Cuts

The University of Maryland Medical Center will send layoff notices to employees at the end of the month as it looks to cut costs in the wake of federal budget cuts and what it and other state hospitals have called inadequate rate increases. Jeffrey Rivest, president and CEO of the Baltimore hospital, sent an email to managers Tuesday that said individual letters regarding layoffs would be given out June 25, 26 and 27. The number of people who will lose their jobs still is being finalized, said spokeswoman Mary Lynn Carver said.

A man who died after being cut by an assailant several times Saturday marked Baltimore's 100th homicide of 2013, police said Sunday. Police said they were called to the unit block of North Rosedale Street in the city's South Hilton neighborhood about 11:45 p.m. and found a man, later identified as Jamal Diggs, 33, suffering from several cuts to his extremities. He was taken to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries. No additional information was immediately available, and police did not identify the weapon used.

A city councilwoman is challenging Baltimore's plan to charge businesses some of the highest stormwater fees in the state - and divert some of the money that had gone to Chesapeake Bay cleanup to help fund property tax cuts. Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke says the Rawlings-Blake administration's stormwater plan would create a financial hardship for many local businesses. And Clarke and environmental groups object to raising revenue intended for pollution abatement to help pay for property tax relief.

The two Catholic parishes led by the Rev. Robert Wojtek could pay more than $6,000 in new city stormwater fees later this year — an amount equal to an entire Sunday collection at his Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Highlandtown. To Wojtek, that means limiting the parishes' ability to provide services, such as letting community groups use the Highlandtown church hall at minimal cost or giving out food at the pantry behind St. Michael and St. Patrick Church in Upper Fells Point. "One way or another, it's coming down to the bottom line," he said.

I was surprised and pleased to see David Fahrenthold's article on the federal "cuts in spending" approved in 2011 ("'Smoke & mirrors,'" Feb. 24). I wished he would have pointed out the added smoke and mirrors that persists from this president. President Barack Obama repeatedly went in front of the television cameras touting the $2.5 trillion in cuts with the fiscal cliff agreement. Looking at that number in detail, the truth is that there wasn't a dime of cuts to the federal budget.

Fort McHenry National Monument commemorates the Battle of Baltimore and Francis Scott Key's creation of The Star-Spangled Banner. There were more than 640,000 visitors to the fort in 2011, and they spent $44 million in the Baltimore area. Fort McHenry, like our other national parks, generates critical tourism dollars. A June 5 letter ("A better way for Ft. McHenry to handle the sequester") complained that the park service, through perceived "mismanagement," has unnecessarily limited the hours the grounds are open to the public for recreation.

In response to Garrison Keillor's Jan. 27 commentary ("Don't knock elitism; it could save your life"): What a childish pout we have here, in explaining the Republican plan for health care as "let them die." I sincerely believe that the Democrats' proposed health care plan will cut nearly $500 billion from Medicare because that has been promised. That will most assuredly let someone die. I recently saw my first "comparative effectiveness" study. I was shocked to see the conclusion that Zocor would be preferred over Lipitor because the additional heart attacks with Zocor didn't cause so much lost work time as to cover the cost of the Lipitor!

Community colleges are needed now more than ever to put people back to work, train employees in critical work force areas such as nursing and give high school graduates hope that they can receive a quality education that is affordable and accessible. The overwhelming majority of jobs in our "knowledge economy" require education beyond high school. Maryland's response to this reality includes a recent push to ensure that education is provided for people interested in careers that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree ("Not enough workers," March 2)

Effective Tuesday, Bel-Loc Diner in Parkville has discontinued its dinner service. The Parkville diner will now be open for breakfast and lunch only, from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The diner has been open since 1964. Greg's Bagels in Belvedere Square is going to a five-day week.  In a Bagel Alert posted at the store, the owners, Greg and Kathy Novik, wrote, "After 24 years of working 6 days a week ... we no longer have the physical strength and endurance to continue.

When I heard the news, I thought it was a joke. My alma mater, Towson University, has made an entirely irrational decision to drop both men's baseball and soccer programs ("Angry coach says officials kept quiet about folding team," Oct. 4). Apparently, there is a collegiate rule that strives for gender equality participation in sports, and there was some imbalance in the numbers of female athletes versus male athletes. Once again, political correctness rears its ugly head, and who loses?

