Calling All Maryland Progressives

We have a new home at the new and improved FREE STATE POLITICS! The site will only be worthwhile if as many people as possible get on and participate, so go sign up and get in on the future of the progressive blogosphere in Maryland.

Employee Free Choice Act: Maryland Votes Down Party Lines

On occasion, Republicans Rep. Bartlett and Rep. Gilchrest vote with Democrats in the house. Maryland's unified vote against the Torture bill was a great example of this phenomenon.

Today that was not the case, and Maryland's two Republican Reps voted against working people and against the Employee Free Choice Act. All of Maryland's Democratic House members voted for the Bill. For a better analysis of the issue than I can give here, check out this mydd post.

Generally, I stand with unions. I find it much more easy to believe that big business is more actively involved in subverting workers rights than unions. I fear much more the lack of an ability to organize than workers being forced to do so.

Universal Health Care NOW

Lets make these nightmares a thing of the past.

The State of Maryland just spent $250,000 on a toothache, and in the end, it still wasn't enough to save the life of 12 year-old Dearmonte Driver. Universal Health Care would have saved Dearmonte's life, and saved the State of Maryland over $200,000.

Universal Health Care would have guaranteed Dearmonte dental coverage from any dentist in the state. His toothache would have been taken care of, either for free or for a few dollars. Tooth extraction isn't a difficult process, and any dentist can perform the procedure. Instead, Dearmonte was on medicaid and his parents were unable to find a Medicaid dentist to see him.

What happened to Dearmonte and his family is unacceptable. Its time to stop ignoring the uninsured. If we continue to do so, we risk both moral and economic peril.

Update:Another opinion at the Old Line.

Bush Budget is Bad for Maryland

Is anyone really surprised?

The budget would cut $31.5 million in funding for elementary and secondary education in Maryland in 2012, according to the center's report.

Additionally, in 2008 the new budget would trim $10.7 million from Environmental Protection Agency clean water programs in Maryland, as well as cut $6.6 million from low-income home energy assistance, according to the center. The reductions are relative to the funding level in 2007 adjusted for inflation.

This is completely unacceptable.

Of course, Roscoe Bartlett is right there, carrying water for the President.

"The president has proposed to eliminate the budget deficit in five years without raising taxes by maintaining successful pro-growth economic policies and by restraining the growth in federal spending," said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Frederick. "I never forget that every dollar the government spends comes from taxes earned by workers or is borrowed from our kids and grandkids."

"However, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities wants the government to spend more and tax more of your money," said Bartlett.

I think Rep. Bartlett has been watching some other President. Starve the citizens and bolster the war effort. Cut education and energy support for the poor so you can give billions back to CEOs. Meanwhile, those of us caught in the middle, too "rich" for government assistance and tax breaks, and too poor to feel the "trickle down" or the "middle class tax relief" are left to wonder who the President and Rep Bartlett think their policies are really helping.

Hopkins Study: Lack of Health Insurance cost Marylanders $1.47 Billion in 2002

What the study says to me, is that it is time for universal health care in Maryland. Why? Because it would both save us money and protect our citizens.

For example, one plan to cover all Marylanders has been estimated to cost a little over $600 million. This is big money, but meager when compared to what we spend now to provide care to significant numbers of uninsured Marylanders through social programs.

This study should be a wake up call to the state legislature and Governor O'Malley. If O'Malley has the presidential aspirations we all ascribe to him, this would be a great test of his executive skills. Oh yeah, and it will also save us some big money.

The Sun Fails to Look Ahead On Global Warming

The Sun's Tom Pelton, this past Sunday asked Baltimore to look at it's future. Mr. Pelton asks that we consider floods, the migration or extinction of local species, and smog filled air as a distinct part the near future of Maryland.

Mr. Pelton considers this disastrous future and concludes that we, as a State, can and should do nothing. This is completely incorrect, and it's an attitude that fails to look to future of both our State and our Nation.

Whether you accept or deny the established science supporting Global Warming as a man made problem it is harder to deny the genuine social, scientific and political movement that now swirls around the issue. I can say with some certainty that soon enough we will seen Federal action on carbon emissions, "clean car requirements", etc.

Maryland would do well to play the game and get a head start on what will possibly become a state inspired program. Why let Arnold and California be the innovators when it comes to combating global warming at the state level? Maryland has it's own challenges to deal with when it comes to becoming carbon-neutral. Why should we wait to have the Feds impose their own ideas on us? Lets get a head start and create our own Maryland focused program for combating greenhouse gases.

