Income

Critics of a federal program that provides free cellphones to thousands of Maryland residents who can't afford regular commercial service are right that some recipients who don't qualify for the benefit are taking advantage of the system. But there's no question the program serves an important need for the families it targets, and the solution to its problems lies in better oversight and management, not scrapping it altogether. The Lifeline program was created in 1984 to cushion the impact of telephone deregulation on poor families who otherwise might lose access to phone service.

Income inequality and global warming represent existential threats to our country, far surpassing the dangers from international terrorism ("The economic elephant in the room: widening inequality," April 24). And at this time our legislators in Washington obsess about immigrants overstaying their visas and border security, which is now more tightly controlled than at any time in the last 20 years. Give me a break! Jack Kinstlinger, Baltimore Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

The O'Malley administration has settled a class action lawsuit brought by critics who accused the state of failing low-income and disabled Marylanders by regularly taking nearly a year to approve medical assistance applications as part of a severe backlog. The settlement means the Maryland Department of Human Resources will process claims faster and work to eliminate a backlog of more than 9,000 delayed cases, according to the Public Justice Center, the Homeless Persons Representation Project and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, the organizations that filed suit.

This week, hundreds of Chicago workers organized a major labor strike, demanding a wage floor of $15 an hour and the right to unionize. Their protests come on the heels of the largest strike in the fast food industry's history, which took place in December in New York City, and a nation-wide Walmart strike to protest what workers felt were unfair wages and treatment. Here in Baltimore, workers have also begun organizing around the idea of "fair development" - calling for higher wages and other benefits.

Micros Systems Inc., a maker of software for the hospitality and retail industries, reported third-quarter net income of $44.3 million Thursday, a 2.4 percent increase compared with the same period in 2013 and a record for a third quarter. The Columbia-based company said it also set third-quarter records for earnings per share and sales. Diluted earnings per share rose 3.8 percent to 55 cents per share, the company said. Sales grew 13.3 percent to $315.1 million for the quarter that ended March 31. "We continue to execute in a difficult environment and I am confident in our ability to meet not just the challenges but the opportunities which lie ahead," Micros CEO Peter A. Altabef said in a statement.

Chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. said Wednesday that its net income in the first quarter fell about 13 percent from the year-earlier period, in line with its warning to investors and analysts earlier in the month. The Columbia company said sales volumes didn't drop, but revenue took a hit as a result of lower pricing and an unfavorable change in the Venezuelan exchange rate. "Sales and earnings were below our expectations," CEO Fred Festa said in a statement. W.R. Grace said it produced $52.9 million in net income during the first three months of the year, compared with $60.9 million in the first quarter of last year.

America is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis - Baltimore, too. Ten million families are paying more than 50 percent of their monthly income on rent, a severe cost burden that leaves little for food and other necessities. Over 32,000 applicants (and counting) are on the Housing Authority of Baltimore City's waiting lists. Public housing authorities can only do so much. With limited, dwindling public resources, private dollars are needed now more than ever to help create affordable housing.

I read with interest Del. Stephen Lafferty's attack on our councilman, David Marks, who is questioning the new stormwater tax required for Baltimore County residents. Lafferty's attack was a cheap shot. Like others, I am glad that Councilman Marks is standing up for Baltimore County residents who have endured tax after tax from nearly every level of government. The state legislature (run by Del. Lafferty's political party) has increased electricity taxes, gasoline taxes, titling taxes on cars, sales taxes - some 37 times during Lafferty's silent tenure.

While the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of a poor person's constitutional right to a lawyer, Maryland legislators' support for House Bill 153 in the recently concluded General Assembly session threatened to return to the days when an accused person went without a public defender's representation. Without any fanfare or media attention, HB 153 quietly made its way through the House of Delegates. Then, it took just one proponent to convince the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee to approve a bill that prohibited a public defender from continuing to represent clients beyond a bail review hearing, upon the client's release from jail.

Baltimore County would add classrooms for thousands of students under a budget proposal unveiled Monday by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz - a plan advocates hope signals a commitment to solve the overcrowding that has plagued the school system. "There's an acknowledgment of the number of seats needed, and there seems to be the will to fund the additional seats," said Yara Cheikh, president of the PTA at Hampton Elementary School in Towson, the county's most overcrowded school. Kamenetz's proposal includes a $2.8 billion operating budget and a $339 million capital budget.