Faster, better…

Archive for May, 2009

(EyeOnAnnapolis.net via DIGG) A 17 year old teenager from the 400 block of Larkspur Lane in Severna Park is considered critically missing by the Anne Arundel County Police Department.

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(Via Times News via DIGG) He didn’t know it’s illegal to kill a snake — any snake — in the state without a permit from the Department of Natural Resources.

(Thanks to Delusional Duck for pointing out this story.)

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PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. (May 21, 2009) — The Calvert County Health Department today notified Calvert County Public Schools that two students at Patuxent High School had confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza.

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High taxes are causing a drop in state revenues and a migration of people out of the state. When will they learn?

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Annually, Calvert County government throws taxpayer dollars up in smoke allowing a massive fireworks display at Breezy Point Campground. Tonight the unexpected explosions of rude next-door neighbors remind us of years past and probably years to come.

Why? Why is the county doing this? It’s just dumb. The thrills of a bunch of transient residents are placed above property tax payers next door looking for a little piece and quiet in the homes we pay EXCESSIVE property taxes for. Good grief commissioners, whats next? Perhaps we should bring fireworks to your homes at 9:00 PM some evening on an annual basis? These displays do nothing but encourage illegal use of fireworks.

Question? Are VALUABLE public safety resources tied up with this? Fire, police, EMS? How many county employees are on overtime? How much does this annual up-in-smoke cost us?

Thanks to Twitterite @TeamRonMiller

Now that another disastrous Maryland General Assembly session is in the books, Governor Martin O’Malley and his cohorts are fanning across the state to spin wild tales about how they cut so much out of the budget and spared the taxpayers more painful cuts to services or tax increases.

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One of Maryland’s budget-balancing tactics – asking millionaires to pay more money to the state – appears to be backfiring as the number of the highest-earning taxpayers dwindles with the flagging economy. A year ago, Maryland became one of the first states in the nation to create a higher tax bracket for millionaires…

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As of 2009 in Maryland, “insurance companies wishing to do business…must disclose any policies they or their predecessor firms provided to slave owners until 1865…”

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Ron Miller Maryland Senate 2010 Facebook Application now approved and listed in Facebook applications directory.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco participated in a tribute on Wednesday and Thursday in honor of the Honolulu-based helicopter crew who perished in a nighttime training accident in September 2008.

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Calvert County Commissioners signed a National Safe Boating Week Proclamation at their Monday morning meeting, May 11, 2009. Present to accept the proclamation were members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Drum Point Flotilla and a member of the regular Coast Guard BM Logan from Station St. Inigoes.

On Friday, May 8, Commissioners Linda Kelly and Susan Shaw went boating on the Patuxent River with members of the Auxiliary and the Coast Guard to see first hand how America’s Volunteer Lifesavers do what they do.

Drum Point Flotilla Commander Dan McConnell accepted the proclamation for the Auxiliary.

All boaters are strongly urged to boat safely this boating season. Read more about National Safe Boating Week. Wear that life jacket please!

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WAVY.COM 13 May 2009 – HAMPTON, Va. – Local marinas and the U.S. Coast Guard are seeing a significant spike in the number of boaters who are heading out on local waterways, and they warn that also means an increase in the potential for disaster.

The full story at WAVY.COM. Boaters on the Chesapeake Bay need to be conscious of all boater safety regulations and the rules of the road. Please don’t become a statistic this boating season. Thanks to @NASBLA on Twitter for  pointing out this story.

(CalvertNews.info 051309) HUNTINGTOWN, MD – On May 7 at approximately 12:20 a.m. an unknown black male forced his way into the residence of a 90 year-old victim on Harvest Lane in Huntingtown.

Read the entire story at CalvertNews.info!

There are many politicians in Maryland who think that speed cameras are a great way to protect citizens from dangerous drivers. In reality, there are countless flaws in administering traffic cameras and their true purpose is to gather revenue for budget deficits instead of protecting citizens.

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I enjoy bragging about our Guardians! Our Coast Guard is absolutely top notch. Today Public Affairs for Sector Baltimore released a unit spotlight news release about the brave guardians that are trained in law enforcement in order to board vessels.  In Southern Maryland we are fortunate to have our Guardians as well as agencies like the Calvert County Sheriff protecting our way of life on the Chesapeake Bay. Just knowing these guys and gals are there makes us all feel warm and cozy in our most vulnerable moments.  Now the Baltimore Sector Vessel Boarding and Security Team:

News Release: Date: May 12, 2009

Contact: Public Affairs Det. Baltimore
(410) 576-2541

The Vessel Boarding and Security Team is located at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, Md. Their mission is to detect, deter, and respond to terrorist activity and ensure the safety and security of critical infrastructure in the Port of Baltimore. The VBST performs more than 100 boardings a year in the Upper Chesapeake Bay and the National Capital Region on commercial vessels. There are currently seven active duty members and 29 reserve members serving with the VBST. Members of the VBST go through extensive law enforcement training, weapons training and first responder training such as first aid and CPR. The VBST conducts training both internally and externally with its federal, state and local law enforcement partners.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Leonard Posluzny uses a training baton on Petty Officer 3rd Class Jared Anderson during law enforcement training at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, Md., Monday, May 11, 2009. Members of the Vessel Boarding and Security Team must be proficient in self-defense standards before performing law enforcement. (Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Ayla Kelley)

Robert Taylor of the Baltimore SWAT team goes over different maneuvers of tactical entry with the members of the Coast Guard Vessel Boarding and Security Team at the Maryland State Police Training Academy in Sykesville, Md., Wednesday, May 6, 2009. The VBST regularly trains to improve their law enforcement skills and builds working relationships with state and local agencies. (Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Ayla Kelley)

Petty Officer 2nd Class Karl Banks approaches a suspect for handcuffing during law enforcement training at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, Md., Monday, May 11, 2009. Vessel Boarding and Security Team members practice proper handcuff techniques to keep themselves protected without harming the suspects. (Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Ayla Kelley)

That’s the mistake one con artist made when he placed a call to the cell phone of New York Senator Charles Schumer. The call, made using a random call generator, warned Schumer that his car warranty was about to expire.

