Wednesday, March 6, 2013
by Jocelyn Rubin, Capital News Service
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, March 6
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley rolled out a new transportation investment plan on Monday, designed to build up the state's Transportation Trust Fund, relieve traffic congestion, and create jobs. O'Malley announced the proposal in Annapolis with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House Speaker Michael Busch by his side. Busch stressed the need for a funding plan that would provide Maryland with the same competitive edge for federal transportation money, as states like Virginia. "There's limited federal dollars," said Busch. "If we don't have the money to match the mass transit money, which is 50 percent of the cost, we're going to the end of the line. Virginia has put themselves in the position to get to the front of the line…
Monday, March 4, 2013
Delegate Justin Ready presented a bill that would prohibit state and local governments from installing tracking devices on cars for the purpose of imposing a mileage tax.
Elected officials in Carroll County are working to pass House Bill 682, legislation that would prohibit the state from establishing a vehicle-per-mileage tax through the use of GPS tracking devices on vehicles. Delegate Justin Ready (R- Carroll) recently presented House Bill 682 before the House Ways and Means Committee. “It is hard to believe that the state would even be contemplating using VMT to tax Marylanders, but it is very likely that without the legislation that I have put forward, the Department of Transportation will put it be put in place by 2020," Ready said in a release. "Two states are already piloting this program, but they are looking at it in lieu of gas taxes. Maryland wants to have it in addition to gas taxes." For …
Friday, March 1, 2013
By AMBER LARKINS, Capital News Service
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, March 1
Several Maryland legislators are pushing for stricter limits on custody and visitation rights for parents convicted of sex crimes. Thursday, the Judicial Proceedings Committee heard a bill from Sen. Richard Colburn, R-Caroline, which would prevent courts from awarding custody and visitation to a parent guilty of sexual abuse of a minor, unless there is “good cause” to award custody. What do you think? Do the current laws do enough to protect children or are new laws necessary? Tell us in comments. Colburn’s bill was cross filed with legislation by Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, R-Talbot, who learned of two cases where a parent convicted of sexually abusing a minor either won custody of their child, or could get it. In one of the cases, …
A local newspaper recently asked for all email lists from the five Carroll County commissioners.
The Board of Carroll County Commissioners voted, 3-1, to go to court over a recent Public Information Act (PIA) request asking for the commissioner's email distribution lists. Maryland’s Public Information Act gives the public the right to access government records without unnecessary cost and delay, according to the State’s Attorney General’s Office. The Carroll County Times requested "all email distribution lists from Carroll County commissioners" in a PIA request on Feb. 12 according to Carroll County attorney Timothy Burke. The request came following a decision from the attorney general's office that local governments should not unilaterally redact email addresses from PIA requests. However, the attorney general's 16-page opinion also …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
By LUCAS HIGH and ALLEN ETZLER, Capital News Service
The Senate approved a series of amendments Wednesday to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s gun control legislation that would ease some of the proposed restrictions on gun ownership while maintaining the major aspects of the bill. The Senate heard amendments to the bill until 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. A final vote on the bill in the Senate is expected at 8 a.m. Thursday. Among the changes to O’Malley’s proposal, the amended bill narrows the definition of what constitutes an assault weapon, doubles the lifespan of a valid handgun license and reduces both the number of hours of training and the licensing fee required to purchase a handgun. The bill also clarifies which people who seek mental health services are disqualified from owning a gun. Despite the …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Director of the Carroll County Humane Society served on the Governor's Spay Neuter Task force which helped facilitate the creation of the bill being considered.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, February 27
by Caroline Woodall, Capital News Service Supporters of legislation that would create a special fund to support spay/neuter services in the state through a surcharge on registration fees paid by the makers of pet food sold in Maryland, recently made their case before the House Environmental Matters Committee. The bill would create a voucher program for financially qualified individuals, and establish a competitive grant program for organizations and local governments that facilitate and promote spay and neuter services. More than 96,000 animals enter shelters in Maryland each year, and only half of them make it out alive. Carroll County Humane Society Director Nikki Ratliff was a member of the Governor's Spay Neuter Task Force that …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Patch brings you to weird news headlines of the week.
Report: Carroll County Teen Charged for Making Multiple False 911 Calls The juvenile made four 911 calls with false information about fires and car accidents. Police: Havre de Grace Little League Grudge Sparks Bar Fight One man ended up at Harford Memorial Hospital, the Havre de Grace Police Department said. UPDATE: Burglar Steals Drinks from School Refrigerator According to a Feb. 16 report, a burglar broke into Pikesville High School last week, then broke into a cafeteria refrigerator and stole drinks. Naval Academy Does the 'Harlem Shake' Midshipmen from the Naval Academy's 13th Company created a dance-video to Baauer’s “Harlem Shake.” Man Arrested in Upper Marlboro Bank Robbery Had No Weapon Robert Alonzo Robinson, 43, did not have a …
By JESSICA WILDE, Capital News Service
Maureen Burke marks every item on her menu with a color-coded stamp that identifies potential allergens, and her kitchen is divided into two parts, real cheese and fake cheese. She special orders the rice flour for her restaurant, One Dish Cuisine, from Oregon. While many restaurants have two ovens, hers has four -- the better to keep the dairy and soy away from the rest. Burke opened the restaurant because of her own allergy to gluten, and she is a walking-Google of hidden allergen knowledge. She keeps a master notebook of all ingredients in every item of food, logs each loaf of bread that she sells and changes her gloves after touching anything. Burke does not eat out. After all, not everyone has color-coded stamps. She is doing with her…
Saturday, February 23, 2013
By ALLEN ETZLER, Capital News Service
- NEWS
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Saturday, February 23
The Maryland Senate is set to vote on Gov. Martin O’Malley’s package of new gun legislation in the coming week. If approved, the law would ban assault rifles, decrease the maximum capacity of ammunition magazines from 20 to 10, update handgun licensing requirements to include digital fingerprinting, improve school security and restrict the ability of people who have been involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities from purchasing guns. But gun restrictions are not new in Maryland, dating back to at least 1886, when the legislature passed a bill stating the only way someone could carry a firearm, concealed or not, was if the person was a public official who needed a firearm as part of their official equipment. Five decades later, both…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Less than 20 percent of Carroll County high school students took an AP exam in 2012.
Maryland students have once again secured a number one ranking—this time in the number of students scoring a 3 or higher out of five on an Advanced Placement test. The state moved up from 27.9 percent in 2011 to 29.6 percent in 2012, the highest percentage in the nation, according to a report released by the College Board Wednesday. A total of 48.2 percent of Maryland students took the exam in 2012, up from 46.4 the previous year. In comparison, 19.5 percent of Carroll County high school students took an AP Exam in 2012 with 64.7 percent of the exams earning a score of 3 or better, which is down slightly from 66.1 percent in 2011 according to the CCPS website. Governor Martin O'Malley released the following statement after the state …
Ken Marsh
9:48 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The Bill of Rights bans lots of ideas and investigations, and I don't think it is ridiculous at all. more ›