GOVERNOR O'MALLEY
LEAD CORPORATE DEMOCRAT OF MARYLAND
Running for National Office requires truths....and people over profits, two things missing with this politician.

This governor has been all about political spin that will benefit his run for national office..........believe me, it is only spin!

Those who follow economics knows where the venture capital went.  A few decades ago as part of the Third Way corporate caucus formed by Bill Clinton, the idea of public-private partnerships came about.  These partnerships were intended to place taxpayer money instead of investor money upfront in all development; public and private.  So, for instance the Alternative Energy movement in California back then had lots of venture capitalists in line to invest in all this wind/solar/battery-electric car technology.  They were ready to do the investing!  The Third Way public-private partnerships told them 'why spend your money until we know the technolgy works'.  In other words socialize the loses and privatize the profits.  Sound familiar.  That is of course all the rage with our current Third Way Democratic leadership in both the Federal and State level.   

That is why we see all these public-private partnerships that have taxpayers funding all the infrastructure for private business.  It is also the reason behind 'innovation centers' connected to public universities.  Use public facilities, taxpayer money, and free student labor for your R and D and if there is a winning development, privatize the profits.  You can see why there would be no venture capitalists these days!


Venture capital declines in Maryland in third quarter Dip mirrors national trend, but some Md. firms see big investments

By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun 6:11 p.m. EDT, October 22, 2012

Young companies in Maryland, Washington and Northern Virginia raised 14 percent less venture capital funding in the third quarter than they did last year during the same period, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mid-Atlantic companies attracted $215.7 million from venture capitalists from July to September, compared with $245.7 million in the same period last year, the report showed. The regional decline mirrored a national one. Nationwide, $6.5 billion was invested in companies, down 11 percent from the third quarter last year.

"We're seeing venture capitalists be very cautious with the capital that is available due to the lack of a significant number of liquidity events," wrote Tracy T. Lefteroff, global managing partner of the U.S.-based venture capital practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Instead, venture capitalists are continuing to support the companies already in their portfolio."

So-called 'liquidity events" include sales and initial public offerings that allow venture capitalists to recoup their investments.

Nine of the companies that received funding in Maryland were based in the Baltimore area, while the other 11 were based in the state's Washington suburbs, according to the quarterly PwC MoneyTree report.

Statewide, biotechnology and medical device companies attracted more than $51 million in venture capital. But software and information technology services dwarfed the state's life sciences sector, luring more than $158 million from venture capitalists, according to the report.

Two companies received $75 million of the $86 million in venture capital invested in Baltimore-area businesses: Tenable Network Security Inc. and Zenoss Inc.

Columbia-based Tenable, which focuses on network security for government, commercial and university customers, raised $50 million from Accel Partners last month in its first major round of funding. Tenable says the U.S. Department of Defense uses its "vulnerability management" software. It employs 200 people, having doubled its staff over the past year.

Annapolis-based Zenoss Inc., which unifies information technology operations for companies, raised $25 million in its third major round of funding since its formation in 2005.

The company has raised a total of $45 million since its formation. Zenoss helps companies enable the smooth operation of Internet services to customers who may use a website or a mobile app.

Bill Karpovich, CEO and founder of Zenoss, said the company intends to use the new capital to develop its sales and marketing operations globally. The company employs about 100 people in offices in Annapolis, Austin, Texas, and San Jose, Calif. — and it could double that number over the next 18 months, he said.

"You've got a business that's working and improving and doing well, and now it's time to take it to the next level," Karpovich said. "For us, this [investment] translates into us building our field operations."

gus.sentementes@baltsun.com

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O'Malley as Mayor of Baltimore used the tactic co-opted from New York City of arresting multiple times on minor infractions like loitering in an attempt to manufacture an arrest history that prevents that person from receiving housing or othe social services in an effort to get those people to leave the city.  That coupled with Clinton''s Welfare reform that ended payments and left people either underemployed or taking double-poverty jobs that left them unable to support themselves.  This pushes people closer to having to resort to crime to survive

 High incarceration rates punish taxpayers as well, panelists say
 June 06, 2012 at 7:37 am     By Dana Amihere  MarylandReporter.com
dana@marylandreporter.com

Law enforcement, policymakers and justice advocates said Monday that excessive incarceration of blacks and other people of color is not only a moral injustice but doesn’t make economic sense for taxpayers.

