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Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake jetted to San Antonio, Texas, to deliver a speech last night to the national convention of the Young Democrats of America, a group closely tied to the Democratic National Committee. Rawlings-Blake denounced the Republican Party for its positions on immigration reform and other issues in what was described as “a great keynote speech” on the YDA’s twitter feed. The frequency of the mayor’s absences from Baltimore have accelerated since her appointment in January as secretary of the DNC and her parallel rise within the nonpartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors. Frequent Flyer Since late May, she he has...

I don't know who the critter is, but I recognize the voices of awake Americans. Do not give in to despair. Find a town hall. Make a phone call.

The $110,000 video scoreboard at Damascus High School, the $80,000 electronic scoreboard at Winston Churchill High and the million-dollar turf field at Thomas S. Wootton High all have something in common. They’re expensive and extravagant, yes. But perhaps more important, the upgrades at the Montgomery County public schools weren’t funded with taxpayer dollars, instead arriving via private donations and parent fundraising. Booster clubs and parent-teacher associations have long been important sources of funding for schools, paying for items such as playground equipment, field lighting and other amenities that public money might not otherwise buy. But in Montgomery, one of the...

Sheilah O’Donnel tells herself that her new home, a townhouse in a development in Chevy Chase, Md., just a stone’s throw from a Safeway, isn’t really all that bad. Sure, it’s near a gas station. And the front window, with its cheerily upholstered cushions, overlooks a dreary parking lot. And yes, it’s kind of small — “an apartment,” O’Donnel, who is 44, sometimes says bitterly, when she’s reminded of her former life with her ex-husband in their custom-built, six-bedroom home. But then again, it’s perfectly maintained and impeccably furnished, and most important, it’s rented with her own money, from the...

The Talk Shows August 11th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Steve King, R-Iowa; Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Anu Bhagwati, executive director, Service Women's Action Network.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Reps. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., and Peter King, R-N.Y.; Michael Hayden, a former head of the CIA and the National Security Agency.THIS WEEK (ABC): Edward Snowden's father, Lon; Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif., Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; Donald Trump.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN):...

Regarding your recent editorial, "How to end the killing" (July 9), your last paragraph made me want to vomit. "No doubt, Baltimore needs effective police and prosecutors, ample drug treatment, better schools, and more economic opportunities." How dare you accuse, through implication or otherwise, that the need for "better schools" is a reason there is so much killing. Had you defined the loosely-used term, "better schools," perhaps I and probably others may not have been so nauseated. I have taught in the Baltimore public school system for the past two decades. What we need is better students. We have many...

one Maryland town hall is any indication, Republican voters are not happy with how little Republican politicians are doing to reign in the government. Greta Van Susteren took viewers to a town hall where Congressman Andy Harris was confronted by constituents angry about NSA surveillance, the Obama administration, and Republicans not doing enough for them. One man scolded Harris, “We’re dying out here because you guys are being nice guys!” One man complained about NSA spying, saying Congress needs to “come clean” with the public about the government’s secret interpretation of the law. Harris assured him that he’s personally outraged...

Residents from Ednor Gardens to Park Heights stood as a united front against violence on the Aug. 6 for National Night Out (NNO), a citizen initiative to take back the streets. Hundreds of Baltimoreans across the city gathered at more than 70 locations alongside the Baltimore police department, state and local officials and community leaders for a night of food, fun, games and resources in hope to curb a recent wave of violent crime. Residents chowed down on Caribbean food from food trucks such as Black-owned Savannah’s Great Kitchen, manned by 14-year police veteran Sgt. James Glanville. Local Baltimore talent...

A hazardous materials unit and federal agents are investigating a suspicious substance found at the Baltimore office of Rep. Elijah Cummings, officials said.

Baltimore Orioles "Iron Man" Cal Ripken Jr. announced a $100,000 reward Thursday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who kidnapped his mother for a day last year, a case that is still unsolved. "After talking as a family with members of law enforcement and friends, we decided we would try to reignite interest in the case," the Hall of Fame shortstop told reporters during a news conference at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Violet Ripken, Cal's mother, then 74, was abducted at gunpoint the morning of July 24, 2012, from her Aberdeen, Maryland, home. Her disappearance...

