Almond: BCPS Budget Includes Air Conditioning for PHS, Wellwood

Baltimore County Councilwoman Vicki Almond reviewed the issues important to the 2nd District, and said Fort Garrison Elementary could also get air conditioning if the budget is passed.

Pikesville High and Fort Garrison Elementary schools could get air conditioning  if the proposed Baltimore County Public Schools budget is approved. "Air conditioning all of our schools and improving classrooms is a challenge that Baltimore County is meeting head on," Baltimore County Councilwoman Vicki Almond said in a statement. The council met Thursday to discuss that budget, which includes more than $3.12 million for Fort Garrison's air conditioning that could be completed by October 2014, a news release from Almond states. Air conditioning is included in the $16.63 million for the high school's major renovations, that could be completed by August 2016, the release states. The high school's projects, include a new roof and classrooms …

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Insider Politics Blog

Late Disclosure of Teaching Job 'An Oversight'

A 2012 college teaching position held by Councilman David Marks, while legal, should have triggered an amended financial disclosure report.

Baltimore County Councilman David Marks said Thursday that a 2012 teaching job at a local university should have been part of his required financial disclosures. Marks acknowledged the job and failure to file an amended report last year with the Baltimore County Ethics Commission during an interview. "It was an oversight," Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, said after being asked about the job. The undisclosed teaching job as well as two previously disclosed consulting positions do not appear to violate county law. Marks said the teaching job will appear in disclosure forms that he has already filed that will be made public next month. Following the interview, Marks issued a statement by email: "As soon I was offered a three-month teaching …

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amdactivist

5:35 am on Tuesday, April 30, 2013

breadman you know nothing and i don't care if i live in annapolis , if a representative of md is doing ok in this corrupt thievery of a state then it should be told. I wonder how many of you have been to hearings opposing the issues you don't want? if you don't complain you don't win. If you really want something to crow about look at your leader. The worst governor and worst record Md has ever …   more ›

Demolition Heralds Arrival of Foundry Row, 5,500 New Jobs

Watch as a wrecking crew brings down part of the old, vacant Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills.

As contractors ceremoniously tore down one exterior cinder-block wall at the former Solo Cup plant, they ushered in a 9-month demolition project, making way for the new, retail development Foundry Row. "It's going to be a spectacular development," said Brian Gibbons of developer Greenberg Gibbons after a ceremony Thursday at the plant, 10100 Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills. "Our goal is late 2015, but it could be 2016," he said. The $140 million development project will be home for a new Wegmans among Foundry Row's 365,000 square feet of retail space. Also planned are a national fitness store, a sporting goods store and upscale shops, restaurants, and 60,000 square feet of office space, according to the Greenberg Gibbons Commercial …

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Insider Politics Blog

Call Almond 'LT' (Maybe)

Councilwoman Vicki Almond garners a mention as a possible Lt. Governor candidate.

Councilwoman Vicki Almond hasn't finished the third year of her first term in office but one state blogger has her on a list of possible candidates for Lt. Governor. "Wow," Almond said when asked Monday about the potential statewide run for office. Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat, appears on a list of eight names said to be under consideration by Anthony Brown—the current holder of the office and widely believed to be running for governor in 2014. The list was published last week by David Moon, author of the Democratic party blog Maryland Juice. "This is not a complete list of all of the possible candidates on Brown's shortlist. However, each of the names below have been mentioned to me by knowledgeable sources, and at least some of them …

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Buck Harmon

7:11 am on Friday, April 19, 2013

Good point Bill..   more ›

Almond, Marks Want Delay in Stormwater Fee Vote

The bill would impose fees on residents, businesses and nonprofits for federally mandated efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

At least two members of the Baltimore County Council say they would like to delay a vote on proposed stormwater management fees. Vicki Almond and David Marks both said Tuesday they would like to delay the vote for a month. "Considering the enormity of all this and the information that we have I would personally like us to have a little more time to come up with some amendments and really study this even further," said Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat. "I think three weeks really isn't enough to digest all of this," Almond said, speaking of a briefing the council received last month. Almond added that County Executive Kevin Kamenetz developed the new fees without involving the council or holding any public meetings. The council, in its …