If Maryland takes the initiative, we will have the chance to do things our own way, and to give businesses in Maryland a head start in what I am sure will become another lucrative virtual market, carbon emissions trading. Be warned, the global warming legislation will be coming. It is Maryland's choice whether we will be in control of our own carbon-neutral destiny or not.

"I would like to see us repeal the death penalty," - Governor O'Malley

Now it is just up to the Maryland legislature to pass one of the repeal bills. I must say, I am very proud of the Governor for taking this stand. I believe that it says something about his philosophy of justice, that it is focused on saving lives and improving communities, not on revenge and retaliation.

Some on the other side of the debate share a different philosophy.

Michael Paranzino, executive director of Throw Away the Key, which supports capital punishment, said a debate on the death penalty is needed.
"It's better to debate this in the open," he said. "We will be educating the lawmakers about the victims of murder. While I think that it's a difficult task, I don't think it's impossible."

Throw Away the Key's website deals almost exclusively with child predators. They make a solid argument for the reform of how we deal with child predators that I am inclined to agree with. They are wrong however, on the necessity death penalty. We need look no further than the case of Kirk Bloodsworth:

Mr. Bloodsworth was convicted twice of killing a 9-year-old girl in 1984. He was placed on death row following his first trial. Mr. Bloodsworth was convicted again in a second trial, but received a life sentence instead of capital punishment. He was exonerated by DNA evidence in 1993.

While Mr. Bloodsworth sat in jail facing death, the real offender was roaming the streets free to harm more innocent people. It was neither a deterrent for other criminals nor a panacea for the family. Justice was certainly not done, and thankfully Mr. Bloodsworth lived to tell about it.

Throw away the key laments the quick release of child predators and violent offenders from our prisons. However, they never address the real cause of this problem, overcrowded prisons due to the drug war. Instead they would rather focus on easy, headline grabbing issues such as the death penalty. It is a shame, because they could be a strong advocate for changing our justice system so it can begin locking up real criminals again.

So, will the repeal bills pass? O'Malley is skeptical:

O'Malley said he would lobby for the repeal bills, although he did not include such a measure in the legislative agenda he released this week. "There are good people who have strong feelings on both sides of that issue," he said.

Still, he expressed skepticism that a majority of the House of Delegates or the Senate will support the bills.

"I'm not overly optimistic that they will, but there's a lot of new members, and perhaps given the problems, what went on in Florida, given all of the other issues having to do with the way that it's applied, maybe there is the will to do it," the governor said. Executions in Florida were halted last month amid concerns over the way lethal injections were administered.

I hope the Maryland Legislature does the right thing and gets one of these bill passed.
You can contact them and tell them how you feel.

O'Malley: "incessant foreign chemical attacks of cocaine and heroin"

From Governor O'Malley's Inaguration speech:

For against the peril of terrorist threat and the incessant foreign chemical attacks of cocaine and heroin, we have the possibility of improving our homeland security efforts… making our port a leader… the possibility of using our technology and talents to deter and prevent attack… and the possibility of reforming our public safety institutions to save lives. Maryland is one of America’s wealthiest states; it's time to make us one of America's safest and most secure.

There is a lot to talk about in the Governor's speech, but seeing as this blog has taken to analyzing the effects of the drug war in Baltimore, this statement stands out to me the most.

Though I am no expert on international drug trafficking, I am relatively sure that drugs enter the state of Maryland in a variety of ways. A good amount of drugs enter illegally through the port of Baltimore, but it is just one out of one million methods. This is just big, fluffy talk.

The Governor takes responsibility for drug addiction in Maryland:

Some of the perils we face – budget deficits, polluted waters, drug addiction and crumbling infrastructure – are of our own recent making.

Recent making? Our own making? I applaud the Governor taking undue responsibility, but I think he is taking on too much. If Governor O'Malley wants to blame someone for the drug addiction (a natural outcome of the drug war, where effective drug treatment is a tertiary concern when compared to incarceration and high arrest stats) and poverty in Baltimore City, all he has to do is take a short ride down I-95.

The Governor had no problem as Mayor of Baltimore taking our Republican Governor to task for tying his hands in trying to improve the City. I think he needs to take the gloves off and take his concerns about these "incessant foreign chemical attacks of cocaine and heroin" to the Federal Government.

Many in Maryland agree that O'Malley has plans that reach beyond the Governor's Mansion. I cannot think of a more courageous act than to take a stand for his State and his City and demand that the Congress and the President take another look at our drug enforcement policies, as well as how to reduce poverty in our cities. Millions around the nation have seen the heartbreaking realities of the drug war in Baltimore play out on HBO's critically acclaimed drama "The Wire". Now is the time to seize on whatever popular sentiment the show has created.

