blognetnews.com
» Maryland

Delusional Duck

  • 34,000 troops to be sent to Afghanistan

    President Obama will outline Tuesday his intention to send an additional 34,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, according to U.S. officials and diplomatic sources briefed Monday as Obama began informing allies of his plan. The new deployments, along with 22,000 troops he authorized early this year, would bring the total U.S. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:28pm EST

  • Proposed I-80 tolls crucial to road projects

    If Pennsylvania succeeds in adding tolls to I-80, it would close a favorite escape route from the Pennsylvania Turnpike: No longer would motorists or truckers be able to cross the state without paying a toll. And that would make Pennsylvania one of the few states without a free interstate across it. [...] Since [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:21pm EST

  • Pay to Play, Fairfax High School Athletes May Face Fees

    Pressure from angry Fairfax County parents who don’t want to see teachers or programs cut has school officials looking for more ways to raise money. That’s led them to the idea that high school athletes could be required to pay to play. The School Board is looking into charging a [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:12pm EST

  • Deadlines for mailing gifts fast approaching

    Holiday shoppers who need to mail gifts this year better get moving—some of the deadlines are fast approaching. This coming Friday (Dec. 4) is the deadline for sending parcels to military personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. Postal Service deadline for parcel post is Dec. 16; First Class and [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:05pm EST

  • Movin’ up? Nope, young adults moving back in with mom and dad as job prospects dwindle

    Faced with limited job options, many young adults are turning to an old standby to weather the recession: moving back in with mom and dad. Nearly 1 in 7 parents with grown children say they had a “boomerang kid” move back home in the past year, according to a study released [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:59pm EST

  • State juvenile justice watchdog cites ‘alarming’ recidivism rate

    Maryland’s flagship secure treatment center for troubled youths has an “alarming” recidivism rate, the state’s juvenile justice watchdog group said in a report released Monday. The Maryland Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit evaluated how often youths at the Victor Cullen Center in Sabillasville continue to have run-ins with the law after they [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:57pm EST

  • Briefing: Proposed By-Laws and Membership of Monument Commission

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.12 [12:45 p.m.] Briefing: Proposed By-Laws and Membership of Monument Commission (Mr. Roy Hancock, Assistant to the County Administrator) Revised Monument Commission bylaws CLEAN.pdf Revised Suggested Membership Categories for Monument Commission.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:45pm EST

  • St. Mary’s Caring Soup Kitchen Goes Above and Beyond for Thanksgiving

    The holiday season is the time when most people think about helping those less fortunate. That is evident at street corners and shopping centers all over the area. However, there are organizations that work to help the needy all year round; working tirelessly and for the most part silently helping [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:41pm EST

  • Armed Robbery in Northern Calvert

    Calvert County Sheriffs are currently investigating a possible armed robbery and assault at both the Lee Funeral Home in Owings and the Suntrust Bank in Dunkirk. Deputies and rescue crews remain on the scene investigating the circumstances surrounding these events. Preliminary investigation revealed two suspects entered the Lee Funeral home and [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:39pm EST

  • Armed Robbery in Northern Calvert

    Calvert County Sheriffs are currently investigating a possible armed robbery and assault at both the Lee Funeral Home in Owings and the Suntrust Bank in Dunkirk. Deputies and rescue crews remain on the scene investigating the circumstances surrounding these events. Preliminary investigation revealed two suspects entered the Lee Funeral home and [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:39pm EST

  • Hoyer to Hold Town Hall via Telephone Monday Evening

    Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-5th) will hold a telephone town hall on Monday, November 30th, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., focusing on Congress’ efforts to build a lasting economic recovery that strengthens middle-class families, small businesses and our nation’s long-term fiscal future. Citizens living in Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District (Calvert, [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:32pm EST

