Tag: featured

General Assembly

The State owes retirees the benefits promised

By Peta Richkus. Viable options exist to enhance Maryland’s standing with rating agencies and continue retirees’ affordable prescription coverage. Respected experts, like GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) and the Daily Record Advisory Board, confirm the state owes retirees the benefits promised. As this pie chart shows, blaming the State’s oldest retirees for Other postemployment benefits (OPEB) liability is wrong. Retiree Prescriptions are less than 15% … Continue reading The State owes retirees the benefits promised

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General Interest

Bicycle and pedestrian master plan: Quick-build projects needed

By James Pizzurro. Earlier this month, the Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation unveiled its Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan, which for the first time maps out a comprehensive expansion of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure across the County. The plan identifies existing networks and future needs, and it proposes a three-tier plan to enhance pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. James Pizzurro, a Towson resident, … Continue reading Bicycle and pedestrian master plan: Quick-build projects needed

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General Interest

Beleaguered light rail riders deserve better

By Sachin Hebbar. State and federal officials led by Governor Wes Moore are laboring to revive plans for the Red Line that was cancelled more than eight years ago. However, creating a new service is not enough. It is important to follow up the creation of a new line with good performance on all modes including light rail, metro, local bus, and commuter bus services. … Continue reading Beleaguered light rail riders deserve better

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Environment

Plastic bag ban: it’ll be okay!

By Susan Mullally. November 1st, 2023 in Baltimore County. Did you remember your reusable bags? I’ve moved around the country over the past 15 years, so this is actually the third time I’ve watched a community adapt to the idea of not being given a free plastic bag with every purchase at a shop. Every time the ban goes into effect, the same questions arise. … Continue reading Plastic bag ban: it’ll be okay!

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Education

County taxpayers in the dark on BCPS budget

By Dottie Towsley. The Baltimore County Public School system does not reveal details about how it spends the internal operating budget funds for the school system. And the state government allows this secrecy. This lack of transparency in the use of all taxpayer money seems astonishing! How do we know if schools in less affluent or more diverse areas receive their fair share? How do … Continue reading County taxpayers in the dark on BCPS budget

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General Interest

Baltimore County needs leadership on housing

Sachin Hebbar & Elizabeth Brown Baltimore County needs to act to address the supply side of the housing market to relieve pressure on the middle class. It is about time that the County got its act together and put forward a comprehensive policy to ensure that housing opportunities stay within reach for the workers who fuel our economy, teach our children, and keep us all … Continue reading Baltimore County needs leadership on housing

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General Assembly, Government

The History of the State’s Efforts to Remove Medicare-Eligible Retirees from the State Prescription Drug Plan

By William A. Kahn and Peta Richkus. A substantial number of retired State employees or their beneficiaries are receiving non-pension benefits (OPEB), including the prescription drug benefit from the State. As of June 30, 2022, that number was at least 53,989.[1] The average state retiree is 72.9 years old, lives in Maryland, and served the state for 22.8 years.  Retirees live in every Maryland jurisdiction. … Continue reading The History of the State’s Efforts to Remove Medicare-Eligible Retirees from the State Prescription Drug Plan

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Government

District 6 PAB Nomination Should be Withdrawn

By Peta Richkus. Although there has been no public announcement, the Baltimore County Police Accountability Board (PAB) was informed during their May 2023 meeting that Scott J. Richman would be nominated to fill the District 6 vacancy on the Board. His nomination should be withdrawn. First, this nomination does not add to the representation of those segments of our community most impacted by police misconduct. … Continue reading District 6 PAB Nomination Should be Withdrawn

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Politics

Voters should change their party affiliation because their current one does not represent their values

Dear Mr. Harden, As a fellow Democrat, I applaud your willingness to keep serving our country, this time from the US House of Representatives. Certainly flipping Maryland’s first district will not only serve the district but also the state and the nation as a whole. In your June 17 email you raise an interesting question: why people should be affiliated with an insurrectionist faction. It … Continue reading Voters should change their party affiliation because their current one does not represent their values

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County Government

On being a member of County Council

By Danny Golombek. Dear Councilman Quirk, I am puzzled by your comments quoted in the WYPR article about Judge Griggsby’s decision to approve the County Council’s re-drawn district map. You are quoted saying “those who brought the suit wanted to have the power of the county council.” You are a public servant, and, as the founding documents of our nation state, the power rests in the people. You, your colleagues, … Continue reading On being a member of County Council

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