NEWS
By Jane Lipscomb | April 25, 2013
Workplace violence is a serious occupational hazard in hospitals and other health care facilities, a fact that has escaped an unsuspecting public. Nationally, nursing assistants employed by nursing homes have the highest incidence of workplace assault among all workers, according to federal data. For women who work in nursing homes, social services and hospitals, the likelihood of being harmed on the job is like that of women working the late-night shift in convenience stores. To draw attention to these and other hidden risks, the Alliance Against Workplace Violence has designated April as Workplace Violence Awareness Month.
NEWS
April 19, 2013
Your editorial, "Good government wins," (April 15) falls short of the mark. Bestowing kudos to the General Assembly for passing legislation that makes campaign finance more helpful in "restoring integrity to the political process" is, with all due respect, misguided. As you point out, these reforms are offset with other provisions which result in a process that facilitates throwing more money into the political arena instead of getting money out. The actions of the General Assembly with regard to campaign finance reform bring to mind the following analogy.
BUSINESS
By Steve Kilar and The Baltimore Sun | April 18, 2013
In addition to an extension of the Homestead Tax Credit application deadline, several other pieces of legislation relevant to homeowners passed both chambers of the General Assembly during the most recent session, which ended earlier this month. Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to sign them -- provided they pass a constitutional review, according to spokeswoman Raquel Guillory. Among the 2013 session housing legislation that is likely to become law: House Bill 235, introduced by Harford County Republican Del. Susan K. McComas, would require the Department of Assessments and Taxation to add five fields of information to the publicly available online database of property tax assessment information.
NEWS
Dan Rodricks | April 10, 2013
Among the likely Democratic candidates for Maryland governor in 2014 - Howard County executive Ken Ulman, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler - Ulman comes closest to being the "Baltimore-area candidate. " But a genuine Baltimore-area candidate - someone who could pull votes from Baltimore County and the city, and enough in other key sectors of the state - would be a serious contender for the big-daddy chair in Annapolis. And who might that be? Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, the six-term congressman and former Baltimore County executive, "is considering it," says his spokeswoman, Jaime Lennon.
NEWS
April 9, 2013
There had to be some drama at the end. The 2013 General Assembly session, in a marked contrast to the train wreck that was the 2012 edition, moved toward its conclusion Monday as a model of efficiency and cooperation. For once, the kids weren't waiting until the night before to do their homework, having wrapped up virtually all of the major issues by Friday. And then came the speed camera bill. After a series of reports in The Sun about erroneous tickets given to motorists in Baltimore City (including one case of a car ticketed for speeding while stopped at a red light)
NEWS
By Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun | April 9, 2013
Legislation that would have placed stricter limits on where local governments could put speed cameras and required them to appoint ombudsmen to hear complaints died in the General Assembly Monday night. The legislation would have strengthened language prohibiting governments from entering into new contracts under which they paid private companies for each ticket issued, but would have allowed current contracts to stand. A Republican filibuster prevented a Senate vote on the measure as the General Assembly session neared its end. Gov. Martin O'Malley had planned to sign the compromise legislation, which was prompted by a Baltimore Sun investigation that documented erroneous tickets and other problems in Baltimore's program.