December 30, 1990
11 -- Republican Charles I. Ecker beats Democrat incumbent Elizabeth M. Bobo for county executive by 450 votes. County Republicans upset Democrats, winning eight political contests. Many attribute the outcome to anti-incumbent sentiment. Captured are the county executive, a state Senate, a County Council seat and two House of Delegate seats as well as the clerk of the Circuit Court and two Orphans' Court judgeships. . . .
A county judge delivers the final blow to opponents of the Benson Business Center.
14 -- Student government leaders decide not to move a statewide convention from Turf Valley Country Club.
18 -- The county's General Plan is judged best in the nation by a nine-member panel representing the American Planning Association. . . . The Rev. Roland Howard, director of the Regional Action Planning Program, says Turf Valley Country Club has been the unfair target of a racial controversy. Howard is encouraging the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to meet with Turf Valley owner Nicholas B.
Mangione to settle differences.
21 -- A county Circuit Court jury convicts Army Spc. 4 Jeffrey Louis Fowlkes, 23, of second-degree murder and related charges in connection with the death of Joseph T. Taylor, 21, of Cooksville during a May 19 party in Glenelg. He faces up to 105 years in prison. . . . County police file departmental charges against three officers, claiming they used excessive force when breaking up a loud party attended by brothers Carl and Mickey Bowie. . . . County Executive-elect Charles I. Ecker says Planning Director Uri P. Avin won't stay past March 1. He also says the county is likely to need a tax increase to deal with a projected $25 million shortfall in next year's budget. . . . Howard is one of two school systems in the state to receive satisfactory or excellent ratings in the all but one category.
December
2 -- The County Council unanimously elects C. Vernon Gray, D-3rd, chairman, the fourth time he has held the post.
5 -- Charles I. -- "Hi, I'm Chuck" -- Ecker is sworn in as county executive by new Clerk of the Court Margaret D. Rappaport. He promises a friendly, open and responsive administration. . . . Some Howard Community College faculty oppose a Student Government Association proposal to make condoms available free to students at the Columbia-based campus.
12 -- Howard Community College and county library officials fear that Gov. William Donald Schaefer's proposed budget cuts will devastate the school. HCC's $3.6 million in state aid would be cut by 46 percent; the library is projected to lose 56 percent of its $242,000 in state aid.
19 -- Residents in two neighborhoods abutting the Little Patuxent River in Ellicott City fear a proposed residential development will destroy environmentally fragile lands and cause flooding. The opponents ask the county to buy the land.
26 -- Taylor Manor Hospital in Ellicott City announces it will respond to the growing number of pre-teens who suffer from severe emotional problems by opening an inpatient program next month for children ages 9 to 12.
