Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Governor calls budget package "good for all Marylanders." Republicans say burden to local governments may force county governments to increase taxes.
The Maryland House of Delegates gave final approval Wednesday to a package of three bills that increases taxes on some state residents, shifts part of teacher pensions to local governments and undoes the so-called "doomsday budget." The votes Wednesday afternoon capped the three-day special session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley in order to override more than $500 million in cuts made in a budget passed in early April. The Senate approved the same three bills Tuesday. As part of the package, legislators approved by a vote of 86-51 what amounts to a 50-50 split of teacher pension costs with local governments. The split will be phased in over the next four years beginning July 1 with the new budget year. That bill also includes a doubling of…
The Baltimore Sun released a ranking of Baltimore County high schools with the highest average class sizes.
Eastern Technical High School has some of the most-crowded classrooms in the county, according to a recent report. According to a Baltimore Sun report, Eastern Technical High School ranks 10th in the county with 19.1 percent of classes with 30 or more students. Kenwood ranks ninthin the same category at 19.2 percent. Dulaney High School ranks first with 36.3 percent. Eastern Tech entered this school year with 1,256, about 9 percent less than the school's capacity of 1,380, according to its school's profile. Kenwood has 1,732 students this year with a capacity of 1,918, according to its school profile. The school faced budget cuts last year and will have to reduce its faculty by four teachers next year. This comes after the school system …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The Mavericks and Bayhawks earned a first-round bye in the regional playoffs.
Eastern Tech and Chesapeake both earned top seeds in their respective regions. Eastern Tech, which will play Franklin in the Baltimore County championships Thursday at CCBC Catonsville, earned the top seed in the Class 3A North region. The Mavericks will host the winner of Aberdeen and Patapsco on Monday in a regional quarterfinal game. Chesapeake is the top-seeded team in the Class 2A North region and will host the winner of Randallstown and Douglass on Monday. Also, Kenwood is the eighth seed in the Class 4A North region and will host Blake in an opening round game on Thursday. Following Monday's quarterfinal round, the playoffs will continue with the regional semifinals on Wednesday and regional finals on Friday, May 18. The state …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Plan to fix "Doomsday Budget" includes $247 million in tax increases and elimination of exemptions for single filers earning $100,000 or more and joint filers earning $150,000 or more.
UPDATE (5:59 p.m.)—Some Maryland residents will pay more taxes in the coming year under a plan worked out between Gov. Martin O'Malley and legislative leaders. O'Malley, accompanied by House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, announced the nearly $35.8 billion plan during a Wednesday morning news conference in Annapolis to discuss the upcoming special session. "To leave this budget incomplete, to leave this budget as it stands right now, would damage the very forward motion that all of us, together, have worked so hard to achieve for our state," O'Malley said. "Progress is a choice," O'Malley said. "Job creation is a choice. Building America's number one schools, making a college education affordable, …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Officials released a report on combating bullying in schools during Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting.
Bad news for bullies in Baltimore County public schools—suspensions are increasing among students who intimidate and harass their classmates. A report released during Tuesday night's Baltimore County Public Schools Board of Education meeting detailed the county's efforts to combat bullying, action mandated by the state's Safe Schools Reporting Act of 2005. The county's anti-bullying efforts include preventative measures and swift disciplinary actions—including suspension—according to Glenda Myrick, the county schools coordinator of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, who presented the report to the board. Reported incidents of bullying have increased more than 350 percent between 2007 and 2011, going from 142 to 510. During that same time, …
A 7-year-old White Marsh baseball player completed a rare play last week.
OUTSIDE BALTIMORE, MD -- If only Little League had instant replay. Cristian Banks, a 7-year-old Fullerton Elementary student, completed a rare unassisted triple play on May 3. Coach Marty Neff, who has been involved with the White Marsh Recreation Council for the past 10 years, said it was the first time he's seen it done by one of his players. It's unusual outside of Little League, as well. According to MLB.com, only 15 unassisted triple plays have been recorded in Major League Baseball history. Share your favorite moments in kids' sports in the comments. Neff described the play, which lasted only seconds: "With the bases loaded and Cristian playing third base, the batter hit a line drive that Cristian moved to his right to catch for the …
Friday, May 4, 2012
Mars Estates Elementary School teacher Holly Sturm was among five finalists honored on Thursday.
Editor's Note: Skip to the second video if you'd like to see right away who was named the 2012 Baltimore County Teacher of the Year. Or scroll down to see which teacher took home the schools system's highest honor. And the nominees for the 2012 Baltimore County Teacher of the Year: And the winner is... (drum roll please)... (Did you watch the second video?) Art teacher Angela Rountree from Ridgely Middle School! _____ Have you ever had Ms. Rountree as a teacher? Have your children? What can you say about the 2012 Baltimore County Teacher of the Year and the other five finalists? Start the conversation in the comments section below.
The Knights face CCBC Catonsville in a Region XX men's lacrosse semifinal game at 7 p.m. Friday at Anne Arundel Community College.
CCBC Essex faceoff specialist Brent Hiken is excited about next season when he is expected to play for Division III power Stevenson University. But before Hiken moves on, he has some unfinished business. He wants nothing more than to close his CCBC Essex career with an NJCAA national title. The road to that elusive title begins at 7 p.m. Friday when the Knights take on CCBC Catonsville in a Region XX semifinal game at Anne Arundel Community College. CCBC Essex enters the game at 13-2 and ranked third in the latest NJCAA national poll. The Knights are the overwhelming favorites to capture the Region XX title as they try to reach the national finals for a third straight year. “I want to end my career at CCBC Essex on top,” Hiken said. “We’…
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Fourth- and fifth-graders at the school learned about a wide variety of careers, including journalism from Essex-Middle River Patch editor Ron Snyder.
Middleborough Elementary Schoolrecently hosted a Career Day fair for its fourth- and fifth-graders. Attorneys, physical therapists, photographers and dancers were among the more than a dozen professionals on hand to teach students about what career options are available to them. I also had the chance to educate the students about the field of online journalism and to introduce them to Patch.com. Follow Essex-Middle River Patch on Facebook and Twitter. (Check out the photos taken by some of the students during the event) "We want students to know just how many options are out there for them in life," Middleborough Elementary school counselor Barbara DiBlasio said. "We try to bring unique professionals to this event because they all know …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The Mavericks cruised past Pikesville, 19-4, and are set to face Franklin on May 8 in the Baltimore County championship game at CCBC Catonsville.
Freshman infielder Breanna Casper went 4-for-5 with a double and six RBIs as Eastern Tech rolled past Pikesville, 19-4, in a game halted after five innings on Tuesday. Senior second baseman Allison Williams went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, junior outfielder Corrin Cromwell went 3-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs and freshman Brooke Samios-Uy went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Mavericks (16-2), who scored 11 runs in the first two innings and never looked back. Sophomore pitcher Jordan Cargile allowed two runs and two hits and struck out four for Eastern Tech, which has two regular-season games left before facing Franklin on May 8 at CCBC Catonsville in the Baltimore County championship game. Eastern Tech has won both previous meetings…
macadoodle
9:05 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Re: flying out of the state/data from WSJ: The number of millionaire tax returns fell sharply to 5,529 from 7,898 in 2007, a 30% tumble. The taxes paid by rich filers fell by 22%, and instead of their payments increasing by $106 million as projected, they fell by some $257 million. The losses of Maryland and other high-tax states are the gains of the low-tax states: A Bank of America Merrill … more ›