Roger's Neighborhood Watch Report 10/3/10 Candidate Positions on Slots

The tempo is picking up as we approach the November elections. I have added 3 electricians and 1 real estate agent to the bottom of the "Services" section at the end of the report. Upcoming Dates: 1) 7:30pm, Wed, Oct 13th-PCRC (Police-Community Relations Council) Meeting at the (Anne Arundel County Police) Western District police station in Odenton (across from Greenway Bowl. I am attaching Dave Daughter Oct PCRC (Western View) Newsletter at the end of this report. "A representative of the Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team will provide a briefing on their operations. SET is a specialized team of officers, based in Crownsville, that provides support to all the districts when additional manpower and skills are needed for an investigation and search for suspects. They were instrumental in helping resolve some major cases in Western District." 2) 7:00pm, Thurs, Oct 28th-The Harman Civic Association (HCA) will hold their monthly meeting. At this time, I believe it will be held in the Harmans Community Room at Arundel Mills Mall. If you have any community concerns, this is the meeting to attend! 3) Tuesday, Nov 2nd-Election Day. This will be your opportunity to vote your conscience! Many of our elected officials are on the ballot (including the governor's race). This will be your opportunity to have your voice heard on whether there will be a slots casino at Arundel Mills. If you don't want the slots casino at Arundel Mills, on your ballot you need to VOTE AGAINST Bill 82-09 on Question A! The paragraph below is exactly how it will appear on the ballot on November 2nd. I have bolded the text where you need to put put your mark when you vote on November 2nd. Please note: no where is there any mention of the slots casino at Arundel Mills Mall! You need to know exactly what this general statement means. [Harman Civic Assoc Officer Rusty Bristow passed this information to me. Thank you, Rusty, as always, for all your hard work!] QUESTION A Local Referendum by Petition Zoning, Video Lottery Facilities Video Lottery Facilities are not permitted anywhere in Anne Arundel County under current zoning law. Bill No. 82-09 is a zoning bill and was enacted for the purpose of allowing a Video Lottery Facility as a conditional use in a W-i Industrial Park zoning district or at a Regional Commercial Complex. Vote "For Bill 82-09" if you want Bill 82-09 to take effect. Vote "Against Bill 82-09" if you do not want bill 82-09 to take effect. ____For Bill 82-09 ____Against Bill 82-09 Items: 1) Elected officials stance on the slots casino at Arundel Mills Mall (provided by Rob Annicelli of Stop Slots at the Mall. Thank you, Rob!): "With less than 3 weeks to go until early voting and less than a month to go until the general election I wanted to let you all know where the local candidates stand on slots. It is a bit strange, but it does not go along party lines:" "County Executive: John Leopold (Rep) - FOR slots at Arundel Mills Joanna Conti (Dem) - AGAINST slots at Arundel Mills Mike Shay (Green) - Against slots in communities where they do not want them County Council District 1 Daryl Jones (Dem) - Voted AGAINST slots at Arundel Mills John Moran (Rep)- FOR slots at Arundel Mills State Delegation (Senate and Delegates) All Republicans are AGAINST slots at Arundel Mills All Democrats have not taken a position on slots at Arundel Mills" 2) Senator Ed DeGrange letter to constituents titled, "LONG OVERDUE RESTRICTIONS PUT ON DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANIES," is a very important letter for all to read and understand. Particularly if you are facing hard, financial times like so many of our fellow Americans. I have bolded key text in Senator DeGrange's letter and pasted here ......"using debt settlement companies should be the last step before bankruptcy. It is much better to contact creditors at the first hint of trouble to ask if they can work out a repayment plan or settlement." Please read the entire letter posted at the end of this report. Services: 1) Construction-Bill Brown, Harmans Woods homeowner, is the owner of Three Brothers Construction Co., Inc., phone 443-324-4810/fax 410-551-2655. He does all types of home repairs - from large to small - including roof repairs/replacements, siding, kitchen remodels, window replacement and fences/decks. 2) Landscaping Services: a) John Bridges-(community resident) 410-519-9602 or 443-794-8138 (in the past, he has employed at least 1 of our neighborhood kids) b) Miguel Sanchez-(MAS Landscaping)-410-562-4007 3) Mike's Auto Repair-(410-850-0999) at 7466 New Ridge Road, Suite 7, Hanover, MD 21076 (next group of buildings on the left after the Hanover Post Office buildings, going north toward the airport rental car facility. 4) Tree Cutting Service-Wayne Dixon (410-859-0932) 5) Plumbing Services: a) http://www.alphaplumbing.biz/ [July 09-Ray & Debbie sent this blurb to me about Alpa Plumbing, ".....(We) were very pleased with their work – Alpha Plumbing, Glen Burnie. Came within 48 hrs.,worked steadily for 2 ½ hrs."] b) Rob McCauley 410-693-5280 c) Frank Hildebrand is a resident of our community with over 25 years experience. He is a master plumber licensed in Maryland and several other surrounding states. His company name is ABC Maintenance and Repair. Phone #: 301-674-2786 6) Handyman-Mike 410-557-0555-He replaces sliding doors and windows. He also does roofs and other home maintenance and services. 