  • Charles School System Staff Honored by Jaycees for Work with Children

    Three Charles County Public Schools staff members, Milton M. Somers Middle School art teacher Rick Ivanac, William A. Diggs Elementary School special education teacher Patricia Stokes and Westlake High School juvenile resource officer Paul Anderson were honored Oct. 28 with Greater Waldorf Jaycees Distinguished Service Awards. Ivanac received the award [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:31pm EST

  • St. Charles to Become International Model Green City

    ST. CHARLES, Md., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/—American Community Properties Trust (ACPT) (NYSE Amex: APO) launched an initiative today that will make St. Charles, Maryland, its flagship 9,100 acre planned community in Charles County, the most comprehensive smart green community development project in the United States today. The project includes 4,000 undeveloped [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:25pm EST

  • So. Md. Barbecue Sauces Hit Regional Retail Shelves

    Decades of hard work and hickory smoke begin to pay off in a big way for a family whose business began in a cramped trailer When barbecue restaurant proprietor Walter “Lefty” Nash Sr., left Washington, Ga., for the Washington, D.C., area nearly 50 years ago, barbecue was the furthest thing [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:19pm EST

  • Maryland’s Largest Solar Farm Planned for Charles County

    CPV Renewable Energy Company (CPV REC) today announced plans for a 10 megawatt (MW) solar farm in southern Maryland to be co-located with the proposed natural gas combined-cycle CPV St. Charles Energy Center. The announcement was made today as part of American Community Properties Trust (ACPT) 9,100 acre planned “Model [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:16pm EST

  • Constellation Energy buys W.Md. wind power project

    Constellation Energy says it has agreed to buy a wind power project under development in western Maryland. Constellation announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with Clipper Windpower Inc. to acquire the Criterion wind project in Garrett County. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 3:12pm EST

  • Briefing: Revised By-Laws of Board of Electrical Examiners

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.11 [12:30 p.m.] Briefing: Revised By-Laws of Board of Electrical Examiners (Mr. Chuck Beall, Planning & Growth Management/Mr. Greg Taylor, Chairman) Electrical Examiners Rules_Regulations with Changes.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:19am EST

  • Briefing: Revised By-Laws of Board of Electrical Examiners

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.11 [12:30 p.m.] Briefing: Revised By-Laws of Board of Electrical Examiners (Mr. Chuck Beall, Planning & Growth Management/Mr. Greg Taylor, Chairman) Electrical Examiners Rules_Regulations with Changes.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:19am EST

  • FY2010 Budget Transfer Request, $137,245, Community Services, Transportation Grants

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.08 [11:15 a.m.] County Business 5) FY2010 Budget Transfer Request, $137,245, Community Services, Transportation Grants (Ms. Deborah Hudson, Fiscal & Administrative Services) FY10 BTR Comm Services 137245.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:14am EST

  • FY2010 Budget Transfer Request, $137,245, Community Services, Transportation Grants

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.08 [11:15 a.m.] County Business 5) FY2010 Budget Transfer Request, $137,245, Community Services, Transportation Grants (Ms. Deborah Hudson, Fiscal & Administrative Services) FY10 BTR Comm Services 137245.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:14am EST

  • FY2010 Budget Amendment Increase, $7,230

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.07 [11:15 a.m.] County Business 4) FY2010 Budget Amendment Increase, $7,230, Fiscal & Administrative Services, S. Maryland Criminal Justice Academy (Ms. Deborah Hudson, Fiscal & Administrative Services) FY10 BAI Sheriff 7230.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:11am EST

  • FY2010 Budget Amendment Increase, $7,230

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.07 [11:15 a.m.] County Business 4) FY2010 Budget Amendment Increase, $7,230, Fiscal & Administrative Services, S. Maryland Criminal Justice Academy (Ms. Deborah Hudson, Fiscal & Administrative Services) FY10 BAI Sheriff 7230.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:11am EST

  • Info Sought on Credit Card Theft Suspects

    On Sept. 11, unknown suspect(s) used a stolen credit card at the Wal-Mart store in Prince Frederick.  These pictures are of the suspect(s) trying to use the credit cards at the Food Lion in Charlotte Hall in St. Mary’s County. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:07am EST