The Maryland State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights  met in Annapolis to hear testimony on the disproportionate number of blacks incarcerated in Maryland and across the nation and its associated costs. This 18-member committee is supposed to meet over the next two years to discuss possible solutions to issues of racial disparity.

“For the last 40 years, we have been a nation addicted to incarceration,” said Laura Murphy, national legislative office director for the American Civil Liberties Union. “Approximately 1 in 100 American adults is currently behind bars, and about 1 in 33 American adults is either in prison or jail or on parole or probation.”

In Maryland alone, the state’s prison population has nearly tripled to over 22,000 since 1980, Murphy said, a figure which has transformed mass incarceration into an issue of civil rights for people of color, especially blacks.

“One in nine young black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are behind bars.” Murphy said. “In some cities, that jumps to one in three young black men under some form of correctional control.”

Hilary Shelton, Washington bureau director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that the explosive growth of incarcerated persons comes at a high cost to Marylanders.

“In 1982, one in 41 adults was in jail or on parole or on parole or on probation. Today it’s one in 27. And it’s costing taxpayers $3.3 million a day,” Shelton said.

According to the Maryland Higher Education Commission, Maryland was increasing the use of prisons for blacks during the 1990s at a faster pace than increasing use of full time, four-year public universities.

Fixing disparities outside prison walls

Today, the U.S. has the world’s highest incarceration rate. While Americans account for only about 5% of the world’s total population, the United States houses 25% of the world’s prison population, about 2.3 million people behind bars, Murphy said.

Panelists throughout the day reiterated that systemic changes have to be made at all levels.

Efforts have been made and lessons learned about best practices to prevent instances of racially-motivated traffic stops over the past decade, said Mark Carter with the Maryland State Police.

The so-called “war on drugs” has had a direct relationship to increased incarceration.

“The war on drugs has been about as successful as the constitutional amendment to ban the consumption of alcohol,” Murphy said.

Not only are blacks prosecuted more frequently for drugs, they — especially black males — are more likely to be convicted and serve longer prison sentences for charges unrelated to the sale of drugs, according to an NAACP report.

There’s a residual impact on the employability and eligibility for financial aid for college for those who end up with a criminal record, Shelton said. Addicts’ self-medication and youth looking to experiment shouldn’t continue to be penalized after their debt to society has been paid.



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SOMEONE PLEASE TELL GOVERNOR O'MALLEY THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE WOULD FLOCK TO THESE JOBS IF HE WOULD FIGHT FOR A LIVING WAGE OF $14 AN HOUR AS HARD AS HE FOUGHT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY!



O'Malley tells board to focus on hiring good principals and improving vocational education
By Liz Bowie Gov. Martin O'Malley made a rare appearance at the state school board meeting Tuesday to welcome the new state school superintendent, Lillian M. Lowery, and encourage the members to work harder on preparing principals and providing vocational training to students.

The state board voted unanimously to hire Lowery, who is Delaware's secretary of education. She will begin July 1.

Lowery attended the board meeting, sitting next to the interim state school superintendent, Bernard Sadusky, but did not participate in the discussion, which centered on several key issues, including the adjustment to new set of high school exams in the coming years.

O'Malley asked the board to focus on developing a unified strategy for finding better-trained principals. "I don't think we do a very good job of recruitment," he said, adding that schools that improve student achievement always have good principals.

O'Malley, who last spoke at a school board meeting in 2009, listed several areas in which the state had made gains —by moving to new common national standards, better preparing kindergartners for school, and increasing the number of students focused on science, technology, engineering and math.

But in other areas, he said, the state needs improvement. O'Malley has long promoted career and technology education, what used to be known as vocational education, in schools. On Tuesday, he said he was disappointed that some statistics indicate a drop in CTE participation.

The number of students taking such a course in high school has gone up and down, but essentially remained flat, with about 43 percent of all students enrolled in a CTE course in a given year. However, the percent of high school students who completed a CTE program has dropped from 26 percent in 2007 to 19 percent in 2011, according to Maryland State Department of Education statistics.

"The place where it is the greatest need is the place where it seems to be offered the least ... Baltimore City," O'Malley said.

While he acknowledged that some educators see CTE as a "vestige of the past" because many African-American students were funneled into vocational courses years ago, he said some students are eager to work in those fields.

"There is dignity in all work, not just postgraduate work," he said. "We have a skill shortage more than a job shortage in our state."

In other business, the school board voted to continue the high school government exam that had been discontinued last year because of budget cuts. With the strong support of legislative leaders, the General Assembly passed a bill that will require the state board to put the test back in as a requirement of graduation.