The Governor now has the voice and the authority to speak for Marylanders who have had enough. Marylanders who are ready to try new ideas and new strategies to solve our addiction and violence problems. The Governor, the Mayor, and the citizens of Maryland need to join together, perhaps with other States whose urban areas have fallen under the ugly clouds of poverty and drug war insanity. They should demand reforms to the drug schedule, and they should demand immediate poverty relief for our urban poor.

Of course, the Governor doesn't have to wait for the Federal Government to act. He can work with the Mayor and County Executives to increase the availability of walk-in drug treatment centers throughout the state. He can advise his own police department to focus on high-quality, up the chain arrests. Finally, the governor can attempt to reduce the penalties for simple drug possession, perhaps even reducing the penalty to a citation.

What is interesting is that the Governor singled out two specific types of drugs. Suspiciously absent was marijuana. Could the Governor have plans down the road for decriminalization of small amounts of the plant? That would certainly be a positive step.

The best part about some of these reforms is that they are relatively cheap when compared to further escalation of the drug war. Drug treatment centers would provide quality jobs for Marylanders and show the Governor's commitment to changing strategy. Allowing police to focus on making quality arrests (rather than quality of life arrests) would improve morale, and most likely lead to a greater interest in wearing a badge in Baltimore.

I expect to see all these things happen when pigs fly.

From the Avoiding the Obvious Department: Maryland Police Face Officer Shortages

(via The Baltimore Sun) Police recruiters across the State (as well as across the nation) are facing officer shortages.

Faced with an officer shortage that is only expected to get worse, police agencies in the Baltimore area and across the country are getting creative. They say they don't have a choice: It's becoming increasingly difficult to find the kid who is educated, hasn't used drugs heavily and would rather work for the local sheriff than the federal government.

"I'd say it's very intense," Tracey Martinelli, a recruiter at the Harford sheriff's office, said of the competition among agencies for new officers. "Applicants are applying to multiple agencies now. Everybody's competing for that same small group of applicants. Just about every agency is struggling."

...

Officials say the problem is not finding applicants, but finding enough people who meet basic qualifications.

Many applicants pass written and physical tests but drop out of contention because of prior drug use, authorities say. Some departments routinely turn away more than half of applicants because of previous drug use, officials say.

"Nowadays, young people are experimenting with drugs at a younger age - ecstasy, marijuana," said Officer Angela Avent, a recruiter with Baltimore County police.

Some departments have relaxed standards for prior drug use to expand the pool of applicants. In Maryland, the panel that sets statewide hiring standards decided in 2003 to permit applicants who have experimented with cocaine and to loosen standards on prior marijuana use. The panel has considered other proposals to further modify the standards.

Sacramento Police Capt. Kevin Johnson, who lectures nationally on recruiting techniques, said departments should consider loosening drug standards. His recently decided to eliminate any disqualifying factors, and now it takes a "whole person" approach in a deciding whether someone should be hired.

...

Howard County, seeking to add 20 officers to its 390-officer force, recently started running radio and television ads for the first time. The department's two full-time recruiters have given presentations to criminal justice college students in Waynesboro, Pa., and New York City.

Last year, the department bought a Chevy Tahoe, its windows emblazoned with pictures of officers in tactical unit gear and dramatic poses along with the motto, "Who do you want to be?" A recruiter drives around in the car full time and frequently puts it on display inside Arundel Mills Mall.

...

So, nearly 50% of the applicants in some cases are being turned away for previous drug use. Insanity. The potency of our drug laws are laughable when half of the people signing up to enforce them are also breaking them.

Of course, the article avoids the obvious. No one wants to be a cop anymore, why should they? In many areas of the country, community policing has gone away, along with the communities themselves. Baltimore claims to be returning to that style, but good luck while the drug war still rages in our neighborhoods. The drug war has ushered in a realm where body armor and swat team equipment is the new selling point of police departments. The narrative of the honest neighborhood cop who walked the same beat every day, knew the names of the kids who played in the street, and told the local drunk to "move along" instead of slapping him in cuffs to get another "loitering in a targeted enforcement zone" stat to add the books, is a far off dream.

When the police return to enforcing laws that truly keep us safe, I expect the recruitment problem will be lessened. Until then, we are asking these men and women to fight a losing battle against their fellow citizens for a low salary. Somehow I think letting them take the cruiser home for the weekend just isn't enough.

Murder Maps

My friend and ex-roommate Chris has taken it upon himself to map out the murders that occur in Maryland and DC. His web-page is a clearinghouse of murder information and is updated daily. If you are ever curious about who got killed in the Free State today, you will find the answer there.

