Retirement Board

The Maryland retirement board is moving to give a bigger portion of its $18 billion pension fund to minority-owned investment firms to manage.Several minority-owned firms have submitted proposals to invest share of the state's assets, and a committee of the retirement system's board of trustees plans to interview the companies soon.The board's move follows the lead of Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who has made a priority of increasing minority state business. Bucking a national trend against affirmative action, Mr. Glendening helped pass legislation this year expanding the goal for minority participation in state contracts.

Sgt. Richard Willard, who this week settled a lawsuit he filed against the city alleging he never got help after fatally shooting a man in 2005, sent me an email wanting to explain his situation further. I had talked to his attorney on Wednesday. The sergeant, who agreed to drop his litigation in exchange for the city dropping its bid to fire him, will retire July 1, giving him 20 years on the job and enough time to collect his pension, about half his $73,000 salary. His allegations raised questions about whether city officers who fire their guns suffer emotional distress and whether the department gives them enough help.

This week, two Annapolis policemen and one former officer -- all injured in the line of duty -- went before the city's Public Safety Disability Retirement Board in search of justice they should have found long ago.For two years, despite strong medical evidence, the board has insisted that Katharine Wheeler, Anthony Davis and Scott Collins are not disabled -- at least not disabled enough to warrant retirement benefits. When Annapolis Mayor Alfred Hopkins ordered a new hearing, they hoped, finally, to come away with the benefits.

Columbia resident Judy Pittman , a retiring Neighbor Ride board member, was recognized at the organization's annual volunteer appreciation picnic for her contributions. She was a founding member of Neighbor Ride's board of directors, serving as president for four years and chairwoman of the board's development committee for two. To commemorate Pittman's service, Neighbor Ride has sponsored a Blossoms of Hope tree, to be planted at Cedar Lane Park. Neighbor Ride has also established the Judy Pittman Award for Distinguished Volunteer Service.

In the summer of 1989, Annapolis police Officer Katharine Wheeler hurt her back badly when she was slammed against ddTC wall by a violent mentally ill man. Her life would never be the same after that incident.Retired without benefits because a volunteer board found she had a pre-existing medical condition, Miss Wheeler, 35, says she is struggling to pay the mortgage and keep food on the table for her children.The head chaplain for the Annapolis Police Department challenged the City Council last night to help her and two male officers who were also injured in the line of duty.

An attorney blasted the board that retires disabled police officers in Annapolis as a "kangaroo court" yesterday and threatened to have the city held in contempt for failing to hold a court-ordered hearing.Only four of the five members on the volunteer Public Safety Disabilities Retirement Board showed up, prompting lawyer Joel Katz to charge the hearing would be "improper and illegal."Although board Chairman John H. Fellowes insisted enough members were present for it to take action, Mr. Katz said he would ask a circuit judge to hold the city in contempt for violating terms of an order that required the full board to meet.

Maryland's retirement board agreed yesterday to add $40 million to state funds managed by a Baltimore-based investment firm, ignoring the opposition of State Treasurer Richard N. Dixon, who charged that Gov. Parris N. Glendening was steering the business to a political backer.The award went to Nathan Chapman Jr.'s Chapman Minority Equity Trust, which supervises a group of investment managers who specialize in start-up businesses run by minorities. Chapman already handles more than $100 million, a small fraction of the Maryland fund's $24 billion in holdings.

Annapolis' pension fund was being steadily drained becaus police officers were retired with disability benefits at a record rate until an oversight board was established, board members testified last night.Defending the embattled Public Safety Disability Retirement Board, which was created in 1986, two members said they saved taxpayers money by stopping frequent abuses of the retirement system.But critics countered that the board's zeal in preventing false claims has left three police officers who were hurt in the line of duty with nowhere to turn.

Sgt. Richard Willard, who this week settled a lawsuit he filed against the city alleging he never got help after fatally shooting a man in 2005, sent me an email wanting to explain his situation further. I had talked to his attorney on Wednesday. The sergeant, who agreed to drop his litigation in exchange for the city dropping its bid to fire him, will retire July 1, giving him 20 years on the job and enough time to collect his pension, about half his $73,000 salary. His allegations raised questions about whether city officers who fire their guns suffer emotional distress and whether the department gives them enough help.

