Housing Program Used to Break-Up High Poverty Areas in Baltimore to Stop Taking Applicants – The Baltimore Sun
General Assembly Opens With Tumult Over 11th-Hour Resignations – The Baltimore Sun
6 Children Missing After Baltimore Fire – The Baltimore Sun
Maryland Biotech Stocks Falls on Trump’s Tough Talk on Industry – The Baltimore Business Journal
Student Charged with Threat at Anne Arundel High School – cbslocal
Fedex Truck Overturned in Baltimore City – cbslocal
Budget Secretary David Brinkley sparred with Democratic legislators Tuesday over the Hogan administration’s proposal to gain relief from legislative spending mandates that exceed projected revenues.
When satire is really good, you can’t even tell it’s satire. Or at least that’s the best explanation I can come up with for why Annapolis Police Chief Michael Pristoop testified against Maryland marijuana decriminalization bills, claiming that 37 people died of marijuana overdoses on the first day it was legal in Colorado. The problem, which should be glaringly obvious to pretty much everyone? That’s a fake number from an article by the DailyCurrant, a satirical news site that competes with the Onion.
A bottle of Jack Daniels is 80 proof, meaning it contains 40% alcohol by volume. Grain alcohol is 190 proof, which means it’s twice as strong as whiskey. As you can imagine (or may have experienced, back in your wilder days), any drink that’s 95% alcohol can get you very drunk, very quickly. Which is exactly why Maryland lawmakers are trying to ban it.
On January 1, Colorado stores sold their first legal marijuana to eager consumers — and so far, society hasn’t collapsed into chaos. Assuming that the state manages to hold itself together for the rest of the year, it may wind up with $40 million thanks to the hefty (25%) tax on recreational marijuana, the Denver Post estimates. (Colorado has already decided to spend its first chunk of pot money on school construction.) And that kind of revenue is already causing plenty of other states with budget deficits to sit up and take notice.
On Friday, the president of the Maryland Senate, Mike Miller, came right out and said it: “I favor the legalization and taxation of marijuana, with restrictions.” That’s a big deal, since Miller is known for being relatively conservative, as far as Democrats go; as the Daily Beast points out, he opposed both same-sex marriage and abolishing the death penalty.
At midnight last night, the Maryland legislature adjourned after failing to reach agreement on legislation addressing the Court of Appeals ruling that pit bull-type dogs are “inherently dangerous.” That was our last chance to reverse the ruling until lawmakers reconvene in January 2014. Because the politicians squandered the opportunity, Maryland dogs will remain in jeopardy.
We will continue to work with advocates from across the state and will be ready to fight again in January. Please take a minute to send a polite email to your lawmakers, letting them know how disappointed you are that they failed to provide relief to Maryland dog owners.
Thank you again for being a voice for Maryland dogs.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
Do you know what would make Maryland unequivocally the coolest state in the nation? If we became the first state that both allowed gay marriage and legalized marijuana. Ten years ago, this would’ve sounded completely far-fetched, but now that we’ve gotten the marriage equality part taken care of — and now that Washington and Colorado have legalized recreational adult consumption of marijuana — it doesn’t seem quite so impossible.
Just so you know, the tax package was passed in the General Assembly’s special session on Wednesday. The upper 14 percent of income earners in the state will pay more in taxes in 2012.
Maryland already boasts the nation’s highest income per capita (which is $34,849, by the way) , and now it will tie Washington, D.C. for fourth highest tax on the top bracket of earners. The consolation is that we’ve averted the storied “doomsday” budget.
According to The Washington Post, single and joint filers of six-figure incomes will see an increase in their marginal tax rate of anywhere from .25 to .75 percent.
It’s good, it’s bad, I don’t know. But the tax increase didn’t save the budget all by itself. Also passed was a measure to shift more responsibility to cover the costs of teacher pensions to the counties. Maybe next the counties will pass a measure to ask the cities to cover those pensions. And then the cities will just have a bake sale or something.
Baltimore Man Pleads Guilty to Trying to Bomb Recruiting Site – The Christian Science Monitor
Hopkins Unveils $1.1 Billion Patient Towers – BBJ
Dems and Reps Unite to Push Package of Bills – The Baltimore Sun
Ravens Can Have Revenge in 2012! – Bleacher Report
Fewer Students Attending Their First Choice College – NY Times
Why Are There So Many Presidential Debates? – The Washington Post