The White House publicity machine has tried to turn the national conversation from the topics of the day to attempt to make our President relevant again. Obama, who has gained the new nickname Griffin (as in H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man), has all but disappeared since his failed attempt to change the national gun laws in the beginning of this year. To clear grass so high that Obama needs a weed whacker just to be seen, his team has attempted a typical Obama technique. In this case they are creating a new mantra to discredit legitimate concerns of American voters...

Residents who want to opt out of smart meter installation could be charged a monthly fee for their choice, if BGE and other utilities are able make their case convincingly to state regulators Tuesday. BGE is proposing both a one-time fee of $100 and a monthly fee ranging from $15 to $87, while Pepco is proposing a one-time fee ranging from $71 to $105 and monthly fees ranging from $30 to $35, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday evening with a delegation of 36 American congressmen headed by Congressman Steny Hoyer. During the meeting Netanyahu claimed that though Iran's president said pressure wouldn't help, in the last two decades pressure was the only thing that helped. snip

In Easton, Md., an untold story of free African-Americans is being discovered through bits of glass, shards of pottery and oyster shells. Piece by piece, archaeologists and historians from two universities and the community are uncovering the history of The Hill, which they believe is the earliest settlement of free African-Americans in the United States, dating to 1790. Treme, in New Orleans, is recognized as the oldest free black community in the nation, dating to 1812. But researchers say that could change based on findings from the Easton dig. "It's not just a black story. It's an American story," said...

For instance: Maryland would really very much appreciate it if the insurance companies operating in their state could offer rates that the state arbitrarily deems to be affordable and attractive offers, the better to lure potential participants into the state’s ObamaCare exchanges. Insurance companies, meanwhile, would really like it if they could avoid operating at a loss. It’s selfish, really. Aetna Inc pulled out of Maryland’s health insurance exchange being created under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law after the state pressed it to lower its proposed rates by up to 29 percent. … In an August 1 letter sent...

The Talk Shows August 4th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Reps. Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Justin Amash, R-Mich.; Michael Hayden, a former head of the CIA and the National Security Agency.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Reps. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas; and Sen. Chuck U. Schumer, D-N.Y.THIS WEEK (ABC): Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md.STATE OF THE UNION...

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard this fall, Bettina Poirier, a Democratic committee aide, told The Hill on Wednesday. The announcement raises the specter that changes to the nearly decade-old biofuel-blending mandate could be in the offing. The planned hearing comes as members on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are working on legislation to overhaul the rule. The mandate, approved by Congress in a 2005 energy law and expanded two years later, requires refiners to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuel with conventional petroleum by 2022. Some Democrats on...

Dave Miceli doesn't know me from a hole in the ground, but he's my new hero. Anyone that can dredge up the guts to teach in Baltimore's public schools automatically becomes a candidate for hero status in my book, especially if said anyone has taught in these schools for 20 years, as Miceli has. But it was his bold, insightful, no-punches-pulled letter to the editors of the July 15 edition of the Baltimore Sun that put Miceli on my hero's list. I'm reprinting that letter in its entirety. ................. "Regarding your recent editorial, 'How to end the killing,' your last...

LANHAM, Md. (CBSDC) — The death of Trayvon Martin is one reason behind renewed efforts by 17 U.S. Senators and 40 Representatives, including seven local lawmakers, to pass a bill that aims to end legal racial profiling. “Recent events demonstrate that racial profiling remains a divisive issue that strikes at the very foundation of our democracy,” Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) said when he introduced the bill in the House of Representatives Tuesday. “Though the death of Trayvon Martin was not the result of a law enforcement encounter, the issues of race and reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct are so...

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday said racism is “present in all of our minds” and has gone on since Biblical times. “Racism is present in every one of our communities, and as you pointed out Dr. [Maya] Wiley, present in all of our minds,” he said during a hearing before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee called by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “We need to be conscious of that and confront it. That’s why I think this conversation is so important.” … During Hoyer’s opening remarks, he said racism is inherent in America, and...