And just in case I don't have a chance to post again this week let me clarify two things:

1. Cal Ripken is awesome.
2. Ravens over Colts, 24-17

Hot Topic of the Day: The Death Penalty

Wonderful news for Maryland: executions in the state have been suspended. I won't go into the decision, mostly because I have very little legal expertise and I am inspired by Stephanie Dray's opinion on the issue. However, if you want a quick legal rundown of the decision, head over to Crablaw.

Mrs. Dray takes the "make the death penalty safe and rare" position, certainly one of the most respectable ones to have in this debate. I agree with Dray on her point that there are some crimes which are so heinous, they should require the death penalty. She mentions John Allen Muhammad, the adult suspect in the DC sniper killings, as an example of such a crime and criminal. Indeed, Mr. Muhammad is a terrible man. He deserves no mercy. Some would say he deserves nothing more than the same death he and Malvo inflicted on their victims. These people may be right, and they are mostly driven by righteous anger.

The problem is, our justice system doesn't run on righteous anger. And though Mr. Muhammad does not deserve our mercy, we would reduce ourselves to his level were we not to give it.

I do not believe, as Dray assumes that many death penalty opponents do, that killing is wrong in every case or instance. Revenge killing by the State IS wrong in every instance, and that is what the death penalty boils down to.

There is no proof that the death penalty is an effective deterrent for violent crime. In fact, States with the death penalty have higher murder rates than states without it. It is solely reserved for those who murder in ways that revolt us.

In Maryland (and many other states I would assume) the death penalty has been proven to be applied by juries and prosecutors in a racist manner. Black males (particularly those who murder whites), to this day, are still more likely to be sentenced to death than whites in Maryland.

To argue that the death penalty is some sort of "criminal extermination service" is disturbing to me. If it isn't a deterrent, and it isn't revenge (can I assume state sanctioned revenge killing is wrong?), then it must be some sort societal fix. Killing serial killers as if these men are congenitally diseased when they are simply products of severe abuse in their childhood is insanity. Any argument that assumes there is some sort of genetic code or trigger for criminality is bunk anyway, but death penalty supporters continue to use these arguments to this day.

There is also the desire by death penalty proponents to separate society into "the criminals" and "the rest of us". This is a terrible and false dichotomy. Human beings are all capable of barbarity, of anger, of lust. We are all capable of losing control and we are all able to see the error of our ways and make positive changes in our lives. I believe the number one priority of the justice system must first be protection of the innocent. After that however, its next function must not be revenge, but instead rehabilitation.

I am a progressive, and I trust the government to do many things. I would trust them with my health care. I trust them with my defense, with my education (state schools, k-College).
I suppose that I trust the state to tax me equitably. I guess I trust them to not take corporate money in exchange for votes, but not really.

I certainly don't trust the state when it comes to going to war. In fact, if you want the best reason not to support the death penalty, based purely on the fact that it requires the state to carry it out?



As Governor, George W. Bush signed off on 152 executions. Now I ask you, can we really trust the State to kill people "correctly"?

NAACP Leaving Baltimore

Who can really blame them? To be honest, they are only moving their headquarters to Washington DC, but when you look at recent news, Baltimore and Maryland certainly seem hostile to the goals the NAACP wishes to achieve.

Though Maryland elected Democrats statewide, they did so while subtly snubbing the NAACP and the Black community. Ben Cardin famously skipped the NAACP debate vs Mike Steele (please see UPDATE at the bottom of the post). All reasons aside, Kweisi Mfume's Senate run was largely ignored by the Democratic Machine.

Then today, first I see that Governor-elect O'Malley, despite his personal opposition to the death penalty, as well as his knowledge of the University of Maryland Study which indicts the MD death penalty as racist, will still continue to carry out the death penalty in Maryland as long as the courts approve of lethal injection.

That opinion is completely unacceptable. No Democrat should be able to read the Maryland Study and conclude that the death penalty should be allowed to continue in Maryland. I could care less what the court thinks about lethal injection. The death penalty is madness, no matter the method. Parris Glendenning, for all his faults, understood this clearly when he instituted the moratorium. O'Malley must restore this moratorium on the death penalty.

Governor-Elect O'Malley, perhaps Sheila Dixon as well, need to do something to restore some sense of trust in our justice system, particularly in Baltimore City.

The NAACP, perhaps in their final Baltimore hurrah, have alleged that the Baltimore City police have been engaging in illegal arrests. This is what you get when you adopt the draconian policing policies that made Rudy Guliani famous.

Baltimore lawyers said in court documents that that arrests for "quality of life" crimes are not illegal; that City State's Attorney decision not to prosecute some crimes does not mean those arrests were unlawful; and that using a performance evaluation system for police officers based on the number of arrests is not unlawful.

