Grace Period

Recreational boaters who were technically required to obtain a new federal boat user-fee tax decal by July 31 but who have not yet purchased one will find the Coast Guard's enforcement policy has some slack.The Coast Guard has designated the month of August as a "grace period," so that boaters stopped by the Coast Guard will not be issueda summons but instead will be given information on purchasing a user-fee tax decal.The Cosst Guard has the authority to levy fines up to $5,000 for non-compliance and will begin "normal enforcement procedures" Oct. 1.The annual charge for the boat user-fee tax is: $25 for boats larger than 16 feet but less than 20 feet; $35 for boats larger than 20 feet but less than 27 feet; $50 for boats larger than 27 feet but less than 40 feet; and $100 for boats over 40 feet.

Looking to increase the pace of play in the sport, the NCAA men's lacrosse rules committee has recommended a 30-second countdown for teams to take a shot after the referee has issued a stall warning. The proposal follows growing criticism that stalling tactics – such as those employed by Maryland in runs to the national title game the past two seasons – are stunting the growth of the game and turning away potential fans. The 30-second rule -- as well as other wide-ranging recommendations by the committee, which met Monday to Thursday in Indianapolis -- must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel; the group is scheduled to meet via conference call in September.

The Westminster City Council is scheduled tomorrow to consider changing its grass-cutting laws to shorten the grace period for property owners to get tall grass cut.The council will meet at 7 p.m. in City Hall.Councilman Damian L. Halstad plans to introduce an ordinance that would give a property owner seven days to act after receiving a city notice to mow his grass.On subsequent offenses, the owner would get just three days to have the property mowed after receiving a notice.Current law allows 10 days before the city steps in, mows the grass andbills the owner.

Gov. Martin O'Malley asked the Maryland Public Service Commission yesterday to consider delaying the April 1 cutoff date for customers who are delinquent on their utility bills. "I am writing to urge the PSC to do everything in its power to help our families and consumers keep the electricity on," O'Malley said in a letter to PSC Chairman Douglas Nazarian. O'Malley said he wants the PSC to use the additional time to determine what prompted an unusual spike in bills and to develop alternative payment plans for consumers.

Howard County police will give youngsters three months to adjust to the landmark bicycle helmet law that takes effect Monday by issuing only warning tickets to those caught riding without headgear before Jan. 1.The new law requires all bicyclists under age 16 to wear a helmet when riding on county roads or pathways. It does not apply to federal, state or private roads.Officer Gary L. Gardner, a police spokesman, said that in addition to a warning ticket, youths caught without a helmet between now and January also will get a flier about the law and bike safety and their parents will be notified.

Do your mortgage payments drift into the lender's office somewhere between the first and the 15th of each month?Then you can stop feeling guilty.Although virtually all mortgage payments are due on the first, those who pay a few days later -- during what is known as the "grace period," -- are rarely penalized."

Amid criticism that their rental property registration proposal would be an invasion of privacy and impossible to administer, three county councilmen withdrew the bill last night and substituted a more lenient proposal. The new proposal includes a grace period for compliance and sharply lower fines, and adds to the number of exempt properties. It will be reviewed by a yet-to-be-formed working group before an amended bill is submitted in January. The new proposal addresses concerns raised by the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors and Maryland Multifamily Association.

Thomas Knox Jr. had $30,000 in past-due child support, a warrant out for his arrest, and a lawyer quietly telling him to skip town. Instead, he walked into the place he might have feared most - the Baltimore County child-support enforcement office - and set up a plan to pay. "I've got another lawyer - Jesus," Knox, 38, said this week after he had arranged for money to be taken from his city paycheck for his 15-year-old daughter. "I know I owe the money. It makes me feel better, because I" haven't got to hide any more.

WASHINGTON -- Army soldiers who are involved in personal relationships with other soldiers can rest easy: They have a year to sort them out.An Army policy barring dating between soldiers of different rank was announced to the troops this week. But those who are dating have a year's grace period to decide whether to marry, break up or leave the Army by March 1, 2000.The Army was the only service that allowed dating between soldiers of different ranks, as long as they were not in the same chain of command.

An article in Monday's Howard edition of the Sun noted that lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano is working to repeal Howard County's anti-smoking law. He has been hired by Clyde's restaurant in Columbia and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. Tobacco interests, for which Bereano has lobbied on other issues, have not hired him to fight the Howard County law.With the passing of a final deadline last week, Howard County has become one of the East Coast's least-friendly places for diners who smoke -- a victory for anti-smoking forces that restaurateurs say will hurt their businesses for years to come.

