Repair Program

A recent column written in part by the president of the Johns Hopkins University urged lawmakers to back a massive school renovation and repair program in Baltimore City ("New schools, new city," March 20). But given past history, it's fair to ask whether the kind of public-private partnerships cited in the commentary will truly benefit the most needy residents of the East Baltimore communities adjacent to this powerful institution. The schools in East Baltimore lead the city in low educational performance.

Rita Custer, of Aberdeen, has always been self-reliant. A former assistant manager for a Rite Aid Pharmacy, she is currently living on unemployment due to prolonged illness. She is also raising two sons, age 11 and 16. Her oldest, Justin, has Down's syndrome and has been the victim of bullying in his own back yard. For many years, Custer's wish has been for a place where her sons could play in safety. Justin is a client of the Arc Northern Chesapeake region, and after his mother suffered two strokes, the organization stepped up to help.

Pledging a thorough investigation into the troubled $25.6 million program to fix up homes for the poor, Baltimore City Council Vice President Vera P. Hall is calling local and federal housing officials, as well as lawyers and tenants, to a hearing next week.Mrs. Hall, who chairs the council's housing committee, said she is "trying to cover the waterfront" in soliciting testimony from people involved in the no-bid repair program that has come under fire for shoddy work and inflated costs. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

A recent column written in part by the president of the Johns Hopkins University urged lawmakers to back a massive school renovation and repair program in Baltimore City ("New schools, new city," March 20). But given past history, it's fair to ask whether the kind of public-private partnerships cited in the commentary will truly benefit the most needy residents of the East Baltimore communities adjacent to this powerful institution. The schools in East Baltimore lead the city in low educational performance.

The chairman of the board that oversees the city Housing Authority was ordered yesterday to appear before a City Council committee Aug. 15 to explain his role in a troubled $25.6 million no-bid public housing repair program.Circuit Judge Thomas Ward issued the command yesterday -- one day after he ruled the committee investigating the program could legally subpoena the chairman, Reginald C. Thomas, to testify.Judge Ward's order was immediately met with a notice of appeal to the state Court of Special Appeals -- signed by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.

Baltimore Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson III is likely to face a hostile reception next month when he goes before a City Council committee to explain why he should keep his job. The council, during its meet Henson is one of six appointees that Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke wants the council to reconfirm.The other appointees, including City Solicitor Neal M. Janey, also were given February hearing dates last night. But it is Mr. Henson's hearing that is expected to be the most controversial because of his support of a $25.6 million no-bid repair program.

The chairman of the board that oversees the city Housing Authority was ordered yesterday to appear before a City Council committee Aug. 15 to explain his role in a troubled $25.6 million no-bid public housing repair program.Circuit Judge Thomas Ward issued the command yesterday -- one day after he ruled that the committee investigating the program could legally subpoena the chairman, Reginald C. Thomas, to testify.Judge Ward's order was immediately met with a notice of appeal to the state Court of Special Appeals -- signed by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.

With critics on the City Council opening their own investigation into Baltimore's troubled $25.6 million public housing repair program, a separate council panel has offered a short list of mostly gentle recommendations.Council Vice President Vera P. Hall, who chaired a seven-hour hearing that was denounced by some of her colleagues, submitted a report that calls for reinspecting 5 percent of the more than 1,000 homes renovated in the no-bid program.Her move came as the newly revived Legislative Investigations Committee prepared to start a review this morning of a scathing federal audit of the program.

A $25 million no-bid repair program run by the city's Housing Authority spent more than twice the going rate to fix apartments for the poor, paid contractors for work that was never done, and gave millions to firms run by relatives of managers, according to a federal audit.The audit, a draft copy of which was obtained by The Sun, cites problems in almost every area of the authority's operations. It provides fresh details about a program in which employees apparently inflated cost estimates for repairs to coincide with proposals by the no-bid contractors, and then failed to check to see if the work was ever done.

You can see a parallel between Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's behavior in the vilified housing authority repair program and his current rush to bad judgment in firing the Baltimore convention board.Speaking Thursday night to the Mount Royal Democratic Club, the mayor reasserted his position that a public housing "crisis" led him to decide a no-bid program was needed to repair thousands of housing units. He said under similar circumstances he would make the same decision.Now Mr. Schmoke is declaring an emergency involving the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association.