The state board took the vote Tuesday, reinstating the requirement, but the logistics of getting the test materials updated will mean the new test can't take effect until 2013 for ninth- or 10th-graders taking the course. Some board members questioned the timing, saying it might be better to wait until after the board had adopted new social studies standards, but staff said the move was required by law.

Thank you,

Matt Gallagher
Chief of Staff


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THE ARTICLE BELOW GIVES THE REASON AS TO WHY IT MATTERS NOT; THE CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR OF PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS VOTED TO GIVE THE MAYOR THE SOLE AUTHORITY TO ASSIGN TAXPAYER MONEY TO PROJECTS.....COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN ONLY LOWER THE BUDGET OUTLAY.  SOUND LIKE A TEA PARTY ARRANGEMENT?  YOU BETCHA!  THIS MOVE HAPPENED WHILE O'MALLEY WAS IN LEADERSHIP IN PREPARATION FOR THIS 'NEW ECONOMY' TRANSITION.  AS THE MAYOR SAYS BELOW....WE CONTINUE ON IN OUR QUEST TO ATTRACT 10,000 NEW AFFLUENT IMMIGRANTS TO OUR CITY......BLAST BE TO THE COMMONERS!  LET THEM EAT CAKE!  I'M REVERTING TO REVOLUTIONARY DIALECT BECAUSE THIS 'NEW ECONOMY' IS TAKING US BACK TO PRE-ENLIGHTENMENT DAYS (FREE WILL AND SELF-DETERMINATION AND CITIZEN OVER PEASANT BE DARNED DAYS).

WE SEE THAT THE GOVERNOR AND THE MAYOR ARE KEY GOVERNMENT POSITIONS THAT MUST BE FILLED WITH A REAL PROGRESSIVE AND NOT A THIRD WAY CORPORATE POLITICIAN.  REVERSING THIS MAYORIAL CONTROL OF THE BUDGET IS A MUST FOR A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM.  WHAT WE HAVE NOW LOOKS MORE LIKE POLITICS IN UZEBEKISTAN. AND EXPLAINS THE LEVEL OF CORRUPTION/CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.  THIS IS O'MALLEY'S CREATION.......IF YOU LIKE EASTERN EUROPEAN TOTALITARIANISM.......THIS POLITICIAN IS FOR YOU!

Council discards cuts, approves mayor's budget plan Young calls vote "a loss for the people of Baltimore"

By Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun 9:22 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2012

The Baltimore City Council reversed course Thursday, rejecting millions of dollars in budget cuts it had endorsed earlier in the week, and passing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's original $2.3 billion spending plan.

The abrupt shift derailed $6 million in cuts that had been proposed by Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young in an attempt to prevent the closure of recreation centers and fire companies. Nine council members voted for the mayor's budget, rejecting his proposed amendments.

Rawlings-Blake's office praised the council for passing her budget, which closes a $48 million shortfall and includes, for the first time in several years, a small property tax cut for homeowners.

"The budget plan was built around our vision for growing Baltimore's population by 10,000 families in the next 10 years," the mayor said in a statement. "Additionally, the budget supports significant funding for programs and services that impact Baltimore's youth."

But Young said after the meeting, "A vote against the amended budget is a vote against our kids." The mayor's staffers, he said, "think it was a loss for me. It wasn't. It was a loss for the people of Baltimore."

Three council members who had supported many of Young's amendments earlier in the week — James B. Kraft, Nick Mosby and William "Pete" Welch — voted against the amended budget and for the mayor's plan.

Councilman Carl Stokes, who had previously voted for the amendments, did not attend the meeting; an aide said he was dealing with a family emergency. Five council members — Warren Branch, Mary Pat Clarke, Bill Henry, Helen Holton and Young — voted for the amended budget.

Council members, many of whom were dressed in seersucker, nervously joked before the meeting about the intense heat outside — and in the council chambers.

Before casting his vote, Kraft explained that he realized there was no point in voting for the amendments because the mayor would not agree to boost funding in the areas that the council had identified.

"I want to thank the council president for his leadership," Kraft said. Young, sitting beside him, frowned and shook his head before walking out of the room.

Young said later that the mayor had "bought" the support of council members by offering services for their districts. Kraft, he said, would receive a ranger for Patterson Park and a housing inspector, while Mosby had been promised a new rec center.

"I'm sure the others got something, too," Young said.

