The popularity of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland has lasted for nearly a century, and elaborately annotated editions of it have been published to expose its subtle points to the uninitiated. In Baltimore, an equally classic teachers’ union contract has been maintained intact and virtually unamended throughout the six years of the current O’Malley administration.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Baltimore City has two pension funds for non-elective officials, a Fire and Police Fund with about $2 billion in assets and a fund for other employees (ERS) with about $1.3 billion. Until three years ago, the Boards of the two funds met together and maintained a common investment policy, one element of which […]
In our February 2005 issue, we reviewed three ancient and venerable lawsuits: the Bradford school financing litigation in Baltimore City, now in its tenth year; the federal special education lawsuit, now aged 21; and another ‘baby’ lawsuit, the federal court housing litigation, now also ten years old….
The Drug Symposium Summarized The Calvert symposium on drugs on May 18 did not produce complete agreement among all speakers on all subjects: few discussions do so. However, there was general agreement on some major themes: 1. Treating marijuana possession as an arrestable offense, rather than one leading to a summons and fines or mandated […]
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a symposium on the war on drugs, a reconsideration after 40 years, sponsored by the Calvert Institute. It seemed to us that the time was opportune for a more detached look at drug policy issues than that which is usually presented.
And it seemed to us that one way of obtaining such a detached look would be by asking some of the people who were present at the start of our national drug agencies to review the developments of the last 40 years.
We also are honored to have as our kick-off speaker former Governor Gary Johnson ofNew Mexico. His participation is explained by the fact that he has invested more of himself in seeking to foster change in national drug policy than any other public official participating in the frequently unenlightening controversies over this subject.
Before we begin with his remarks, I would like to introduce Alan Friedman of Governor Ehrlich’s office to present some greetings on behalf of the Governor.
The Malpractice Scandal The Malpractice Scandal Few Marylanders have read the text of the malpractice bill that emerged from the General Assembly over Governor Ehrlich’s veto, but those who do will come to share Mark Twain’s belief that politicians are “the native American criminal class.” The bill in its final form is almost a parody […]
Over the course of the last 50 years a ‘quiet revolution’ fostered by federal mortgage lending regulations has given rise to the creation of hundreds of thousands of private community associations with the power to impose charges on members.
Two of the four legislative sessions of Governor Ehrlich’s first term have passed, rendering appropriate an interim assessment of the administration’s performance on major issues facing state government. This review will necessarily pass over some important subjects such as the environment, where the administration has major successes to its credit. It will focus on four […]
The five-year Thornton program, which would enhance Maryland’s public school appropriations by $1.3 billion, is a big mistake. The inadequacy of public high school education is the most serious problem this nation confronts, but Thornton is a case of more means worse. Appropriations for future years should be stretched out and conditioned on reforms. Every […]
St.John’s College, Annapolis, January 6, 2004 Reported by Linda A. Crockett, videotaped by G.Stanley Doore, conference organization by Robert O’C. Worcester GEORGE W. LIEBMANN, Executive Director, Calvert Institute, Moderator WILLIAM S. RATCHFORD Director, Department of Fiscal Services, 1974?1997 NANCY K. KOPP Maryland State Treasurer, 2002?; House of Delegates, 1975-2002 ROBERT R. NEALL Maryland State Senate, […]