NEWS
Dan Rodricks | June 12, 2013
This time, I'm with Santoni. That is to say, I agree with Bob Santoni, the outspoken owner of the Baltimore supermarket that bears his family's name, that some members of the brain trust running our fair city have stepped through the looking glass. "They live in a fantasy world down at City Hall," Santoni said when asked about the latest scheme to nickel and dime people who live and work in Baltimore — a proposal by a young city councilman to impose a 10-cent fee for every plastic bag provided in a retail establishment.
NEWS
By Scott Calvert, The Baltimore Sun | June 11, 2013
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.
NEWS
By Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun | June 11, 2013
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.
NEWS
June 11, 2013
Baltimore has a litter problem in general — trash of all kinds blows down streets, piles up in alleys and parks and clogs streams and the harbor. The company that makes trash-skimming boats uses videos of its products at work clearing massive piles of debris from the Inner Harbor after a rainstorm to advertise the TrashCat. "Has this ever happened to your harbor?" United Marine International's website asks next to a picture of a gigantic floating junk pile. That doesn't speak well of our city or its residents.
NEWS
By Luke Broadwater and Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun | June 10, 2013
Baltimore might impose a 10-cent fee on every plastic and paper bag distributed by merchants in the city - a move praised by environmentalists as a litter deterrent but decried by some businesses who say it would hurt them and their shoppers. City Councilman Brandon M. Scott introduced a bill Monday to charge the fee on bags not just from supermarkets but from convenience stores, shops, service stations or any other "sales outlet" in Baltimore. He says the revenue could be used for parks and recreation but sees the legislation as an environmental measure.
EXPLORE
June 10, 2013
Residents will see clear benefits from paying storm water fee Most people probably wouldn't let their child bathe in a storm drain. Yet allowing him or her to swim or wade in many of the creeks and rivers of Carroll County after a heavy rainstorm is virtually the same thing. That's because of storm water. It's not an everyday term, storm water. But it's a genuine problem. Storm water pollution is increasing around the region. Thanks to cooperation between government, business and citizens, water pollution from farms, sewage plants, and other sources has been reduced.