  • Info Sought on Credit Card Theft Suspects

    On Sept. 11, unknown suspect(s) used a stolen credit card at the Wal-Mart store in Prince Frederick.  These pictures are of the suspect(s) trying to use the credit cards at the Food Lion in Charlotte Hall in St. Mary’s County. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:07am EST

  • Debate on Creating Jobs, Without Raising Deficit

    As Democrats renew their push to create jobs, they are at odds over the timing, cost and scope of additional measures, with the White House’s concern about high budget deficits pitted against the eagerness of many in Congress to spur hiring before next year’s elections. After months in which his focus [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:02am EST

  • Debate on Creating Jobs, Without Raising Deficit

    As Democrats renew their push to create jobs, they are at odds over the timing, cost and scope of additional measures, with the White House’s concern about high budget deficits pitted against the eagerness of many in Congress to spur hiring before next year’s elections. After months in which his focus [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 9:02am EST

  • Va. to borrow $1.26 billion for depleted unemployment funds

    As Virginia wrestles with ways to replenish its depleted fund for unemployment benefits, Hampton Roads employers expressed concern about the impact that higher unemployment taxes could have on the health of their businesses. The sorts of tax increases described by the Virginia Employment Commission earlier this fall may be difficult for [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:46am EST

  • Va. to borrow $1.26 billion for depleted unemployment funds

    As Virginia wrestles with ways to replenish its depleted fund for unemployment benefits, Hampton Roads employers expressed concern about the impact that higher unemployment taxes could have on the health of their businesses. The sorts of tax increases described by the Virginia Employment Commission earlier this fall may be difficult for [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:46am EST

  • Rush is on for stimulus’s high-speed rail dollars

    The prospect of bullet trains whisking travelers from city to city at more than 200 miles an hour, stalled for years in America’s car-loving culture, should finally get a boost this winter. That’s when the Federal Railroad Administration will start handing out $8 billion in economic stimulus money, according to spokesman [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:40am EST

  • Rush is on for stimulus’s high-speed rail dollars

    The prospect of bullet trains whisking travelers from city to city at more than 200 miles an hour, stalled for years in America’s car-loving culture, should finally get a boost this winter. That’s when the Federal Railroad Administration will start handing out $8 billion in economic stimulus money, according to spokesman [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:40am EST

  • Unemployed U.S.-born workers seek day-labor jobs

    Growing ranks of U.S. citizens are heading to street corners and home improvement store parking lots to find day-labor work usually done by illegal immigrants. The trend is most pronounced in regions where hot construction markets have collapsed, says Abel Valenzuela Jr., a professor of urban planning at the University [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:36am EST

  • Unemployed U.S.-born workers seek day-labor jobs

    Growing ranks of U.S. citizens are heading to street corners and home improvement store parking lots to find day-labor work usually done by illegal immigrants. The trend is most pronounced in regions where hot construction markets have collapsed, says Abel Valenzuela Jr., a professor of urban planning at the University [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:36am EST

  • Facing new Loudoun traffic circles, some find it hard to shift gears

    Two months after four roundabouts opened to traffic, some drivers still don’t understand how to maneuver through the new traffic pattern at routes 50 and 15 at Gilberts Corner, the latest attempt to ease worsening congestion on Washington’s periphery. [...] So while many locals adopt a wait-and-see approach to the new [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:27am EST

  • Facing new Loudoun traffic circles, some find it hard to shift gears

    Two months after four roundabouts opened to traffic, some drivers still don’t understand how to maneuver through the new traffic pattern at routes 50 and 15 at Gilberts Corner, the latest attempt to ease worsening congestion on Washington’s periphery. [...] So while many locals adopt a wait-and-see approach to the new [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:27am EST

