Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Looking ahead to the strange and unknown in weather.
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Tuesday, February 19
By Lauren Kirkwood, Capital News Service From potential heat waves to increased cases of respiratory illness and outbreaks of infectious disease, Maryland scientists are looking to predict how climate change will affect health in order to help communities across the state prepare. Looking ahead at the possible impact of global warming will give states and cities the chance to enact plans to protect those especially vulnerable to public health threats, including infants, the elderly and people with allergies or other medical conditions, scientists said. In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama noted 12 of the hottest years on record have fallen in the past 15 years, and said if Congress fails to act to prepare the nation …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Capital punishment in Maryland already is effectively dead, according to some prosecutors.
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Saturday, February 9
By Julia Maldonado, Capital News Service A bill that would repeal the death penalty in Maryland appears to have the votes needed to clear the Senate, adding momentum to Gov. Martin O’Malley and proponents’ push for repeal. But some prosecutors and other death penalty supporters say a repeal would only make official what is already true—capital punishment doesn’t really exist in Maryland. The state has one of the most restrictive death penalty laws in the country. Combine that with bureaucratic opposition from the governor and judges’ reluctance to impose the ultimate penalty, and even the most violent criminals are not likely to ever be executed, some say. “I don’t want them to ever have the opportunity to do it again,” said Sen. Kathleen …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
A state senator wants a new state bird; one man's technolgical fortress is his castle; and the Senate president feels snubbed by Obama.
It's not a statue in front of the office building that bares his name but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller did receive a bust of himself this week courtesy of the Regional Manufacturing Institute. Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat, gave a sneak preview of the small, light-weight bust of Miller moments before presenting it to the Senate's top dog. "You can't have too much Mike Miller," Klausmeier said. The technology is similar to what was used in a scene of Jurassic Park 3 where a copy of a velociraptor's larynx was recreated. The institute offered legislators in Annapolis the opportunity to have themselves scanned into a computer and get busts of themselves. Miller seemed impressed with the petite bust but joked that it …
Hundreds head to Annapolis to testify for and against a package of bills that would tighten gun regulations in Maryland.
Gun control supporters and opponents descended on a hearing room in Annapolis to debate a package of bills that is likely to be as divisive as any issue during the 90-day General Assembly session. Gov. Martin O'Malley said his legislation was driven by the shootings in Newtown, CT. and more than 500 shooting deaths in Maryland last year. "We are still losing too many of our citizens to gun violence," O'Malley said. "There's no such thing in our state as a spare American." Hundreds gathered outside the State House Wednesday morning, hours before O'Malley was to testify, to rally against the proposed laws. A line of people waiting to testify stretched outside the Senate office building. More than 500 people signed up to testify even though …
A comparison of existing state gun laws and proposed changes at the federal and state level.
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Thursday, February 7
By Allen Etzler Capital News Service Gov. Martin O’Malley and President Barack Obama have proposed gun control and public safety legislation in response to the December school shootings in Newtown, CT. Here are some current Maryland laws, and the proposed legislative changes: Current Maryland Gun Laws Handguns: Assault Weapons: Ammunition Magazines: Proposed Changes to Maryland Law Proposed Changes to Federal Law
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Hundreds gather on the day Gov. Martin O'Malley testifies in favor of gun legislation he proposed earlier this year.
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Wednesday, February 6
By Rashee Raj Kumar Capital News Service Hundreds of gun rights advocates rallied outside the State House Wednesday in opposition to new gun control measures proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley. As O’Malley testified in favor of new gun restrictions before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, protesters outside said his proposals to ban assault weapons, limit magazine sizes and strengthen licensing measures would erode their rights. Jay Hanlon, a retiree from Silver Spring, held a sign arguing that the Second Amendment protected gun ownership, including assault weapons, as a check against “Domestic Enemies.” “That’s the weapon we need to defend ourselves against a government gone bad—against our oppressors,” said Hanlon, 65. Kerry …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Public officials will attend Wednesday's hearing on Governor Martin O'Malley's Firearm Safety Act of 2013.
Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks and Prince George's County Police Chief Mark Magaw will joining other state officials in Annapolis Wednesday showing their support for the Firearm Safety Act of 2013. Magaw will be present to show support and Alsobrooks will be among those actually testifying in support of the bill, according to PGPD and the state's attorney's office. Alsobrooks will also testify in support of Senate Bill 228, which, if passed, would eliminate the one-year statute of limitations for prosecuting people charged with using a handgun to commit a violent crime. According to the state's attorney's office, they have had to drop charges in at least eight cases over the last eight months because the …
Monday, February 4, 2013
The headlines you may have missed from the Free State, home of the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.
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Monday, February 4
By Patch Staff Ravens Win Over 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII In one of the most unusual games in Super Bowl history -- one that included a power outage in the New Orleans Super Dome -- the Baltimore Ravens took the Super Bowl 34-31 over the San Francisco 49ers. Check out all the Maryland Patch coverage, including profiles of the Harbaugh family, here. O'Malley Pushes for Wind, Gun Legislation In his seventh State of the State speech, Gov. Martin O'Malley urged lawmakers to pass his offshore wind bill and find more money for transportation projects—an address seen by many as a prelude to an expected run for president in 2016. Leopold Resigns, Acknowledges 'Serious Errors in Judgment' The Anne Arundel County Council no longer needs to vote on …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The governor's seventh State of the State address is seen by many as a prelude to an expected run for president in 2016.
Gov. Martin O'Malley Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass his offshore wind bill and find more money for transportation projects—though he offered no details on a gas tax initiative. In his seventh State of the State speech, the Democratic governor also used his 35-minute address to remind legislators of what he sees as his major accomplishments since taking office in 2007. In many ways, the speech seemed to lay the groundwork for what many expect will be a run for President in 2016. Choice was a major theme in O'Malley's speech. "Better choices. Better results. The proof is in our progress," O'Malley said. [Read O'Malley's speech as prepared or watch it.] O'Malley's Legislative Wish List On the top of O'Malley's wish list are the passage of …
Gov. Martin O'Malley will reflect on the effects of the policy decisions he's made since being elected in 2006.
The word of the day is "choice." Gov. Martin O'Malley will give his seventh State of the State speech at noon on Wednesday. The focus of his address will be the choices state government has made during his terms in office, according to portions of the speech released by his office. "When the national recession hit—wiping out jobs and revenues all across our country—other states tried to cut their way to prosperity. Many found this only made things worse. Laying off police officers, fire fighters and teachers, cutting public education, hiking up college tuition by double digits every single year, continuing down the merry path of cutting taxes for the very wealthy, hoping against cruel experience that somehow it would trickle down to the …
jag
10:45 pm on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Patricia - that's exactly the point. It's not a matter of a progressive agenda. Climate change is a quantifiable fact. People who realize facts aren't progressive, they simply aren't ignorant. Facts don't actually have a liberal bias. Despite what you might think, conservatives are allowed to be educated as well. Just because you aren't doesn't mean others can't be. more ›