News Corner

By Mark Uncapher

The Baltimore Schools Public School system was forced to close during the first days of this month because more than 60 of its buildings lacked heat.  The knee-jerk response of some partisans was to blame the Baltimore system’s woes on a “lack of funding.”

For example, the Maryland Democratic Party was quick to blame Governor Hogan for what they called his “callous disregard for the safety of Baltimore students.”  However, their shrill, over-the-top rhetoric withers under any form of scrutiny.

Democratic State Comptroller Peter Franchot noted that “Since I became Comptroller, I've voted to approve over $538 million for school capital funding for Baltimore City. It's infuriating that internal front office issues resulted in millions of HVAC project funds being reverted back to the state.”

By Dwight Patel

Now that 2017 is in the rear view mirror, let’s take a look back and examine some of the things you should have done by this time:

• Should have identified the office you are planning to run for, or at least narrowed it down to possible offices. If you haven’t done so, you really need to focus on this goal. Please refer to Dr. Politics Issue No. 1 for a list of offices and their requirements.

During the last weekend of 2017, Montgomery County experienced a record number of building fires. Two days later, the County Fire Chief announced nearly $3 million in cuts.

Why would the Chief reduce the support to county residents at a time when fire, rescue, and emergency medical services needs are at an all-time high? As the number of building fires continues at a record pace through early January, Montgomery County stands to lose two fire engines, a ladder truck, career staffing, and volunteer department funding. The impacts of these cuts are real and frightening – longer response times to those in life threatening situations.