Sunday, May 19, 2013
'People,' 'testified' and 'college' also were big in Nancy Navarro's budget statement.
When Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro summarized the fiscal 2014 county budget, the words "county," "budget" and "Montgomery" naturally featured prominently in her statement. Council members tentatively approved the spending plan in a unanimous straw vote Thursday. Other words that Navarro was fond of in describing the $4.8 billion plan: "percent," "funding," "college," "testified," "people" and "providing." See what else Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring thinks of the budget in the word cloud above. Read Navarro's statement here. SPEAK OUT: What words would you use to describe the Montgomery County budget? What would be the big words in your word cloud?
Friday, May 17, 2013
High-profile Maryland bills on firearms and funding state transportation projects became law.
Two of the most controversial bills Maryland state lawmakers grappled with this session became law Thursday. Gov. Martin O'Malley, flanked by Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, House Speaker Michael Busch and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, signed 268 bills into law. Among them were the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013 which increases the state's gas tax, and the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, a restrictive gun control bill. The gun control measure was an important part of O’Malley’s legislative priorities, but was widely contested by Republicans in the General Assembly. Under the law, more than 40 types of guns are banned in Maryland including most semi-automatic rifles. In addition, digital fingerprints of gun owners are …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The plan includes tax increase, more cops in schools and more food resources for the poor.
No one went hungry in the $4.8 billion budget Montgomery County Council members tentatively approved Thursday. Key county agencies, including police, fire and rescue, schools and health and human services will receive more aid and new positions, according to an outline of the tentative spending plan released by the council. The council is scheduled to hold a final vote on the budget May 23, the last council session before a three-week recess. All nine council members voted to give tentative approval to the plan for fiscal 2014, which begins July 1. "Budgets are a reflection of our values. There are always more needs, and more wants, than there are resources available," Council President Nancy Navarro (D-Dist 4) of Silver Spring said in a …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Police departments and public safety officials try to combat rash of pedestrian accidents in Silver Spring
Since February 2012, there have been 11 pedestrians killed by cars in Montgomery County. More recently and locally, four pedestrians and one cyclist have been killed in Silver Spring and Aspen Hill since Jan. 22. Those are substantial numbers but specific reasons and remedies are elusive. Resident Jazmine Jones assigned fault earlier this month to drivers, who should take it upon themselves to be more considerate, she said, as “90 percent of them (drive too fast).” “A lot of pedestrians are too bold, too, but they follow the traffic lights,” Jones said. “People just drive too fast here.” She was not sure how to fix the problem, though, and was hesitant to propose upping police enforcement. But, Shanda Stout—who moved to Silver Spring after…
Sunday, May 12, 2013
From crime - hear about the backhoe bandits? - to politics and new places for Mexican food, be well-informed with one click.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Sunday, May 12
By Patch Staff Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown Kicks Off Gubernatorial Bid In a speech highlighting his military and government service, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown announced in his home county of Prince George's Friday night that he is running for governor of Maryland in the November 2014 election. Dan Bongino’s Home Burglarized Wednesday Night While Family Slept A spokeswoman says computers, purses and a wallet were taken from the Severna Park home of Bongino, the former Secret Service agent who ran for U.S. Senate in 2012. Report: Anne Arundel County Top in State for Generating Tourism Money The county saw a more than 7 percent increase in money from tourism between 2010 and 2011, according to a new report. Businesses Look to Marketplace Fairness…
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Silver Line appears on new map, but when might the Purple Line appear?
The Maryland Transit Authority has scheduled a series of five open houses to update citizens on the status of the much-discussed Purple Line, according to a Washington Post story. The Purple Line is a proposed light rail extension of the current Metro system and would run for 16 miles between Bethesda and New Carrollton, and connect with the existing Red, Orange and Green Lines. Among issues that have been discussed is how the line’s construction would be funded. A February Post article stated that for Maryland to receive federal funding, the state must demonstrate that it can pay its half ($2.15 billion) of the costs. The gas tax and public-private partnerships have been talked about as possible sources of funding, but no decisions have …
Friday, May 10, 2013
Hundreds gather at Prince George's Community College in Largo, MD for Brown's gubernatorial campaign announcement.
Follow @UMarlboroPatch for live coverage of Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown's announcement.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The results of the Quinnipiac University poll come as proponents of reinstating the death penalty in Maryland say the law is needed because of incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing.
Americans support the death penalty for terrorists, according to a national poll released by Quinnipiac University. The national survey found that 63 percent favored the death penalty for someone convicted of murder involving an act of terrorism compared to 32 percent who said they opposed capital punishment. The results of the poll come as political leaders including Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott announced a plan to collect more than 55,000 signatures in order to reinstate the death penalty in Maryland. "One only has to look back to Oklahoma City, Aurora, CO, Newtown, CT, and the recent massacre in Boston to recognize that if these crimes were …
Duane Davis, known for leaving toilets as political protest outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson, is running as a Republican in 2014.
A Milford Mill man known for political protests involving putting toilets in front of a county government building in Towson has filed as a candidate for Lt. Governor in 2014. Duane "Shorty" Davis has filed as the running mate with Brian Vaeth, a Perry Hall man. Davis was charged in February 2011 with planting a fake destructive device in the form of a toilet outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson and making false statements about a fake destructive device. He was acquitted of those charges seven months later. Davis, a caterer, said in a February 2013 article that the incident in 2011 was a protest of alleged corruption in Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration. He claims that he had made political statements using toilets previously, …
Monday, May 6, 2013
A report by Pew Charitable Trusts found some areas in the Washington, DC suburbs benefit more from a controversial tax credit than any other place.
A home ownership tax credit favored by the wealthy disproportionately benefits residents of Maryland and Montgomery County, particularly Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Frederick, a report from Pew Charitable Trusts found. Some members of Congress, however, are working to cut the mortgage interest deduction from the tax code. In Maryland, 37 percent of tax filers claim the deduction, while more than 40 percent of tax filers in Bethesda, Gaithersburg and Frederick claim the mortgage interest deduction, the largest percentage in the country, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported. Nationally, only 22 percent of filers claim the deduction, Bloomberg reported. The deduction is typically filed in wealthy areas with high rates of home ownership. Compare …
Costco Gas Man
10:18 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Ironically, a report was just issued which indicates Maryland has the highest median income in the country moving up from 3rd to first, knocking out New Jersey and Connecticut. Perhaps Maryland can take a lesson from those two states who have now fallen in median income. Retirees are leaving those states by the tens of thousands and they are wealthy retirees. Maryland did one thing right. When … more ›