  • Remaking St. Charles in a shade of green

    First came the “green” jobs, green buildings and green energy. Now Southern Maryland will get a green city, where residents will live in energy-saving homes, shop in energy-saving stores and walk under energy-saving streetlights as a new plant next door generates carbon-friendly solar power. This is the vision to revitalize [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:11am EST

  • Remaking St. Charles in a shade of green

    First came the “green” jobs, green buildings and green energy. Now Southern Maryland will get a green city, where residents will live in energy-saving homes, shop in energy-saving stores and walk under energy-saving streetlights as a new plant next door generates carbon-friendly solar power. This is the vision to revitalize [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:11am EST

  • For-profit colleges haul in gov’t aid

    Students aren’t the only ones benefiting from the billions of new dollars Washington is spending on college aid for the poor. An Associated Press analysis shows surging proportions of both low-income students and the recently boosted government money that follows them are ending up at for-profit schools, from local career colleges [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:07am EST

  • More holiday cards are debit; be careful how you use them

    When consumers step up to the cash register to pay for their holiday purchases this year, a large percentage will pay with a debit card. Debit cards have overtaken credit cards and other noncash methods as the payment of choice among consumers. Visa, the global payments technology company, said debit cards passed [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:03am EST

  • Top hospitals dispute cost rankings

    Leaders of Maryland’s renowned teaching hospitals are feeling vulnerable as the push for a health care overhaul focuses attention on the tremendous differences in hospital costs around the country. Urban academic medical centers such as top-ranked Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland, with its world-class trauma center, are more [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 7:59am EST

  • Financial literacy gains traction as part of high school curriculum

    Comptroller Peter Franchot has been going back to high school as part of his push for requiring that seniors take a course in financial literacy in order to graduate. The proposal for a graduation requirement has met with resistance from lawmakers and educators who are wary of imposing curriculum mandates, but [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 7:55am EST

  • Open Thread - November 30, 2009

    [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 30, 2009, 5:00am EST

  • Slump lets Florida delay hard choices on water—for now

    Florida’s water glass is almost empty. As the state’s population explosion pushed into this decade, growing communities panicked over their worsening thirst. Authorities banned lawn sprinkling on all but one day a week, utilities cooperated in hopes of building costly waterworks and everybody resorted to legal fighting over the last drops. Most [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 1:31pm EST

  • Supreme Court to take up anti-corruption law

    Some say a ruling against the ban on ‘honest services fraud’ would take away one of the best weapons against public officials who use their positions to gain money, gifts or favors.The nation’s most potent law against public corruption is in danger of being scaled back or struck down by [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 1:21pm EST

  • Data point to Toyota’s throttles, not floor mats

    Eric Weiss was stopped at a busy Long Beach intersection last month when he said his 2008 Toyota Tacoma pickup unexpectedly started accelerating, forcing him to stand on the brakes to keep the bucking truck from plowing into oncoming cars. [...] But Weiss is convinced his incident wasn’t caused by a floor [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 1:18pm EST

  • Administration plans new efforts on foreclosures

    The Obama administration, battling a foreclosure crisis that shows no signs of relenting, will step up pressure on mortgage companies to do more to help people remain in their homes, officials said Saturday. The administration will announce its expanded program on Monday, Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly said. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 8:28am EST

  • FY2010 Budget Transfer Request, $58,020, Utilities, Capital Improvement Project

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.06 [11:10 a.m.] County Business 3) FY2010 Budget Transfer Request, $58,020, Utilities, Capital Improvement Project (Ms. Deborah Hudson, Fiscal & Administrative Services) FY10 BTR Utilities 58020.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 8:17am EST

  • Salary Survey of Maryland County Governments

    NEW! Fiscal Year 2010 [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 8:10am EST

  • Officials seeking study of charging vehicles for trips

    Washington-area drivers could be asked to pay 15 cents per mile if the region becomes the first major metropolitan area in the country to change how it pays for roads. This month, regional transportation officials submitted a proposal for a federal grant to study whether the Washington area should serve as [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 7:53am EST