Kraft said that the administration previously had pledged to allocate such services to his district, but acknowledged that the topic had come up during discussions over the budget. When he agreed to vote for the mayor's plan, it was already clear that Young's amended budget would be defeated, he said.

"I'd rather walk away with a victory for my district, than with a loss not only for my district but for the entire city," he said.

Mosby said he has continually asked for a new rec center in his district, but it did not come up in discussions with the mayor about his vote. "It has nothing to do with this budget or whether I say yes or no," he said.

A spokesman for Rawlings-Blake denied that the mayor offered perks to Kraft and Mosby in exchange for their votes.

"Councilmen Mosby and Kraft are independent voices on the City Council who make up their own minds about what's best for Baltimore," Ryan O'Doherty said in an email.

On Monday, council members had endorsed a slew of measures designed to trim money from several agencies and services, including executive protective of elected officials, the inspector general's office and police administration.

The council has held weeks of marathon hearings on the budget, as is customary, although members have little power to shape spending. Under the city charter, the council can only cut money from the spending plan; it cannot allocate funds for particular services.

The council rarely alters the mayor's spending plan. Three years ago, the council, guided by Rawlings-Blake, then the council president, led a similar insurrection, which also fizzled out



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I'M GOING TO PLACE THIS UNDER RULE OF LAW BECAUSE IS SHOWS HOW THESE POLITICIANS ARE INTERPRETING LAW TO THE BENEFIT OF CORPORATIONS NOT PEOPLE.  IF THE DIRECTIVE OF ELECTED OFFICE IS TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS, THEN THESE POLITICIANS ARE FAILING IN THEIR DUTIES.

WE ALL KNOW THAT STATES WITH A LONG HISTORY OF FRACKING INDUSTRY DRILLING HAVE EXPERIENCED LOTS OF GROUNDWATER AND AQUIFER CONTAMINATION FROM FRACKING FLUIDS.  WE ALL KNOW THAT WHEN THESE COMMUNITIES TAKE THESE COMPANIES TO COURT FOR DAMAGES, COURTS DISMISS THE CHARGES BECAUSE THERE IS NO BASELINE STUDY SHOWING THAT THESE FRACKING CHEMICALS WEREN'T THERE.........THE POLITICIANS ARE PROTECTING THESE COMPANIES FROM CIVIL DAMAGES BY FAILING TO COLLECT BASELINE DATA THAT PROVES CONTAMINATION.

THIS IS WHAT O'MALLEY IS DOING HERE.


Deadline extended for report on gas drilling in Western Maryland
7:08 p.m. EDT, June 12, 2012  Herald-Mail.com

HAGERSTOWN— A panel studying the impact of natural gas drilling in Western Maryland is getting more time to produce its second set of recommendations.

Chairman David Vanko said Tuesday that Gov. Martin O’Malley has given the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission until Dec. 31 to produce a draft report on the best practices used elsewhere to extract gas by hydraulic fracturing.

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That would be followed by a public comment period, with the final report on best practices due Aug. 1, 2013.

That report would otherwise have been due this August.

Vanko said the panel wants to do a good job rather than rush.

He said there’s been no talk of delaying the group’s third report, which will be about the impact of gas drilling. That report is due Aug. 1, 2014.
Copyright © 2012, Herald Mail



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BELOW IS A BLOG POST THAT SHOWS O'MALLEY'S COMPLETE DISMISSAL OF RIGHT AND WRONG IN PURSUIT OF PERSONAL GAIN.......HE HAS GIVEN CORPORATIONS EVERYTHING WHILE HURTING PEOPLE OVER AND OVER.

So, the perfect example of extremes to which I referred above is starting my day with very bad vibes and ending it with very good vibes.........almost........until the very bad vibes literally beat back that shining light.  I'm speaking of the book/author talk by Mark Shriver as he paid tribute to a truly great man, Sarge Shriver.  Here is a Maryland family that gave everything to serving people and Mark had just delivered a heartfelt public talk about his relationship with this 'Good Man'....the name of the book.

Then, the morning suddenly revisits me when O'Malley comes into the auditorium at the end of this warm exchange, jumps onto the stage, and begins to throw a campaign promotion using Mark's father for his own personal gain.  IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST COLD, SELF-SERVING THINGS I HAVE EVER WITNESSED.  O'MALLEY IS A MAN WHO HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ON HIS MIND EXCEPT AMBITION.......IT WAS A DISGRACE THAT I PERSONALLY WILL MAKE SURE GETS TO EVERY MEDIA OUTLET. 