7) Tom's Painting, Pressure Washing, and Cleaning Service 410-519-6062 8) The Goddard School, 7538 Teague Road, Hanover, MD 21076 (owner Dipti Singh). Please visit Hanovermd@goddardschools.com or call 410-684-2601 9) Air Conditioning/Heating References: a) Jim & Peggie-We have all of our heating and air condition done by Sines & Son's. They also take care of emergency heating and cooling. They also offer annual service maintenance agreements. The number is 410 360-3219. They have been handling our home and father-in-law's for over 10 years. Excellent reputation. b) Dan-We have a contract with Blue Dot to maintain our heat exchange unit. They also do "on-call" work. Phone is 1-800-blue dot. They are really experts at most air conditioning/ heating systems. My son tried them and was very satisfied also. 10) Insurance Provider-John Robertson (Nationwide Insurance Agent)-John and Carol Robertson have a Nationwide Insurance agency at 1350 K Dorsey Road in the little shopping strip across from the fire station on Dorsey Road. They have been Nationwide Agents for 43 years and handle most types of insurance including Auto, Home and Business. Their phone number, 410 859 5200 is on the web at robertsoninsurance.us. 11) Tutoring-All Subjects including Algebra, Geometry, SAT prep and ESOL. Liz Greene 443-854-1390 12) Piano teacher on Elberta Dr in the Peach Orchard seeks new students of all ages. Teacher has 35+ years of experience and openings for afternoon, evening, and Saturday lessons. All types of music (e.g., hymns, classical, pop) taught. References and sample lesson available. Call Myra at (410) 519-6682 for more details. 13) Electricians: a) Tony Braun, Master Electrician, Bayside Electric Company, 101 Bodan Road, Millersville, Maryland 21108 410-421-5491 [Aug 2010-Lois highly recommended] b) Kroeger Electric Co., 1007 Crain hwy., S.E. Glen Burnie, MD 21061, 410-766-1416. [Aug 2010-Dan recommended with additional information-"......I went to the Better Business Bureau site and they came up with 3 or 4 names as recommended businesses. I called because they had a top rating and NO complaints over a substantial period of time." "They practically dropped everything to come over, isolate the problem, and corrected it at at least 10% less than the lowest offer I had from a couple of other companies and the others were not, just not able to respond the same day or the next to my problem. I would highly recommend them in addition to the BBB giving them a great rating." c) George Gilde, Brightview Electrical Co., 1205 Delmont Road, Severn, 410-551-1457 [Aug 2010-Dave recommended this firm.] 14) Real Estate Agent-The Garcia Team of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Melodie and Greg Garcia - home grown local Realtors who know your area. For all real estate needs, buying, selling, investing renting- give us a call. Melodie 410-375-1513 and Greg 240-240-535-3317 or office 410-740-7100. Thank you for your support and keep the info coming! Roger [PCRC President Dave Daughters newsletter starts here.] Western District View Western District Police-Community Relations Council October 2010 8273 Telegraph Road, Odenton, Maryland 21113 Next Meeting – SET The next meeting of the Western District Police-Community Relations Council will be on Wednesday, October 13, 2010, in the meeting room at the Western District Station, starting at 7:30 p.m. A representative of the Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team will provide a briefing on their operations. SET is a specialized team of officers, based in Crownsville, that provides support to all the districts when additional manpower and skills are needed for an investigation and search for suspects. They were instrumental in helping resolve some major cases in Western District. Knowing how these officers function, and where they fit in the scheme of things, should be both interesting and useful. Traffic Safety On September 23rd, I attended the quarterly meeting of the Anne Arundel County Community Traffic Safety Task Force. The task force meets to discuss and coordinate programs involving Anne Arundel County, Maryland State Police, Annapolis Police, Transportation Authority Police, State Highway Administration and civilian representatives. The meetings are mandated by the various grant programs that provide money to Anne Arundel County. At this meeting, several awards were presented for traffic enforcement and safety during 2009: Corporal Gary Kazor, Southern District, for the highest impaired driver arrests – 75 in 2009. Corporal Scott Pederson, Northern District, for most productive seat belt enforcement during the 2010 Click It Or Ticket campaign. Corporal Nicholas DiPetro, Northern District, for the most productive enforcement in all areas of grant funded campaigns. Officer Richard Mioduszewski, Annapolis Police Department, for his overall performance in traffic safety programs in the city. Officer Eric Davis, Annapolis Police department, for his performance in impaired driving arrests in Annapolis. Leslie Thomas, Mother Against Drunk Drivers, for her dedication to impaired driving enforcement. Some statistics were also provided for program operations funded by grant money: In the Smooth Operator Program, targeting aggressive driving, during the period from July to September 2010, 799 vehicles were stopped, resulting in 18 arrests for driving on suspended or revoked license, 7 other arrests, 301 citations and 473 warnings. In Driving Under the Influence enforcement, during the same period, 676 stops were made, resulting in 26 arrests for DWI/DUI, 16 arrests for driving on suspended or revoked licenses, 10 arrests for illegal drugs, and the issuance of 380 traffic citations and 505 warnings. Odenton Traffic Circle At the Traffic Safety Task Force meeting, the State Highway Administration traffic engineer explained the reason for all the traffic cones at the Odenton traffic circle. They were put in place due to frequent accidents and problems with speeding in the two-lane circle, reducing it to a