  • Phosphate phaseout has dishwasher soap makers scrambling for an alternative

    Automatic dishwasher detergents with phosphates have handled a lot of dirty plates over the years, but new laws aimed at making the soaps easier on the environment are putting that to an end, and the industry hasn’t been this agitated in years. The Procter & Gamble research team has been piling [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 7:44am EST

  • Possible tax has medical devise firms up in arms

    Nestled in the 2,000-page Congressional health reform bills and largely overlooked amid high-profile debates about insurers and hospitals is a tax that is causing consternation in the growing medical device industry. In their proposals, the House of Representatives and Senate took different routes to raise about $1 trillion over 10 years [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 7:41am EST

  • Va. Farm Bureau takes aim at new bay rules

    Virginia’s largest agricultural advocacy group is rallying against a proposed clean-up plan for the Chesapeake Bay, contending the new federal regulations could put small farmers out of business. The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation begins its annual convention Monday in Richmond, and the proposed regulations are likely to be the buzz among [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 7:21am EST

  • Open Thread - Novembe 29, 2009

    “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. “—Ralph Waldo Emerson [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 7:00am EST

  • Open Thread - November 29, 2009

    “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. “—Ralph Waldo Emerson [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 7:00am EST

  • Algebra II test indicates 15% ready for college

    1,295 Md. students among 100,000 tested nationally As Maryland attempts to increase the rigor of math education, the first results of an Algebra II test given to a small number of students in the state show less than one in five are prepared for entry-level college courses. Fifteen states, including Maryland, joined [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 6:53am EST

  • Legislative fight brews on ‘innocence’ law

    A battle is brewing between Maryland’s 24 state’s attorneys and the legislature over a law that went into effect last month, allowing court hearings for people convicted of any level crime - at any time - who claim to have fresh exculpatory evidence. Both sides agree the new law, meant [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 6:51am EST

  • Owings soccer field ordered to close

    facility lacks proper zoning Calvert says permits, inspections also neededCalvert Sports Warehouse, an indoor soccer field in Owings, received a citation for $500 and was told to shut down. The year-old business serves about 600 youth indoor soccer players, or futsal players, and hosts parties, field hockey and lacrosse, among [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 6:48am EST

  • Calvert high school turns them loose at lunch

    It’s lunchtime at Patuxent High School in Southern Maryland, but it looks and sounds more like recess. Students lounge in hallways and classrooms with sack lunches and trays of food. They play Frisbee, get dating advice from teachers, hold club meetings, cram for afternoon quizzes, play video games or catch [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 29, 2009, 6:39am EST

  • Approval of County’s Professional Services Contract for Financial Advisor

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.05 [11:10 a.m.] County Business 2) Approval of County’s Professional Services Contract for Financial Advisor (Ms. Deborah Hudson, Fiscal & Administrative Services) Prof Services Contract Davenport.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:29pm EST

  • Lease Signing Ceremony: Old Fisherman’s Field, Cobb Island

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1.03 [11:00 a.m.] Lease Signing Ceremony: Old Fisherman’s Field, Cobb Island (Ms. Charlotte Sampson, Cobb Island Citizens Association) CICA lease.pdf [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:26pm EST

  • Md. man’s 2nd ‘wife’ aroused suspicion

    Woman was abducted and ordered to co-sign loan, authorities sayA Waldorf man seeking a loan at a St. Mary’s County bank kidnapped a woman and forced her to pose as his wife and co-sign for the loan, authorities said. But authorities said the man’s plan had a serious flaw. Just [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:15pm EST

  • Consumers face new pain as credit card firms jack up rates

    Consumers are facing skyrocketing interest rates, disappearing frequent flier miles and new purchasing fees as credit card companies work to milk their customers’ cash before federal legislation clamps down on them early next year. [...] In response, Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., said she planned to offer a bill to cap credit card [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:07pm EST