For those who missed the generation of Good Men, Sarge and Eunice Shriver developed REAL NON-PROFITS meant to provide good for those most in need.  As Mark Shriver said very aptly..........his father saw a need and filled it not fearing the idea of 'Big Government'..........the mirror image of the Wall Street goodfellow that jumped on stage.   Read "A Good Man' by Mark Shriver and VOTE YOUR THIRD WAY INCUMBENT OUT!!!


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O'Malley gave Maryland's utility company to a Chicago-based Exelon as a Pay to Play to Obama to gain support as O'Malley starts an election bid.  The citizens of Maryland did not want their utility in the hands of a national corporation because we knew that market speculators and corporate profits would cause high rates.......we were assured by the Mayor and the MPSC that wouldn't happen.  Just a month after merger approval.......a rate increase request:

THIS COMMISSION GAVE ITS APPROVAL FOR A MERGER OF BGE WITH EXELON WITH ALL KINDS OF 'PROTECTIONS' FOR THE CONSUMER........INCLUDING GUARDS AGAINST RATE HIKES.........WELL HERE ARE THE RATE HIKES.  CALL THE MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION AND TELL THEM TO STOP THIS HIKE!

BGE will seek distribution rate increase Utility plans to submit case to state regulators this year

By Lorraine Mirabella,                   The Baltimore Sun 9:52 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2012

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. plans to ask Maryland regulators later this year to allow it to raise rates for the distribution of electricity and natural gas, Chicago-based Exelon Corp., the utility's new owner, said Thursday.

Exelon executives told stock analysts during a meeting in New York that BGE had delayed filing the rate case while BGE's former parent company, Constellation Energy Group, finalized a merger with Exelon. The $7.9 billion deal, which created the largest nonutility energy provider in the United States, closed in March.

"Through the merger, we've held off on filing a rate case, and we will be filing our next rate case in the second half of 2012," said Denis O'Brien, a senior executive vice president of Exelon and CEO of Exelon Utilities, during the meeting. He did not elaborate.

If approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission, the state's public utility regulator, new rates would take effect no more than 210 days after the filing, the company said.

BGE's request will include "recovery of among other things, investments focused on electric and gas reliability, tree and vegetation management and other projects to continue to provide safe and reliable service to our customers," said Robert L. Gould, a BGE spokesman. "Parts of BGE's electric and gas system, much of which was built in the 1950s and 1960s, are approaching the end of their useful life and require new investments to ensure continued reliability."

Distribution charges, which cover delivery of power and gas to customers' homes, typically make up between a quarter and a third of a customer's bill.

"I'm not surprised they are going to come in for a rate case so soon after the merger, but I'm pretty disappointed," said Paula M. Carmody, the People's Counsel in the Office of People's Counsel, which represents rate payers. While the company presented the plans for a rate case as an indication of its commitment to a successful merger, "I don't think customers are going to consider an increase in their rate to be a sign of a successful merger."

The last BGE distribution rate hike took effect in December 2010, when residential customers were expected to pay, on average, an additional $16 on electric bills and $10 on gas bills a year. At the time, BGE said the increases would raise an estimated $30.9 million for electric distribution, as well as $9.75 million for gas delivery. The utility said those increases were needed to pay for system improvements at a time when power prices were falling. 
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O'Malley has consistently found himself on the wrong side of policy regarding African-American communities and businesses.  I personally have not seen as much bias as I have with O'Malley as Baltimore's Mayor and then Maryland's Governor.  He precided over the subprime mortgage fraud directed at the minority communities, he oversaw a war on crime that brought New York police administrators to Baltimore to copy Bloomberg's repressive style, he promotes the use of subcontractors and public private partnerships all of which lower wages for minority workers, and he is directing charters used as development tools at minority communities.  Believe it or not......I could go on.  

Arc Baltimore's $9.4M state contract draws ire of minority-business leaders

Baltimore Business Journal by Jack Lambert, Researcher/Reporter Date: Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 11:46am EDT -
The state is set to award a $9.4 million contract to a Baltimore nonprofit to help clean local subway stations — a move that angers some minority business leaders.

The state Board of Public Works will vote June 6 on a five-year contract for the Arc Baltimore to provide janitorial services at Metro stations in Greater Baltimore. The Arc Baltimore is a nonprofit that provides jobs for people with developmental disabilities. The organization has held a contract with the state to provide janitorial services at area metro stations for nearly 10 years, said Stephen H. Morgan, executive director with the Arc Baltimore.