State-mandated stormwater remediation fees were implemented July 1 in nine Maryland counties and Baltimore City, costing some parishes thousands, and others nothing. The wide range of fees is a result of a state law requiring each of the state’s 10 largest jurisdictions to set its own fees, which fund efforts to comply with federal environmental regulations. Baltimore City’s fees are the highest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, costing religious non-profits $12 per 1,050 square feet of impervious surface annually. Baltimore County is charging $20 per 2,000 square feet for institutional properties, including nonprofit organizations. At the other end of the...

In a major shakeup for the radio industry, Cumulus Media, the second-biggest broadcaster in the country, is planning to drop both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations at the end of the year, an industry source told POLITICO on Sunday. Cumulus has decided that it will not renew its contracts with either host, the source said, a move that would remove the two most highly rated conservative talk personalities from more than 40 Cumulus channels in major markets.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A man is brutally attacked by a group of teens in Little Italy. Police say four of the attackers are in custody. Three of them are juveniles. ... The suspects range in age from 16 to 19, but police say because of the brutality of the crime, the minors aren’t being charged lightly. “The fact that they broke this gentleman’s jaw, the decision was made and they are going to be charged as adults,” said Sgt. Eric Kowalczyk, Baltimore City Police.

A Bethesda man was beaten and robbed early Saturday morning in Adams Morgan by three men who yelled, “This is for Trayvon Martin,” before attacking him, police said. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and robbery, according to D.C. police spokesman Araz Alali. Three black men approached an adult white male from behind while he was walking in the 1700 block of Euclid Street NW at 1:26 a.m. Saturday, police said.

A potent mixture of fart spray and deer repellent intended to be a prank turned serious Wednesday when more than a dozen campers from the Christian run Camp Wo-Me-To in Jarrettsville, Md., had to be decontaminated while six were hospitalized due to physical reactions. According to the Fallston Patch the Harford County Hazardous Materials team was called to the camp at around 10 p.m. Wednesday after initial reports that a 16-year-old boy needed medical assistance for eye and respiratory irritation.

A U.S. district judge has ordered a clerk in the state of Ohio to recognize a same-sex “marriage” conducted in another state, because the state's constitutional amendment defining marriages does “likely violate the U.S. Constitution.” U.S. District Magistrate Timothy Black declared in his opinion on Monday that the “purpose served by” the amendment in “treating same-sex married couples differently than opposite-sex married couples is the same improper purpose that failed in Windsor and in Romer: ‘to impose inequality’ and to make gay citizens unequal under the law.”

The O'Malley administration's aggressive new plan to fight climate change calls for Maryland residents to further cut their energy use or face higher monthly utility bills. The plan, to be released Thursday by Gov. Martin O'Malley, also requires that more of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2020. Maryland's goals for reducing greenhouse gases are among the most ambitious in the nation.

<p>As T. Rowe Price weighs whether to remain at its Pratt Street headquarters in the heart of Baltimore, the safety of its employees is a key concern, the company's CEO said Wednesday.</p> <p>Employees of the Baltimore-based money manager have been harassed by groups of youths and one of Price's vendors from New York was mugged outside his downtown hotel within the past two months, said CEO James A. C. Kennedy. Price contacted the city several weeks ago about its concerns.</p>

The next presidential election is more than three years away, but early polling shows Hillary Rodham Clinton leading the Democratic pack by a landslide margin, with a whopping 63 per cent of Democrats telling pollsters that they would vote for the former first lady and Secretary of State. Vice President Joe Biden came in second with 13 per cent support - barely one-fifth of Clinton's showing. The GOP field is anyone's game, however, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie only garnering 15 per cent support among Republicans to narrowly lead the pack. He's followed by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, Florida...