single lane circle. SHA is evaluating the effect and at some point will decide whether to make the changed configuration permanent or not. The engineer did not know how long the evaluation phase will take. Western District Traffic Coordinator Due to Corporal Brian Smith’s absence for medical problems, Corporal David Stallings has been assigned as the Western District Traffic Coordinator on an interim basis. He can be reached at 410-222-6155 or P91445@aacounty.org. He has been invited to stop by at a meeting to be introduced and we’ll probably schedule a longer session with him once he gets settled in. Minutes of September 8, 2010 Meeting The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Treasurer Linda Reece provided her report. We currently have $896.34 in the treasury. The treasurer’s report and the minutes from the June meeting, as published in the newsletter, were approved. President Dave Daughters previewed some upcoming program events in the PCRC schedule: In October, our guest speaker will be a member of the police Special Enforcement Team. One of the team’s primary duties is to locate people – either victims or suspects. The speaker will also discuss other duties of the team. Dave addressed a problem about when to schedule the annual Holiday Buffet for Western District officers and personnel. For 18 years, the PCRC has scheduled this event on the 2nd Wednesday of December, the same day as its normal December meeting. This date has always proven to be convenient for all concerned. In recent years, however, the banquet for the Reserve Officers has been scheduled on the same day, causing a conflict for those who desire to attend both events. Dave will contact the Reserve Officer Coordinator to see what can be done. Dave noted that more volunteers are needed to serve in the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Program, because officer manning in Western District is currently critically low and unless volunteers are located, the district’s reception window may go unmanned, if a booking officer is not present. By policy, no officers can be spared for that duty. Dave requested that this need for more VIPS volunteers be disseminated to all community organizations in Western District. Interested parties can obtain additional information by calling Dave or Lt Ziwoliak, or through the County Police website. Lieutenant Ziowoliak, filling in to Captain Flemings, who was not available, delivered the Captain’s Report. In general, crime in Western District has – with a few exceptions – has been under control during the summer months. There was a mugging in the Provinces, with no further information yet available, and several incidents in the same community of people getting shot at with BB guns from moving vehicles. There was one resolved homicide and some repeated acts of people stealing motorcycles and transporting them away in U-Haul trucks. One vehicle – a dark green Dodge Caravan – has been tentatively linked to the BB shootings and Lt. Ziwoliak requested that all citizens be on the alert and report any sightings of such a vehicle in their area. Several members reminded everyone that a number of events of possible interest will take place in the near future. On September 18th, the First Annual Preparedness Fair will be held in downtown Glen Burnie on Post 40 Road, at the Glen Burnie Improvement Association building. On Saturday, September 25th, the Jessup Family Day Parade and vendor’s sale is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jessup Community Hall. Also on September 25th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a drug turn-in, sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency, will take place at the Western District Station. Citizens are encouraged to turn in prescription or other drugs for safe disposal. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association This organization conducts both mail and telephone solicitations for donations, most recently sending out a desktop calculator that doesn’t work. According to the Better Business Bureau, the same organization also operates under the names of the American Foundation of Disabled Children, the Breast Cancer Relief Organization and the Reserve Police Officer’s Association. In turn, the American Foundation of Disabled Children also does business as The Association of Firefighters & Paramedics, while the Breast Cancer Relief Foundation also does business as the Firefighters Charitable Foundation and the Firefighter Support Foundation. None of these organizations have provided BBB with information for evaluation, despite written requests. One complaint sent to BBB was forwarded to the organization and received no response. Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org) has information on only two of the organizations – United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association and Firefighters Charitable Foundation. Both have zero stars (out of a possible four), largely because of their high fundraising expenses and low program expenses. Out of an annual revenue of $6,763,124, the United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association spents 73.7% on fundraising and only 17.8% on programs. The Firefighters Charitable Foundation, with an annual income of $6,192,400, spends 86.7% on fundraising and only 8.3% on actual programs. In October, 2003, the Kansas Sheriff’s Association and the Douglas County (Kansas) Sheriff’s Office denied any association or benefits from the organization after citizens there received repeated solicitation calls, and in December 2008, Chief Matthew Tobia, of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department said that his department received no benefits from the Firefighters Charitable Foundation and the