Reforms

The article by Liz F. Kay regarding water bills ("City to Overhaul Water Billing," May 11) was helpful but only told part of the story. The well-known clerical errors, long waits to reach city water bureaucrats, frequent huge overcharges for water and so on, unfortunately, are well-known. One hopes Ms. Kay's report comes true and badly needed overhauling is done. However, we are still faced with the fact that water bills are always in the names of landlords, not tenants. Hence, no matter what arrangements may exist, if the tenant skips out, is evicted or simply does not have the money, landlords must absorb the bills, sometimes for $500 or much more.

Thomas Neale's recent letter to the editor employs uses usual Republican tactic of throwing out irrelevant statistics to confuse the issue of tax fairness ("The wealthy pay more than their fair share," May 14). It doesn't matter that the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay 38 percent of the income taxes. What matters is what percentage of their income do they pay in taxes - and not just income taxes, but all taxes. In the tax year of 2010, only 42 percent of federal revenue came from income taxes.

Networks should pay Coley Harvey Orlando Sentinel With the reforms announced last week, at least we can finally say the NCAA is no longer crawling around aimlessly on its hands and knees. The big boy diapers may remain, but at least the association has taken its first baby step. Applause for the proposed move to pay student-athletes a $2,000 stipend, and further applause for the multiyear scholarships they can now sign. The only problem is this: Who will fund it all?

The Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, expected in June, will determine the future for countless Americans. Health care reform debates have elevated the plight of millions of uninsured Americans to the national consciousness. However, the physician workforce that would be needed to care for millions of newly insured people deserves equal attention. There is a growing shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S., and it has been forecasted for decades.

Newspapers and TV should analyze the reforms needed to modernize the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. Here are five reforms they should look at: A constitutional amendment requiring term limits for members of Congress; a constitutional amendment limiting presidents to a single six-year term; and a rule requiring members of Congress, presidents, vice presidents, cabinet secretaries, federal judges and top policymakers to...

The federal government is correct to tie federal education dollars to meaningful school reforms ("Not No. 1 in reform," Dec. 22). Otherwise, huge amounts of money get spent and nothing changes. I saw this repeatedly in my 40 years in Maryland public education as a teacher, principal and central office executive director. Gov. Martin O'Malley has, in state schools superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, arguably the greatest educator in the country. She has led the climb of Maryland public schools to the top. She and the feds are right on target regarding two key changes the governor should be supporting.

Two-thirds of Maryland's 24 local school boards have agreed to sign on to education reforms they hope could earn the state as much as $250 million more in federal aid this year, but teachers unions appear to be far less supportive, which could weaken the state's position. All of the largest school districts in the Baltimore area have voted to sign the Race to the Top application, including Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties. But local teachers unions, with the exception of the Baltimore Teachers Union, say they won't be signing or haven't taken a position.

The day after President Barack Obama signed the landmark health bill into law, Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Wednesday a task force to oversee the implementation of federal changes, a move the governor said aims to make Maryland a national leader in the health care overhaul. Now that congressional wrangling over health care has produced legislation, it's up to states to figure out how to put it in place. O'Malley said the legislation builds on Maryland's efforts in recent years to expand coverage by adding thousands of parents and their children to the Medicaid rolls, offering assistance to small businesses to provide coverage to their employees and letting young adults stay on their parents' health care plans to age 25. Reform would extend coverage to about 400,000 Marylanders, according to state estimates, although other groups say that figure could be higher.

The Baltimore County Council Tuesday night approved the weaker of two pension reform bills, adopting a measure that is unlikely to satisfy critics of the current system that greatly exceeds benefits to most working families. The panel voted 6-to-1 to cap pensions of elected officials at 60 percent of the annual salary, which is currently $54,000. The law, drafted by Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, takes effect Feb. 1. It applies to anyone who joins the council after that date, but not current members.

Maryland education officials laid out a broad vision Tuesday for improving the state's schools and teaching corps, pledging to put the best educators in struggling classrooms while making them more accountable for performance and boosting emphasis on science, math and technoglogy courses. The promises came in a 257-page application that Maryland plans to submit to the U.S. Department of Education this year in a bid for a $250 million slice of $4 billion in federal school reform money known as Race to the Top funding.

