QUOTE OF THE
WEEK: “Baltimore
city should not be viewed as an island reservation for use as a container for
all of the poor of a contiguous region including Anne Arundel, Baltimore,
Carroll and Harford counties.”
- U.S. District Judge Marvin J.
Garbis, in his ruling this week on the Baltimore City housing desegregation
case.
Friday Footnote #10 … January 7, 2005
A
publication of The Baltimore Jewish Council.
5750 Park Heights Avenue. Baltimore MD 21215.
Phone:
(410) 542-4850.
2. Worth a read
3. Maryland Nonprofits conference
5. Wanted: your teen (to young adult)
…And click here for our archive of
previous Friday Footnotes.
|
W |
elcome, friends, to another edition of the Friday Footnote,
a weekly letter about Maryland politics and the Jewish community.
We offer wishes of a safe journey and yasher
koach to Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley
as he departs this weekend with Associated, Baltimore Jewish Council and other
Jewish community leaders for a weeklong journey to Israel – the Mayor’s
first. The primary focus of the trip
will be information exchanges on homeland security. The goal is to bring back
to Baltimore some of the innovations Israel has developed in its ongoing battle
against terrorism. He will also be visiting
Ashkelon to sign a sister-city declaration with Baltimore.
Next Wednesday begins the first day of the 2005 General
Assembly session. We hope you will join us in advocating in support of the
Jewish community’s legislation and budget priorities. We’ll send you action alerts from time to time with ways to make
your voices heard. There will be
occasional meetings with legislators in Annapolis that I hope you’ll consider
joining. And we’ll have our Maryland
Jewish Alliance Advocacy Day on Monday March 7. Also, the first meeting of our Legislative Committee will be
Monday January 24, at 8:15 a.m. at the Jewish Family Services Building on Park
Heights Avenue (please let me know if you intend to come).
In case you missed it, you should read this Sun story about U.S.
District Judge Marvin Garbis’s ruling yesterday against the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development in the desegregation of public housing in
Baltimore. The ruling, if it holds up
(in a very conservative 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals) could
have wide-ranging implications in public housing policy throughout the
Baltimore region.
Finally, thanks to everyone who stepped forward to offer
assistance to the victims of the Southeast Asian tsunami disaster. As a reminder, The Associated is collecting
funds to support the relief efforts. Go
to their website, at www.associated.org,
or send a check directly to:
Tsunami Relief Fund
THE ASSOCIATED
101 W. Mt. Royal Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21201
Attn: Amy Silberman
As always, I hope you and your family have a pleasant and
peaceful Shabbat.
- David
Legislative update
As of this writing, Governor Ehrlich had not yet vetoed the
medical malpractice legislation the General Assembly passed on December 30. But
if he does, as promised, the legislature will return next Tuesday to consider
overriding that and a series of other vetoes from the 2004 regular legislative
session.
One of those vetoes was Senate Bill 819, which would have
set parameters around a proposed new system of home- and community-based long
term care for low-income seniors. We
have been working with the state health department, legislative leaders and a
range of senior advocates and health care providers to make sure that whatever
happens to SB 819, Maryland moves to the forefront of compassionate and
cost-effective care for seniors. One
positive sign from the health department, which has been very open to working
with groups like ours: a hint that the Governor’s budget will fund an expansion
of the popular Older Adults Waiver, which helps those a bit above the poverty
level, but who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid assistance in the
community, receive care outside of nursing homes.
The Governor’s Communications Director, Paul Schurick, has
said the state budget that comes out on January 19 will include:
- Full
“Thornton” funding (K-12 public education);
- a 7 to 8
percent increase in Medicaid funding;
- a
“significant” increase in higher education funding (press reports say $43
million more than last year);
- and cuts just
about everywhere else, resulting in a balanced budget for FY 2007.
We have also been meeting with advocates in support of
legislation to affirm that stem cell research is legal in Maryland, and provide
funding to support it. Sen. Paula
Hollinger (D-11th) and Del. Sandy Rosenberg (D-41st)
are the lead sponsors of this legislation – of particular interest to a Jewish
community whose support of genetic research over the years has led to the
discovery of a handful of diseases in slightly higher proportions than in the
general population.
You heard it here first…. last week, as a matter of
fact. But here’s a Montgomery
Gazette article about changes to committee lineups being made by Speaker
Mike Busch. Read past the first
part, about seat assignments on the House floor, and get the scoop on committee
reassignments – where the real work of Annapolis gets done.
Finally, The Sun reports that support
is building to override the veto of a bill limiting Maryland tuition
costs. But the Associated Press writes
that the state
Republican Party is now running radio and print ads urging three moderate
Democratic Anne Arundel County Senators to vote against the veto overrides on
the two bills: medical malpractice, and tuition caps.
