NEWS
By a Sun reporter | July 22, 2007
Howard County government has been recognized with a national award for its support of local arts and cultural organizations. The national, nonprofit Americans for the Arts, with the National Association of Counties, chose Howard County to receive its Award for County Arts Leadership. The award was established to recognize the role county government leaders play in funding, improving and ensuring the accessibility of arts programs. Howard County has consistently ranked as one of the top three in Maryland for per capita spending on operating funds for the arts and for providing a stable source of funding and significant in-kind services for local arts groups, according to the award announcement.
NEWS
By Brenda J. Buote | July 16, 1999
Carroll County's three commissioners will fly to St. Louis today to attend a National Association of Counties conference, where they hope to learn about growth-control measures and agricultural preservation efforts in other areas.Commissioner Donald I. Dell, who has attended several NACo conferences, said he was looking forward to the trip. This year, he will serve on the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee."I'm going out there with the idea that I'm going to learn something," said Dell.
NEWS
July 24, 1999
IN C. VERNON GRAY'S Howard County, officials are wrestling with Smart Growth, economic development, the Y2K bug, farm preservation, improving education and fighting crime.As they are in Lake County, Ill.And Johnson County, Kan.And Leon County, Fla., too.Mr. Gray's elevation last week to the presidency of the National Association of Counties is valuable because the problems that counfront Howard County, where he's in his fifth term on the council, aren't unique.Mr. Gray's part-time appointment may presage a trade-group trifecta in Maryland government.
BUSINESS
By Gady A. Epstein and Thomas W. Waldron | February 5, 1999
Two top Maryland legislators are proposing a $44 million annual tax break for the state's power companies that would be linked to deregulation of utilities. The state government, counties and rate-payers would share the burden of the tax cut.The legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the General Assembly today, would cost Baltimore City and the nine counties with power plants nearly $15 million a year, according to an analysis prepared by legislative staff members. Anne Arundel and Calvert counties would be hit the hardest.
NEWS
BY A SUN STAFF WRITER | September 30, 1999
Howard County's two top elected officials plan to visit several provinces in China near the capital Beijing on their two-week trip to the Far East, sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo).C. Vernon Gray, an east Columbia Democrat, County Council chairman and NACo president, invited County Executive James N. Robey, also a Democrat, to accompany other local government officials from across the country on the trip, which is intended to explore business, educational and cultural opportunities.
NEWS
By Brenda J. Buote | July 25, 1999
Carroll County Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge now holds a national office.She was appointed to the board of directors for the National Association of Counties last Tuesday, at the lobbying group's annual conference in St. Louis. Commissioners Robin Bartlett Frazier and Donald I. Dell also attended the five-day event. They returned to Carroll County Wednesday."It was a surprise and an honor," said Gouge, who was the only elected official from Maryland to be appointed to the board by NACo president C. Vernon Gray.
NEWS
By Brenda J. Buote | February 9, 1999
State Sen. Larry E. Haines, leader of the Carroll delegation, and Baltimore County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger are expected to meet tomorrow to try to negotiate a truce between the two counties.The latest battle between the neighbors began when Carroll's volunteer fire companies began billing out-of-county patients for emergency medical services Jan. 1. Other jurisdictions, including Frederick County and York County, Pa., have not raised objections.The Baltimore County executive has vowed to push for legislation blocking Carroll from charging Baltimore County residents, calling the fee for services a violation of a 1989 Mutual Aid Agreement.
NEWS
April 17, 1999
State support for circuit courts still neededThe Sun's support for a greater state role in the funding and management of Maryland's Circuit Courts reflects an appreciation for the inequities that permeate the present system. These inequalities arise out of the differences in wealth and commitment to the courts among the counties and Baltimore City.Since poorer jurisdictions have been unable to fund the Circuit Courts as fully as the wealthier ones have, the caliber of justice Marylanders receive can depend on where their case was filed.
NEWS
By Mary Gail Hare | August 29, 1999
Western Maryland officials, many of whom believe that Smart Growth has hurt rural counties by directing growth to developed areas, are saying that Smart Growth II legislation being drafted looks even worse to them.David Bliden, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties, briefed Western Maryland county officials on the proposed legislation, which he said the General Assembly will tackle in 2000."If you don't like Smart Growth, wait until you see Smart Growth II," Bliden told the Western Maryland Commission during its quarterly meeting in Westminster on Friday.
NEWS
By From staff reports | July 21, 1998
WESTVIEW -- Lawyers for the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Eileen M. Rehrmann filed suit yesterday in federal court, after the county declared that a campaign sign at U.S. 40 West and Lincoln Avenue, near the Beltway is illegal.Attorneys Paul Mark Sandler and Raymond Daniel Burke asked for an immediate injunction from the U.S. District Court in Baltimore against enforcement of the county law prohibiting political signs on private property until 30 days before an election.The lawsuit also asks that the county law be declared unconstitutional, acting on behalf of Warren Taylor Jr. of Lochearn, who wants to place a Rehrmann sign in his front yard.