Taxpayers Association

Annapolis officials say the long-promised Pasadena public golf course project is back on track after the General Assembly passed emergency legislation intended to clear the way for construction. Legislators sought the bill, which broadens the charter of the project's developer- Maryland Economic Development Corp. - after a golf course development company challenged the legality of MEDCO's involvement. Dennis Callahan, county recreation and parks director, said he expects construction to begin in early July, with completion in fall 2002 - six months behind schedule.

The Maryland Taxpayers Association called on Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday to streamline government and cut back on state regulations as he takes office. "What we would like to do is begin to change the mindset," said Dee Hodges, president of the nonpartisan group. "We want them to have us [taxpayers] in mind rather than growing government for the sake of growing government." The association - which aims to promote "effective, fiscally efficient government" and asks political candidates to sign pledges not to raise taxes - endorsed Ehrlich in the gubernatorial campaign.

The Howard County Taxpayers Association's petition drive to reverse the county's income tax increase has hit a minor snag. After about 50 volunteers started gathering signatures this week on a petition to put the issue of raising the income tax to 3.20 percent to a countywide referendum, the group's president yesterday realized the petition's format was flawed. The phrasing on the petition of the tax law did not meet state and county guidelines, said Pat Dornan, the group's president.

Transfer tax inspires excessive spending When you give liberal politicians an additional tax dollar, they will spend it. That is the situation in Carroll County this year where the Board of County Commissioners are asking for a new transfer tax that will take an additional $5 million dollars from taxpayers each year. The amount per residential sale would be from $2,000 to $3,000, depending on the percentage assessed on the gross sale price. The budgets for Carroll County are balanced for the next five years as outlined in the 2004 budget book.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that Maryland is poised to help shape national environmental policy by passing legislation that would curb pollutants linked to global warming. The bill, which had its first hearing in the state Senate yesterday, is likely to pass this year after proponents agreed in recent weeks to essentially exempt manufacturers from mandates against greenhouse gas emissions. Opposition from unions and manufacturers killed similar O'Malley-backed legislation last year.

On Thursday, June 30, 2005, after a five month fight with cancer, THOMAS W. HOURIHAN, 70, of Seaside Park, NJ. He was a star basketball player at Thomas Jefferson High School in his hometown of Elizabeth, NJ, before attending and graduating from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. After a service in the US Army, he built a successful career as a corporate executive in the insurance and employee benefits industry in Baltimore-Washington area. Although family, golf, and boating all competed for his time, he continued to work in semi-retirement until shortly before his death.

The O'Malley administration is seeking to add new weaponry to the state's tax-collecting arsenal with a proposal to deny driver's licenses and vehicle registrations to those who fail to pay their taxes. The proposal, contained in O'Malley's budget reconciliation bill, would let the state refuse to issue or renew licenses and registrations for those who have unpaid, undisputed tax obligations. The administration expects the measure to help it collect an additional $40 million over the next two years as the state scratches for every dollar it can collect to help close a $1.3 billion shortfall.

Has it really been 10 years?Ten years since I donned the neon-blue graduation cap and gown?Ten years since I sat in the sweltering gymnasium that evening and wondered aloud why I bothered wearing pants?Ten years since I was handed the "stunt diploma" -- they mailed the real one to my house-- and officially became a 1981 graduate of Old Mill High School?I draw another step closer to my own mortality on Aug. 24, as my classmates gather at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie for our 10-year reunion.

The Schaefer administration is firing back at property-tax protesters by proposing to charge a $25 fee to homeowners who appeal their property tax assessments.If approved by the General Assembly, the fees would raise about $400,000 next year. This would help the State Property Tax Appeals Boards cope with a tight budget and a deluge of cases, according to Craig C. Biggs, the board administrator."We're looking at a funding source to help pay our operating expenses," Biggs said yesterday."That would be ridiculous," countered John D. O'Neill, a leader of the Maryland Taxpayers Association, an organization that grew out of last year's uproar over rising assessments.

A new Annapolis taxpayers group will conduct a citywide meeting at Annapolis High School tonight.The Ad Hoc Committee of the Citizensof Annapolis to Repeal the New Utility Taxes dropped newsletters at homes all over Annapolis Tuesday, urging people to attend the meeting."