Maryland news
"NAACP Report" TV show features panel discussion on
home foreclosures and predatory lending
Fri., Mar. 28, 2008 /Permalink
This week's TV show of the Baltimore City Branch of the NAACP, hosted by Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, deals with home foreclosures and predatory lending practices. Panelists for the discussion, which took place at Union Baptist Church on Tuesday, March 25, 2008, were Angela Ciccolo (Interim General Counsel to the NAACP), Arlene DuBose (Manager, Century 21 Home Specialists), Suzanne Sangree (Chief Solicitor, City of Baltimore Law Department), Paul Graziano (Baltimore City Housing Commissioner), Mike Reza (President & Co-owner, Breeze Mortgage), Deizshel Setzer (Mortgage Planner, Priority Financial Services), Robert Strupp, Esq. (Director of Research & Policy, Community Law Center), Joe Fox (Maryland ACORN), Herman Randolph (a victim of predatory lending practices), Diane Cipollone (Special Project Attorney, National Fair Housing Alliance), Dan Pontious (Acting Executive Director, Citizens Planning and Housing Association) and Arlene Fisher (West Baltimore Coalition). Part two covers the second hour of the panel discussion as panelists answer questions from the audience.
Video of Baltimore Algebra Project protest in
Annapolis where 26 were arrested
Wed., Feb. 13, 2008 /Permalink
A YouTube
video titled "CSI: Annapolis" created by David Sloan,
artist in residence with Baltimore Algebra Project,
shows the Feb. 6, 2008 action where 26 of several
hundred mostly student protesters were arrested
trying to improve conditions for Baltimore City
schools.
Watch the video:
Watch the video:
"NAACP Report" TV show features panel discussion on
slot machines in Maryland
Tue., Oct. 30, 2007 /Permalink
The current episode of "NAACP
Report," the hour-long
television show of the Baltimore City branch of the
NAACP, features a panel of speakers
discussing the pros and cons of reintroducing
slot machine gambling to Maryland. The Oct. 23,
2007 event at Union Baptist Church was hosted by
branch president Marvin "Doc" Cheatham and
broadcast on Baltimore City's public access
channel, Ch. 75 on Comcast cable.
Watch the video:
Speaking in favor of slots were Ernie Greco, President, Baltimore AFL-CIO; David Dunphy, lobbyist for UFCW Local 27 and Harry Manley Servicing Director, UFCW Local 27. The panelists opposing slots were Aaron Meisner of Stop Slots Maryland; Del. Curt Anderson; Dr. Tyrone Powers of Children 1st and Peter Franchot, the Comptroller of Maryland. Jeff Hooke of Maryland Tax Education Foundation and Michael Johnson, of Black United Fund of Maryland focused their comments on making sure if slots do happen in Maryland citizens get the best possible deal. Stephen Janis of The Baltimore Examiner provided a historical perspective. Governor Martin O'Malley did not send a representative of his administration's position.
Baltimore Grassroots Media produces the video for the NAACP Report. This episode was first broadcast Oct. 26, 2007 on Ch. 75 on Comcast cable in Baltimore City.
Watch the video:
Speaking in favor of slots were Ernie Greco, President, Baltimore AFL-CIO; David Dunphy, lobbyist for UFCW Local 27 and Harry Manley Servicing Director, UFCW Local 27. The panelists opposing slots were Aaron Meisner of Stop Slots Maryland; Del. Curt Anderson; Dr. Tyrone Powers of Children 1st and Peter Franchot, the Comptroller of Maryland. Jeff Hooke of Maryland Tax Education Foundation and Michael Johnson, of Black United Fund of Maryland focused their comments on making sure if slots do happen in Maryland citizens get the best possible deal. Stephen Janis of The Baltimore Examiner provided a historical perspective. Governor Martin O'Malley did not send a representative of his administration's position.
Baltimore Grassroots Media produces the video for the NAACP Report. This episode was first broadcast Oct. 26, 2007 on Ch. 75 on Comcast cable in Baltimore City.
Newly Eligible Former Felons Register to Vote
Mon., Jul. 09, 2007 /Permalink
By Babatunde Salaam
On July 2, after years of struggle and strife, activists from the coalition Maryland Got Democracy held a press conference to publicize the Voting Registration Protection Act of 2007 that restores voting rights to 52,000 state ex-offenders — before seven of these newly eligible citizens entered the Baltimore City Board of Elections and registered to vote.
Watch the video:
“I said I wasn’t going to cry, but today is the fulfillment of a six year journey for me,” sobbed Kimberly Haven, Executive Director of Justice Maryland and an ex-offender.
The newly eligible citizens submitted their voter registration applications void of the complicated restrictions found on the old forms. Gone is language about the type of crime, the number of convictions and the length of time since the sentence was completed.
“We begin the process of restoring our votes and reclaiming our voices. Soon we will be voiceless no more,” said Haven.
It took Haven, 46, nine years to get to this moment – three years behind bars and six years of lobbying with politicians – to see the law pass in Maryland’s General Assembly.
That change brought excitement in the seven ex-felons who showed up at the City Board of Elections.
“Voting brings about change. It lets others know that our voice and opinion do make a difference,” said Marlo Hargrove, 34. “I’m becoming more excited knowing that day and time has come.”
"... politics for the most part in this country ... controls everything ... If you don't like something that's being done in your community ... the person whose responsible for making those changes, for those conditions, is your politician ... and if you're voting ... you have an opportunity, if that person is not responsive to your concerns, to vote that person out of power," said Walter Lomax.
This opportunity to vote also affects the ex-offenders’ relationships and goals with their families. “I’d like to set a good example for my children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to take an active role in voting,” said ex-offender David Waller. Waller’s 18-year-old son, Chris Montague, attended the press conference to commemorate his father’s long awaited right to vote. The event was of great importance to Montague because he too came to register to vote. “I was ready to support him and take on some responsibility myself,” said Montague.