  • Recession sends older Americans to food pantries

    [...] The number of seniors living alone who seek help from food pantries in the U.S. increased 81 percent to 408,000 in 2008, compared to 225,000 in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Overall, 4.7 million households used American food pantries in 2008, compared to about 3.7 million in [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:03pm EST

  • Woman seeking residents’ support for sports complex

    Commissioner Collins is offering advice on plansCan a community effort conquer a daunting hurdle set by the recession? That’s the question Charles County resident Dottery Washington is hoping will be answered in the affirmative when she’s holding a check for $5.6 million to start construction on a sportplex and learning center [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 6:36pm EST

  • BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS - AGENDA SUMMARY

    Meeting Date: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 3:18pm EST

  • Sheriff announces run for county executive

    Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson formally announced today that he plans to run for county executive next year. [...] Jackson said he can use his leadership skills to reform the county government, as well. “We need to get back to basics on everything,” said Jackson, who said making services more accessible for [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 3:14pm EST

  • Federal help needed to shore up Medicaid

    [...] Without an extension of federal aid for the state-administered health benefits for the poor, Maryland could be forced to scale back the health coverage expansion that began in 2008, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Thomas McLain Middleton said earlier this month. “I think that you’ll hear from the presiding officers, the leadership, [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 3:11pm EST

  • U.S. delays Internet gambling ban

    The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are giving U.S. financial institutions an additional six months to comply with regulations designed to ban Internet gambling. The two agencies said Friday that the new rules, which were to take effect on Dec. 1, would be delayed until June 1 of next year. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:42am EST

  • Md. tax payments to localities plunge

    State income tax payments to local governments fell sharply in November, with Baltimore and Montgomery counties and some jurisdictions on the Eastern Shore recording drastic declines, according to a new report from the Maryland comptroller’s office. Income taxes are the second-largest source of money, after property taxes, for local governments, which [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:39am EST

  • Md. improves data collection to track students’ performance

    Maryland has made significant progress in assembling an educational data system that would allow the state to track every student’s experience through the public school system from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary education. In a report released this week, the Data Quality Campaign said that Maryland, which was behind 48 other states in [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:37am EST

  • Open Thread - November 28, 2009

    No longer forward nor behind I look in hope or fear; But, grateful, take the good I find, The best of now and here. ~John Greenleaf Whittier [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:33am EST

  • Heads in the Sand

    Commentary by Ron Miller Last week, I attended the annual Legislative Evening sponsored by the League of Women Voters and hosted at the Calvert Pines Senior Center. I was there to speak on behalf of the Calvert County Republican Central Committee, and my statement can be found here. I wasn’t [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:22am EST

  • Foundation Struggles for Funding to Send Christmas Trees to Soldiers

    By JAMES B. HALE Each of the past three years, James Ward has sent 5,000 miniature Christmas trees to soldiers overseas, but this year he might have to leave thousands empty-handed. Ward said he has had trouble finding $25 donations for the two-foot tall trees that come complete with lights, [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:19am EST

  • Finding Hope in the Bay’s Small Successes

    By CATHERINE KRIKSTAN Algae blooms, dead zones and intersex fish, just three small examples of the ongoing bad news about the Chesapeake Bay. But in the midst of these watershed woes, one professor has held onto a sense of cautious optimism when it comes to restoring the bay’s resources. And [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:16am EST

  • Cash Crop Hits the Roof for Harford County Farm

    [...] The growth of the farm’s business—which has seen as much as a 70 percent rise in sales in the last five years, according to co-owner Ed Snodgrass—reflects a growing national interest in green roofs. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a nonprofit working to promote green roofs in North America, reported [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:14am EST

  • Secondary PTSD Warrants Discussion After Fort Hood Massacre

    By DAVID M. JOHNSON The case of a military psychiatrist accused of 13 deaths at Fort Hood has prompted mental health professionals to examine whether those who treat patients with post traumatic stress disorder occasionally experience “secondary” symptoms of the affliction. Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was trained [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:13am EST

