QUOTE OF THE
WEEK: “England,
which was exposed year after year from 1939 until 1945 to the dangers of the
swastika, if they don’t know ... it means something is wrong with the education
there.”
- Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel’s reaction to the news about Prince Harry’s unfortunate choice of costume party attire
Friday Footnote #12 … January 21, 2005
A
publication of The Baltimore Jewish Council.
5750 Park Heights Avenue. Baltimore MD 21215.
Phone:
(410) 542-4850.
Contents
1. Security funding
2. The budget
4. Worth a read
…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.
The big news in Annapolis this week, for thousands of
lobbyists, activists, legislators and other numbers-obsessed government
watchers, was the release of Governor Ehrlich’s proposed fiscal year 2006
operating budget.
In our little shop on Park Heights Avenue, we’ve caught wind
of a trendy new technology we call the Internet, and have decided to launch our
very own website. Among many other things you’ll find at www.baltjc.org, is full
coverage of Mayor O’Malley’s first-ever trip to Israel last week. It’s still a work in progress, and we hope
you’ll visit often, and give us suggestions on ways to improve it.
Please mark your calendars for the annual Maryland Jewish
Alliance Advocacy Day in Annapolis on Monday March 7. If you haven’t received a registration form already, please click here and let me know you want one.
As always, I hope you and your family have a pleasant and
peaceful Shabbat.
- David
Don’t
forget to sign up for: “Hands-on
Israel Advocacy Training, The Five Rules of Israel Advocacy: A Hands-On Israel
Advocacy Seminar About Survival, Terror and Diplomacy,” presented by the
Baltimore Jewish Council and The Associated. The seminar is on January 25 at
7:00 p.m. at the Park Heights JCC, and features Neil Lazarus,
internationally acclaimed expert in the field of Middle East, Israel advocacy
and effective communication training. Please contact Lynn Katzen for more information.
Security funding
More good news this week on the homeland security
front. You may recall that last fall we
announced in this space (as the columnists say) that Mayor O’Malley, Baltimore
County Executive Smith and the rest of the political leaders throughout the
region, along with the Governor’s Office, had approved a $1 million competitive
grant program to help at-risk nonprofit institutions better secure themselves
against the risk of attack. That was on
top of $260,000 in grants Gov. Ehrlich had provided earlier last year for
several high-profile Jewish institutions in the Baltimore area and Montgomery
County.
This week, Gov. Ehrlich announced a new round of grants from
the state’s portion of federal Homeland Security funding. An additional $500,000 will be available for
Jewish institutions and other nonprofits throughout the state: the
National Capital Region will receive $150,000; the greater Baltimore
Metropolitan Region will receive $150,000; and $100,000 is available for other
Jewish institutions statewide. The remaining $100,000 is set aside for other
non-profit organizations across Maryland. Here’s
the full press release.
The budget
Governor Ehrlich released his
proposed Fiscal Year 2006 budget on Wednesday.
The $12.2 billion general fund spending plan is $931 million more than the
current year, or 8.3% higher. The
Governor has proposed:
- a 2% cost of living adjustment for state employees;
- $43 million more in spending on public higher ed;
- a $392 million increase in K-12 education funding;
- and $155 million for school construction funding, a 55%
increase over last year.
He also is proposing a $2
million increase in the Older Adults Waiver, which provides opportunities for
low- to moderate-income seniors to receive Medicaid-funded long-term care at
home and in community settings, rather than nursing homes. Private colleges
take a $10 million cut, and an equal amount is cut from smoking cessation and
cancer prevention and treatment programs.
The budget is balanced. However
the Department of Legislative Services has determined that it exceeds the
Legislature’s self-imposed “Spending Affordability” limit (a measure tied to
the growth in statewide personal income) by about $166 million – the minimum
amount, presumably, by which the Legislature will cut the budget in coming
weeks. Lately the Legislature has cut
as much as $220 million from the budget as proposed by the Governor. On Monday, chief budget analyst Warren
Deschenaux will begin offering detailed budget briefings to the legislative
committees; his analysis will probably be available online by Tuesday at the General Assembly’s main web page.
My fellow gluttons for many,
many pages of fine print and numbers can view, download and read the budget to
your heart’s content by clicking here
(you’ll need the Adobe Acrobat program). The budget should be available on line today. Here the Governor offers an
overview of the FY 06 budget.
Legislative update
Two weeks into the 420th
regular session of the Maryland General Assembly, and 383 bills have been filed
so far, dealing with everything from fishing licenses for people with
disabilities, to capital punishment for the murder of police officers.
We are keeping our eyes on a few
of those bills already, including a measure to put some
teeth in an otherwise barely enforceable law that requires the reporting of
suspected child abuse by professional workers; and a measure to enhance criminal
penalties for the use of various types of assault weapons during the
commission of felonies and other crimes of violence.