Firefighter Support Foundation, after residents in this area received calls implying that their donations would help local firefighters. Use your charitable donations wisely. Some Final Words Some thoughts on the slots referendum: •Any time a developer touts the benefit to a community, it really means that the real winner will be the developer. In this instance, David Cordish has millions of dollars in corporate and personal wealth at stake. He’ll talk about what the community might get, but has yet to make public what he would get. •The pro-slots campaign has promised millions for Anne Arundel County, in one ad, they’ll say it will go to the police; in another, that it will go for teachers. The fact is that Cordish cannot guarantee any of that. Money will go to the county government, where politicians and bureaucrats will decide where to spend it. •State law requires that impact fees be spent on infrastructure in the “immediate vicinity” of the development. Thus, not a dollar will go to benefit Glen Burnie, Crofton, Millersville, Lothian, etc. •A counter-argument is that it will free up money for other works. But the money will go to infrastructure changes made necessary by the casino. Money that would not have to be spent otherwise. •The county Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is backing the referendum, with absolutely no assurance that the police will be any benefit. I think that I have demonstrated over the past 30 years that I strongly support the police efforts on our behalf, but on this issue, I believe that the FOP has made a deal with the devil. •In one Cordish TV ad, support is expressed by a woman identified as Shannon Chatlos of Annapolis. It is true that Chatlos lives is Annapolis, but she is also the Regional Director of Political Sales, for Aristotle, a “political technology” corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, that sells its services to political campaigns. I don’t know for sure, but it’s highly possible that they produced those ads. •Many Cordish mailers have the name of Todd Lamb. Todd Lamb lives in Sykesville, not in Anne Arundel County. Dave Daughters President 410-672-5703 dldaugh@aol.com [Senator Ed DeGrange's letter starts here.] September 8, 2010 TO: THE CITIZENS OF LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 32 LONG OVERDUE RESTRICTIONS PUT ON DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANIES The decline of the economy, unemployment, maxed out credit cards and health care bills are just some of the causes that have driven Americans into debt. In order to obtain debt relief and get back on their feet, many individuals have reached out to debt settlement companies. These companies usually require large upfront fees that equal about 15%-20% of the consumer’s outstanding debt balance and in exchange, they promise to negotiate with the consumer’s creditors in order to reduce their unsecured debt by 50%. Often, however, the consumer is unable to actually obtain debt relief and is forced into bankruptcy. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) acknowledged that debt settlement complaints have doubled from 2007 to 2009. The Maryland Better Business Bureau (“BBB”) has logged 3,500 complaints about debt settlement firms involving high fees and debts that were never settled. The 2010 Maryland General Assembly passed Senate Bill 701 Commercial Law - Debt Settlement Services – Study. This legislation requires the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation in consultation with the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General to conduct a study of the debt settlement services industry and to determine how to best regulate the industry in the State. The report, which will outline the study’s findings, is to be completed by December 2010. In the meantime, the FTC announced restrictions on debt settlement companies. The regulations will prohibit debt settlement companies from charging an upfront fee and will only allow them to charge a fee once a customer’s debt has been reduced, settled or renegotiated. The new regulation will also require debt settlement companies to disclose to customers how long it will take to get results, how much it will cost, and any negative consequences that could arise from the process. These regulations will go into effect on October 27, 2010. The problem with the new FTC regulations is that they only apply to agreements made as a result of telephone calls by debt relief companies to consumers or consumers’ calls to a company in response to advertisements. While nearly all the fraudulent activity in the debt relief industry involves telephone traffic, perhaps the 2011 General Assembly session will seek to expand the application of the restrictions. The Maryland Consumer Rights Commission wants a State law banning upfront fees and making the same FTC requirements. The Commission also wants the State law to include debt settlement done strictly over the Internet. I have no doubt that regulation of the Debt Settlement Companies will be an important issue during the 2011 Maryland General Assembly. In the meantime though, the Better Business Bureau advises individuals that are in debt, that using debt settlement companies should be the last step before bankruptcy. It is much better to contact creditors at the first hint of trouble to ask if they can work out a repayment plan or settlement. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding this or any other legislative issue of concern to you. I continue to encourage and welcome your input. Sincerely, James "Ed" DeGrange, Sr. State Senator, District 32 James Senate Office Building 11 Bladen Street, Room 101 Annapolis, Maryland 21401 (410)-841-3593 (410)-841-3589 (fax) James.DeGrange@senate.state.md.us