  • Salisbury U. Contemplates Scrapping SATs Permanently

    By LAURA GURFEIN Salisbury University soon may permanently discard the standardized test admission requirement for well-qualified students, becoming the first public university in Maryland to do so. Test-optional college admission is part of a growing national trend to de-emphasize standardized tests, like the SAT and ACT, in favor of grade [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 28, 2009, 7:11am EST

  • Retail food prices rising more slowly than expected

    Retail food prices in the United States are rising at a slower pace than expected a month ago as the recession slows demand for pork and fresh produce, the government said this week. Food costs will rise by 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent this year, which is less than the estimate [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 7:41pm EST

  • Health bills would raise taxes before changes start

    Americans could pay billions of dollars more in new taxes for a few years before they are likely to see significant change in the nation’s health-care system under legislation that Congress is considering. Some analysts said that was not necessarily bad. Delaying major health-care changes until at least 2013, as the [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 7:39pm EST

  • A U.S. mine debate centers on water, jobs

    Standing on the marshy ground at Eagle Rock in the remote woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, it’s hard to imagine that beneath one’s feet is a lump of nickel worth billions of dollars. “This is where the money is,” said Chauncey Moran, vice chairman of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve conservation [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 7:31pm EST

  • LTE: Jobs or unemployment insurance?

    With the economy still struggling and unemployment levels high, we ask which should concern Marylanders the most: (a) The balance in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund; or (b) jobs? Prompting us to write this article is a state labor department letter imposing a steep tax hike. Much was said about [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 7:26pm EST

  • Criminal Charges For Dinner Crashers?

    The Secret Service says it’s looking at possible criminal charges against a Virginia couple who crashed a White House dinner. Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin says the agency is moving closer to beginning a criminal investigation. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 4:05pm EST

  • Food stamps estimate raises debate over ‘poverty’

    The estimate was startling, and made headlines around the country: Almost half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some time during childhood. How could it be true in the land of plenty, in the midst of an obesity epidemic, skeptics wondered. Surprisingly, many statisticians and policy analysts say [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 4:01pm EST

  • Car insurance scofflaws raise health mandate doubt

    Thousands of drivers on the nation’s roads don’t carry auto insurance, despite laws in all but two states requiring it. Critics of President Barack Obama’s health overhaul plan ask: What are the chances scofflaws will treat a requirement to carry health insurance any differently? Nearly 40 years of car insurance mandates [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 3:56pm EST

  • A new kind of company, a new challenge for feds

    If Comcast, NBC merge, would one firm control too much of the media?One is a giant of the entertainment world—a tangle of television networks, a film studio and a stable of hit shows. The other is a cable colossus, the nation’s largest provider of cable TV and Internet access. Together, [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 3:48pm EST

  • Researchers trying to protect pregnant drivers

    Women are driving longer into their pregnancies — often saving maternity leave until after giving birth — a lifestyle change that is leading to predictions of an increase in fetal deaths in car crashes. Researchers aware of the trends are working on computer models to help develop pregnancy-friendly safety devices. Ford [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 3:45pm EST

  • Maryland Woman Thankful Just to Be Alive

    Paramedics pay Thanksgiving visit to woman they saved A woman from Clinton, Md., has more for which to be thankful than ever this holiday. Like her life and the life of her unborn son. Sade Davis, 23, essentially drowned about a month ago, but paramedics managed to bring her back to life [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 12:56pm EST

  • Police conducting Facebook drinking stings

    We know Facebook has helped police solve all sorts of crimes, from burglary to vandalism. But did you know it’s also being used to fight a far more pernicious crime? No, not child sex abuse. Underage drinking. [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 9:52am EST

  • NAACP seeks volunteers to hand out fliers on rapes

    The Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is asking for volunteers, and particularly men, to help distribute reward fliers on Saturday following a recent string of rapes in the city. “This could be our mother, sister, daughter, grandmother, niece, aunt - you get the [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 9:41am EST