For Baltimore City, with the state's highest concentration of disenfranchised ex-felons, this law could have an impact on the upcoming city primary and general election.
According to Human Rights Watch, Maryland was one of four states in which black men comprised more than half of all disenfranchised people. Of the total adult black male population in Maryland, 15.4 percent could not vote, or 67,900 people. 3.6 percent lost the vote, which is double the national average.
Previously, first-time offenders regained the right to vote automatically, but second-time offenders did not. They needed a pardon from the governor. A 2002 law removed the restriction for second-time offenders, as long as they did not have more than one conviction for violent crimes, but added a three-year waiting period. The 2007 law removes the waiting period and restriction for violent offenses so that any ex-offender, except those convicted of buying or selling votes, can automatically register to vote when their imprisonment, probation and parole are completed.
According to Kara Gotsch, Director of Advocacy for The Sentencing Project there were 111,000 disenfranchised in Maryland — including 24,500 in jail or prison, 14,000 on parole and 20,000 on probation — and now the remaining 52,000 of these can register to vote.
“This means Maryland is moving into the mainstream in regard to voting rights. It is a good day for Maryland,” said Gotsch.
Now that Maryland has granted the vote to nearly all ex-felons, reentering society for ex-offenders should be easier, and the disproportionate disenfranchisement of black males should decline.
On July 2, after years of struggle and strife, activists from the coalition Maryland Got Democracy held a press conference to publicize the Voting Registration Protection Act of 2007 that restores voting rights to 52,000 state ex-offenders — before seven of these newly eligible citizens entered the Baltimore City Board of Elections and registered to vote.
Watch the video:
“I said I wasn’t going to cry, but today is the fulfillment of a six year journey for me,” sobbed Kimberly Haven, Executive Director of Justice Maryland and an ex-offender.
The newly eligible citizens submitted their voter registration applications void of the complicated restrictions found on the old forms. Gone is language about the type of crime, the number of convictions and the length of time since the sentence was completed.
“We begin the process of restoring our votes and reclaiming our voices. Soon we will be voiceless no more,” said Haven.
It took Haven, 46, nine years to get to this moment – three years behind bars and six years of lobbying with politicians – to see the law pass in Maryland’s General Assembly.
That change brought excitement in the seven ex-felons who showed up at the City Board of Elections.
“Voting brings about change. It lets others know that our voice and opinion do make a difference,” said Marlo Hargrove, 34. “I’m becoming more excited knowing that day and time has come.”
"... politics for the most part in this country ... controls everything ... If you don't like something that's being done in your community ... the person whose responsible for making those changes, for those conditions, is your politician ... and if you're voting ... you have an opportunity, if that person is not responsive to your concerns, to vote that person out of power," said Walter Lomax.
This opportunity to vote also affects the ex-offenders’ relationships and goals with their families. “I’d like to set a good example for my children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to take an active role in voting,” said ex-offender David Waller. Waller’s 18-year-old son, Chris Montague, attended the press conference to commemorate his father’s long awaited right to vote. The event was of great importance to Montague because he too came to register to vote. “I was ready to support him and take on some responsibility myself,” said Montague.
For Baltimore City, with the state's highest concentration of disenfranchised ex-felons, this law could have an impact on the upcoming city primary and general election.
According to Human Rights Watch, Maryland was one of four states in which black men comprised more than half of all disenfranchised people. Of the total adult black male population in Maryland, 15.4 percent could not vote, or 67,900 people. 3.6 percent lost the vote, which is double the national average.
Previously, first-time offenders regained the right to vote automatically, but second-time offenders did not. They needed a pardon from the governor. A 2002 law removed the restriction for second-time offenders, as long as they did not have more than one conviction for violent crimes, but added a three-year waiting period. The 2007 law removes the waiting period and restriction for violent offenses so that any ex-offender, except those convicted of buying or selling votes, can automatically register to vote when their imprisonment, probation and parole are completed.
According to Kara Gotsch, Director of Advocacy for The Sentencing Project there were 111,000 disenfranchised in Maryland — including 24,500 in jail or prison, 14,000 on parole and 20,000 on probation — and now the remaining 52,000 of these can register to vote.
“This means Maryland is moving into the mainstream in regard to voting rights. It is a good day for Maryland,” said Gotsch.
Now that Maryland has granted the vote to nearly all ex-felons, reentering society for ex-offenders should be easier, and the disproportionate disenfranchisement of black males should decline.
Hearing on Maryland Net Neutrality Bill
Sun., Feb. 25, 2007 /Permalink
This Tuesday, Feb. 27, there will be a legislative
hearing on a resolution to protect a free and open
Internet. House Bill 1069, introduced by Del. Herman
L. Taylor, Jr., Dem., Dist. 14, Montgomery Co., is
threatened by opposition from Comcast and Verizon.
For more information, see www.savetheinternet.com.
Attend Tuesday's open hearing in Annapolis to show your support for Net Neutrality in Maryland:
WHAT: Legislative Hearing on Maryland Net Neutrality Bill (HB 1069)
WHEN: Tuesday – February 27, 2007
TIME: 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Room 230, House Office Building, Annapolis, MD
Anyone who wants to can show up and testify, as long as you are there an hour ahead of time.
Attend Tuesday's open hearing in Annapolis to show your support for Net Neutrality in Maryland:
WHAT: Legislative Hearing on Maryland Net Neutrality Bill (HB 1069)
WHEN: Tuesday – February 27, 2007
TIME: 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Room 230, House Office Building, Annapolis, MD
Anyone who wants to can show up and testify, as long as you are there an hour ahead of time.