The Montgomery County Council passed a pair of measures Tuesday intended to protect and expand tree cover along public roads and on private property where new construction has disturbed the environment. Approval of the bills culminates several years of bargaining between the county, builders and environmentalists. One measure requires landowners who cut down a tree along a public right of way to obtain a county permit and replace the tree at or near the site. It also requires the landowner to pay into a tree replacement fund so that the county can plant two additional trees. State law already regulates...

Looking for a reasonably "official" summary of the Draconian Gun Laws enacted in Maryland 2013.

Maryland education officials proposed a new set of school discipline regulations Tuesday that aim to scale back on suspensions, keep students in class, reduce racial disparities in punishment and take a more positive approach to behavior issues. The proposed regulations, unanimously approved by the Maryland State Board of Education, follow more than two years of study and debate. They are now to be published for public consideration, with a final vote expected in December. (snip) “What we all want is for young people across the state of Maryland to succeed,” Board President Charlene M. Dukes said in an interview Tuesday,...

Yes, he’s an Obama appointee. Addressing the constitutional question, Black explained, “Although the law has long recognized that marriage and domestic relations are matters generally left to the states, the restrictions imposed on marriage by states, however, must nonetheless comply with the [U.S.] Constitution.”To that end, the court examined the Supreme Court’s decision striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act this June in United States v. Windsor, the 1996 decision in Romer v. Evans, and in other decisions addressing differential treatment found to be unconstitutional under the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws.Looking at Ohio’s bans...

<p>A federal judge in Ohio ordered state officials Monday to recognize the marriage of two men that was performed in Maryland on the death certificate of an Ohio resident in hospice care who the judge says “is certain to die soon.”</p>

The Talk Shows July 21st, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Kevyn Orr, Detroit's emergency manager; Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md.; Ben Carson, a pediatric neurosurgeon and Washington Times columnist.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich.; Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio; Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.FACE THE NATION (CBS): House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich.THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Detroit Mayor Dave Bing.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Reps. Cedric Richmond, D-La., and Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.; Sherrilyn Ifill, president and...

A former Chicago-area executive is blowing the whistle in the latest case to showcase what is derisively known as the "Illinois way" -- politicians' practice of doing business by dishing out favors to friends who contribute generously to their campaigns. This time, a top-ranking Democrat has been implicated. The case involves Illinois' most powerful Democratic leader -- state House Speaker Michael Madigan -- and the former head of the Chicago area's commuter rail service, Metra. In a rare move earlier this week, Metra's ex-CEO Alex Clifford came forward publicly to reveal specific details about how he says he was forced...

"Washington (CNN) – Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, has been a member of Congress for almost two decades. Yet when he is walking down the street in Washington, D.C., at night and white women walk toward him, he says "I cross the street" to avoid making them uncomfortable. Cummings says he rarely speaks about race or what life is like as a black man

FORT MEADE, Md. – A military judge refused Thursday to dismiss the most serious charge against Bradley Manning, the Army private who gave reams of classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The charge of aiding the enemy that Manning faces is punishable by up to life in prison without parole. Col. Denise Lind, the judge in Manning's court-martial, denied defense requests to drop that charge and a computer fraud charge, ruling that the government had presented some evidence to support each element of the charges.

Large employers have struggled to adapt to Obamacare provisions and are cutting hours, and insurance experts worry it will create friction between employers and employees, WMDT reports: By 2015, employers with at least 50 full-time, 30-hour employees will be required to provide health insurance or pay a hefty $3,000 fine for each uninsured employee. Insurance experts worry it could create some friction between the employer and employee.“We’ve seen employers starting to cut down hours to 28, 25 hours such that they will not be subject to penalty for that employee,� Keen said.That’s exactly what Katie Frantz says has happened to...

The spigot will run dry, toilets won’t flush and there will be no cooling shower on sweltering days for more than 100,000 people in Prince George’s County as crews wrestle to repair a major water main that serves their homes and businesses. The shutdown was carried out Tuesday night and may last up to five days, water officials said. The warning triggered a headlong rush Tuesday to stock up on bottled water, fill bathtubs and gather any container that might hold water. Firefighters, hospitals and other services that depend on the water supply made contingency plans to handle emergencies. The...