There's more to boats than watertight hulls, and there's more to boat repair than scraping barnacles off keels. Boats are complex, according to Bart Sherman. "It's like a floating house - plus it has to move," said the teacher, who leads marine repair technology courses at the Center for Applied Technology South in Edgewater. Students in the Anne Arundel County public school program learn a variety of disciplines, including cabinetmaking, marine plumbing systems and fiberglass hull repair as well as engine maintenance.

Dipping into Maryland's budget surplus, Gov. Parris N. Glendening will announce today a three-year, $9 million refurbishment program for state parks, the most significant such effort in decades, officials say.The state will repair parking lots, 1,000 trails and 300 miles of roads, and will replace 30 playgrounds at Maryland parks, officials at the Department of Natural Resources said."

Baltimore Housing Commissioner Daniel P. Henson III is likely to face a hostile reception next month when he goes before a City Council committee to explain why he should keep his job. The council, during its meet Henson is one of six appointees that Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke wants the council to reconfirm.The other appointees, including City Solicitor Neal M. Janey, also were given February hearing dates last night. But it is Mr. Henson's hearing that is expected to be the most controversial because of his support of a $25.6 million no-bid repair program.

The chairman of the board that oversees the city Housing Authority was ordered yesterday to appear before a City Council committee Aug. 15 to explain his role in a troubled $25.6 million no-bid public housing repair program.Circuit Judge Thomas Ward issued the command yesterday -- one day after he ruled the committee investigating the program could legally subpoena the chairman, Reginald C. Thomas, to testify.Judge Ward's order was immediately met with a notice of appeal to the state Court of Special Appeals -- signed by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.

The chairman of the board that oversees the city Housing Authority was ordered yesterday to appear before a City Council committee Aug. 15 to explain his role in a troubled $25.6 million no-bid public housing repair program.Circuit Judge Thomas Ward issued the command yesterday -- one day after he ruled that the committee investigating the program could legally subpoena the chairman, Reginald C. Thomas, to testify.Judge Ward's order was immediately met with a notice of appeal to the state Court of Special Appeals -- signed by Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke.

You can see a parallel between Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's behavior in the vilified housing authority repair program and his current rush to bad judgment in firing the Baltimore convention board.Speaking Thursday night to the Mount Royal Democratic Club, the mayor reasserted his position that a public housing "crisis" led him to decide a no-bid program was needed to repair thousands of housing units. He said under similar circumstances he would make the same decision.Now Mr. Schmoke is declaring an emergency involving the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association.

Rita Custer, of Aberdeen, has always been self-reliant. A former assistant manager for a Rite Aid Pharmacy, she is currently living on unemployment due to prolonged illness. She is also raising two sons, age 11 and 16. Her oldest, Justin, has Down's syndrome and has been the victim of bullying in his own back yard. For many years, Custer's wish has been for a place where her sons could play in safety. Justin is a client of the Arc Northern Chesapeake region, and after his mother suffered two strokes, the organization stepped up to help.

Faced with an outcry from some members of Congress, Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke yesterday moved to limit fallout from his explanation that money used in a troubled $25.6 million public housing repair program was "only federal funds, not local tax dollars."The mayor said he was "not trying to excuse any irregularities" by his statement, which was issued Sunday in response to the first of three Sun articles detailing problems in the no-bid program. But he said the statement, reprinted in $12,000 worth of ads paid for by the city, was "in-artfully drafted."

With critics on the City Council opening their own investigation into Baltimore's troubled $25.6 million public housing repair program, a separate council panel has offered a short list of mostly gentle recommendations.Council Vice President Vera P. Hall, who chaired a seven-hour hearing that was denounced by some of her colleagues, submitted a report that calls for reinspecting 5 percent of the more than 1,000 homes renovated in the no-bid program.Her move came as the newly revived Legislative Investigations Committee prepared to start a review this morning of a scathing federal audit of the program.

Pledging a thorough investigation into the troubled $25.6 million program to fix up homes for the poor, Baltimore City Council Vice President Vera P. Hall is calling local and federal housing officials, as well as lawyers and tenants, to a hearing next week.Mrs. Hall, who chairs the council's housing committee, said she is "trying to cover the waterfront" in soliciting testimony from people involved in the no-bid repair program that has come under fire for shoddy work and inflated costs. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.