Category: Baltimore News

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Dec. 16 was named ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for the 112th Congress by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “I am honored by the trust shown in me by my Democratic colleagues,” Cummings said in a statement. “Oversight and Government Reform will be a […]

Effective Jan. 1, 2011, a new state law will change how drivers with traffic tickets handle the violations. Today drivers who receive tickets for minor offenses, such as speeding or running a red light, are issued a fine and an automatic trial date to dispute the ticket. Under the new law effective Jan. 1, drivers […]

As she prepares for her first three-day bus tour of the state, Del.-elect Mary Washington is openly ecstatic. “I’m really looking forward to this,” she said, after rubbing her hands together for warmth in the back seat of a large commuter bus. On the near-freezing Monday morning, Washington greets the two other new delegates for […]

Six people died in a two-alarm house fire in East Baltimore early Dec. 14. The incident continues a string of large fires in Baltimore City over the last eight days. According to fire officials, the blaze began just before 5 a.m. in the 2300 block of Homewood Avenue. Three children and three adults, all family […]

The Baltimore City school board held two public forums last week, garnering input about proposals that would lead to another year of drastic school-by-school ratifications. Based on recommendations from a recent city schools report, the plan would close one high school and incorporate career preparatory or international student programs at four other city schools. School […]

First came furloughs. Then came salary reductions, now, some Maryland State employees will have the option of accepting a buyout from the state government under a Dec. 7 executive order signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley aimed at balancing the state’s budget. Under what the state is calling the State Employees Voluntary Separation Program eligible employees […]

Bank of America will pay $67 million for its involvement in a nationwide scheme to rig bids and engage in other anticompetitive conduct that defrauded state agencies, county governments, and non-profits in their purchase of municipal bond derivatives, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler announced Dec. 10. The settlement is one component of a larger $137 […]

Key members of Baltimore’s Black and Jewish communities met Dec. 8 to iron out some of the tensions left over from a Nov. 19 encounter in Park Heights that left a 15 year-old African American badly beaten and a member of a Jewish community patrol group under arrest for assault. After the meeting, the Rev. […]

City grocers urged Baltimore officials to repeal the two-cent bottle tax last week, saying the charge drive cash-strapped shoppers to county businesses. At a press conference Dec. 2, retailers said city stores had seen a 4-7 percent decrease in sales since the tax was enacted last July. Sandy Vary, co-owner of Bel-Garden Bi-Rite Supermarket in […]

Congregants of a local church held a protest for the second time Dec. 6, for what they call their landlord’s deliberate violation of state law. Pastor Mario Ogans and others from God’s Kingdom Builders Church of Jesus Christ on Bel Air Road are outraged because their landlord authorized a liquor shop to open in a […]

A charter amendment to create a city account designated for the restoration of deteriorating schools cleared the City Council Dec.6. The non-lapsing account redirects city council funds to renovation projects for existing schools as well as the construction of new facilities. Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young and Councilman James Kraft, D-1, introduced the legislation […]