New Year's financial resolutions are especially important when the economic future is uncertain. Even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan pegs the probability of recession in 2008 at "close to 50 percent, above or below." Dealing simultaneously with rising inflation and the credit crunch should keep Fed chief Ben S. Bernanke busy all year long. Optimists point to global growth, government spending, continued job gains and the chance the worst could be over in the housing downturn.

At the onset of the AIDS epidemic in this country, New York and San Francisco were the epicenters of the mysterious ailment killing homosexuals. As the disease progressed, intravenous drug abusers were its next victims, deepening the crisis and overcoming cities such as Baltimore, Chicago and Boston. Today, 25 years later, the new outbreaks of HIV are occurring in Southern cities and the capitals of rural America. Yet a federal AIDS treatment funding bill that would increase aid to cities with rising incidences of the disease is stalled in the U.S. Senate.

When the Supreme Court handed down its Kelo v. New London decision last year allowing governments to use eminent domain to seize private property and hand it over to developers, people in Maryland and across the nation were outraged. Dozens of states passed new laws to prevent politicians from taking away property rights. But in spite of the public outcry, government officials are devising more tricks to dispossess property owners. One such trick, called "amortization," allows government to take property without even giving owners the "just compensation" to which they are constitutionally entitled.

NOT ALL "deadbeat parents" shirk their responsibility willingly. Some just need a second chance to start or resume regular payments for the care of their children. Proof comes in their response to Maryland's two-weeks-only offer to ease or waive the penalties for nonpayment if parents would come into a social services office with a good-faith payment. In the first seven workdays, 1,293 people have walked in - and paid $250,000. It's a mere slice of the estimated $1.4 billion the state is owed, but it's something.

Three months after Maryland Natural Resources Police raided three Anne Arundel County homes and ordered the immediate euthanization of 18 pet fallow deer, the state has adopted a policy that gives owners time to find a new home for deer that are found to be kept illegally. The Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday that it will give residents who own captive deer up to 90 days to transport them to "suitable out-of-state facilities." DNR said it will assist owners in the process, and that these owners will not be punished during this "amnesty" period.

JERUSALEM - A sudden rise in Palestinian attacks from the Gaza Strip has presented the Israeli government with a difficult choice: send in the Israeli army for a confrontation with militant groups or give the days-old Palestinian government led by Mahmoud Abbas time to restore order on its own. Abbas, while offering no details yesterday, directed his security forces to end the violence in Gaza - the attacks that now involve mortars and primitive, short-range...

Carol Brown, who scrimps to pay her rent and feed her children when her paycheck is late, was one of hundreds of residents of Annapolis' public housing communities frightened by a plan to shorten the grace period for late rents.Yesterday, the city housing authority bowed to their concerns and compromised. It cut the grace period from seven days to six days, instead of to five.Officials said they wanted to roll back the grace period because "chronically late" tenants cost the authority more than $156,000 last year.

If you have federal student or parent loans to pay, the government has a deal for you. It's running a sale on its consolidation loans. You can save on interest and get a slightly lower payment, too. Some private lenders are trying to talk families out of this deal, perhaps by saying things about the government program that aren't quite right. So weigh your options carefully and get the facts. There are two main sources of federal education loans: private lenders, such as banks or Sallie Mae, and the government's Direct Loan program.

It's time to make your New Year's financial resolutions for 2005. We can, for example, assume that Martha Stewart has resolved to take far fewer phone calls from her broker once she's released from jail. Insurance company executives likely promised themselves they'll delete all secret kickbacks from company policy to avert future scandals. Corporate accountants are solemnly vowing to live by the letter of the tax law, never booking a sale before it is actually completed. Movie moguls are committed to avoiding the risk of financial disappointment from such films as Alexander by reverently allowing the ancients to remain buried in history.

Blockbuster is tired of being the butt of jokes on Leno and Letterman. And, closer to home, it wants to eliminate what the company's president calls "those unpleasant conversations at the register." So, beginning Jan. 1, the Dallas-based video chain plans to end late fees on video and game rentals. Of course, laggard renters won't get an entirely free pass: Past due on that Chuck Norris video? You'll have a seven-day grace period to return late movies, DVDs, or video games before Blockbuster Inc. duns your account for the price of the item, less the rental fee. So, what if you really don't want to own Delta Force 2 ?