Baltimore City Council Members

Despite vehement opposition from operators of downtown hotels and parking garages, Baltimore City Council members stood firm Thursday in their support of a contentious package of new taxes, saying the money was needed to stem a torrent of red ink. "We're facing a $121 million deficit," said Councilwoman Helen L. Holton, head of the council's finance committee. "What do we do?" Holton and other committee members gently chided a group of business leaders who came to a public hearing to complain, reminding them repeatedly of the city's dismal financial state and all but declaring that, if taxes are not raised, disaster will follow.

She has been Baltimore's mayor for nearly 20 months already, thrust into office to become a familiar if often unreadable face at the helm of a city beset by crime, budgetary woes and even Mother Nature. But with her victory in the Democratic primary Tuesday - long considered the de-facto election in a heavily Democratic city - political veterans say Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has won the time and latitude to move from what has often been a response mode to one in which she shapes the office, its agenda and her own leadership style.

Surviving spouses of firefighters and police officers who served fewer than 20 years would receive a higher baseline pension under a bill introduced by two Baltimore City Council members Monday night. Under a major pension overhaul passed earlier this year, widows and widowers of those who served at least 20 years are paid at least $16,000 a year. The bill, which was introduced by Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke and Councilman James B. Kraft, at the request of the Fraternal Order of Police and the firefighters' unions, would extend that minimum to any current surviving spouse of a public safety office.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake consented Wednesday to participate in four August debates with those challenging her for her job. "Now that the field is set, I am excited to debate those who are seeking the privilege of serving the people of Baltimore as mayor," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "This is an important election about important issues and I look forward to sharing my vision for a better, safer and stronger Baltimore. " Rawlings-Blake said she planned to join in a debate on the talk-show host Larry Young's morning show on WOLB radio and was discussing a debate broadcast by Maryland Public Television.

Three months after city officials approved higher parking fines, two Baltimore City Council members have proposed lowering fees for double parking. When council members voted to increase fines for obstructing traffic or "blocking the box" at intersections, they more than tripled the penalty for double parking — from $77 to $250. Councilman William H. Cole IV and Councilman James B. Kraft, who represent Central and Southeast Baltimore neighborhoods where parking is scarce, introduced a bill at Monday night's council meeting that would lower the fine to $100.

Baltimore City Council members took the first step toward ethics reform Monday night when two bills were introduced to address issues that arose during the criminal investigation of Mayor Sheila Dixon, who resigned as part of a plea deal to resolve the case. One measure, introduced by council member William H. Cole IV, was designed to close what some City Hall staff are calling the "Lipscomb loophole," for the developer and one-time boyfriend of Dixon Ronald H. Lipscomb, who gave her lavish gifts that she failed to disclose on her city ethics forms.

Despite his call for Baltimore City Council members to go to Annapolis and voice their opposition to state bills that would change how city elections are run, council President Lawrence A. Bell III didn't show up himself. Councilman Robert Curran stood alone. Asked why his colleagues didn't show up for yesterday's hearings on the bills, Curran shrugged. Council members oppose the bills, which include a plan to hold city elections -- now held in odd-numbered years, like 1999 -- at the same time as state elections in even-numbered years.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake consented Wednesday to participate in four August debates with those challenging her for her job. "Now that the field is set, I am excited to debate those who are seeking the privilege of serving the people of Baltimore as mayor," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "This is an important election about important issues and I look forward to sharing my vision for a better, safer and stronger Baltimore. " Rawlings-Blake said she planned to join in a debate on the talk-show host Larry Young's morning show on WOLB radio and was discussing a debate broadcast by Maryland Public Television.

Plastic shopping bags snarl drainage grates, clog waterways and tangle up in trees, presenting environmental and aesthetic challenges. For three years, Baltimore City Council members have been trying to ban them or discourage their use, but those attempts seem almost as hard to manage as the bags themselves. On Monday, the council's legislative and investigative committee again took up the issue at a work session, discussing an outright ban and proposed fees. Councilman James Kraft, whose 2007 bill to ban the bags was voted down, is again pushing similar legislation.