  • ‘Cash for Clunkers,’ household edition

    In U.S. history, there may have been no better time to own a junk car, a rattling old fridge and a leaking dishwasher. On the heels of its ballyhooed “Cash for Clunkers” program for cars, the federal government is expected to finalize details in the coming weeks of another tax-supported [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 9:01am EST

  • Briefing/Update: Waterfront Property Development

    Board Docs - Charles County Commissioners’ Meeting - Tuesday, December 1, 2009   1.17 [2:30 p.m.] Old Business: 2) Briefing/Update: Waterfront Property Development (Mr. Steve Ball, Planning Director/Ms. Cathy Thompson, Community Planning Program Manager) Waterfront Concepts [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:56am EST

  • Technology enthusiast helps dozens

    Eric Zimmerman, 21, has a Facebook account, a MySpace account and a cell phone. He also has Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism which causes sufferers to lack normal social skills. So when the technology enthusiast realized through working at Best Buddies International after high school that many people with [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:51am EST

  • State to begin testing speed technology

    The State Highway Administration will begin testing next week on a system designed to help motorists move to reduced lanes more safely. A five-week study is planned for the Variable Speed Advisory technology, a traffic management tool that aims to permit lane merges without sudden stops or backups. Using roadside [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:46am EST

  • State to redesign more college courses

    Maryland will expand its efforts to redesign the college courses most responsible for stalling students’ pursuit of degrees, using a $1 million grant from the Lumina Foundation. Lumina, one of the nation’s largest private foundations, hopes to increase the proportion of U.S. adults obtaining two- and four-year degrees from 40 percent [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:43am EST

  • CSM Students Donate 2,159 lbs. to SoMd Food Bank

    Sociology and psychology students in Professor Michael Maloney’s classes on the College of Southern Maryland’s Leonardtown Campus donated 2,159 pounds of food for the Southern Maryland Food Bank—enough to feed 122 families this month [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:37am EST

  • DNR Proposes New Commercial Fishing Penalties

    The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service has proposed a new penalty system to deter natural resource violations, including commercial poaching. The new proposal will impose penalties on first time offenders, based on the severity of their crime, as well as repeat offenders. “These valuable and fragile marine resources are [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:33am EST

  • Today, Black Friday, Launches the Holiday Shopping Season - Or Does it?

    Many people look forward to the Friday following Thanksgiving each year as the best day of the year to go shopping – day of great deals and bargain basement prices. However there often is a big IF that accompanies the glutton of pre-Black Friday advertising. Many stores include lots of fine [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:30am EST

  • Schools agree on oil contract with Georgia company

    Southern Maryland governments and school systems will move into a new contract for heating oil and other fuels starting Dec. 1. The contract is a valuable one and includes an estimated use of more than 2 million gallons of heating oil, 1.4 million gallons of unleaded gas and 685,000 gallons of [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 8:25am EST

  • Open Thread - November 27, 2009

    [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 27, 2009, 5:00am EST

  • Stepping up and stepping in

    La Plata United Methodist Church members witnessed a miracle, their pastor Rev. Bruce Jones said. [...] How to help Neighbors Eager To Serve works to identify and respond to those in need in western Charles County. NETS is in need of donated nonperishable food items to fill Christmas food baskets that will be [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 26, 2009, 5:01am EST

  • Open Thread - November 26, 2009

    [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: November 26, 2009, 5:00am EST
← October 2009 (601 items) December 2009 (441 items) →

Blog Info:
Delusional Duck

» http://delusionalduck.com

Categories

BNN Traffic Index

Alexa: 1,049,453
-59,505

Compete: 499,883
0

Quantcast: 332,013
-9,504

BNN Traffic Index: -23,003

BNN Influence Index

Rank

This week: Not ranked this week.

Last week: Not ranked last week.

12-week Average:

BNN Authority Index

Technorati: 0

Google: 0

BNN Authority Index: No data

» Subscribe to the Delusional Duck feed