The Arc Baltimore qualifies for as a minority contractor due to a process called preference procurement. That’s when nonprofits qualify for MBE contracts as preference providers if they have a community-oriented mission such as helping people with disabilities. The Baltimore Business Journal reported in April 2011 that of the $3 billion the state paid through the Minority Business Enterprise program over Gov. Martin O’Malley’s first term, almost a third of that money went to nonprofits that help people with disabilities instead of minority- and women-owned companies.

The Arc Baltimore would hire about a dozen workers if the contract is approved, Morgan said. “It’s a great contract in that it provides consistent well-paying important work for about a dozen folks with pretty severe disabilities,” Morgan said.

Some, however, are angry that the Arc Baltimore qualifies as a minority business enterprise. Del. Barbara A. Robinson said the contract takes away valuable dollars from true minority-owned businesses.

Robinson drafted a bill for the 2012 General Assembly session that would have excluded some nonprofits from the state’s Minority Business Enterprise, but later withdrew that bill from the House Health and Government Operations committee.



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MY LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR REGARDING HIS OPEN GOVERNMENT OFFICE:

I have asked several agencies and have queried several government news agencies about how to access a cumulative list of public meetings across Maryland in advance of the meetings.  The public must, as it stands, search each individual agency website and organization regularly to hit upon a scheduled public meeting regarding public policy.  We most often hear of these public meetings on the news after the event, with, of course sparce attendance because nobody knows about them.

Open government would want to get that information out to the public as soon as the public meeting, regardless of agency, scheduled the meeting and then again remind people just before.  You would expect the main media channels, public and private to provide that public service.  For example, a banner running across the bottom of the evening news broadcast and a section on the media website.

Please let me know why this isn't done, and when we will be able to expect this kind of information.

Thank you,

Cindy Walsh

CitizensOversight


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WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT IS A CONCENTRATED WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT OF AFFLUENT AND LUXURY COMMUNITIES AROUND THE CITY'S CORE.  IT WAS DECIDED, BACK IN THE LATE EIGHTIES AND WHEN CLINTON ANNOUNCED THE THIRD WAY POLITICAL CAUCUS THAT ESSENTIALLY BROUGHT DEMOCRATS ON BOARD WITH REPUBLICANS ON ISSUES OF WEALTH AND FREE MARKET, THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR THE WEALTHY TO RETAKE URBAN CENTERS----AS WE SEE WITH MANHATTEN, IT IS EASIER TO DEFEND AND PROTECT A CONCENTRATED URBAN CORE THAN A SUBURBAN ONE.  WHEN YOU HAVE INCOME INEQUITY NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN AMERICA....THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PLAN.  SO, CRIME PLAYED A PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT.....AS WE KNOW TODAY, THE CRIME WAS SIMPLY DISPLACED BECAUSE THE SOCIAL ISSUES OF CRIME WERE NEVER ADDRESSED.  WHAT LOOKED TO BE SUCCESS BY THE ACADEMIC BELOW FAILS TO SHOW TWO THINGS:  THE CRIME STATISTICS WERE DELIBERATELY FALSIFIED BY INTERNAL POLICE CRIME REPORTING MECHANISMS...THE NEED TO SAY THINGS WERE BETTER PUSHED OFFICIALS TO MANUFACTURE THE RESULTS (I DARE SAY THEY ARE DOING THE SAME WITH EDUCATION IN THE CITY TODAY).  SO WE HEAR THAT POLICE ALTERED CRIME STATISTICS, THEY FAILED TO ANSWER CRIME CALLS AND WERE ABLE TO SHOW STATISTICALLY, IMPROVEMENT IN CRIME RATES.  SECONDLY, THE COMMUNITIES BELOW ARE NOW BEING HIT HARD BY CRIME AND VIOLENCE AS THE SAME SOCIAL FACTORS ARE BEING IGNORED.

THIS IS WHAT MOVED MARTIN O'MALLEY INTO THE POLITICIAL LIMELIGHT. 



 Spatial crime displacement resulting from large-scale urban renewal programs in the city of Baltimore, MD: a GIS modeling approach Brian J. Schumacher and Michael Leitner
Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA U.S.A.
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I MUST SAY WE SEE GREAT DISCREPENCIES DURING HIS TENURE THAT WOULD BRING TO QUESTION THIS STANCE:

O'Malley defends crime data Mayor says calls for audit are political Duncan says figures showing 40% drop were manipulated February 15, 2006
|By DOUG DONOVAN | DOUG DONOVAN,SUN REPORTER
 
Mayor Martin O'Malley said yesterday that the city's violent crime statistics are accurate and that an independent audit of the data, similar to one he authorized six years ago, is not warranted, despite calls for such a review by his Democratic opponent for governor.

