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| "Better, Safer, Stronger" | November 7, 2008 | ||||
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Dear Friends:
On Wednesday, I was honored to join Mayor Sheila Dixon as she signed into law a new property crime ordinance that requires pawnshops and secondhand dealers to report transactions electronically to the Baltimore City Police Department. I would like to thank my Council colleagues who joined me in sponsoring this important legislation. The measure is modeled after similar efforts in place in the Washington, DC area that have helped police recover millions of dollars in stolen property and arrest criminal suspects. The transaction data collected from pawnshops and secondhand dealers will be integrated into a regional database shared by police departments in jurisdictions throughout the Baltimore and Washington regions. During the last legislative session in Annapolis, local jurisdictions tried unsuccessfully to get similar statewide legislation passed. Immediately after the state effort failed, I introduced stronger local legislation to the City Council.
Improving public safety is a top priority and the Mayor and City Council are committed to finding innovative ways to reduce crime in Baltimore. This new ordinance will enable our police detectives to solve more property crimes and help make our neighborhoods safer and stronger. It is my sincere hope that this local bill will become a model for statewide legislation for next session. It is critical that law enforcement in every jurisdiction have immediate electronic access to pawn and second hand transaction data so that police can investigate property crimes more effectively. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake |
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City Council This Week Monday, November 10 Hearing: Budget and Appropriations Committee, Bernard C. “Jack” Young - Chair Tuesday, November 11 - Veterans Day ** CITY HOLIDAY - NO TRASH PICKUP; PARKING METERS REMAIN IN EFFECT. ** Wednesday, November 12 Voting Session: Executive Appointments Committee, Robert Curran – Chair Hearing: Executive Appointments Committee, Robert Curran – Chair Thursday, November 13 Hearing: Urban Affairs and Aging Committee, Agnes Welch - Chair Community Events
Friday, November 7 Herring Run Artists Network-Guest Artist Series featuring Donald Lee First Fridays at the Walters: "Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry" Saturday, November 8 Baltimore City Property Taxes 101 Hampden Family Center Bull Roast Baltimore Reads “Just for Fun Event” celebrating Dr. Seuss Celebrate City Schools Event at M&T Bank Stadium Artist Karen Y. Buster’s Grand Studio Open House African-American Community Forum on Memory Loss Fall Health Expo hosted by Morgan Park Community Development Corporation Sunday, November 9 Jesse & James and Mutts Gone Nutts Monday, November 10 Veterans Day Ceremony Wednesday, November 12 Baltimore CASH Campaign Financial Fitness Series Thursday, November 13 American Lung Association of Maryland’s Casino Night Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems "Community Conversation" Event Upcoming/Ongoing
Baltimore City Community College Launches Accelerated Associates Degree Program for Spring 2009. Baltimore City Community College has a new accelerated program for African American males to earn an Associate of Arts degree in one year. The program is entitled the "Quest." Orientation on Dec. 3, BCCC Liberty campus, 2901 Liberty Heights Ave., Gaare Auditorium, 6pm. Info: 410-462-7745 Open Minds is Creative Alliance's free book-based after school program. New visual and performing arts courses, including mural painting, photography, music production and breakdancing are beginning at Wolfe Street Academy, Hampstead Hill, Collington Square and with EBLO-Mi Segunda Casa at John Ruhrah. Call Karen Summerville at 410-276-1651. Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore offers Homebuyers Education Classes NHS Baltimore is a small non-profit organization that helps sustain and create homeownership opportunities through customized lending and consumer education in the Baltimore region. NHS is offering homebuyer education classes through December. For class schedules and registration call 410-327-1200, x135. www.nhsbaltimore.org Conserve energy, save money and protect the environment with BGE’s PeakRewards program. If you have central air conditioning or an electric heat pump, you could save up to 15% year round in energy costs. www.bgesmartenergy.com/peakrewards Thursday Night Nonviolence Film/Discussion Series hosted by Light Street Presbyterian Church, 809 Light St., Thursday evenings, 6pm-7:30 pm, Oct. 9-Nov. 13. Series is based on the six-part PBS documentary "A Force More Powerful." Light supper provided. 