Does anyone else really believe that every loitering and littering arrest was justified? How about every strip search? I think the NAACP most likely has a solid case. When people are judged by quantity not quality, quality obviously suffers. The evaluation system is one of the most troubling things in the suit. Police are being encouraged to make as many arrests as possible, and innocent people are being unreasonable arrested as a result.

I think it will be important to ask who was pushing these officers to get the high numbers. At what level did the order come from? I have a feeling our Governor-elect getting out of Baltimore just in time. Lets see if this case pulls him back into the quagmire of Baltimore crime and punishment.

So I cannot say I am surprised that the NAACP has begun finalizing plans to move to Washington DC in 2007. I am amazed they haven't left already. And yet:

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond has said the organization wanted to move its headquarters to be closer to Congress, government agencies and the many news media outlets in Washington. He said the NAACP loved everything about Baltimore, except its location.

Chairman Bond, speaking diplomatically, to say the least.

UPDATE: Stephanie Dray has correctly pointed out that it was really Mike Steele who intentionally skipped the statewide NAACP debate, and Ben Cardin who only skipped a smaller NAACP sponsored debate due to scheduling conflicts. Senator-elect Cardin had planned on debating Steele in the statewide debate, which Mr. Steele intentionally bowed out of. Thanks Steph. Sorry for the error.

Furthermore, I have no clue why the NAACP has decided to leave Baltimore. I was only making the point that they have every reason to. Though I respect his opinion, I do not agree with The League that the NAACP is abandoning the city. I do agree that Baltimore is losing a part of what made it special.

State Legislators Draft Several Bills Aimed at Ending the Ground Rent System in Maryland

Wow, ask and you shall receive, eh? (hat tip to The Baltimore Sun for their solid coverage of this issue)

Several state legislators said yesterday that they are drafting legislation to change Maryland's arcane ground rent system, including bills to prevent homes from being seized over missed rent payments and to ban the creation of new land leases.

"We're just going to do what we did with flipping and other scams. We're going to get rid of it," said Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat who is chairwoman of the House Environmental Matters Committee, which handles matters of real property and housing. "We're going to stop it right where it began."

Wonderful news, I must say. Doug Gansler weighs in:

"It clearly wasn't intended for the owners of the ground rent to get hundreds of thousands of dollars of improved property," state Attorney General-elect Douglas F. Gansler said yesterday. "That's what people are finding outrageous."

The system has "outlived its usefulness," Gansler said.

I would say the system was useless from the start; an congenital colonial disease, besmirching the Old Line State. How the legislation against ground rent exploitation will take shape is not yet clear. Several bills are in the works at the State level.

One bill would eliminate new ground rents. Another would protect people who fall behind in their ground rent from losing their house. A third would assure that people receive information about the system when they close on the purchase of a home. This might require a new registry to make sure ground rent holders and their tenants can locate one another, McIntosh said.

I would like to see a combination of the first and the second. The system needs to be killed, and by eliminating new ground rents, that process can begin. Protection of the homeowner's property is also important.

"[State Senator, Brian E. Frosch] said the legislature must prevent ground rent owners from keeping all proceeds from selling the houses that they seize. No other private debt collectors can reap such windfalls. In a foreclosure, for example, the mortgage company gets to keep only the amount it is owed.

"It's especially outrageous that someone can come in and take the property, and they don't pay [the homeowner] the surplus" after its sale, Frosh said. "It's ridiculous."

And finally:

Sen. Delores G. Kelley, a Baltimore County Democrat, said she would introduce legislation that, among other things, would reduce the fees that ground rent owners can charge homeowners if rent isn't paid on time or if a lawsuit is filed. Currently, ground rent owners can pass on up to $500 in costs of collecting overdue rent before a suit is filed and then up to $700 in attorneys' fees, $300 in title fees and all other court costs once a suit is filed.

George W. Della Jr., who failed to pass a similar bill in 2003, has the last word in the Sun article:

Goldberg, the ground rent owners' spokesman, said recently that he thought the fees should be raised because many expenses have increased.

"For that gentleman to say the fees are not high enough ... give me a break," Della said.

Good work by The SUN in making this issue an important one this year, and good work by the State Legislature for responding. Lets hope they can give anyone who owns or hopes to someday own a home in Baltimore City, a much needed break by getting rid of the predatory ground rent system.

UPDATE: Story today from The Sun about one family's fight to save their Canton home from an ejectment.

UPDATE 2: For a comprehensive look at ground rent in Maryland, check out The Sun's Ground Rent Series.

It is Time to End the Ground Rent System in Maryland

The Sun article On Shaky Ground makes it clear why.

