A couple weeks after the mayor proposed closing half of the city’s recreation centers and almost all pools for the summer, Councilman Carl Stokes called for an audit of the Department of Recreation and Parks. He said he believes there may be funds in the department that are unaccounted for and substantial enough to keep […]
Author Archives: MelanieR.Holmes
AFROStaffWriter
Posted inAfro Briefs
Black Ga. Attorney General Faces Calls for Impeachment
Georgia lawmakers have called for the impeachment of state Attorney General Thurbert Baker for his refusal to join 14 other state attorneys general in suing the federal government over the health care reform bill passed by Congress last month. The resolution to impeach Baker, a Democrat, came from Republican state Rep. Mark Hatfield and was […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Stokes Reveals Plans for 12th District
Carl Stokes is far from being the new kid on the Council. He was sworn in as 12th District representative in mid March, after taking his first seat in City Council from 1987-1995. After stepping down to run an unsuccessful mayoral campaign, he’s back with three top priorities- responding to 12th District residents, creating opportunities […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Council Bill Leaves Contractors Weary Over Job Potential
A City Council bill proposed to increase local hiring of construction workers is catching heat from local contractors who fear the legislation will, in actuality, shut them out of big projects. If passed, Councilman Bill Henry said the Community Partnership Agreements (CPA) bill would secure major city-funded construction jobs for all Baltimore City contractors. But […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Autistic Student Allegedly Assaulted on Bus
Alleged physical abuse of a 13-year-old student on a Baltimore County school bus has caused a continuous court battle between the state of Maryland and the defendants involved. On Nov. 20, 2009, Daniel Harris Jr., a student with autistic spectrum disease, was handled by bus driver Christina Brocato and bus aide LaToya Wilson in a […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Battery Charges Dropped for Former NFL Player
Prosecutors dropped misdemeanor domestic battery charges against former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders NFL player Warren Sapp on March 24 after finding inconsistencies between the evidence and the victim’s statements. Miami Beach police arrested the former defense tackle on Feb. 6 after a woman claimed she was battered in Sapp’s hotel room. According […]
Posted inBaltimore News
City, State Officials Prepare for Census Day
While results of a new Zogby Interactive poll show that 87 percent of American adults intend to complete their census form, state and local government officials hope that Baltimore City residents are among those who plan to comply. At New Shiloh Baptist Church on Monday, Sen. Ben Cardin and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake spoke of the […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Bill Proposes Raise in High School Dropout Age
In many states, including Maryland, the school dropout age is 16. However, Sen. Catherine Pugh passed Senate Bill 239 to increase the age of compulsory school attendance to 18 by the 2011-2012 school year. Last school year, 7,500 Baltimore City students dropped out of school, down from 12,000 students the previous school year. The bill […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Preliminary Budget Lists ‘Devastating’ Cuts
As Baltimore City suffers from a $121 million budget deficit, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the city has three choices: do nothing, cut services or trim government expenses. None of the options are good, but the third alternative is the best way to move Baltimore City forward, she said in a statement released Wednesday. On that […]
Posted inSports
NBA Approves Jordan’s Bid for Charlotte Bobcats
The NBA’s Board of Governors on March 17 unanimously approved six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan’s $275 million bid to buy the Charlotte Bobcats. Effective immediately, Jordan will take over the team’s operations as the first former player to be a majority owner in the league. He was formerly a minority investor with the Bobcats, his […]
Posted inNational News
Secretary of Education Proposed NCLB Revisions
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan proposed several revisions within the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education reform initiated under the Bush administration. While he intends to remain focused on academic gains, he will allow individual schools the freedom to determine how those improvements will be made, he said during a press conference on Monday. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Local Teen Named Youth of the Year
Not knowing how to react when the governor announced him as the Maryland Youth of the Year, Najee Banks just stood there and later recalled, “I had to let it sink in.” But he strolled to the podium to read his acceptance speech with such confidence that no one would have guessed winning the Boys […]