We’ll be sending you occasional
alerts that will give you the opportunity to make your voice heard on issues of
importance to the Jewish community. I
hope you’ll respond in force. You’re a
large part of the reason why the Jewish community has such a strong record of
success in Annapolis.
Today (Friday), Secretary of
Aging Jean Roesser will be visiting sites that are part of the Senior Friendly
Neighborhoods project run by CHAI, JFS, JCC and other Associated
agencies. This program has quickly
become a model for helping seniors remain living independently as long as
possible. We’ll consult with Secretary
Roesser on ways we can work with the state to extend this program into the
future, and spread the lessons we’ve learned to other communities.
Worth a read
Much of the political news this week,
needless to say, was about the Governor’s budget and reactions to it.
The
Sun, The
Post and The
Gazette had these budget overview stories, respectively.
The Sun also reported on legislation
Governor Ehrlich will introduce that has the support of property owners and
advocates for children exposed to lead paint.
The legislation promises to result in earlier interventions and better
prevention of lead poisoning.
The Baltimore paper also released
the news that the Governor
has raised twice as much in campaign funds for the 2006 election as both his
likely Democratic rivals combined. The
Gazette follows with a story examining fundraising among state Senators with
this provocative headline: “GOP senators
outraise Dems.”
A bit further from home, spend a few moments reading the New York
Jewish Week’s story about Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel’s reaction to the news
about England’s Prince Harry, and his choice to wear a Nazi uniform to a party.
PRESS RELEASE
Office of the Governor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, January 17, 2004
Governor Ehrlich Increases Funding for Jewish Organizations; Other Non-Profits Statewide
ANNAPOLIS – Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced today $1.5 million from the state’s share of federal grants to pay for security measures at non-profit groups, including a portion allocated for Jewish institutions.
“Maryland is the first State in the nation to provide funding to protect high-risk, non-governmental organizations, including many innovative Jewish institutions,” said Governor Ehrlich. “Based on our rewarding partnership with the Israeli government, we are taking a cutting-edge approach to protecting Marylanders in the post-9/11 world. We are applying the lessons learned from a country that knows from painful experience how to combat terrorism.”
Governor Ehrlich led a delegation of Maryland business leaders, Jewish community leaders, members of Maryland's medical community and State government officials on a trade mission to Israel in November 2003.
Funding will come from the $11 million Baltimore Urban Area Security Initiative and the $19 million State Homeland Security Grant Program, which traditionally enable local government to purchase public safety equipment. The funding is a result of Governor Ehrlich lobbying the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a wider definition of critical infrastructure and key assets to include religious institutions, community centers and other non-profit organizations. The DHS approved Governor Ehrlich’s request in June 2004, setting national precedent.
Approximately $1 million is set aside from Maryland’s share of the Urban Area Security Initiative for non-profit organizations in the greater Baltimore region. Governor Ehrlich directed that Jewish institutions and other non-profits be eligible for an additional $500,000 from the State Homeland Security Grant Program, which will be distributed as follows: the National Capital Region will receive $150,000; the greater Baltimore Metropolitan Region will receive $150,000; and $100,000 is available for other Jewish institutions statewide. The remaining $100,000 is set aside for other non-profit organizations across Maryland.
Today’s announcement furthers progress already made in Baltimore and Montgomery County to allot $260,000 last fall for security improvements at Jewish synagogues, community centers and schools. Protecting a wide array of critical infrastructure and key assets is a practice Governor Ehrlich saw in Israel and one explored in a subsequent trip last summer led by Homeland Security Director Dennis R. Schrader.
Under Governor Ehrlich’s direction, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security worked with local public safety officials and Baltimore Jewish Council to define security needs and conduct threat assessments. The Baltimore Jewish Council will continue to serve in this role for the Baltimore area.
“We look forward to working with the state of Maryland and local public entities as we work together to try and ensure the safety of our most vulnerable institutions,” said Council Executive Director Art Abramson.
Similarly, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security will coordinate Washington-area funding decisions with Ron Halber, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Washington, DC.
Governor Ehrlich also mentioned today steps taken at BWI Airport and Maryland’s transit systems as a result of the homeland security information exchange in Israel last summer. Colonel Douglas DeLeaver, Chief of Police for the Maryland Transit Administration, and Israeli security companies are discussing possible pilot programs for light rail, heavy rail and bus systems based on technologies seen first-hand in Israel.
At BWI, Stephen D. Sheehan, Deputy Executive Director for Operations, is evaluating the Israeli practice of integrating different forms of surveillance including, radar, infrared and visual cameras, as a component of a “layered defense” at the airport.