The Sad Competition: Survivors Of Officers Killed Or Injured On Duty Vie For Limited State Dollars

In the following Letter to The Dagger, Lynne Parry tells a compelling story about her life as a police survivor and her frustrating personal experience with the Edward T. Conroy Memorial Scholarship program, which was designed to assist the families of fallen heroes with the cost of college in Maryland. When Lynne’s sons were put on the Scholarship’s waiting list for lack of state funding, she reached out to elected officials for help. Continue reading The Sad Competition: Survivors Of Officers Killed Or Injured On Duty Vie For Limited State Dollars

Maryland’s Unheeded Memorial Day Moment of Silence

Several years ago, after asking a group of school children touring our nation’s Capitol what Memorial Day meant to them and getting the response, “That’s the day the pools open,” a distraught Carmella LaSpada knew she needed to do something. She needed to start a mission.

So LaSpada, founder of No Greater Love, an organization devoted to promoting the true meaning of Memorial Day, contacted Harford County Del. B. Dan Riley for help with her mission. That mission, quite simply, is get people to remember Memorial Day. Here is a description of the organization from the No Greater Love web site:

Founded in 1971, NGL is the only humanitarian, educational, non-profit organization in the United States solely dedicated to providing annual programs of friendship and care for those who lost a loved one in the service to our country or by an act of terrorism.

In response to her request, Riley headed to Annapolis and put together House Bill 111 during the 2000 General Assembly. Here is a synopsis of the bill: Continue reading Maryland’s Unheeded Memorial Day Moment of Silence

Horse Racing in Maryland, a $2 Billion Industry? Wanna bet?

The MoBseen: Life’s observations as seen through the eyes of Mark.

We, the voters of the Free State, will have the chance to vote on slots coming to Maryland.

Current polling by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies and the Washington Post Polling suggest that Maryland residents are in favor of Maryland slots and those favoring slots continue to outnumber those opposing slots. The question remains of course, where to put the parlors and who will be the beneficiary of the millions generated by this new gambling.

I should point out to those opposed to Maryland slots that we already have gambling in Maryland and on a very broad scale; We have The Lottery, Lotto, The Daily Pick 3, The Daily Pick 4, (twice a day!) Bonus Match 5, Mega Millions, Multi Match, Racetrax, Maryland Hold’em, Keno, Scratch-Offs, and of course horse racing. We also have Off Track Betting (OTB) and XpressBet.

The fact is, we have no shortage of vehicles to separate money from man and woman here in the Free State! These, of course, are all state-ordained gambling games. This in addition to all of the illegal numbers that are run everyday and the illegal slot machines in bars throughout the state, bingo nights at churches, VFWs and fire halls (these licensed by the State) and of course the office pools during March Madness.

The politicians, led by the both Governors Ehrlich and O’Malley, have and are supporting slots. This in itself is not what puzzles me, it’s the justification that is used to “sell” the slots to the constituents. Continue reading Horse Racing in Maryland, a $2 Billion Industry? Wanna bet?