NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Friday Jan. 24/big>
[Scroll down for full week’s compendia]
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Friday:
Martin O’Malley autographs supporter’s baseball during his last reelection campaign three years ago (Nov. 2010). The governor delivered his final ‘State of the State Address’ Thursday. (VoB File Photo/Alan Z. Forman)
Declaring he’ll be leaving Maryland better off than when he took office seven years ago, the prospective presidential candidate promoted his years as governor and argued in favor of policies to help the middle class. O’Malley’s second and final term as governor concludes at the end of 2014.
Read More at: Maryland Daily Record
• GANSLER MAKES CANDIDACY OFFICIAL, PUSHES SATURDAY VOTING
The Maryland attorney general officially announced his candidacy for governor Thursday, lamenting low voter turnout and promising that if elected he will open polls on the Saturday prior to elections in order to increase participation in the election process.
Read More at: WBAL-Radio (1090AM)
• WEDNESDAY’S 15-DEGREE HIGH
A RECORD CHILL
The previous record for lowest high temperature for Jan. 22 recorded at BWI Marshall Airport was 19 degrees, set in 1961.
Read More at: The (Annapolis) Capital
• MD. PRE-K PROGRAM COULD EXPAND TO FULL DAY
That’s if Governor O’Malley has his way and gets to spend more than $4 million on full-day prekindergarten.
Read More at: WBAL-TV (Channel 11)
• NEW TRANSGENDER WEBSITE OPENS IN MARYLAND
The site will provide specific resources for transgender youth in Maryland and assist them and their families in dealing with the state’s legal system.
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
———————– ———————– ———————– ———————– ———————– ———————–
NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Thursday Jan. 23
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Thursday:
A secret audit by the Baltimore City government revealed the high error rate of Charm City's troubled speed camera program, angering City Council members, who demanded to know why the mayor kept the audit a secret for so long.
News of the audit — first reported Wednesday night by Luke Broadwater and Scott Calvert of the Baltimore Sun — angered City Council members, who asked why the Rawlings-Blake Administration didn’t reveal the high error rate months ago and take steps to fully refund fines paid by motorists.
“It’s outrageous. No, it’s beyond outrageous,” declared Councilman
Carl Stokes, who has been calling on the city to release the audit.
“Who ever heard of a secret audit? We should have told the public immediately. We should have declared complete amnesty, that all of the tickets were null and void. If anybody paid, they should be paid back.”
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• RUPPERSBERGER DECIDES AGAINST RUN FOR GOVERNOR
The six-term Second District congressman said he will instead “run for re-election as a member of the House of Representatives to continue my work on behalf of my district and my country.” At the same time, Sixth District Congressman John Delaney, who unseated longtime Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett just two years ago, is fueling speculation he will enter the race this year for the Democratic nomination for governor.
Read More at: Maryland Daily Record | Baltimore Sun
• KITTLEMAN, ZIRKIN CO-SPONSOR MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZATION BILL
The bill would make possessing less than 10 grams of pot a civil, rather than criminal, offense. Anyone caught with a small amount of marijuana would be issued a citation rather than being required to go to court. In all, seven different marijuana legalization bills have been proposed, with more on the way.
Read More at: Howard County Times | WBAL-TV (Channel 11)
• BALTIMORE CO. COUNCIL, EXECUTIVE TO GET RAISES
Annual salaries for council members will increase $8,500 to $62,500, as County Executive Kevin Kamenetz’s pay jumps $25,000 to an annual salary of $175,000.
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• MINAS ART GALLERY TO CLOSE AFTER 22 YEARS
The iconic gallery, which opened in Fells Point in 1992, then moved to The Avenue in Hampden 12 years later, is up for sale to a nearby, unnamed antiques dealer and will close soon if an arrangement is not worked out.
Read More at: Baltimore Messenger
———————– ———————– ———————– ———————– ———————– ———————–
NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Wednesday Jan. 22
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late- breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Wednesday:
Making college football history, Baltimore-based sports apparel giant Under Armour signed an ex- clusive 10-year deal with University of Notre Dame.
Ending its 17-year relationship with Adidas, the Indiana university said on Tuesday the contract with Baltimore- based Under Armour is “the largest deal of its kind in the history of college athletics.” Terms of the deal were not released.
Read More at: Maryland Daily Record
• SNOW, BITTER COLD HITS MARYLAND
The snow began in Baltimore around 9 a.m. Tuesday and continued throughout the day, measuring four inches at BWI in the evening but accumulating in some areas up to 10 inches, followed after nightfall by bitter cold and below-normal temperatures.
Read More at: WBAL-TV (Channel 11)
• MD. SENATE PASSES EMERGENCY HEALTH BENEFIT OPTION
Designed to help people stuck without insurance because of the state’s glitch-ridden health exchange, the emergency proposal now moves to the House of Delegates.
Read More at: WBAL-Radio (1090AM)
• MOUNT VERNON CONCERTS MOVING TO CANTON
The First Thursdays free concert series organized by Towson University’s public radio station WTMD has been held in Mount Vernon for more than a decade but in Summer 2014 will move to Canton.
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• HOGAN MAKES IT OFFICIAL: HE’S RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR
The former Erhlich cabinet secretary, a 57-year-old Republican, said, “One thing is clear: we can’t change Maryland without changing governors. So after serious reflection, I have decided to answer the call, and step up to this challenge.” The snowstorm however caused him to postpone a planned rally to kick off his candidacy. The Anne Arundel County real estate broker is the son of former Maryland congressman Larry Hogan Sr., the only Republican to have served as Prince George’s County executive.
Read More at: WBFF Fox45-TV
———————– ———————– ———————– ———————– ———————– ———————–
NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS — For Tuesday Jan. 21
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY — IN BRIEF
A Voice of Baltimore compendium, local and beyond. Your weekday morning look (with links) at late-breaking news, current events, and what will be talked about wherever you may go on Tuesday:
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., shown here on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. delivering his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in August 1963, was honored Mon- day in West Baltimore with a parade down MLK Boulevard.
• MLK-DAY ACTIVITIES HONOR KING’S LEGACY
A parade down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and activities at the Walters Art Museum highlighted the day’s events in Baltimore.
Read More at: Baltimore Sun
• BALTIMORE TO HIRE 300 NEW COPS
In an interview with WJZ-TV, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts admitted there are not enough officers to deal with crime in Mary- land’s largest city and said he is committed to changing that.
Read More at: WJZ-TV (Channel 13)
• MEDICAID PACKETS MAILED
TO WRONG ADDRESSES
Maryland State officials and the contractor who developed the exchange pointed the finger of blame at each other.
Read More at: WBAL-TV (Channel 11)
• O’MALLEY LEGISLATIVE AGENDA SET FOR RELEASE
A main focus will be to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 by 2016.
Read More at: WBFF Fox45-TV
• HOWARD CO. LAUNCHES HEALTH INITIATIVE
The goal: To decrease the availability of sugary drinks while increasing the affordability of fruits and vegetables, physical activity and access to affordable health care.
Read More at: Howard County Times
Click here to return to top of page
