Governor Martin O’Malley is in the midst of a weeklong “trade and investment mission” in Europe. O’Malley comes under fire for lobbying the EPA to ease a clean-fuel requirement for Carnival Cruise Lines. Baltimore sees its 100th homicide of the year. The city’s police department creates a new special advisory council to improve its relations with the LGBT community. A look at the stormwater fees being debated in the Baltimore City Council. The beginning of a new series on Baltimore’s vacant properties. And much more.
O’Malley’s Europe Trip: Governor Martin O’Malley is in Europe this week; the Washington Post reportsthat he’s on what’s being billed as a “trade and investment mission.” He’s now in France forthefirst leg of his trip; the second leg takes him to Ireland. The Baltimore Sun notes that this is O’Malley’s third trip overseas this year.
O’Malley Seeks EPA Waiver For Carnival: Governor O’Malley is coming under criticism from environmental groups, for asking the Environmental Protection Agency to ease a clean-fuel requirement for Carnival Cruise Lines. The Baltimore Sun reports that O’Malley has called the EPA twice to ask for a waiver for Carnival from a regulation that would require big ocean-going ships to use cleaner-burning fuel. The requirement is designed to reduce emissions of particulate and smog-forming pollution from shipping; the EPA says it could prevent between 55-hundred and 14-thousand premature deaths by the year 2020. But Carnival has said that it might cancel its weekly cruises from Baltimore if the requirement goes into effect.
Baltimore’s 100th Homicide Of 2013: Baltimore recorded its 100th homicide of the year over the weekend.The Baltimore Sun reports that the murder occurred on Saturday night; the 33-year-old victim was found in the city's South Hilton neighborhood, where he had been apparently cut by an assailant several times. Last year, Baltimore saw its 100th murder on June 20th – four days later than this year’s milestone was reached.
Baltimore Police Create LGBT Advisory Council: The Baltimore City Police Department has created a new special advisory council to improve its relations with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The panel’s creation was announced on Friday, just before day before the weekend’s annual Baltimore Pride event. The Baltimore Sun reportsthat the 10-member panel includes activists, civil rights advocates and attorneys.
Baltimore Pools Now Open: All of Baltimore’s swimming pools are now open. City officials say there could be as many as 350-thousand pool users this year. Many pools will remain open though September 2nd. WJZ has more.
“Vacant Opportunities”: When Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake began her first full term in office in 2011, she announced a goal of attracting 10-thousand families to the city over 10 years. Part of her strategy to do that is to eliminate the thousands of vacant houses that blight some city neighborhoods… either by demolition, or by rehabilitation. Today, WYPR’s Kenneth Burns begins a new series “Vacant Opportunities”– examining the depth of the problem of vacant houses in Baltimore and looking at the Mayor’s efforts to remedy it.
Stormwater Fees: WYPR's Fraser Smith and Scott Calvert of the Baltimore Sun talk about how the City Council is putting together its stormwater fee structure, which is due July 1. It’s today’s edition of Inside Maryland Politics.
Low-Income Student Performance: Maryland’s schools have made significant progress in improving the academic performance of low income students over the past few years… and the Baltimore Sun saysa new report shows that our state’s low-income students have made greater strides than any others in the nation. The analysis was done by the Washington-based think tank “Education Sector.” It analyzed the results of the standardized tests known as “The Nation’s Report Card.” And that analysis showed that among students who receive free and reduced lunch, math and reading scores doubled between the years 2003 and 2011 for Maryland’s fourth and eighth graders.
Possible Raises For AA School Employees: The ten-thousand employees of Anne Arundel County Public Schools might be voted a raise this week. The Capital Gazette says, if approved, the raises would be the first in almost four years.
AA Council To Hold Hearing On Pension Overpayments: The Anne Arundel County Council is considering a bill that would forbid the county from taking back an employee’s pension benefits – if the county mistakenly overpaid those benefits. The Capital Gazette says such overpayments have occurred more than a dozen times in recent years. The County Council will hold a public hearing on the bill today.
Baltimore’s Chesapeake Restaurant Is Back: After being closed for more than two decades, Baltimore’s famed Chesapeake Restaurant has reopened. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake tells the Baltimore Sun that it's great to have a restaurant that has been closed since the first Bush presidency back open for business.
Foreman Wolf Restaurant To Open In Columbia: Howard County Executive Ken Ulman says the revitalization of downtown Columbia is gaining momentum. Ulman says the Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group has announced plans for a new restaurant on Columbia's lakefront. The group’s Tony Foreman tells the Baltimore Sun that the company's sixth location would likely open before the end of the year, creating as many as 70 jobs in Columbia.
Baltimore Baseball: The Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox 6 to 3 yesterday. Tonight, the O’s will be in Detroit, for a game against the Tigers.