Annapolis

Just like our government, the tax-and-spend loving Sun doesn't get it ("Unfinished business," May 16). It's not really about a lousy 1 percent or 2 percent gas or income tax increase. The people of this state are rebelling against wasteful spending and ever-increasing budgets by our greedy, clueless government. If for once in their pathetic political lives, our politicians would start spending our money in a responsible and frugal manner, then just maybe we would be willing to consider an increase in taxes or fees without "hand-wringing and demagoguery" as suggested by The Sun. Here's my suggestion to our legislators: Stop the indiscriminate, wasteful spending, bloated budgets, and stealing of funds and replace all the money pilfered from our transportation fund, and maybe you would have enough money to fund needed projects without raising taxes in this depressed economy of ours.

When Bay Theatre Company actors take their bows at the end of Arthur Miller's "The Price" on Sunday, they may be their last for a while. After more than a decade, the Annapolis company is suspending its operations while it looks for a long-term home. The final performance will be bittersweet for Janet Luby, the company's artistic director and co-founder. "We're doing so well, reputation-wise, but the money wasn't matching it," she said. The company has been on a month-to-month lease at its small space in the West Garrett Building at 275 West St., and has been unable to secure a long-term deal with the landlord, Luby said.

Jane Fonda was so smitten with Maryland's capital city that state tourism officials have taken to calling her "Annapolis' newest ambassador. " The actress was walking the cobblestone streets of Annapolis the other day to film a cameo in the movie “Better Living Through Chemistry," a shoot that's been underway there for a number of weeks. But unlike stars who parachute in and zip out with barely a look around, Fonda was into Annapolis, shooting tons of pictures of the historical vistas and then, later devoting a blog post to the town.

If the teacher pensions are transferred to the counties, the real losers are the taxpayers of Maryland ("A costly breakthrough," March 13). The state is in debt and can't meet it's commitments. One of its solutions is to transfer teacher pension costs. The counties, of course, do not have the money to pay for them either. Ergo, while Gov.Martin O'Malleycan claim he's balancing the budget and not raising taxes even higher, the counties will have to raise taxes to pay the pensions.

I've been doing a lot of research into investments lately. My conclusion has been that stocks are too risky because of electronic trading, bonds are too risky because politicians are incompetent, and traditional banks have next to zero return on investment. I had heard of peer-to-peer lending in the past, but discovered today that it is quickly becoming a legitimate investment option. Returns start at 5 percent and grow linearly as risk increases. It operates essentially the way banks are supposed to: borrow at X percent, lend at Y percent and pocket the difference for arranging the transaction.

State leaders in Annapolis took an important step this week toward making government more transparent when they announced that most major business will be broadcast live on the Internet. Starting immediately, video of Board of Public Works meetings will be live-streamed to the web, and beginning in January, video of House of Delegates committee hearings and audio of Senate committee hearings will be live-streamed. (The House's office building is newer and has more advanced technology than the Senate building; when the state budget crunch eases, we encourage the legislature to upgrade the technology in the Senate building as well.

Just before what could be the year's worst storm, a piece of snow-removal equipment has been stolen in Annapolis. Police said a park maintenance worker told them the mechanism used to lift and maneuver a snowplow blade was missing Tuesday morning when he arrived for work at the maintenance yard in the 200 block of Truxton Park Road. The attachment bolts were on the ground by the vehicle. "The timing on this is bad," said Art Thomas, maintenance administrator for the city's Recreation and Parks Department.

In Anne Arundel County and Annapolis, officials warned Monday of unplowed residential streets and roads that are passable but narrow and rutted with packed snow and ice. Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen has postponed Monday night's City Council meeting due to snow. With many residential streets not passable, free parking in the Annapolis city garages was continued until further notice.

Maryland officials agreed Wednesday to buy the historic Annapolis post office building from the U.S. Postal Service for use as part of the government complex surrounding the State House. Without dissent, the three-member Board of Public Works agreed to pay $3.2 million for the 13,000-square-foot building on Church Circle. Built in 1901, the structure is listed on the Maryland Historical Trust inventory of historic properties. Under the deal, the state will lease space back to the Postal Service to continue services for eight to 20 months until it relocates.