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DAVID PATRO SR

6:22 pm on Saturday, April 13, 2013

zach compromise is for all partys to talk now we need to stop the sale . stop the sale SAY NO to the proposed sale of North Point Government Center PARK!   more ›

Council Bans Panhandle Lots in Greenspring-East Pikesville

Councilwoman Vicki Almond says the change will "protect residential areas from over-development."

The Baltimore County Council Monday night unanimously passed a bill banning development of some panhandle lots in the Greenspring-East Pikesville area. The bill, sponsored by Councilwoman Vicki Almond, bans panhandle lots of less than two acres. "Basically it helps to protect residential areas from over-development," Almond said during a March 12 hearing on the bill. The bill had the support of community groups including the Pikesville Greenspring Community Coalition. "There are a number of small areas of open space that could be accessed by panhandle driveways," said Neville Jacobs, immediate past-president of the group. Jacobs said the bill will ensure that small parcels will not be developed in ways that damage the character of the …

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Quirk Elected Baltimore County Council Chairman

The Catonsville Democrat said the council will have to deal with another difficult budget but there's "no political will" for a tax increase.

Newly-elected Baltimore County Council Chairman Tom Quirk is looking forward to a more collegial relationship between the council and county executive and no new taxes in the coming year. "I think 2013 is the year the county executive and the county council work together collaboratively," Quirk, Catonsville Democrat, said, who was elected unanimously by his colleagues. The relationship between the council and County Executive Kevin Kamenetz has undergone considerable strain. Quirk along with then-Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond, Councilwoman Cathy Bevins, and Councilman David Marks all opposed a pension bill that would have ended the use of overtime in the calculation for pension benefits for some county employees. The bill was part of an …

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State, County VIPs Gather for Menorah Lighting Ceremony

Rabbi Schmuel of Chabad Center and Lubavitch of Maryland led the ceremony, while elected officials and Pikesville area community leader Ron Rosenbluth lit the lamps.

The Jewish Girl Scouts Troop sold boxes of cookies, while congregants of Chabad Center in Pikesville handed out menorahs to people who don't have them. It was Monday night—the third of the eight-night Festival of Lights—when state and county elected officials and community members gathered at The Chanukah House in Pikesville for the menorah lighting ceremony. Israel 'Izzy' Patoka of Gov. Martin O'Malley's office; Del. Dana Stein, and Pikesville area community leader Ron Rosenbluth each lit one of the three lamps. Baltimore County Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond lit the shamash—the middle lamp. Rabbi Schmuel Kaplan of Chabad Center and Lubavitch of Maryland led the ceremony. Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz had planned to attend, …

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Zoning Opponents Deliver 16,000 More Signatures

First deadline for turning in signatures closes at the end of business Monday.

Two groups that are attempting to force some zoning changes to the 2014 ballot submitted an addition 16,000 signatures Monday. The groups, the Committee for Zoning Integrity and the Committee for Zoning Transparency, delivered the additional signatures to the Baltimore County Board of Elections. On Friday, the groups delivered more than 70,000 total signatures—34,000 signatures for the petition on the 6th district zoning issues and another 36,662 on the 2nd Council District. The additional signatures delivered Monday come as the first deadline passes for the referendum effort. Opponents of the bills, backed by developers including David Cordish and David S. Brown Enterprises, must submit at least 28,826 verified signatures of Baltimore …

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Chuck Burton

1:54 pm on Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Things are really not that complex. 1. Owings Mills, despite being named a growth area in the Baltimore County Master Plan, has been in decline for some years. 2. Wegmans, a grocery chain with an excellent reputation, has identified the former SOLO cup factory as a desireable location for a store which would help improve the image and reputation of Owings Mills, and a reputable developer has …   more ›