This week, two Annapolis policemen and one former officer -- all injured in the line of duty -- went before that city's Public Safety Disability Retirement Board in search of justice they should have found long ago.For two years, despite strong medical evidence to the contrary, the board has insisted Katharine Wheeler, Anthony Davis and Scott Collins are not disabled -- at least they are not disabled enough to warrant retirement benefits. When Annapolis Mayor Alfred Hopkins ordered a new hearing, the three injured officers hoped, finally, to come away with the benefits.

A former National Football League running back whose three-year career ended after a helmet-to-helmet hit in a training camp scrimmage with the Washington Redskins three seasons ago has filed suit in federal court in Baltimore, claiming that he is being shortchanged on his disability payments. Eric Shelton, who said he was forced to retire with what was diagnosed as stenosis of the spine, or a narrowing of the spinal column, is seeking more than $18,000 a month — the highest disability payment allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association.

Responding to the public outcry from former players, the NFL and the NFL Players Association announced yesterday a number of changes to streamline the process by which former players receive disability benefits. Those changes include: The appointment of a medical director who will consult with the two-person initial claims committee and with the retirement board to assist in resolving claims. Setting up physician panels in the areas of largest concentration of retired players, including Arizona, California, Florida and Texas and other major metropolitan areas.

THE BOARD responsible for managing the federal government's retirement plan will oppose the addition of a real estate investment fund because it would cost too much and duplicate other investments in the plan's portfolio, the agency announced this week. In testimony submitted to a congressional subcommittee Tuesday, the board's executive director, Gary A. Amelio, said that the Thrift Savings Plan already holds $1.1 billion in real estate investment trusts, called REITs, making it the nation's 13th-largest investor in such funds.

Maryland's retirement board agreed yesterday to add $40 million to state funds managed by a Baltimore-based investment firm, ignoring the opposition of State Treasurer Richard N. Dixon, who charged that Gov. Parris N. Glendening was steering the business to a political backer.The award went to Nathan Chapman Jr.'s Chapman Minority Equity Trust, which supervises a group of investment managers who specialize in start-up businesses run by minorities. Chapman already handles more than $100 million, a small fraction of the Maryland fund's $24 billion in holdings.

The state's highest court denied yesterday former Gov. Harry R. Hughes' request for $250,000 in back pension payments that he claimed he was owed, as a former state employee, while he was serving as governor.Mr. Hughes, 69, sued the state retirement board in 1993, challenging its decision to withhold the pension he earned during his 22 years as a legislator and transportation secretary, while he was governor from 1979 to 1987.He argued that as governor he was part of a separate retirement plan for governors and that he was not subject to the double-dipping prohibitions specified in Maryland's pension laws for most state workers.

The Maryland retirement board is moving to give a bigger portion of its $18 billion pension fund to minority-owned investment firms to manage.Several minority-owned firms have submitted proposals to invest share of the state's assets, and a committee of the retirement system's board of trustees plans to interview the companies soon.The board's move follows the lead of Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who has made a priority of increasing minority state business. Bucking a national trend against affirmative action, Mr. Glendening helped pass legislation this year expanding the goal for minority participation in state contracts.

City plans children's baseball leagueYoung baseball stars in Annapolis could be playing for a league of their own as early as this summer.City officials are teaming up to organize a baseball league for children ages 9 to 16 for the first time in a decade. Ed Stubbs, a Hillsmere resident who has coached baseball for years, will run the league.The city has offered to contribute about $7,000 to defray the cost of equipment and hiring umpires for the Annapolis City Pony League. Another $6,500 would go toward building a baseball diamond behind the old Wiley H. Bates High School, said City Administrator Michael Mallinoff.

Dr. King's inspiration rememberedThis month -- 131 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and 40 years after the Supreme Court banned school segregation -- the United States will be celebrating and remembering the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.It is interesting to note that the only other American honored by a national holiday is George Washington.Although Dr. King's birthday is Jan. 15, our nation will be honoring and remembering him the entire month. It is only fitting and proper that we do this.

A Hayden administration maneuver to save $2.1 million in Baltimore County government pension contributions has drawn fire from union presidents who say that workers should get a share of the savings.The county's eight-member retirement board of trustees decided this week to make three small changes in the calculations by which employer contributions to the fund are determined.These decisions will start saving the county money July 1, 1994, said James R. Gibson Jr., the county finance director and pension board chairman.