Worth a read
The Sun no doubt will produce a
comprehensive package in advance of next Wednesday’s start of the legislative
session. And The Post had this piece
this week, called “Combustible
2005 Session Holds a Test for Ehrlich.”
But in the meantime, you would
be hard-pressed to find a better variety than this sampling of stories in the
Montgomery Gazette, fast becoming the must-read for Maryland politicos:
Ehrlich, GOP isolated on medmal veto
Ready to rumble as budget-heavy agenda takes shape
O'Malley laying groundwork for gubernatorial bid
Governor committed to securing faith-based aid
Maryland Nonprofits conference
We attended the legislative
conference this week of the Maryland
Association of Nonprofit Organizations. Participants were treated to a
lively talk from Joe Trippi, mastermind
of Howard Dean’s Internet-based revolution of a campaign (until it strangely
fizzled, of course). We also heard some
troubling numbers about the status of services to Marylanders in need:
- The waiting list for developmental disabilities
services: more than 10,000;
- The waiting list for child care services: more than
12,000;
- The number of those without health insurance in
Maryland: 762,000;
- Maryland’s national grade for higher education
affordability: F (down from D-minus two years ago);
- Probation caseloads in Maryland, compared to national
standards: 300 percent higher;
- Percentage of those in the juvenile justice system in
need of mental health services who are receiving them: 50.
Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George’s), who chairs
the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee, affirmed reports we’ve heard that
the budget will redirect $100 million of the state’s Tobacco Restitution Fund
into the General Fund. “The programs
that we’ve come to expect from the federal government, the state government,
are going to disappear,” Sen. Currie said. “I believe we have to prepare people
for that.”
(By the way, one bright note: the
Maryland Nonprofits website posts this report, the State of Foundation Giving in Maryland,
from the Association of Baltimore
Area Grantmakers, which shows that giving by private foundations rose 3.5
percent in 2002 – the latest year reported - even though total assets declined
5.9 percent.)
Exploring
Jewish Baltimore
The Associated and its Jewish
Information and Referral Service have built an extraordinarily comprehensive online database about Jewish Baltimore and all
the programs and services out there for you.
Give it a try and you’re guaranteed to find something you didn’t know
about our community. Here’s one
example: I typed “Cummings” into the search box and came up with:
Elijah Cummings Youth in Israel Program – a program of the Baltimore Jewish Council.
(That’s what they call a little shameless self-promotion…. But you get the idea.)
Wanted: your teen (to
young adult)
Want to help your teenager to young
adult get a start in politics or government service? Ok, stop laughing. No, seriously. Here’s an opportunity for a young adult in your life to provide input
and possibly make a real impact on Baltimore City government, and by
implication, the quality of life in the City.
If this looks interesting, contact:
Neighborhood Liaison
Mayor's Office of
Neighborhoods
Room 628, City Hall
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
443-984-1081
Baltimore City Youth Commission
Youth Commissioner Position Description
The Mayor and the City Council of Baltimore City are seeking young people between the ages of 14 to 24 to serve as Youth Commissioners on the Baltimore City Youth Commission.
The purpose of the Youth Commission is to allow youth the opportunity to provide advice, recommendations, and information for the Mayor, the City Council, and municipal agencies on the development of community and government policies, programs, and services that support children, youth, and their families.
The Youth Commission is comprised of 17 voting members and 14 non-voting members. The 17 voting members include one young person from each of the 14 council districts and 3 at-large seats. The young people representing the 14 council districts will be appointed by the Mayor. The young people in the 3 at-large positions will be recommended by the President of City Council. Each voting member MUST be a resident of Baltimore City.
The Youth Commission will also be comprised of 14 non-voting members. These non-voting members will represent various community and city agencies including the Baltimore City School System, the Department of Recreation and Parks, the Health Department, Police Department (PAL Centers), Department of Social Services, State’s Attorney’s Office, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, the State Department of Juvenile Services, the Family League of Baltimore City, and Baltimore City Community College.
Youth Commission Duties:
The Youth Commissioners will work together to accomplish these tasks:
- Developing and maintaining a 3 year action plan outlining areas for study by the commission
- Reviewing issues relating to programs and services for children and youth
- Identifying and recommending priorities among programs and services for children and youth
- Creating a forum for discussions with children, youth, and their families
- Advocating for services and programs for children and youth
- Making recommendations for programs, policies, and any necessary legislation to promote the health and well-being of children, youth, and their families
- Work with both the public and private sector to bring forth the concerns of children and youth, as well as, evaluate programming that will enhance the development of children and youth
- Develop a communication network to disseminate information about services to children and youth
Submit an annual report to the Mayor and the City Council.