Published on Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Environmental groups and smart growth advocates Monday applauded Maryland's use of almost $225 million in federal stimulus funds, saying the state's decision to concentrate spending on highway maintenance projects is a wise use of resources and an effective way to create jobs.Maryland was one of 10 states and the District of Columbia that elected to spend 100 percent of the money they put toward road projects on preserving existing infrastructure rather than adding new capacity, according to a report issued by Smart Growth America.

Published on Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Men and women fail, often. It's inherent to humankind. That is why the rule of law is so important.That should be the take-away for each person who witnessed Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina admit last week to a tawdry and juvenile need to put self-fulfillment above all else.

Published on Friday, June 26, 2009

To save $300 per year for a few, taxpayers will lose millions under a new three-year $61 million state "weatherization" program spawned from the federal stimulus package.Gov. Martin O'Malley estimates that 6,800 low-income families will save $300 to $400 each year on their energy bills as a result of energy audits and home improvements paid for by the program. If 150 people are hired as a result of the program money as estimated by O'Malley, they will benefit too. But what about everyone else?

Published on Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Maryland legislators are all for transparency when it comes to those who work outside of the government. But they prefer to hide from scrutiny when it comes to their own finances and affiliations.

Published on Monday, June 22, 2009

When Nora O'Brien hosts guests at the secluded Victorian farmhouse she has painstakingly restored, friends have been known to carp about the deafening chorus of summertime tree frogs."I've had dinner parties where people say, 'Can't you make them shut up?' " said the 49-year-old landscape company owner and mother of three.But she and dozens of other families across the state are willing to put up with such inconveniences. For them, living rent-free inside a Maryland state park outweighs getting chased by skunks, startled by snakes or clearing horse droppings from unpaved driveways that double as public riding trails.