Council Bill

The city's two fire unions plan to oppose a City Council bill filed this week to name a fire station after former department Chief William J. Goodwin Jr. The legislation would rename Engine Company 41 on South Conkling Street after the former chief because he "served the city of Baltimore with distinction and honor for over 30 years," according to the bill sponsored by Councilman Nicholas C. D'Adamo Jr. The station is where Goodwin started his career,...

A bill aimed at reducing the risk of heart disease among Baltimore residents was unanimously approved by the City Council yesterday, action that almost guarantees final passage of a ban on trans fats in restaurant food at a final reading Monday. "This will help to protect our children's health," said Councilwoman Agnes Welch, a sponsor of the bill who has promoted it as part of a larger effort to reduce childhood obesity. The bill needs Mayor Sheila Dixon's signature to become law. A spokesman for Dixon, who is known to follow an intense fitness regimen, said she backs the ban. Baltimore follows in the footsteps of Philadelphia, New York City and Montgomery County in trying to remove trans fats from restaurant menus.

The fate of a bill intended to be an occasional tool to help expand housing for limited-income people appears unclear after a long, contentious Howard County council work session. The measure is a remnant of housing policies pursued by the last administration under Leonard S. Vaughan, the former housing director, and it drew the ire of Ellicott City Democrat Courtney Watson and western county Republican Greg Fox. But Stacy L. Spann, Howard's current housing director, and his deputy, Thomas Carbo, said the bill is needed to move forward with what Carbo said is a "good project in a good location" - the 106-unit Ellicott Gardens apartment house for limited-income renters - mostly single people and couples - planned for a site at Falls Run Road and Route 108, just south of Route 100. The bill, one of eight housing measures reviewed by the council before a scheduled Nov. 5 vote, would allow the county Housing Commission to partner with a private investor to qualify for state-administered low-income tax credits to help build limited-income housing on land in some commercial zones.

Large swaths of Baltimore could be declared emergency areas subject to heightened police enforcement - including a lockdown of streets - under a city councilman's proposal that aims to slow the city's climbing homicide count. The legislation - which met with a lukewarm response from Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration yesterday, and which others likened to martial law - would allow police to close liquor stores and bars, limit the number of people on city sidewalks and halt traffic in areas declared "public safety act zones."

Howard County's older homeowners will learn tonight how much of a property tax break they will get come July. The County Council is scheduled to vote on a bill to change the tax cut approved by the previous council just days before the November election. A series of amendments that appeared to move opposing views closer together were submitted Monday by council Chairman Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat, and Greg Fox, a western county Republican. The law, approved Oct. 31, calls for a 25 percent property tax cut on July's bills for homeowners 70 and older with annual incomes less than $75,000.

A bill designed to limit property tax cuts granted older Howard County homeowners appears to have majority support on the County Council after a vigorous debate of the issue. Although amendments are likely before the April 4 vote, the idea of aiming the tax cut at seniors with lower incomes and fewer assets, while limiting the county's revenue loss, seems to have backing from at least three of the five council members. The law they want to change gives seniors 70 and older with annual incomes less than $75,000 a 25 percent county property tax cut and freezes their annual bill.

The Baltimore City Council is reviewing a bill that would require the videotaping of police interrogations of witnesses or suspects in violent crimes - a measure opposed by police but endorsed by public defenders who represent suspects. Councilman James B. Kraft, chairman of the council's public safety subcommittee, said he introduced the legislation because he believes it would decrease allegations of improper behavior by police officers.

Howard County Council Democrats have submitted a package of four zoning bills they say will help residents participate more effectively in land-use changes and make Zoning Board cases less contentious through the use of voluntary mediation in some cases. But the package is getting a cool reception from some in an election year when development resentment is a major issue and two council members are vying for the county executive's job. "I believe that because it's an election year doesn't mean I should stop doing my job," said Councilman Ken Ulman, a west Columbia Democrat and a co-sponsor who is running for county executive.

All but one of the county's fire chiefs will receive an annual $600 fitness allowance under a bill passed this week by the Anne Arundel County Council, which declined to require accountability as to how the money is spent. The county's 31 battalion, division and deputy chiefs now will receive the same benefit that was extended to the more than 760 union firefighters in July 2004. The stipend for the chiefs is part of a broader bill that addresses salary issues for all nonunion county workers.

Attempting to create a way for Howard County police officers to afford to live in the high-priced county -- as well as provide added security in higher-crime areas -- the County Council has approved legislation that would allow police officers to live for free or at a reduced rate in some apartments. The legislation, which the council approved Monday night, would authorize the Police Department to create the housing program and establish criteria. The level of security that the officers would provide, such as giving the apartment managers their cellular telephone numbers or performing regular security audits, would be determined, said County Councilman Ken Ulman, who sponsored the legislation.