• In nearly every aspect, the law favors ground rent holders. Homeowners rarely win once a lawsuit is filed. And the longer a case goes on, the more it can cost the homeowner.

• No other private debt collectors in Maryland can obtain rewards so disproportionate to what they are owed. In contrast with a foreclosure, the holder of an overdue ground rent can seize a home, sell it and keep every cent of the proceeds. To prevent a seizure, homeowners almost always have to pay fees that dwarf the amount of rent they owe.

• State law puts the onus on property owners to track down their ground rent owner and make payments, though it's sometimes next to impossible to find that information. No registry of ground rent holders exists, and property deeds typically contain only the barest of details about them.

• Some investors seek out overdue ground rents to purchase, then file lawsuits to take the property built on the land. In some cases, the legal owners of these houses have died, and the law is not clear about whether investors must give relatives a chance to satisfy the debts and keep the homes.

I was also interested to learn that this is a colonial system. Unlike the rest of the nation (excluding Pennsylvania), Maryland has decided to let this relic of the colonial age live on. In Baltimore there is a now a cottage industry for creating ground rent "ejectment" cases. Often the cases aren't challenged in court, and once the homeowner, excuse me, newly homeless person, is put out on the street, the property can be sold for exorbitant amounts. Forget the fact that defendants are being charged more for the fees associated with prosecuting them than for the actual ground rent itself. Forget the fact that the "ejectment" case, often over unpaid amounts as low as $200 a year, can strip a person of their whole life's work in moments.

In the words of a ground rent lawyer in the article, "Business is business."

Ah yes, business:

Thelma Parks, 56, lived for more than two decades in Druid Heights, just a few blocks from the boyhood home of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, until losing her house last year in an ejectment case. It was filed by a trust set up by Fred Nochumowitz, whose relatives have long held ground rents.

Records show that the Nochumowitz trust bought the ground rent on Parks' house in January 2002. Parks couldn't make her payments, which with the fees for the court action came to "about $1,200," she says. With more time, she says, she could have paid off the $1,200.

After taking her property, the trust sold it to an investment company for $70,000 in September 2005. That company resold it about six months later for $128,000. Parks, meanwhile, was forced to rent in another part of town.

"It ruined every one of my plans," said Parks, who works for the federal government. "They all went out the window. ... I'm going to have to work until I fall apart.

"I can't retire," she said. "Everyone is making a profit from it but me."

I for one don't think this predatory practice of "ejectment" over ground rent should be business as usual.

In The News

SADDEST NEWS OF THE DAY (for me at least)

Darren Brown, AKA Wiz of the AMAZING bands Mega City 4 and Ipanema has passed away. I just saw these guys play a few months ago and this is breaking my heart. From a messageboard:

The sudden and tragic death of Wiz (Darren Brown) has been announced.

Wiz died in hospital on 6th Dec 2007. His closest friends and family were with him.

Wiz was dearly loved by all his friends and family. He was a greatly respected and extraordinary musician and writer who touched the lives of many.

He will be deeply missed.

A page has been created with further news and comment.

Please leave your messages there.

http://www.myspace.com/wiztribute

Yeah, this has ruined my whole day. Wiz and his music have been a large part of my life for the past few years, and this is just stunning and horrible. It will be an all Wiz day on the ipod and then on the turntable at home.

RIP Wiz

---------------------------------
A suit has been brought to the Circuit Court of Baltimore that

"seeks to call attention to the reality that any person arrested in Maryland should not expect legal counsel when they first appear before a judicial officer," said Doug Colbert, a University of Maryland, Baltimore law professor assisting Venable's attorneys.

Apparently, poor defendants are being sent to their bail hearings without a public defender. I am not a legal scholar (+perhaps some of the more lawyerly MD bloggers can help me out here) but this doesn't seem very fair.

----------------------------------------

Maryland is having budget problems.

Del. Murray D. Levy, a Charles County Democrat who is one of the Assembly's budget experts, said part of the problem is that Maryland's basic tax structure hasn't changed as its economy has evolved. Services are exempt from the sales tax, for example, but the economy is growing steadily more dependent on the service industry, Levy said.

Maryland could solve some of these problems by raising some taxes and lowering others to make revenue track more closely with the economy, but the process would be politically difficult because some people would inevitably come out winners and others losers, Levy said.

Franchot says he will beef up the revenue forecasting office, which he said has been off by as much as $1 billion in recent years.

"On the one hand, you appropriate money that turns out not to be there, and you have to cut dollars, or you are told money will not be there, so you make cuts in programs and then the money appears too late to be allocated," Franchot said. "The point is, these programs affect real people, so you want the figures to be as correct as possible."

First, its nice to know that Maryland will have progressive Peter Franchot as our new comptroller.