Critics question whether O'Malley's assertion that Baltimore's violent crime declined nearly 40 percent during his tenure has been inflated because it compares 1999 data, which underwent a comprehensive audit that increased the reported incidents of violence, to 2004 statistics, which were not subjected to the same scrutiny.

The mayor said at a City Hall news conference yesterday that Baltimore does more to internally verify and review its crime reports than most cities and that the process is so thorough as to make unnecessary a one-time annual audit as extensive as the one conducted six years ago.

"I'm not asking for an independent audit ... but I know political opponents always ask for one in an election year," O'Malley said. "We audit internally all the time."

O'Malley's Democratic rival for governor, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, called for such a review this week and went so far yesterday as to say the mayor deliberately manipulated crime statistics.

"It appears the mayor has cooked the books on crime statistics in the city," Duncan said in an interview. "This issue of cooked books strikes at the heart of the mayor's credibility on crime and on other issues beyond that."

In an article Saturday, The Sun detailed questions about the mayor's violent crime reduction claim. Several criminologists say the statistics for 2004 would have to undergo the same review as the 1999 statistics before the mayor can accurately claim a nearly 40 percent reduction.

Before the audit of crime statistics of Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's last year in office, the city recorded 15,245 violent crimes in 1999. The audit, conducted by consultants hired by O'Malley in 2000, found reporting mistakes and revised the number of violent crime incidents -- counted as homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults -- to 18,630, a 22 percent boost.

Compared with pre-audited figures, violent crime is down 23.5 percent. Compared with post-audit numbers, the reduction is 37.4 percent.

O'Malley dismissed assertions by Duncan of deliberate statistical manipulation as "sad," "irresponsible" and "unsubstantiated." The mayor said he had hard evidence when, as a city councilman in 1998, he accused Schmoke's police department of undercounting shootings.

The mayor said that any audit he could call for would be instantly labeled as politically biased. He said an audit of the city's crime statistics authorized recently by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is politically motivated.

Ehrlich administration officials deny any political motive for the audit, which is set to be finished in August, the month before the Democratic primary.

At least one Baltimore City Council member, Kenneth N. Harris Sr., said the mayor should call for an independent audit. "To settle this once and for all and to dismiss those who are in doubt or are suspicious, an independent audit would put closure to the matter," Harris said.

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THIS IS MY LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR AND TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF BALTIMORE SCHOOLS.  GOVERNOR O'MALLEY OVERSAW A PERIOD WHILE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE WHERE BUSINESS TAX CREDITS RECEIVED PRIORITY TO EDUCATION FUNDING AS THE SCHOOLS LANGUISHED UNFUNDED.  THEN, AS GOVERNOR HE EMBRACED THE RACE TO THE TOP CHARTER SCHOOL MOVEMENT THAT USES CHARTER SCHOOLS AS SOCIAL ENGINEERING TOOLS TO MOVE UNDERSERVED FAMILIES OUT OF AREAS TARGETED FOR AFFLUENT GROWTH AND FOUGHT FOR CHARTER LAWS THAT ALLOW SPECIAL RULES THAT HIDE CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLIC, THAT TARGETED CHARTERS TO UNDERSERVED STUDENTS AND THEN DEFUNDED THEM LITTLE BY LITTLE.

WE KNOW THAT THE ULTIMATE GOAL WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS IS TO PRIVATIZE FOR WALL STREET ALL PUBLIC K - 12.  IF YOU LIKE THAT, OR IF YOU LIKE MEGA UNIVERSITIES DESIGNED TO ATTRACT THE BEST OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD WHILE BEING TOO EXPENSIVE FOR YOUR CHILD-------YOU'LL LIKE O'MALLEY!

Someone needs to remind Governor O'Malley  that the reason education reform drives charters to underserved communities is that these charters will give these children the resources they need to succeed.  As we all knew would happen, after all these charters are set up, the public funding is slowly reduced, negating any claim that the charters are for enhanced learning for the students.  What we will see is a slow decline in funding for under-served and disabled children while charter magnates like Dunbar, that service Advanced Placement children of Johns Hopkin's employee families will receive plenty of private funding from private non-profits that can select which schools they will donate.