A City Council committee on Tuesday approved a 16 percent cut to Baltimore's proposed storm water fees. Under a plan that will go to the full council for a vote Monday, homeowners would pay $40 to $120 per year. That's down from a range of $48 to $144. The legislative committee, chaired by Councilman James Kraft, also approved a cap designed to help businesses avoid what some have called exorbitant fees. The measure would limit fees to 20 percent of property taxes. The committee also approved an 83 percent cut to the administration's proposed rates for religious institutions.

The Ravens released fullback Vonta Leach and I understand the logic. The Ravens have been under the salary cap gun since winning the Super Bowl in February, and they will save approximately $3 million by cutting Leach. My only problem with letting Leach go is that the Ravens lack tough guys. In the NFL, you can't win titles without tough guys, players who are physical and can give a team instant emotion. The Ravens have had those types of players since 2000, going back to Michael McCrary, Rob Burnett, Tony Siragusa, Jonathan Ogden, Jamal Lewis and Ray Lewis.

Fort McHenry National Monument commemorates the Battle of Baltimore and Francis Scott Key's creation of The Star-Spangled Banner. There were more than 640,000 visitors to the fort in 2011, and they spent $44 million in the Baltimore area. Fort McHenry, like our other national parks, generates critical tourism dollars. A June 5 letter ("A better way for Ft. McHenry to handle the sequester") complained that the park service, through perceived "mismanagement," has unnecessarily limited the hours the grounds are open to the public for recreation.

The University of Maryland Medical Center will send layoff notices to employees at the end of the month as it looks to cut costs in the wake of federal budget cuts and what it and other state hospitals have called inadequate rate increases. Jeffrey Rivest, president and CEO of the Baltimore hospital, sent an email to managers Tuesday that said individual letters regarding layoffs would be given out June 25, 26 and 27. The number of people who will lose their jobs still is being finalized, said spokeswoman Mary Lynn Carver said.

The Anne Arundel County Council vote this week to trim $5 million from the school's capital budget has led school officials to allege that the cut was retaliation for a squabble last year. On Wednesday, after the school board reviewed more than three dozen projects in jeopardy because of the cuts, Superintendent Kevin Maxwell said the board now has "the most contentious relationship we've had with the council. " "How we're going to work together going forward is as much a question as where we are now," Maxwell said.

From: Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, Calif. Price: $18 Serve with: Grilled chicken, seared tuna steak This intensely flavorful red wine continues Coppola's role as one of the best celebrity vintners — offering value as well as star appeal. This is a well-made and expertly grown pinot noir with intense black cherry and wild berry flavors. There's a good, Burgundian earthiness to it, as well as hints of smoked meat, It has what you might call a rustic elegance, and it will match up well with a wide variety of foods — with no need to wait for greater maturity.

Recent articles on the FY12 budget debate have failed to recognize the incredible harm proposed cuts would have on low-income older Americans. The House Republican budget proposal would cut Medicaid spending by$1.4 trillion over 10 years. Right now, Medicaid pays for about 62 percent of the nation's total long-term care costs, and about 6 million seniors need long-term care. The proposal also would cut the Senior Community Service Employment Program by $150 million –on top of the $375 million just cut from the program in the FY11 budget.

Dan Rodricks proposes to cut defense spending almost by half, but says he also wants our troops to have the technology they need. ("Austerity measures must apply to the Pentagon, too" Aug. 11). Like so many advocates of reckless defense cuts, he provides no specifics about how we could possibly accomplish these contradictory objectives. Defense spending didn't dig us into this hole and we shouldn't look to it to dig us out. Defense spending shrunk by more than half as a share of the budget since 1970, while spending on entitlements more than doubled.

Anne Arundel County's budget process turned rocky on Friday, as the County Council cut $5 million from the school system -- a move the schools superintendent called a "spiteful and petty power play. " On a 7-0 vote, the County Council cut the school system's roof replacement budget from $2 million to zero, and the maintenance backlog budget from $4.1 million to $1.1 million. County Executive Laura Neuman's budget officer, John Hammond, opposed the cuts. The cuts represent a tiny portion of the school system's nearly $600 million budget.

The latest indicator that the U.S. economy is on the upswing can probably be found on the street where you live: It's the "sold" sign planted in the neighbor's yard. Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but the real estate industry is not the moribund mess you might remember from the crash. U.S. housing prices rose in March for the biggest gain in seven years and the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement. Meanwhile, the consumer confidence level was reported at its highest point since February 2008, at 76.2 percent, according to The Conference Board.