Databases

The massive database of tax bills we compiled for properties in Baltimore -- what owners had to pay and what breaks if any they received -- is getting some suburban company. Take a gander at this new searchable database of Harford County property taxes . It's for the tax year that ends Saturday, giving you a look at bills for the last 12 months and an opportunity to compare and contrast. How does your bill compare with your neighbors' bills? How much are big companies paying?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been accepting consumer complaints about credit cards for close to a year. Today, the agency made a database of those complaints available online. You can see the names of the card issuers griped about, the gist of the complaint and company's response and the consumer's zip code. The CFPB says it has received 16,840 credit card complaints, with the most common complaint involving billing disputes. The agency sent 84 percent of those complaints to the card issuers, while the rest went to other regulators or were incomplete.

I would like to respond to Dan Rodricks ' column on taking DNA samples from people who are arrested ("DNA: Why wait for an arrest?" May 3). I support his opinion, but I think he could have included more reasons, especially for a general gathering of DNA. If all of us gave samples, the medical world would benefit tremendously. Close matching organ donors could be located immediately. Untold information could ease the tracking of diseases from the common cold to virulent cancers.

The Maryland ACLU called on the state Wednesday to release information that it says will help determine whether people on Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold's alleged "enemies list" were the subject of illegal searches by county police on the state's criminal history database. The state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said it has asked the Maryland State Police and the Maryland public safety department for information about who accessed the statewide database.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland on Tuesday called on the state Public Safety secretary to launch an audit of the Anne Arundel County Police Department's use of the state criminal history database in order to determine whether information on the county executive's alleged "enemies list" was accessed and disseminated. The ACLU sent a letter to Gary D. Maynard, the secretary of Public Safety & Correctional Services, asking him to review the database logs for the Maryland Criminal Justice Information System to determine whether criminal history record information was improperly accessed for non-law enforcement purposes and whether the information was disseminated.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland renewed calls Thursday for the Anne Arundel County Council to investigate embattled County Executive John R. Leopold after revelations that a police database containing criminal records may have been illegally accessed at his behest to research political opponents. Deborah A. Jeon, the ACLU's political director, wrote in a letter to council members that they are "positioned to broadly examine legal and ethical violations that may have occurred.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department acknowledged Wednesday that a statewide police criminal records database was accessed in order for County Executive John R. Leopold to investigate political opponents. The revelation came as the department released a number of files that Leopold had allegedly directed members of his taxpayer-funded police detail to maintain on the opponents. The files, obtained by The Baltimore Sun through a Maryland Public Information Act request, included information on several county residents, including a former county councilman and a Democratic candidate in the 2010 county executive's race.

A Maryland corrections division that provides inmate labor has backed out of a data entry contract with the health department after state auditors found that prisoners had access to some patients' personal information, which was supposed to have been redacted from documents, but occasionally wasn't. The findings were included in a Legislative Services report made public Tuesday, three months after Maryland Correctional Enterprises, an industry arm of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, ceased providing the services to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Years ago, before we were married and moved to Maryland, my husband opened a checking account in Indiana and had the statements mailed to his office there. The account wasn't forgotten, just ignored. That wasn't a problem until his employer moved and the statements started bouncing back to the bank. Eventually, the account was turned over to the Indiana attorney general, who added it to a list of unclaimed property — where it was recently spotted by a family acquaintance. We put in a claim.

Regarding "Coaches, doctors get top state pay" (May 24), I am concerned by the database included with your article. It is extremely regrettable that The Sun made available the full names of state workers across the board. While this information is public, that does not mean it needs to be, or should be, published in the newspaper. The Sun has put correctional officers, parole and probation agents, police officers, juvenile service employees and state security officers at risk.