Letters to the editor

County will have cable choices thanks to council

To: County Council District 6

From: Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder

Baltimore County cable television customers soon will have an option. I am happy to report that in response to citizen input, the County Council has unanimously approved a franchise agreement with Verizon Maryland to construct, operate and maintain an alternative cable system in Baltimore County.

Much of Eastern Baltimore County, including Essex and Parkville, will be among the first to be offered Verizon cable service. The initial phase of construction is set to begin within 12 months and should be completed in three to five years.

Verizon filed an application for this franchise in June 2006 and after evaluation by the county Office of Law and a public hearing in August, our Telecommunications Advisory Panel determined that the public interest would be served by offering a competitive cable franchise.

In September, Verizon was granted a 15-year nonexclusive cable service agreement with a projected 10-year build-out conditioned upon County Council approval. Following further study and discussion, this resolution, sponsored by all council members, was voted upon and passed unanimously at our March 5 meeting.

There are several public benefits to this agreement.

The franchise sets forth to Verizon specific performance obligations and terms, including one basic service hook-up to each county building, such as courts, schools, senior centers, public libraries, police and fire (including volunteer) stations. In addition, the franchisee must provide three free channels, one each for public, education and government.

Monetarily, the county’s general fund will benefit from payment by Verizon of a franchise fee of 5 percent of gross revenues.

We are pleased that last year’s franchise fee payment from Comcast was passed on to homeowners through our ability to issue a 1.5-cent reduction in the property tax rate.

And we anticipate that fees to be paid by the new franchise holder will be similarly distributed.

Currently in Baltimore County there are 220,000 cable subscribers relying on one company (Comcast) for service. While the county’s relationship with Comcast has been outstanding, competition, such as Verizon’s entry into the county cable market, is healthy.

I expect that competitive service will push both franchise holders to higher levels and perhaps even more affordable rates.

Felons should not be granted immediate voting rights

To: Editor, Times-Herald

From: Delegate Eric Bromwell,
8th Legislative District

For over 30 years, the Maryland General Assembly has been inching toward letting more felons vote more quickly.

Before 1974, convicted felons lost their right to vote in Maryland. However, in 1974, a law was approved to allow anyone convicted of one felony to vote, provided he or she completed the imposed sentence and any period of probation.

Then in 2002, the law was changed again to allow an individual convicted of more than one nonviolent felony to vote, provided the individual had completed his or her sentence, and three years had elapsed since it was completed.

A bill that was defeated last year is back for consideration.

This legislation would give convicted felons the right to vote immediately when they get out of jail. Should that bill be approved, 150,000 felons would be able to vote in the upcoming presidential election.

Be assured. I will oppose this bill.

Sentencing Project, a Washington group promoting criminal justice reform estimates that 5.3 million Americans, or one in 41 adults nationwide, have lost their voting rights as a result of a felony conviction. More than 110,000 Marylanders are currently prohibited from voting because of a felony conviction.

The District of Columbia and 15 states allow felons to vote after they are released from prison. Four other states, including New York and California, restore a felon’s voting rights after release from prison and completion of parole. Another 16 states restore voting privileges after a felon completes probation, prison and parole. Up until 2000, Massachusetts allowed prison inmates to vote. However, by a 60 to 40 margin, Massachusetts voters approved a constitutional amendment that prohibited prison inmates from voting until after release from prison.

I guess I’m just old fashioned, but I believe that when a person commits a felony crime against another person, that’s a pretty serious deal.

We are a nation of laws.

As I see it, felony lawbreakers do not deserve the same voting rights enjoyed by a law-abiding citizen.

What do you think?

Should Maryland apologize for slavery?

To: Editor, Times-Herald

From: Marlin Van Ells, White Marsh

I keep hearing about the state of Maryland apologizing for its part in slavery.

I will be the first to say, no human being should ever own another human being.

No human being should ever buy another human being, and no human being should ever sell another human being.

As for an apology, an apology is due, but it should be a full-scale apology - an apology across the board.

We always hear about the slave owners, but nothing of the people of the same race who did the selling.

I think many will agree when I say I would really be ticked and upset with the persons who sold me.

So, should the state of Maryland apologize for any part it may have taken in the slave trade?

Yes, but only after the countries, relatives, and descendants involved in the selling process apologize.

Let’s keep this apology in its proper perspective.

Creativity, not taxes should fund transportation

To: Editor, Times-Herald

From: Delegate Joe Boteler,
8th Legislative District

Over the past five years, one of my priorities has been to get state dollars to improve roads in northeastern Baltimore County. In the northeast, our roads bear the burden of traffic from Harford County, so we need to upgrade major corridors like Interstate-95, Pulaski Highway, and Harford and Belair roads.

In 2004, my former colleague John Cluster and I secured more than $25 million for projects in the northeast. This spring, construction will start on two of these: streetscape projects that will transform the appearance of Harford Road in Parkville and Philadelphia Road in Rosedale.

Work is also underway to eventually improve Belair Road in Overlea and Perry Hall.

Unfortunately, the deteriorating state of the Transportation Trust Fund may impact these and other projects. The cost of concrete, asphalt, and steel has skyrocketed in recent years. As these prices go up, it costs more to build projects. That is partly why legislative leaders are looking at new ways to boost the Transportation Trust Fund.

Some state legislators want to increase the gasoline tax. The president of the state Senate wants a 50-percent increase, adding 12 cents to the current gas tax rate of 23-and-a-half cents per gallon.

This is the wrong approach, and for several reasons.

Increasing the gasoline tax by 12 cents would give Maryland the fourth-highest rate in the nation, behind California, Connecticut, and New York. It would also hurt many service station owners, particularly along Maryland’s borders.

The answer, I believe, is to consider more creative ways to fund transportation projects, particularly mass transit.

The O’Malley administration wants to build four expensive transit lines, including a new rail system in Baltimore City. These projects will drain hundreds of millions of dollars from the Transportation Trust Fund. Their supporters often say that transit leads to new development, so maybe the solution is to create special financing zones where developers help pay construction costs.

We should also obtain financial support from local governments. Building a new rail line in Montgomery County will undoubtably benefit Montgomery County, and that wealthy jurisdiction can certainly contribute to its cost.

We should think twice before automatically asking motorists in northeastern Baltimore County to shoulder the burden of new rail lines around the state.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Community news, Commentary, Letters to the Editor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.