IT IS AN EMBARRASSMENT FOR ANY ORGANIZATION TO BE INVOLVED WITH THIS OVERT CLASS AND RACE DISCRIMINATION.  IT IS A CHILLING LOSS OF PUBLIC INTEGRITY.  THEY WILL HAVE COMPANY THOUGH AS CHARTERS INCREASE AND MOVE INTO YOUR MIDDLE-CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD!  DON'T THINK NOT.  WALL STREET LEAVES NO ASSET UNTURNED.

So, these under-served families can't catch a break when it comes to receiving resources for quality education.  Of course this is all a great part of the reason for the violence and black-market activity that comes when strong education is denied.  So with this reduction of per-pupil funding for minorities and disabled we will see some transitional charters close because of lack of funds.  I have heard the Mayor plans to close the Baltimore Freedom Academy downtown.  That appears to have been a charter set up to transition families out of under-served schools targeted to become affluent.

What all this means for the middle-class who think that social engineering is fine is this:  once the number of charters gets large enough for its own school board....which is next, you will see the funding go down further to maximize cost effectiveness and Teach for America employees enter to undermine teacher's unions....not to mention any resemblance of quality education, and then, your politicians will declare that charters are more effective and affordable than public schools in general and .......boom......they declare all schools charter schools.  That is the progression....SAY NO TO THESE CHARTER SCHOOLS!  YOUR GRANDCHILDREN WILL ASK WHY YOU DIDN'T!

City schools pass 2013 budget Charter schools note per-pupil funding decline

The Baltimore City school board voted Tuesday to pass the district's proposed $1.31 billion budget, which includes a decrease in the per-pupil funding for charter schools.

As the amount spent on students in traditional schools increases, the system's 33 charter schools will see their per-pupil expenditures drop by $257 from 2012, for a total of $9,007. The overall amount for charters, however, has steadily increased as their populations grow.

The charters are funded differently than traditional schools. The schools negotiated to receive in cash what the district spends per-pupil and pay for the bulk of their own central services. For traditional schools, those services are deducted from the overall per-pupil amount.

The per-pupil decrease comes at a time when charters will feel the pain of new reforms in the district, particularly in labor union contracts. For example, while traditional schools are charged the average salary of educators, charters pay the actual costs.

But charter leaders said they are still waiting for answers from the district about how to stop the three-year trend, during which funding for charters has decreased by $400 per pupil, but costs have continued to rise.

"Charter schools are facing a very challenging financial environment," said Will McKenna, principal of Afya Public Charter School.

"Unfortunately we have not been able to get a clear answer from the district explaining this drop, which undermines the financial stability of the schools and unquestionably impacts the programming we have been approved to provide to our students."

Schools chief Andrés Alonso said that the charter's funding formula was applied the same way as in previous years, and that charters are experiencing the effects of rising costs, increasing populations and flat expenditures.

"That is basic math, not the district or the formula," Alonso said. "It's the dilemma in how we are doing business."

Alonso said, however, that the school system is conducting a study that looks at the costs of central office services and expenditures that might allow all schools to receive more funding.

"Every time a school gets less I am troubled, and we need to find a way for that to change," Alonso said.

The system will increase its per-pupil expenditure at traditional schools by 3 percent this year, funding all students at $5,155. Additional funding called "student weights" will also increase for certain groups of students.

Schools will receive an additional $6 for students who score at basic and advanced levels. The weights for students with disabilities, $641, and high school students who receive free and reduced-price lunch, $750, will be maintained from last year.

The overall fiscal 2013 budget will increase by about $1.5 million this year, primarily driven by rising costs associated with pay increases under the system's teachers union contracts. That will mean another year that the district's central office will get leaner, with $13 million being cut from the headquarters budget.

The budgeting process this year, themed "schools-first budgeting," sought to restore the flexibility that schools have lost in their budgeting since 2009, by increasing the amount of money that principals can spend on programming and staff by $11 million.

Still, some schools are awaiting word if they will take other hits to their budgets. Federal funding, which includes Title I money that is given to schools with the poorest populations, is slated to decrease by about $15 million. At some Title I schools, the federal cuts are taking up to a $30,000 toll.

The school system hopes to use money it will save if the state is awarded a waiver from certain No Child Left Behind mandates. The waiver would allow it to drop a tutoring program, Supplemental Educational Services, that officials say costs a lot, but posts little results.

erica.green@baltsun.com