NEWS
October 16, 2009
At the age of 9, April Haines witnessed the death of her mother at the hands of a drunken boyfriend. "It happened when my brother and sister were in the house," she recalled decades later. "My brother was trying to fight him off, stop him, and he hurt him, too. They took her away, she went into a coma, and I never saw her again." The murder of a parent by an abusive spouse or domestic partner is a devastating event in the lives of families and children that inflicts psychological wounds that never fully heal.
NEWS
By Candus Thomson | October 11, 2009
Guy Salomon of Gwynn Oak writes: I read with interest your recent column about the Task Force on Fisheries Management and have some questions. I checked the August meeting summary and noted a list of attendees that included you under "Other Attendees." Can anyone attend these meetings, and if so what is the process to be able to? Can attendees add their two cents? Who appoints the attendees? Seems that there are a lot of "official groups" (read money and backing). How are they selected?
NEWS
By Judith Miller | September 28, 2009
It's been a busy summer at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The joint task force in charge of the 226 remaining detainees is spending about $440,000 to expand the recreation yards at Camp 6. At nearby Camp 4, which offers communal living for the most "compliant" captives, the soccer yard is being enlarged. At Camp 5, a maximum-security facility, a $73,000 classroom is under construction. In March, the task force added art classes to the thrice-weekly instruction it offers in Arabic, Pashtu and English, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.
NEWS
By CANDUS THOMSON | September 27, 2009
You pay your money and you take your chances. In the case of the 2007 law that nearly doubled some fishing license fees in return for a review of state fisheries operations by a task force of citizens, it wasn't exactly an instance of us having any say over the opening of our wallets. One could argue that over the years, the General Assembly neglected its responsibility for all Department of Natural Resources operations and then papered over its willful disregard with another helping of anglers' money.
NEWS
By Don Markus | September 22, 2009
People convicted of driving while impaired twice within five years will have their licenses suspended for a year, according to a state law that will go into effect Oct. 1. The change is among new laws announced Monday during a news conference at the Howard County Detention Center in Jessup. Noting that 152 people were killed last year on Maryland roadways in alcohol-related fatalities and that there were 68 DUI arrests made per day throughout the state, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown said drunken driving is "a public health issue, it's a highway safety priority and it's a crime."
NEWS
By Candus Thomson | August 9, 2009
Big changes are likely on the horizon for Maryland fishing licenses, and we're not just talking about swapping out a 9 for a 10 and a 10 for an 11. The reasons are simple: The 2007 law that temporarily raised license fees to put more money in the Fisheries Service piggy bank kicks the bucket June 30. And the federal government says that beginning in January, states must count and record all saltwater anglers, including those who have never before been...
NEWS
By Childs Walker | August 7, 2009
All Maryland high school graduates would be prepared for college-level math and science courses, and the state's universities would triple their production of teachers in those fields, under a five-year, $72 million plan unveiled Thursday by a state task force appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley. The plan also calls for a 40 percent increase in the number of science, technology, engineering and math graduates produced by state universities and for a sweeping effort to convert research and development into job-producing industry.
NEWS
By Jill Rosen | July 9, 2009
In the wake of a spate of highly publicized cases of animal cruelty, Baltimore has created a task force to curb such crimes. Mayor Sheila Dixon announced Tuesday the creation of the Anti-Animal Abuse Task Force, a group including representatives from city offices, the police, the state's attorney's office, animal welfare organizations and city residents. Over a year, the task force will assess the effectiveness of Baltimore's cruelty laws and brainstorm ways to raise awareness of animal abuse.
NEWS
By Candus Thomson | June 9, 2009
State officials are about to go after the last of the mute swans - beautiful to some, a menace to others - living in Maryland. In what many believe will be the final word in a long fight, Secretary of Natural Resources John Griffin on Monday accepted the report of a task force on the swans, saying that his staff is "unfortunately compelled" to continue population control efforts on the fewer than 500 birds still living on the Chesapeake Bay and its...
NEWS
May 4, 2009
Why are the lives of 220 men, women and children considered so meaningless in Annapolis? Why do their deaths not set off alarm bells, trigger outrage, rally our elected leaders to action? The General Assembly's indifference to the carnage wrought by drunken and drugged drivers on Maryland roads is staggering. This year, they had a chance to do something significant about the problem - to strike a blow for the 220 who are killed by impaired drivers annually. What did they do? Oh, they passed some bills, but for the most part they are watered-down, milquetoast efforts.