Winter Peparations, Speed Cameras, UMD's Move To The Big Ten, and A Proposed Local Hiring Mandate for Baltimore

When you head "over the river and through the wood" to your Thanksgiving destination, you won't have to deal with any white and drifting snow -- at least not here in Maryland, where the holiday's expected to be accompanied by sunny skies and highs in the upper 50s. But that doesn't mean Maryland's not getting ready to deal with winter weather. Last winter was the warmest on record for our state in more than 60 years... but this year, some long-range forecasts are calling for a snowier than average winter. The State Highway Administration has set aside $41-million for snow removal this year, and has amassed hundreds of tons of salt and nearly a million gallons of brine to get the roads clear once the snow starts falling. And in Baltimore, there's a $2.7million snow removal budget; Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says the city has 150 pieces of snow removing equipment and 15-thousand tons of salt to treat roads (via our wire service, the State Highway Administration, and the Baltimore Sun).  

Baltimore City Council President "Jack" Young is calling for a local hiring mandate for companies doing business with City Hall. Last night, Young introduced legislation that would require 51-percent of all new jobs resulting from a city contract to be filled by Baltimore City residents. The mandate would apply to city contracts of at least 300-thousand dollars or projects that include subsidies of $five-million or more. Companies failing to meet the requirement could be barred from any city contracts for a year and face $500-dollar fines (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says she won't tolerate any erroneous tickets issued by the city's speed cameras. Her comments follow an investigation by the "Baltimore Sun" showing that the tickets can be inaccurate. Mayor Rawlings-Blake said yesterday, "we're looking for a zero-error program." The Mayor's created an eight-member committee to examine the speed camera system and recommend improvements (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

The University of Maryland has announced plans to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference after nearly 60 years and switch to the Big Ten Conference in 2014 (via our wire service; more here from the Baltimore Sun, more here from the Baltimore Business Journal, more here from the Gazette, and more here from the Frederick News Post).

Maryland's highest court has ruled against Baltimore County's move to reduce its share of health insurance premiums for police officers who retired before July of 2007 (via the Baltimore Sun and the Daily Record).

Baltimore County is planning to consolidate two data centers next year into one facility -- in a move that county officials say will save up to $4-million dollars (via the Baltimore Sun).

Aberdeen police are releasing new pictures of a suspect they believe kidnapped Vi Ripken, the mother of former Oriole Cal Ripken Jr (via our wire service; more here from the Baltimore Sun).

Maryland homeowners have received more than $500-million in assistance since the National Mortgage Settlement took effect (via our wire service; more here from the Office of Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler).