Autonomy

Morgan State University President Earl S. Richardson said yesterday that the college will press ahead with its request for more autonomy despite legislative criticism of Morgan's compilation of a dossier on the late Del. Howard P. Rawlings as he fought cancer last year. In his first public statements on the issue, Richardson said he is confident that new revelations about Morgan's strained relationship with Rawlings, who died in November, will not hurt its prospects during the General Assembly session that starts today.

The Oxford English Dictionary offered up oafdom on Twitter this week: "the state of being an oaf; loutishness, stupidity. " Let me suggest that, in addition, many of us find ourselves living in Oafdom, the domain of oafishness. Many of the manifestitations, however irritating, are relatively harmless or even amusing. Suburban adolescents affecting thugwear. The Hangover movies. But sometimes, as is its tendency, oafishness takes an uglier turn. It did this week when Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown law student who had attempted to testify before a congressional committee on the benefits of contraception, a "slut," a "whore," a "round-heels" (the latter, along with the misapplied "co-ed," suggesting a certain remove from the twenty-first century)

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said yesterday it would welcome an agreement by Saddam Hussein to grant some measure of autonomy to Kurds living within Iraq but offered little guidance to Kurdish leaders said to be doubtful Mr. Hussein would follow through on the offer."

A panel of experts on environmental and growth issues offered harsh criticism Monday of Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed statewide smart-growth strategy at a forum attended by more than 100 people from some of the most rural parts of the state. Speakers accused state officials of inflating statistics and muddying facts to better make a case for PlanMaryland, which would designate targeted growth areas. George Frigon, an environmental consultant and wasterwater treatment expert, criticized PlanMaryland for what he said was a false assumption that "people who live on two acres poop more than people who live in apartments.

Amid non-alcoholic champagne toasts, fresh fruit and the congratulations of faculty, staff and advisory board members, officials of Carroll Community College equated yesterday the college's new autonomy with several historical fights for liberation."

Amid non-alcoholic champagne toasts, fresh fruit and the congratulations of faculty, staff and advisory board members, officials of Carroll Community College equated the college's new autonomy yesterday with several historical fights for liberation."

Legislative auditors who uncovered serious financial mismanagement at Morgan State University want to broaden their investigation to more construction contracts at the public Baltimore campus, a key lawmaker said yesterday. Del. John L. Bohanan Jr., a St. Mary's County Democrat, said he spoke with auditors before a contentious three-hour hearing he chaired yesterday. During the hearing, legislators sharply criticized Morgan officials for lax financial oversight of public money and raised the possibility that the General Assembly could rescind Morgan's hard-won authority to manage its own construction projects.

WASHINGTON -- A Kurdish rebel leader announced in Baghdad yesterday that Kurds and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had reached agreement in principle on greater autonomy for their region, offering the hope that some 2 million refugees might eventually be able to return to their homes in safety.The announcement was greeted cautiously by the Bush administration, which was grappling with what President Bush called the "serious problem" of how to get Iraqi forces away from campsites in northern Iraq that are intended to lure hundreds of thousands of Kurds down from their mountain sanctuaries.

Amid a criminal investigation into its contracting practices, Morgan State University's control over its construction projects is shaping up to be one of the major debates in the final two weeks of the General Assembly session. A House of Delegates subcommittee is poised to rein in the school, but key senators say they are reluctant to act so quickly. At a hearing scheduled for today, the House panel that oversees Morgan State's budget is likely to recommend limiting the school's hard-won autonomy over campus projects, said Del. Adrienne A. Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat.

A DEAL between Indonesian and Portuguese foreign ministers, brokered at the United Nations, may end two decades of repression on East Timor. Indonesia, the world's great crusader against colonialism for a half-century, is coming to grips with its own.Under the agreement to be signed May 5, East Timor's people will decide by referendum if they want autonomy within Indonesia. If not, they will get independence.Indonesia is a huge collection of islands that were colonies of the Netherlands. The small island of Timor was divided, however, with Portugal ruling the eastern half.

A freshman state senator has introduced four bills that seek to strengthen the autonomy of charter schools and boost teacher quality in public schools, including a measure that would add "ineffectiveness" as a basis for dismissing teachers. Sen. Bill Ferguson, a former teacher who served as special assistant to city schools CEO Andrés Alonso before he was elected to represent the city's 46th District in November, is co-sponsoring the legislation that mirrors recent dialogue in Baltimore.

An innovative new contract would enable Baltimore teachers who are effective and ambitious to move quickly through the ranks and earn up to $100,000 a year, as well as give teachers more input on working conditions in their schools. The new contract, being hailed as the most progressive in the nation, would in part link teachers' pay to their students' performance. The structure does away with the old model of "step" increases, or paying teachers based solely on their years of experience and the degrees they have obtained.

The Baltimore City school board voted Tuesday to adopt a $1.23 billion budget for the next academic year that will increase the amount of funding for students and continue shifting control over spending from the central office to principals. In its adoption of the 2011 budget, proposed by schools CEO Andres Alonso, the system will spend about $200 more per student next year. However, that extra money will come from a decrease in the amount of additional funds the district provides in extra educational services for students who have disabilities, fall behind in achievement, are advanced or are at risk for dropping out. For example, students with disabilities this year received an additional $1,282 per student; next year, those students will receive an additional $641.

"If I ever forget myself with that girl, I'd like to remember it." That's a Fred Astaire line. Let it sink in, people. It's clever. When it comes to education policy in Maryland, you might say that the General Assembly forgot itself in 2003 when it passed legislation authorizing charter schools and that it's not sure these days how much of that time it would like to remember. But the legislature would do well to jog its memory, and not just because charter schools are doing a good job of educating students in Maryland.

Amid a criminal investigation into its contracting practices, Morgan State University's control over its construction projects is shaping up to be one of the major debates in the final two weeks of the General Assembly session. A House of Delegates subcommittee is poised to rein in the school, but key senators say they are reluctant to act so quickly. At a hearing scheduled for today, the House panel that oversees Morgan State's budget is likely to recommend limiting the school's hard-won autonomy over campus projects, said Del. Adrienne A. Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat.

Legislative auditors who uncovered serious financial mismanagement at Morgan State University want to broaden their investigation to more construction contracts at the public Baltimore campus, a key lawmaker said yesterday. Del. John L. Bohanan Jr., a St. Mary's County Democrat, said he spoke with auditors before a contentious three-hour hearing he chaired yesterday. During the hearing, legislators sharply criticized Morgan officials for lax financial oversight of public money and raised the possibility that the General Assembly could rescind Morgan's hard-won authority to manage its own construction projects.

WASHINGTON -- The rebel force known as the Kosovo Liberation Army is one of the keys to success of the peace plan that the West and Russia are pressing on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. And so far, the KLA isn't buying it.The KLA has sounded determined to keep fighting to break free of Yugoslavia and to reject the kind of autonomy the major powers are offering."The proper and just solution is the independence of Kosovo, " KLA spokesman Jakup Krasniqi said Friday. The plan's call for "demilitarization" of the KLA is unacceptable, rebels say.Their position poses a potentially serious obstacle, even if Belgrade can be pressured into accepting a deal.

AJACCIO, Corsica -- When French Prime Minister Alain Juppe's mayoral office in Bordeaux was blown up last month, the first thought was: Corsican separatists. Corsicans are always blowing up something.But this is an odd independence movement; it doesn't quite want independence from France but something vaguer called "autonomy" -- as in "I'm running away from home. Can I have the keys to the car?"Two decades after the birth of modern Corsican nationalism, a genuine movement has degenerated into infighting over power and money.

The legislative audit that detailed contracting problems at Morgan State University has raised lots of questions. But university officials have failed so far to give satisfactory answers. That's especially disturbing because the auditors were concerned enough about irregularities to refer the matter to the state attorney general's office for possible criminal charges. At the least, a follow-up audit is needed and greater oversight of Morgan building contracts should be restored - until the university can show that it can be a better steward of state funds.