Montgomery College tuition case dismissed without addressing immigration issue; federal budget cuts will kill jobs, union head says; local leaders feel Plan Maryland usurps their authority; auditors find control problems in vital records; Maryland and Delaware launch a criminal-chasing partnership; several items on the race for Baltimore mayor.
Len Lazarick
Health department failed to control birth certificates, auditors find, citing possible fraud
The state health department has continued to fail to control issuance of birth certificates, leading to potential fraud, auditors found — a ongoing problem they had identified a dozen years ago.
National foundation awards major grant to MarylandReporter.com
The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation in Oklahoma City has awarded MarylandReporter.com a $50,000 grant over the next two years to expand its coverage and its staff by training aspiring journalists in investigative reporting.
Judge throws out suit against Montgomery College immigrant tuition
A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit against Montgomery College that tried to stop its policy of granting in-state tuition to county residents who do not have legal immigration status.
Debate over probation officer staffing continues
The head of the union representing parole and probation officers is taking strong exception to the letter from the acting head of the division that we published last week, “Probation caseloads are taken out of context.” That in turn was a response to our initial article, “Probation officers are stretched too thin, union head says.”
State House: Color me yellow? No way
As the painters working on stripping and repainting the State House dome found, much of the original dome was not white, but a color the original plan called “straw.” But Sam Cook, in charge of the State House complex of buildings for the Department of General Services, shot down a stray rumor that the iconic dome would be restored to what Cook called its “wheat-ish looking color.”
Nonprofits face funding worries as federal grants drop
With federal stimulus money coming to an end and the state budget strained, nonprofit organizations are searching for sources of future revenue. A state-sponsored conference scheduled for next month and geared specifically to that topic is already almost sold out.
Briefs: Bongino wants out of Afghanistan; House GOP leadership fight; the Iowa Poll
Conservative Senate candidate Dan Bongino said it’s time to get out of Afghanistan; House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell said now is not the time or place to replace him and the minority whip as the legislature heads into special session; and a veteran political vendor skips the Iowa straw poll and said it’s given too much weight.
Maryland close to hitting debt ceiling in 5 years
Maryland could be within $43 million of hitting its debt ceiling in fiscal year 2017, according to projections presented to the Capital Debt Affordability Committee on Friday. Maryland has a self-imposed limit on debt service of 8% of all revenues received. This means that only 8% of revenues in a given year can go toward principal and interest on state bonds.Currently, the state’s debt service payment is 6.9% of its revenues. By 2017, debt service is projected to be 7.8% of revenues. (By comparison, the interest on the federal debt this year is about 10% of total revenues.)
State Roundup, August 12, 2011
State leaders talk up Maryland’s solvency in wake of economic crisis; Baltimore City will lose seats in redistricting; Van Hollen named to budget-cutting “supercommittee;” Kipke and Smigiel may challenge House GOP leadership; McDonough thinks judge on petition case should withdraw.
Recent Comments