"Get over it." That's the message from a Republican congressman to the protests over George Zimmerman's acquittal in the murder trial of Trayvon Martin. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) also said that the House might need to take a look at the Justice Department's actions if they needlessly pursue federal charges against Zimmerman. Harris (R-MD) appeared on "Mornings on the Mall" on WMAL in Washington DC Tuesday with me and co-host Brian Wilson. After a discussion about this week's House vote delaying the employee mandate for the Affordable Care Act, the conversation turned to the dominant news story of the week,...

Baltimore police say they are investigating a witness account that a group of black youths beat a Hispanic man near Patterson Park Sunday while saying, "This is for Trayvon." A witness posted the account on a community Facebook page, and police confirmed they are looking into whether the suspects' reaction to the verdict in the Florida trial of George Zimmerman played a part in the incident. A police report on the beating does not mention the alleged comments. In a post that drew nearly 50 comments on Facebook, real estate agent Christina Dudley said she was walking to her car...

Baltimore police say they are investigating a witness account that a group of black youths beat a Hispanic man near Patterson Park Sunday while saying, "This is for Trayvon." A witness posted the account on a community Facebook page, and police confirmed they are looking into whether the suspects' reaction to the verdict in the Florida trial of George Zimmerman played a part in the incident. A police report on the beating does not mention the alleged comments. Sgt. Eric Kowalczyk, a police spokesman, declined to go into further detail.

This Is For Trayvon !! Baltimore police say they are investigating a witness account that a group of black youths beat a Hispanic man near Patterson Park Sunday while saying, "This is for Trayvon."

Baltimore police say they are investigating a witness account that a group of black youths beat a Hispanic man near Patterson Park Sunday while saying, "This is for Trayvon." A witness posted the account on a community Facebook page, and police confirmed they are looking into whether the suspects' reaction to the verdict in the Florida trial of George Zimmerman played a part in the incident. A police report on the beating does not mention the alleged comments. Sgt. Eric Kowalczyk, a police spokesman, declined to go into further detail. In a post that drew nearly 50 comments on Facebook,...

The president of the Baltimore City Chapter of the NAACP is calling Saturday night's acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, "an incredible miscarriage of justice." Tessa Hill-Aston released a statement minutes after the verdict was read. "I am terribly saddened by this travesty and am afraid for the lives of black boys and black men everywhere. Tonight George Zimmerman will go home to his family and friends but there will be no comfort for Trayvon’s parents because their son will never be able to come home," Hill-Aston said. "The jury has allowed a murderer to...

Yes, Tyler is still a boy. That’s what people who heard about him have wondered. After a Maryland couple decided to listen to their 5-year-old daughter’s urgent and persistent insistence that she was a boy, after a psychiatrist told them it would be healthy to let the child live as a boy, after they let him pick a boy name and found a school that would enroll the child in kindergarten as a boy last year, Tyler’s parents have had no second thoughts. “It’s not a phase,” said his mother, Jean. “Anyone who meets him says, ‘Yeah, that’s a boy.’...

It was too little too late for conservation groups that wanted the Bel Air, Maryland, Kiwanis Club to cancel its annual Fourth of July turtle derby last Thursday. According to The Baltimore Sun, the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity sent a letter on Friday, June 28, requesting the event be canceled because it posed a “threat to struggling native turtle populations and a health hazard to the children handling the animals.” The problem, according to the Center’s Reptile and Amphibian Staff Attorney, is a recent rise in ranavirus, which, according to the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), has caused die-offs...

On a day when at least four people were shot in Baltimore before dinner time — two of them fatally —hundreds of city men took to the streets in a planned 10-mile march along North Avenue, shutting down portions of the thoroughfare, to protest the recent spike in gun violence. "There's a war going on in our streets" that "starts and ends with our young black men," City Councilman Brandon Scott told the crowd, which included the mayor and police commissioner. "We're going to take our city back. … We can no longer stand on the backs of the women."...

The Legacy Lives On! Mark’s Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation “Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811