410-539-0125. Power of Parents and Partners in School (P.O.P.S. Program) is a new program to encourage and address the needs of students who are expecting or parenting teens who have dropped out and want to return to school. Developed by the Laurence G. Paquin School. 410-396-9398/9399. Baltimore Speaks Out! Program, a great opportunity for children ages 11-15 to learn about video/film production. Offered at Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Herring Run branch, 3810 Erdman Ave. 410-338-0947. Free. Ready, Set Go! College/Career Prep Workshop, Nov. 14, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, 1400 Coldspring Lane, 6pm-9pm, discussions on college application process, dressing for success, college and career options. Ms. Johnson 410-499-5878. College Fair sponsored by Enoch Pratt Free Library Herring Run Branch, Nov. 15, 1pm-4pm, talk to admissions officers about courses, tuition assistance and more. Call 410-396-0996 or pprasad@prattlibrary.org. Free Legal Clinic for Artists sponsored by Creative Alliance, November 15, 3134 Eastern Ave. Meet with the MD Lawyers for the Arts (MLA). Bring your contract, copyright and other legal questions. To sign up for an appt. between 1:30-4pm, call 410-276-1651. Volunteers needed to read to students during American Education Week, Nov. 17-21, 9am-2pm, James Mosher Elementary School, 2400 W. Mosher St.. Books provided. Contact Marvella.Gray@ic.fbi.gov One-day Grant Writing Session, November 19, HUD Office, 10 S. Howard St. 5th floor, 9am-5pm. Free, but you must pre-register. Sherrell Parker at Sherrell.Parker@hud.gov, 410-209-6572. Baltimore's Thanksgiving Parade, November 22, 11:00am - 1:00pm. Pratt and Howard Streets, continues east on Pratt Street and disbands at Pratt Street and Market Place. Baltimore's Thanksgiving Parade kicks off the holiday season with spectacular floats, gigantic balloons, marching bands, and the official arrival of Santa Claus to Baltimore. After the parade, children can stop by Santa's Place, coordinated by Harborplace & The Gallery, to sit on his lap, share their holiday wishes, and have their picture taken. A Monumental Occasion, December 4, 6:00pm, Mount Vernon Place, 600 block of North Charles Street. Celebrate the holiday season with the 37th annual lighting of the Washington Monument. Pre-event festivities begin at 5:30pm in Mount Vernon. The evening includes performances, strolling entertainment, refreshments, and the official lighting by Mayor Dixon. The event ends with a colorful fireworks finale choreographed to music. Info: www.godowntownbaltimore.com or contact 410-244-1030. |
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City Neighbors Charter School, located in Northeast Baltimore, touts a mission "to provide an extraordinary public school education with high academic achievement for all students." During her visit to City Neighbors, the Council President met with Founder Bobbi Macdonald and Principal Mike Chalupa and visited several classrooms to observe students engaged in "project based learning" activities, a trademark of the school. Members of the City Neighbors Student Council also shared stories and questions about their respective positions. The students promised to attend a future City Council meeting.
Friendship Academy of Science and Technology (F.A.S.T.) is a transformational school located in Southeast Baltimore built on core values of “integrity, responsibility, confidence, caring, commitment, patience, persistence and respect.” While at F.A.S.T. Academy, the Council President enjoyed a presentation from a sixth grade technology class on the connections between technology and public policy. Afterwards, the Council President delivered a brief lecture using her “Property Crime Legislation” as a real life example of technology affecting public policy. Student ambassadors took the Council President on a classroom tour. They also told her about their schoolwide voter registration drive and election. Seventy-five percent of the students registered and President-Elect Barack Obama won with over 90% of the vote. and dozens of our families participated, making Service Day a success.
The Department of Planning is 