Baltimore County Councilman Kevin Kamenetz announced plans yesterday to ban the sale, possession and distribution of synthetic marijuana sold on the market as “Spice” and “K2.” Kamenetz said he will introduce legislation at the county council’s legislative meeting on September 7 and the proposed measure will go up for a vote on October 4. Spice […]
Category: NEWS
Posted inNational News
Obama Signs Bill to Save Education Jobs
President Obama signed legislation on Aug. 10 that would save an expected 160,000 jobs nationwide for public school teachers. The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act passed the House of Representatives by a 247 to 161 vote, with only two Republicans voting with majority Democrats to support the bill. Funds allocated through a federal $10 […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Violent Weekend Leads to More Police on Streets
A violent weekend in Baltimore came to a close with a heightened police presence across the city. According to the Baltimore City Police Department, 13 shootings – three ending with deaths and two involving police – occurred from Aug. 13 – 15. Police officials said the recent shootings bring the city’s estimated total to 136 […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Rhee Welcomes New Teachers
With classes slated to resume Aug. 23, District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee welcomed 400 new instructors during three days of orientation activities this week. In comments made at the Columbia Heights Education Center, Rhee promised her latest corps of recruits that if they performed their jobs well, students would exceed their expectations. […]
Posted inNational News
S.C. Senate Nominee Indicted Over Pornography
A South Carolina grand jury indicted Alvin Greene, the state’s Democratic Senate nominee–an unemployed political novice– on felony obscenity charges, the Richland County clerk of courts said. Greene was also indicted on one felony count of “disseminating, procuring or promoting obscenity,” the county solicitor’s office told the Associated Press. Greene, 32, was also reportedly indicted […]
Posted inNational News
30,000 People Overrun East Point, Ga. Housing Authority
Chaos erupted in East Point, Ga., a city southwest of Atlanta, after reportedly 30,000 residents clamored August 11 to pick up federal housing aid applications. The crowd consisted of only a few hundred people on August 9, but by August 11, the crowd had swelled to an estimated 30,000. “We have a lot of homeless […]
Posted inNational News
Textile Training Center Means Hope for Haiti
Months after the devastating earthquake that ravaged Haiti, new economic hope is beginning to emerge for the people of the impoverished country. A U.S.-backed textile training center formally opened for business August 11 and will train about 2,000 people per year to make sheets, T-shirts and high quality clothing items. More than 80 percent of […]
Posted inNational News
GOP Challenges 14th Amendment Citizenship
Republican leaders are calling for hearings to repeal parts of the 14th Amendment that, critics say, provide a pathway to immigration reform. The cornerstone of American civil liberties, the amendment was adopted in 1868 after the Civil War and guaranteed citizenship to anyone born in the United States, including newly emancipated slaves. The GOP has […]
Posted inBaltimore News
NAACP Headquarters Staying Put in Baltimore
The NAACP has decided to keep its national headquarters in Baltimore. The civil rights organization passed on opportunities to move to Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, Md. and downtown Baltimore and instead will stay in northwest Baltimore, the Baltimore Development Corporation told The Baltimore Sun on August 12. According to Roger Vann, chief operating officer and […]
Posted inNational News
First Lady to Campaign for Democrats
Democrats are deploying First Lady Michelle Obama to the campaign trail to help them retain control of Congress in this fall’s mid-term elections and boost her husband in the 2012 presidential election. The first lady, who has appeared on the cover of 12 magazines since ascending to the White House nearly two years ago, currently […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Boxing Legend Joe Gans Gets Some Deserved Recognition
On the 100th anniversary of his death, a committed group of fans gathered in the heat at Mount Auburn Cemetery to celebrate the legacy of Joseph Gans. He is a little known Baltimore legend, and the ceremonies on Aug. 10, were designed to change all that. In a loose recreation of his burial, a mock […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Generous Benefactors Help City Keep Some Pools Open
Most Baltimore City swimming pools were closed for the summer season on Aug. 8, at least four weeks too early for city residents looking for a fun way to beat the heat. But the mayor’s office announced Wednesday that generous unsolicited donations totaling $507,000 have managed to keep the larger outdoor facilities – Cherry Hill […]