Secondly, what a shame it is that Martin O'Malley has been saddled by budget issues at the start of both his mayoral and gubernatorial careers. It makes me wonder what O'Malley would do differently if he had a budget surplus. One of his first tests it appears, is whether or not O'Malley can turn the State's financial situation around.

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Despite what some national media coverage would have you believe, Baltimore City still has heroes.

A heroic rescue took place in West Baltimore Wednesday morning, as a sweeping fire swept through the second and third floors of a row homes on West Pratt Street.

...

Quick acting neighbors Nicholas Matkins and Jeff Kuhn were outside on the street as the fire spread inside the building.

"There were five kids at the window," said Matkins. "As they were jumping we were catching."

When they saw young children standing by a window ready to jump, Matkins and Kuhn were there to catch them.

Moments later, Kuhn climbed up to the window and began pulling the children out and handing them down to Matkins and other bystanders who were gathering around the building.

"I saw one of the kids jump and hit the small roof," said Kuhn. He added, "I figured one of them was gonna get hurt. I climbed up on the roof and just started grabbing them out the window and passing them down to the next people."

All involved in the fire, including the family dog, are alive and well save for some bruises.

----------------------------------

Great news for Death Row inmates, Maryland may be recruiting the best and brightest doctors around....

...to kill you.

Yeah, yeah, its not all that doom and gloom and I have a rather cynical view here. Still, it just turns my stomach to see the death of a human being discussed in such a detached way. The moratorium seemed like a fine idea to me and it would help our courts avoid the difficult discussion of how gently they should carry out state sanctioned revenge killing.

Maryland Voting Machines may have Paper Trail by '08

Lets just hope it actually happens.

Not too much else to say about this. What a waste of money those electronic machines have turned out to be.

Community Supported Affordable Housing Bill Faces Challenges

Someone is undercutting the public interest as it relates to an affordable housing bill in the city.

The leaders of some city agencies are pushing to significantly restrict legislation that would require developers to include affordable units in all Baltimore residential projects, but the City Council sponsors of the bill are sticking by their original plan.

The bill, in its original form, the form community advocates refer to as the "strong" bill, is a progressive piece of legislation.

The bill - formally introduced last night - would require residential developers who get major subsidies or who benefit from significant rezoning to reserve as much as 20 percent of the units in a project for low- or moderate-income people. Developers working without subsidies or rezoning would have to offer 10 percent of their project for affordable use.

The legislation would also create a funding stream for an inclusionary housing trust that voters endorsed on the Nov. 7 ballot. Twenty percent of the city's transfer taxes and recordation fees could fill the fund with $10 million or more a year.

The bill also would set up an inclusionary housing board to consider exceptions to the law and measure its effectiveness.

I like this bill because it gives the city a stronger hand when it comes to development deals. If the city is going to go out of its way to give a developer subsidies and the luxury of relaxed zoning rules, that developer needs to be compelled to give something back. 20% of their units seems appropriate, if not a little low.

Its also nice to see the will of the voters expressed with the "inclusionary housing trust".

None of this will matter however, if several city departements have their way.

Late last week, the agencies drafted a substitute ordinance that, among other things, eliminated the funding for the trust fund and the housing board. It also would let developers who do not get subsidies or rezonings off the hook for affordable units.

First, why even have a ballot initiative if the policy behind that initiative is going to be eliminated? I don't even know how to address that.

When it comes to letting "independent" developers off the hook, I am ambivalent. It would be nice to require all new development in the city to provide affordable housing. I am not sure the difference between the amount of subsidized and unsubsidized development in the city. If most development is subsidized, then we shouldn't worry about getting the unsubsidized developers to include affordable units. However, if the majority of development is unsubsidized, it will be necessary to require these developers to include affordable housing.

Advocates of the original "strong" bill will accept nothing less than a bill that targets all development.

"There are too many people working in this city who cannot afford to live in this city, and that injustice cannot continue," he said. "This bill is justice."

The crowd insisted that not just any bill would do. Only a "strong" one.

And by that, said the Rev. Karen Brau, pastor of Amazing Grace in East Baltimore, they mean a bill that includes both a trust fund and a board and targets all residential development.

Supporters of the "strong" bill have been emailing their council members. You can do the same.

In the News

Kujanblog, in association with Google news search (not really), brings you interesting news from around the state.

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Somewhat discouraging article in the WAPO about Charles Dutton and his support for Mike Steele. Dutton, the actor and Baltimore native recorded a radio ad for Steele, but is dismayed by the reports of homeless men from Philadelphia being paid to distribute misleading (to say the least) campaign literature.