With the Supreme Court reviewing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is no shortage of legal analysis to handicap the decision. But unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to the real value this law provides to millions of American families and businesses. As governor, I have heard from families unable to purchase coverage at any price because of pre-existing illness, from seniors forced to choose between medications and energy bills and from businesses required to drop employee coverage to stay afloat.

This afternoon, Gov.Martin O'Malleyplans to sign what may be the most significant step toward increasing transparency in Maryland's system of campaign finance in years: a requirement that those who contribute more than $500 to a single candidate during an election cycle list their occupation and employer. That's a good thing; it will give the public a much better idea of who is backing candidates for office and why. However, the fact that this step only brings Maryland up to some semblance of the standard the federal government has employed since the 1970s, and a majority of other states have long held as well, shows just how far the state has to go if voters are to have confidence that the entire campaign finance system isn't just a means for special interests to buy influence.

More restaurant owners in Baltimore County could get liquor licenses under a measure passed in Annapolis that's set to take effect within the next few months. The legislation, sought by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, is meant to gradually open up more licenses over the next five years. Kamenetz pushed for more sweeping changes, but current license holders opposed them. Kamenetz created a task force last year to examine the county's system of issuing liquor licenses, saying that the current set-up is archaic and that reform would help spur economic development throughout the restaurant sector.

Insurance companies are expected to pay out nearly $1.3 billion in rebates this summer because they haven't complied with a provision under health care reform that they devote more money to health care and less on administrative costs and profit, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Marylanders will receive $37.7 million from four insurance providers, according to the report. Kaiser did not name the insurers, but said the average rebate for Marylanders will be $293.50.

If you would like to open a bar or restaurant that sells alcoholic beverages on the Liberty Road corridor in Baltimore County, a liquor license will run you $2,000. About a 20-minute drive away, Joe's Crab Shack, a chain restaurant that's moving into the Hunt Valley Towne Centre, just paid $225,000 for its liquor license. The reason? An antiquated system that allots licenses by population in districts drawn decades ago and allows those licenses to be bought and sold on the open market.

State legislators often prioritize important legislation the way kindergartners rank vegetables among the food groups. They focus on media-friendly social legislation instead of structural reform requiring time and effort to understand and craft. Why, for example, did they pass gay marriage and a law regulating how long a child must face rearward in a car seat but not figure out the budget until the absolute last minute? And why didn't they spend time this year on how to pay the pensions of the 373,000 people in the state retirement system?

IT MIGHT have been an awkward moment for the secretary of state with the Egyptian foreign minister at her side. But Condoleezza Rice didn't show it, when asked about Cairo's jailing of an Egyptian opposition leader. And she certainly didn't duck the question. Her strong sentiments about Egypt's unacceptable detention of Ayman Noor were appropriate. The diplomat, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, kept his thoughts to himself. What could he say? But Ms. Rice's "very strong concerns" about the fate of Mr. Noor can't be the last words on Cairo's harsh treatment of reformers.

For the homeless, drug-addicted women Jacqueline Robarge works with, this summer in Baltimore was long and violent. Outreach workers with the nonprofit Power Inside heard at least eight accounts of sexual assault and rape, the most she could recall in her 10 years with the group. In some of those cases, according to Robarge, the women said Baltimore police refused to take reports when they approached patrol officers to tell them what had happened. Robarge's small, Charles Village-based group has been tapped to work with a city task force formed to improve sexual assault investigations.

With a far more contentious hearing than expected before the Supreme Court, President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) could be struck down by a sharply divided court when it rules in June. If that happens, insurance will continue to be priced beyond the means of many. It is therefore prudent to look at possible alternatives for these Americans. Fortunately, a proven model exists today in Howard County: the Healthy Howard Health Plan. With some changes to its financing structure, it could emerge as a viable option for Americans who will not be able to afford to buy insurance should the ACA be struck down.

If the Obama administration proceeds to electoral doom, blame rests on its surrender to its financiers and campaign organizers: Wall Street and public employee and construction unions. A Democratic administration in control of Congress which for two years left hedge fund managers' "carried interest" untouched while not providing a Civilian Conservation Corps or payroll tax moratorium for young workers to relieve youth unemployment has something wrong with it. Meanwhile, the bizarre Republican schemes for tax relief have in common a determination not to burden "the donor community.