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The tea party movement heads to Capitol Hill this summer.

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday the publication of a notice of policy in the Federal Register stating the Coast Guard will no longer inspect nor issue certificates of inspection for permanently moored watercraft.

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May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. Maryland is doing its part by using the traffic alert signs above I-95 to highlight the issue. Kudos to the Maryland DOT!

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Highly sensitive details of a US military missile air defence system were found on a second-hand hard drive bought on eBay.

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The Maryland State Department of Health continues to call residents of the state asking personal questions about their health. I am one of those residents. Despite repeatedly telling this agency to mind its own business the intrusive calls keep coming in after regular business hours.

The telephone number the caller ID shows is 410-767-6774. This shows up on the Internet as:

Diabetes Control Prgm Coordinator
MD Dept of Health & Mental Hygiene
Division of Diabetes Control
Office of Chronic Disease Prevention
Community & Public Health Admin
6 St. Paul Street Suite 603
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Phone 410-767-6774
Fax 410-333-2885

When you ask the callers to stop calling they become defensive and angry and remind you they are the “State of Maryland.” This agency harassed us last year as well. That is what it is – government harassment. When you tell someone or some organization to STOP calling you every call after that is HARASSMENT.

I have read at other websites that these calls are made at random but I have my doubts.

Are you getting these calls? Have you asked the state to go away? How many times have they called after you have asked them to stop? Has your doctor or other medical provider or pharmacist given your personal information to the state? I do not need or want a government bureaucrat asking me personal and private questions about my health. What don’t these people understand about NO!

This intrusive call with its request for personal and private information from a caller we cannot verify has to stop. There is no excuse for a government agency to behave in this way.

SOMD.COM is reporting that, Charles County Cops Target Seatbelt Violations During May. What I would rather see is twenty-four by seven aggressive driver enforcement everywhere. These seat belt events are peripheral to the proximate cause for most accidents – aggressive driving.

It’s virtually impossible to drive ten miles in Southern Maryland without having an aggressive driver less than one car length from your back bumper. People no longer stop at stop signs and those that do (when they stop behind me) wave wildly and angrily because I did stop.

What I’d like to see are the drivers of vehicles with police and firefighter vanity plates driving the speed limits and stopping for stop signs. Police cruisers need to be operating at safe speeds and only taking those extra risks with emergency lights activated. Stop sign enforcement at high risk intersections needs some serious attention. When was the last time you actually saw anyone in Southern Maryland STOP at a stop sign? . The colloquial speeds on neighborhood streets need to be closer to the actual limits and people must stop at red stop lights – period.

There are few example setters for traffic safety on Maryland highways. Driving in Southern Maryland is very dangerous. Each day I drive I have to be prepared to drive defensively. Law enforcement on our highways seem limited to radar speed traps. Aggressive behavior is mostly ignored. (I even see police vehicles in lines of vehicles all following at unsafe distances – too closely.  This means serious offenders may never get a ticket and these serious offenders WILL cause an accident later. Anarchy rules  on Maryland’s roads and highways.

We have enough dangerous behavior on our roads to keep traffic cops busy and traffic schools busy for months to come. It could even be a viable long-term revenue stream!  It’s time for the various police agencies to end political correctness and to stop patting each other on the back and get some real traffic enforcement done.  All we seem to see in Maryland each and every year is the hype about “Click it or ticket.” Seat belt enforcement events briefly mitigate the carnage and remind only a very few they need to be wearing seat belts. These events are designed for politically correct media exposure but do not deal with the proximate causes of traffic deaths.

I’d much rather the police were after the SERIOUS HAZARDOUS MOVER: following too closely, excessive speed, failure to stop at stop signs, driving while inattentive,  failure to stop at a red traffic lights, blasting through intersections at the last minute, passing at high speed on the right, passing in no passing zones, obvious enraged driving, and driving while intoxicated. It would not hurt to have a traffic division dedicated to driving enforcement.

Get out there and deal with aggressive driving!  Click it ot ticket only mitigates the carnage for a brief period and does not deal with the public safety problem on our highways.

(Got2BeGreen) The Got2BeGreen blog writes about the Chesapeake Bay of our ancestors and the pollutants that concern us today. A very good read. Thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for Tweeting about it!

Excerpt: “Yes, our nation’s settlers would have seen Orcas, also called Killer Whales (Orcinas orca), in the Chesapeake Bay. Naturalist and researcher for the Oceanic Society, Wayne Sentman says, “Orcas would not have been uncommon in the bay, yet today no one would dream of seeing them here.”

Visit the Got2BeGreen Blog.

(Chesapeake Bay Foundation) How clean is your stream? What color is your creek? Does the thought of swimming in your river make you shiver? Send a sample of your local water by 5/8/09.

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