Bright ideas: Guide the roads
Rural Baltimore County residents want to make sure guidelines are in place before any of their roads are “improved.”
The details: When suburbia sprawls into traditional farming areas, roads can become battlegrounds. Residents told council members recommendations on guidelines for rural road projects are a “reasonable compromise.” Good. Now, council members, give the recommendations some weight before it is too late.
Smoke not
Carroll Community College banned smoking campuswide.
The details: “Majority rule here is that they support the no-smoking policy,” Vice President of Student Government John Farv said. Minority rights don’t come into play because there is no right to smoke on public property. It’s not exactly a form of free expression. Carroll joins campuses across the state that have either banned smoking or plan to.
Recommended Stories
Happy 50th
The intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview celebrates 50 years of saving lives.
The details: When Dr. Peter Safar, the father of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, started the first interdisciplinary ICU at the then Baltimore City Hospitals, everybody knew it was a good idea. Now thousands of hospitals around the world model their ICUs on Safar’s innovative team approach.
Thanks a billion
Dollars, that is. The University System of Maryland campaign reached $1.03 billion in private donations.
The details: In 2005, the state system of 11 schools and two research institutions set a goal of raising $1.7 billion by 2012. More than 120 donations of $1 million or more show the value we place on higher education. More than $500 million will be for scholarships for students who could not afford it otherwise.
BACVA’s bright idea
The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association is making it even easier for tourists to visit our fair city.
The details: Not only did it create a tool that can calculate the cost of driving to Baltimore, it also included deals for hotels, shopping and attractions. How could someone say no to a visit to beautiful Baltimore when it’s made so easy?
THE BRIGHT BULB
Phelps phlakes. Michael Phelps has signed a deal with Kellogg’s to appear on cereal boxes and promote its products. He said he’s “looking forward to partnering with Kellogg’s … and promoting a healthy active lifestyle.” We all know that kids are the No. 1 cereal eaters around, and anything that helps them go for the healthy Corn Flakes option rather than the sugar cereals sounds great by us. We’ll take a box.
WORST IDEAS: Secret meetings
Maryland’s Board of Public Works has a tradition of holding unannounced pre-meetings with no agendas or minutes.
The details: Comptroller Peter Franchot recently stopped attending the “pre-meetings” after a citizen filed a complaint with the impotent Open Meetings Compliance Board. Gov. Martin O’Malley and Treasurer Nancy Kopp see nothing wrong with it. Deputy Treasurer Howard Freelander says the meetings are “social … just a chance for the board to catch up.” Catch up on what? BPW duties primarily are in managing billions in tax dollars. If that’s what they’re “catching up” on they can do it in public.
Rewarding failure
Constellation Energy executives could get millions of dollars in sale.
The details: OK, so we’re always told the big executives get the big pay and golden parachutes because those are necessary to attract top talent who produce high returns for shareholders and customers. Rewarding performance is fundamental to the free-market system, right? So is punishing failure. Don’t even bother to get into a rage about all the investors ruined, think about the fact that when executives face no personal risk or consequences for their decisions, they make bad decisions. That will destroy capitalism.
Marketing misfire
Johns Hopkins University researchers Wednesday released a report about energy drinks – news flash, they’re bad for you.
The details: Yes, we all know by now that energy drinks are bad for you – but do your kids? The researchers are saying the Food and Drug Administration needs to put clear and prominent warning labels on energy drinks – and stop allowing companies to market them to kids. Why hasn’t the FDA done this already? You don’t need to down a Red Bull to figure that one out.
Falsifying 9/11 injury records
A 9/11 hero at the Pentagon may have falsified injury records to get a big pay-out.
The details: Retired Navy Cmdr. Charles E. Coughlin was a 9/11 hero, saving lives and pulling people out of the debris. However, he later lied about the injuries he received doing it, according to a federal attorney. This supposed lie cost taxpayers $331,000 in claims to a victims’ fund. Apparently the gratitude of the people whose lives Coughlin saved wasn’t enough for him.
National Guard asks for help
At their national conference in Baltimore, the National Guard asked for better benefits and recognition from lawmakers.
The details: They really shouldn’t have to ask. The men and women of the National Guard work hard for America and America should work hard for them. They should have the best benefits the country has to offer, because, let’s face it, they’re the ones we turn to when we have a crisis, and they should be able to focus completely on the task at hand – it’s dangerous for them if they don’t. And we’ll be helping them focus if we make sure they have nothing to worry about on the home front.
OUTRAGE: D-Fence! Flounder
- Who: The Maryland Office of the Public Defender
- What: The office said Thursday it no longer can afford to hire private attorneys (which it did at a cost of $50 an hour) for cases in which there is a conflict of interest.
- Why it’s a bad idea: Prince George’s Circuit Court Chief Administrative Judge William Missouri said it best: “At some point it’s going to generate a lawsuit.” We’re not saying these lawyers aren’t with it enough to overcome a conflict of interest, we’re saying it’s going to generate unnecessary speculation — and probably a lawsuit.
- Why they are doing it: It sounds like they have little choice. The law keeps them from cutting funds for salaries or leases — or really anything else. The only hope they have is to go to the Legislature and beg. Unbecoming, but necessary.
- Where to vent: www.opd.state.md.us/
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Every morning it’s still not a reality to me. … My life has changed. The kids are able to have peace of mind and start looking forward to their futures instead of worrying about what’s going to happen day-to-day.” — Felicia Jackson of Rockville, who’s the proud owner of a new home for her 14 children (10 of whom she adopted after their mother — her sister — died). The home was given by ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” which airs today at 7 p.m.