Dutton then goes on to make some completely unsupportable claims about Ben Cardin and Martin O'Malley. Apparently, all Dutton wanted out of Steele was a Senator who would return the calls of his Black constituents. But, but, but... what about passing legislation that will make America a better place for working folks and for folks in poverty? Nah, just phone calls.

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In case you didn't know already, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum have been offering free admission since October 1st. Guess what has happened since then?

Museum attendance is up more than 200%.

My girlfriend and I dropped into the BMA a few weeks ago and it was totally worth the 10 minute walk from my Charles Village apartment. I might try to make it to the Walters this weekend.

The Baltimore Museum of Art
The Walters Art Museum

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On the medical front in Maryland, the Maryland Health Care Commission is working on a plan for the assembly that would require all Marylanders to buy health insurance. A similar bill passed in Massachusetts. It would require employers to pay the lions share of health plan costs for their employees, and the kicker is that the employee has the choice when it comes to coverage, not the employer, as it always has been.

Towards the end of the article, I noticed this awesome piece of news:

A $1 per pack increase in the state cigarette tax is being pushed by the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative to raise an estimated $200 million a year to expand Medicaid to more adults and to subsidize small businesses that can't afford to pay for health insurance for their employees. The Maryland Hospital Association considers expanded health insurance coverage its top priority.

As a smoker I actually see this as a good thing. First, it creates revenue that Maryland desperately needs after 4 years of Ehrlich. Secondly, and most importantly, if state and city governments are serious about ending tobacco use (I don't even think it should be on the radar) the best method is increasing the tax on it. Bans in bars do nothing but hurt business and force me to smoke outside. Raising taxes is the key. I wouldn't buy a pack of cigarettes if it cost $9, but I will probably still buy them at $5.15, which will be about the price of a pack of Camel lights after the proposed tax increase.

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And finally, my main man for 2008, John Edwards, visited Maryland, bring with him his message of honesty and economic populism:

But it was his focus on honesty that seemed to resonate most strongly with several in the crowd, many of whom waited in line after his speech to have their books signed.

"Most politicians follow a package that sells, and I'm tired of being lied to," said Jan Chapman. "He's genuine and I don't think he can be bought by special interests. That's very rare."

Indeed it is.

See ya' in the comments.

A No-Brainer for O'Malley - Re-establish the Moratorium on the Death Penalty

We should hope that after January, we won't be reading stories like this about our fellow Marylanders.

Kirk Bloodsworth spent nine years in prison, including two years on death row, after he was wrongly convicted of the 1984 killing of a 9-year-old girl. He was scheduled to speak Tuesday at Goucher College in Towson at an event sponsored by Maryland Citizens Against State Executions.

"I just want to tell people what it was like for me and how easy it can happen," Bloodsworth said Monday in a telephone interview. "If it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody."

I can't really think of an easier decision for Governor elect O'Malley than to re-establish the moratorium on the death penalty in Maryland. Glendening set the precedent, effectively stopping the death penalty from being carried out in Maryland. This move however, was not one aimed at attacking the morality of the death penalty itself (an argument that I personally think holds some water), but instead that was based on a University of Maryland study of the way the death penalty was applied in Maryland. For a slightly dated, but in depth look at the study, go here.

But will O'Malley do it? Things look good, in my opinion. O'Malley has come out against the death penalty personally:

O'Malley, who is Catholic, has said he personally opposes capital punishment, but spokesmen for his campaign have said he will enforce the laws of the state, including the application of the death penalty. Calls Monday to O'Malley's staff for further comment were not immediately returned.

When O'Malley signed on in 2000 to a newspaper advertisement taken out by former Mayor Kurt Schmoke and the late lawmaker Howard Rawlings asking for a moratorium, he talked about the issue.

"I am not in favor of the death penalty. I don't think as people in a civilized society we can support capital punishment. You don't promote respect for life by making us participate in the death penalty," he said at the time.

Of course, Governor elect O'Malley's personal views on the issue should not really be involved here. Unless a new study comes out refuting the findings at Maryland, as a Democrat I feel like O'Malley's hands are tied. He must re-establish the moratorium on the death penalty if he is truly interested in reversing the damage done to our state by the Ehrlich/Steele administration.

If somehow, O'Malley still needs a kick in the pants, the assembly is ready to deliver it:

Maryland lawmakers have regularly submitted measures to repeal the death penalty law. Democratic Delegate Maggie McIntosh of Baltimore, who has supported a repeal, said she expected it would be introduced again. "I'm sure I'll be a co-sponsor," she said.

Lets hope someone delivers on this issue. Re-establishing the moratorium would be a positive, if not symbolic, way of reforming the ailing criminal justice system in Maryland.