Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Pension issues and local funding to drive spending over next four years.
While Montgomery County spends approximately half of its annual $4 billion budget on K-12 education, that figure is expected to grow by more than $100 million over the next four years, according to a recent Washington Post article. Two state mandates uncovered by Montgomery County Council staff will drive the increased spending—the shift of teacher pension costs from the state to the counties and the “maintenance of effort” rules which require schools to maintain a level of per-pupil funding at least equal to the previous year, The Post reported. Montgomery County Councilmember Valerie Ervin (D-Dist 5) described the increases in education funding as “a runway train.” Montgomery County Council staff director Stephen Farber described the …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
U.S. Congressman John Sarbanes met with Everett Davis, Assistant Principal at Montgomery Village Middle School, who was named the 2013 Maryland Assistant Principal of the Year.
Everett Davis, the Montgomery Village Middle School assistant principal named 2013 Maryland Assistant Principal of the Year, met Thursday with U.S. Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.). Davis is participating in the National Association of Secondary School’s Assistant Principals Week, along with other winners from around the country. “We count on principals to create the best environment for learning in our schools – not only as administrators, but also as instructional leaders,” Congressman Sarbanes said in a statement. “Mr. Davis is a stellar example of a public servant who has dedicated his life to helping Maryland students learn the skills they need to succeed in their education.” Davis, who had worked at Gaithersburg Middle School, was …
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Lack of participation said to jeopardize state economy in the future.
Nearly half of Maryland’s workers are not participating in employer-sponsored retirement programs, putting the future stability of the state’s economy at risk, according to a study from the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA). Released on April 2, the study details a downward trend in the number of Maryland workers contributing to employer-sponsored retirement programs from 1995-2012. The data also shows that four in 10 households headed by people nearing retirement (ages 55-64) will have to survive on Social Security, or may not be able to retire at all. Overall, in the decade from 2000-2010, the percentage of employers offering sponsored retirement programs dropped eight percent, from 67 percent in 2000 to 59 percent in …
Patch brings you weird news headlines from around the state of Maryland.
Editor’s Note: This feature is posted on several Patch.com sites across Maryland. Lanham Woman Attempts Robbery, Bites Good Samaritans A Lanham woman is facing robbery and assault charges after attempting to steal a purse from an 80-year-old woman and then biting the victim's husband and a Good Samaritan, who foiled the robbery. Cicadas Return: 17-year Cicadas to Overtake East Coast by the Millions this Spring In May, cicadas in Maryland and along the Eastern seaboard will wake from their 17-year sleep. Blog Post: Mike Miller Wouldn't Mind A Toke Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller wouldn't mind a toke right about now. Jail for 76-Year-Old Ellicott City Man for Embezzlement, Tax Evasion A 76-year-old Ellicott City man was …
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Maryland House of delegates voted on March 15th to abolish the death penalty in Maryland.
The Maryland House of Delegates recently voted to abolish the death penalty. If Gov. Martin O'Malley signs the bill, Maryland would become the 18th state in the country to do so. According to a a poll released by Goucher College, 51 percent of respondents were in favor of capital punishment, versus 43 percent who were in favor of abolishing it. In Gaithersburg, similar mixed emotions were evident among people at a coffee shop in Quince Orchard. Mary Anderson, a 43-year-old writer, felt that more should be done to rehabilitate people convicted of murder. "I don't know how we are ever going to evolve as a society if we keep doing the 'eye for an eye' thing," she said. "Obviously, the death penalty doesn't scare people enough, it just doesn…
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Here are some of Patch's top Local Voices posts across Maryland this week.
Bevins Critical of Proposal to Tighten County Car Rules: Baltimore County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins said a colleague is only calling for the changes because he was questioned by a reporter for breaking a campaign promise not to take a county vehicle if elected. Sequestration to Have Serious Local Impact: Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young talks about what the impact of the sequestration's mandated federal budget cuts would be on city services. State of the River Address: The South River Report Card is discussed in this blog that details the health of one of the local waterways in Anne Arundel County. Anne Arundel 'School Hours Study' - Answers to the Questions: Blog reacts to a recent study as part of the ongoing …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
A letter to the editor about raising the speed limit on the Intercounty Connector and other state highways.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Greg Cohen
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Tuesday, February 26
The following is a letter from Fred Flaharty, a Montgomery County school bus driver, in regards to a late January story about the Intercounty Connector potentially having a 70 mph speed limit: The bill that would raise the maximum speed limit on interstates and expressways statewide from 65 to 70 miles per hour is an incredibly BAD IDEA!....no...INSANE idea. As a regular daily driver of the ICC both in my personal car (twice per day) and as the driver of a Montgomery County school bus (4 trips per day) I protest in the strongest possible terms this proposed raising of the speed limit on the ICC. There are several important reasons for this the first of which is the road was never designed for faster speeds as are interstate highways. As is…
Thursday, February 7, 2013
"It's the first time we've ever had a congressional office within city limits," Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz said.
Maryland's new 6th Congressional District leader will call Gaithersburg home for one of two district offices. Congressman John Delaney's team will work out of 9801 Washingtonian Blvd., Suite 330, in Gaithersburg. He also has offices in Hagerstown and Washington, DC. Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz said at Monday evening's City Council meeting it is the first time the city has housed a congressional office within city limits. “We have long enjoyed a close relationship with those who represent us on Capitol Hill,” Katz said. “We’re delighted that Congressman Delaney will have an office in our community, allowing him and his staff to continue to provide the high level of accessibility and responsiveness that Gaithersburg residents have come…
Monday, February 4, 2013
Maryland gets extremely high grade.
Maryland ranks among the top 5 for government transparency—so says a 2013 report released by the Sunshine Review nonprofit group, cited in a recent article in the Baltimore Business Journal. Alongside California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington state, Maryland received a grade of B+, the highest grade any state earned in the report. Broken down, Maryland earned an A- for its state website, while county, city and school district sites earned a B. Only 26 percent of county websites earned higher than Maryland's, and 60 percent earned a B grade for school district sites. Conversely, the five worst-ranked states for government transparency are Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska and South Dakota. Sunshine Review bases its rankings …
The 6th Congressional District, which was reshaped to include a swath of heavily Democratic Montgomery County, is now 69 percent white, down from 87 percent in 2010, according to census data.
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, February 4
By JEREMY BARR | Capital News Service WASHINGTON — Maryland’s redrawn congressional map, which paved the way for a Democratic victory in November, significantly altered the makeup of two of the state’s eight congressional districts, as expected, according to recently-released demographic estimates. The 6th Congressional District, which was reshaped to include a swath of heavily Democratic Montgomery County, is now 69 percent white, down from 87 percent in 2010, according to census data. The shift stems from 7 percentage-point increases in each of the populations of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American residents. The 8th District, represented by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Kensington, experienced a countervailing shift. The district’s…
Nic P
7:22 am on Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Barbara - your comment was not only hateful and ignorant but unnecessary as well. Shame on you. more ›