A digest of Baltimore news from local sources.
From the Baltimore Sun: Maryland Task Force Recommends 22 Police Reforms
"State lawmakers' plans to boost police accountability and transparency took shape Monday as a task force approved 22 recommendations aimed at restoring trust in law enforcement.
"Democratic leaders in the Maryland General Assembly will push a bill that would grant more rights to victims of police brutality, roll back special rights given to police accused of wrongdoing, create a unified complaint system for tracking problem officers and allow the public to watch police disciplinary boards.
"'What we've done here, it's monumental,' said Del. Curt Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat and co-chair of the Public Safety and Policing Work Group that developed the recommendations.
"'We have opened up a process that has been closed and secret in this state.'
"In the wake of riots that followed Freddie Gray's death in Baltimore, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and House of Delegates Speaker Michael E. Busch promised legislation to improve policing.
"On Monday, the task force they appointed revealed what will become the basis of an omnibus policing reform bill introduced after the legislature convenes Wednesday."
From the Washington Post: Faith Leaders Add Voices to Maryland Sick-Leave Movement
"Maryland faith leaders on Monday joined the swelling ranks of sick-leave advocates backing legislation to require employers in the state to pay workers for time off when they are ill — a proposal that has languished in Congress but found limited success at the state and local levels.
"Christian and Jewish clergy, speaking to nearly 100 people at Baltimore’s St. Ignatius Church, called on lawmakers in Annapolis to support the sick-leave bills that Maryland Senate Majority Leader Catherine E. Pugh (D-Baltimore) and Del. Luke H. Clippinger (D-Baltimore) plan to introduce during the upcoming legislative session, which begins Wednesday.
"Advocates for sick leave say the working poor suffer most when they don’t have the benefit, making tough choices about whether to work through illnesses or stay home without earning the wages they need to support themselves and their families.
"The measures from Pugh and Clippinger would mandate that businesses with 10 or more employees provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work."
From the AFRO American: Pratt Library Waverly Branch: Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
"DeWayne Wickham, the founding dean of the School of Global Journalism & Communications and Distinguished Professor of Journalism at Morgan State University, will give The Pratt Library’s annual King Commemorative Lecture on Jan. 16 at 2 p.m.
The event will be held at the Waverly Branch Library, 400 E. 33rd St., Baltimore, MD 21218."