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In the Media: Board of Estimates Meets About Gray Settlement; MD Hospitals to Hire More Workers

Wally Gobetz /
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Baltimore City Hall, where the Board of Estimates is meeting about the Gray Settlement.

A digest of news and stories about Baltimore from local sources.

From WEAA News: Board Of Estimates Approves $6.4M Gray Settlement 

The Baltimore City Board of Estimates has approved a $6.4 million settlement of all civil claims arising from the death of Freddie Gray, last April.

Under the agreement, the Gray family will receive $2.8 million in fiscal year 2016 (the current fiscal year) and $3.6 million in fiscal 2017.   Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and City Solicitor George Nilson, both of whom sit on the Board of Estimates, made clear prior to the Board's vote that the settlement is not an admission of guilt or liability over Gray's death on the part of the city, or the six police officers currently facing criminal charges in the matter.

According to WBAL TV, Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police President Gene Ryan had issued a statement prior to the Board's vote, condemning the timing of the settlement for coming before the final resolution of the criminal case against the six officers.

"Just as Baltimore is returning to its pre-riot normalcy, this news threatens to interrupt any progress made toward restoring the relationship between the members of the Baltimore Police Department and the Baltimore City government. We strongly urge the city's spending panel to reject this proposed settlement and to wait until such time as there is a more appropriate response," read Ryan's statement, in part.

Asked about Ryan's position on the impact of the settlement on police-city government relations at a press conference after the Board's meeting, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Ryan's statments "continue to baffle me."

"What this settlement does is remove any civil liability from the six officers. . . . If any of the officers believe that they have been negatively impacted, they can opt out of the settlement and face civil liability individually," added the Mayor.

From The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Hospitals Want to Hire 1,000 New Workers

"Responding to a sense of frustration in poor Baltimore neighborhoods following April's unrest, area hospitals want to hire 1,000 extra entry-level workers to clean the floors and transport patients, as well as counsel addicts and guide people into health insurance.

The hospitals would seek a small rate increase from those getting care at the facilities to pay for the positions, which would include training so those without diplomas or a work history, or with a criminal record, could escape poverty through work.

'We are collectively the largest private sector employer and we thought we could really make a push to stand up a meaningful number of jobs,' said Ronald R. Peterson, president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System ahead of a presentation planned for state regulators Wednesday.

'The primary purpose is to give people with relatively low educational attainment an entry level job, and then give people the chance to move up over time if they so desire.'

Many lawmakers cited the link between poor health and poverty, meaning new jobs could fix more than one social ill.

The largest hospital systems already have signed on to the program, including the University of Maryland Medical System and MedStar Health."

Full Article

From the Baltimore Brew: Ex-Bishop Pleads Guilty in Deadly Drunk Driving Crash

"Former Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook could spend up to 10 years in prison for causing the death of 41-year-old bicyclist Thomas Palermo on Roland Avenue last December.

One day before her trial was to begin, Cook pleaded guilty today to four charges: auto manslaughter; leaving the scene of a driving accident involving a fatality; driving while intoxicated and texting while driving.

Prosecutor Kurt Bjorklund retold how Cook, driving her green Subaru wagon, had swerved into the Roland Avenue bike lane that Sunday, while texting and drunk, striking Palermo and then driving away from the scene.

She returned more than 30 minutes later, Bjorklund said, and blew a .22 on a breath alcohol test, nearly three times the legal limit.

It was a shocking turn of events for the 58-year-old Cook, who had recently been made a bishop, the first woman to hold that position in the history of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland."

Full Article

From The Baltimore Sun: City Seeks Vendors for Bike Share Program

"Baltimore is again attempting to launch a bike share program and join cities like Washington and Paris that offer the short-term rental service.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced Tuesday that the city is seeking a vendor to manage, operate and maintain 250 bikes and at least 25 Charm City Bike Share stations across the city. Proposals from potential vendors are due next month.

The program is seeking nongovernment sponsors and advertising. The city has $2.8 million from the state and federal grant to launch the first phase the program, officials said."

Full Article

From The Real News Network: A Moment to A Movement

"The media called it a riot, but on the streets of Baltimore they call it an uprising. The police murder of Freddie Gray ignited mass protests that have been called Black Spring. But in working class Black communities across the city, the issues go beyond police violence. Over a quarter of Baltimore residents are paying more than half of their income to housing. Nearly 150,000 cases a year are brought to Baltimore City Rent Court because tenants are unable to pay their rent. Over 30% of rental housing in Baltimore is considered so substandard it's uninhabitable. Jobs are gone, schools are underfunded, and money for development only goes to the wealthy communities. The Laura Flanders Show heard all this and more from the people on the front lines of the struggle."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=493&v=MEEUcrD2dOQ

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