Baltimore City Council members will unveil another proposal tonight to try to solve one of the most contentious — and pressing — issues they face: reforming the police and fire pension system. If they do not make major changes to the pension program in the next four weeks, the financially beleaguered city will be forced to pay $65 million on top of the $101 million that has been set aside for the plan. Leaders of the police and firefighter unions, who view cuts to their retirement benefits as a contract violation, increased the pressure on city leaders last week when they filed a federal lawsuit contending that the city had been shortchanging the pension plan for nearly a decade.

The chairman of a City Council committee told Baltimore's housing authority Tuesday to take immediate steps toward paying a former public housing resident who suffered lead poisoning — just one in a looming tidal wave of legal claims that the authority warns could eventually total hundreds of millions of dollars. "You're just lying to them," Councilman James B. Kraft said to housing authority chief Paul T. Graziano after hearing how the authority has refused to pay a $200,000 settlement it reached with Daron Goods.

Three months after city officials approved higher parking fines, two Baltimore City Council members have proposed lowering fees for double parking. When council members voted to increase fines for obstructing traffic or "blocking the box" at intersections, they more than tripled the penalty for double parking — from $77 to $250. Councilman William H. Cole IV and Councilman James B. Kraft, who represent Central and Southeast Baltimore neighborhoods where parking is scarce, introduced a bill at Monday night's council meeting that would lower the fine to $100.

Surviving spouses of firefighters and police officers who served fewer than 20 years would receive a higher baseline pension under a bill introduced by two Baltimore City Council members Monday night. Under a major pension overhaul passed earlier this year, widows and widowers of those who served at least 20 years are paid at least $16,000 a year. The bill, which was introduced by Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke and Councilman James B. Kraft, at the request of the Fraternal Order of Police and the firefighters' unions, would extend that minimum to any current surviving spouse of a public safety office.

Baltimore City Council members will unveil another proposal tonight to try to solve one of the most contentious — and pressing — issues they face: reforming the police and fire pension system. If they do not make major changes to the pension program in the next four weeks, the financially beleaguered city will be forced to pay $65 million on top of the $101 million that has been set aside for the plan. Flanked by 10 city council members, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called the proposal "our combined best effort to guarantee a sustainable pension system" at a morning news conference.

Despite vehement opposition from operators of downtown hotels and parking garages, Baltimore City Council members stood firm Thursday in their support of a contentious package of new taxes, saying the money was needed to stem a torrent of red ink. "We're facing a $121 million deficit," said Councilwoman Helen L. Holton, head of the council's finance committee. "What do we do?" Holton and other committee members gently chided a group of business leaders who came to a public hearing to complain, reminding them repeatedly of the city's dismal financial state and all but declaring that, if taxes are not raised, disaster will follow.

Plastic shopping bags snarl drainage grates, clog waterways and tangle up in trees, presenting environmental and aesthetic challenges. For three years, Baltimore City Council members have been trying to ban them or discourage their use, but those attempts seem almost as hard to manage as the bags themselves. On Monday, the council's legislative and investigative committee again took up the issue at a work session, discussing an outright ban and proposed fees. Councilman James Kraft, whose 2007 bill to ban the bags was voted down, is again pushing similar legislation.

She has been Baltimore's mayor for nearly 20 months already, thrust into office to become a familiar if often unreadable face at the helm of a city beset by crime, budgetary woes and even Mother Nature. But with her victory in the Democratic primary Tuesday - long considered the de-facto election in a heavily Democratic city - political veterans say Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has won the time and latitude to move from what has often been a response mode to one in which she shapes the office, its agenda and her own leadership style.

Baltimore City Council members took the first step toward ethics reform Monday night when two bills were introduced to address issues that arose during the criminal investigation of Mayor Sheila Dixon, who resigned as part of a plea deal to resolve the case. One measure, introduced by council member William H. Cole IV, was designed to close what some City Hall staff are calling the "Lipscomb loophole," for the developer and one-time boyfriend of Dixon Ronald H. Lipscomb, who gave her lavish gifts that she failed to disclose on her city ethics forms.