City To Send Out Water Turn-Off Notices
Beginning next week, Baltimore City will start sending out 25,000 turn-off notices to delinquent water customers. The Department of Public Works announced that customers with unpaid bills will have 10 days to pay, or they could lose service. Those with delinquent accounts are strongly encouraged to restore their accounts to good standing in the next few days, especially if the account is two billing cycles past due with a balance greater than $250. According to the Baltimore Sun, residential and commercial customers owe the city more than $40 million dollars. DPW will begin turning off water Wednesday.
Jackson Jr. Continues Sentence At Baltimore Halfway House
Former Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is continuing his sentence for corruption at a Baltimore halfway house. Jackson left a federal prison in Alabama Thursday and traveled to Baltimore's Volunteers of America facility. Jackson is serving time after pleading guilty to misusing $750,000 in campaign donations.
MD Health Exchange Improperly Billed Feds
A yearlong audit by the Department of Health and Human Services finds that Maryland's health insurance exchange overbilled the federal government by more than $28 million dollars during its launch in 2013. States were paid more for enrolling residents in private plans than for Medicaid, but the audit found Maryland mismanaged the reimbursement process. The Sun reports the probe found no evidence of fraud or criminal wrongdoing, but did say the state exchange lacked oversight and internal controls. Auditors are recommending that Maryland repay the money, then apply for the correct amount.
Maryland's February Unemployment Rate Unchanged
According to the most recent numbers from the Labor Department, Maryland’s jobless rate is holding steady. The report says the state's employers added 6,100 jobs in February, but the unemployment rate was unchanged from January at 5.5 percent. Federal statistics show the private and public sectors each added about 3,000 jobs last month. Maryland has gained 46,000 jobs over the last year.
Maryland Senate Unanimously Okays State Budget
The Maryland Senate has voted to approve the state's $40 billion dollar budget. Senators were unanimous yesterday, voting 46-0 to approve the spending plan that eliminates three-quarters of the state's structural deficit, while restoring cuts in education funding and pay raises for state workers. The budget will now head to a conference committee, because the Senate's version of the plan is slightly different than the one passed last week by the House.
Supplemental Budget To Fund New State Troopers
Dozens of new state troopers will be patrolling in Maryland. During a swearing-in ceremony for the new State Police superintendent yesterday, Governor Larry Hogan announced that a supplemental budget will provide nearly $7 million dollars to recruit, train and equip 100 new troopers. Another $1.4 million is being added to the budget to reopen a State Police barrack in Annapolis that closed in 2008.
SlutWalk Baltimore To Protest Cosby Show At The Lyric
The Baltimore chapter of a sexual assault victim's advocacy group will protest tonight's Bill Cosby show at the Lyric. The group "SlutWalk" says almost 40 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, and they want to show the Modell Performing Arts Center and those attending the show that Baltimore does not want Cosby performing in the city. The sidewalk protest begins at 6:30 pm.
Maryland Women’s Basketball to Take on Duke
Maryland women's basketball takes on former ACC-foe Duke in the Sweet 16 tomorrow. The top-seeded Terps take on the fourth-seeded Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, Wash. The Terrapins are 32-and-2 this season, and have not lost since December 3. Duke defeated Maryland last season 84-63. This is Maryland's fourth-straight Sweet 16 appearance. Tip-off is set for tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
Woods Making Scholarship Donation In Sifford's Honor
PGA star Tiger Woods is making a donation to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to launch a scholarship in the name of late golfer Charlie Sifford. The 93-year-old Sifford was considered the Jackie Robinson of golf as the first African-American to break the sport’s color barrier. Woods is giving $10,000 to help create the scholarship.