearly a year ago he did so because he loved the natural environment. "It's a beautiful, pristine property," Zirkin said, an 11th District Democrat. "It's a beautiful treasure that's now under attack." The senator was one of more than a dozen people to testify against a gas pipeline extension proposed by Columbia Gas Transmission at a public hearing before a panel of representatives from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at Oregon Ridge Lodge on Tuesday evening. The 21.4 mile-extension to an existing pipeline would impact about 300 property owners. Zirkin wouldn't be directly impacted by the construction, but the pipeline is proposed to cut through his neighbors…
Monday, May 7, 2012
Bel Air Board of Commissioners discuss town business.
(UPDATE 10:24 a.m. Tuesday)—Commission reappointments and student recognitions were top priorities for the Bel Air Board of Commissioners on Monday, with no new legislation on the agenda. It was a light agenda for the commissioners, with essay winner announcements, student recognitions and proclamations dominating the night's business. The meeting fell between the approval of the tentative Fiscal Year 2013 budget and the May 21 public hearing. The board approved the tentative budget with a unanimous vote during its last business meeting on April 16. Commissioner David Carey explained that approving the tentative budget is not a final vote to pass the budget. The only new business before the board was a reappointment to the Economic …
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Bel Air Town Hall
39 N Hickory Ave, Bel Air, MD
/articles/live-commissioners-discuss-reappointment
432726
/locations/6957199
Kenneth Pahr
1:57 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
The Dems and O'Malley can do pretty much whatever they want in this state. I turned on WBAL radio today at about 1230pm and heard one of the hosts say, "I'm a Democrat so I think everything should be taxed." Yeah.....I turned on my CD after hearing that BS. more ›