August 30, 2010
The Frederick County Office of Environmental Sustainability presented the County Board of Commissioners with a report on the county’s greenhouse gas emission levels last week. The Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report, the first for the county, accounted for greenhouse gas and pollution emissions attributed to human activities county-wide. In a press release Frederick County Board of Commissioners President Jan Gardner stated,
“Developing a greenhouse gas inventory is a critical step in understanding the impact our activities have on the environment. Coupled with the data on energy consumption compiled for the county’s Draft Comprehensive Energy Plan, we have a robust baseline for comparing future performance and tracking progress of energy conservation initiatives and emission reduction strategies.”
Amongst the findings, it was reported that county government operations accounted for only 2% of the total community emissions. This is below the regional average of 3-4%. For more information click here to read the full Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report.
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Posted by Emily Hollis
August 30, 2010
Harford County Executive and MACo President David Craig has challenged Harford County Government employees to reduce their energy consumption by 5 perecent . The “County Executive Challenge” is part of Executive Craig’s Environmental Stewardship and Energy Initiatives. According to the County’s website,
The County Executive Challenge is to reduce our energy consumption in Harford County Government buildings by 5% from our 2009 consumption patterns beginning September 1, 2010. A 5% reduction would result in a savings of about 1.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity and approximately $155,000. A savings of 1.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity is the equivalent of saving the CO2 emissions from the average electricity usage by 139 single-family homes in one year or removing 220 passenger vehicles from the road according to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator (2010).
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In September, our Facility Energy Coordinators will add to the Challenge with the implementation of an Energy Savings Program at Harford County Government buildings. In addition, several activities funded through the Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant (EECBG) will also help increase the energy efficiency within government buildings.
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Posted by Emily Hollis
August 30, 2010
Nationwide Retirement Solutions, a MACo Corporate Partner and longtime ally in delivering employee retirement products to Maryland’s public sector, hosts a newsletter discussing the state of the economy and how it affects both public sector retirement systems, as well as the employees who participate in them. This quarter’s topic is the potential for a “double dip” recession.
“Framing the Economy” was developed with input from Bryan Jordan, CPA:
BRYAN JORDAN, CFA is the Chief Economist and Director of Financial Markets Analysis at Nationwide Investments, the entity that manages the invested assets for Nationwide’s Life and Mutual companies, Nationwide’s Pension, as well as some subadvised fixed income mutual funds for Nationwide Financial.
Among the issues raised in the brief document is the seeming “slowdown” of the recovery (even focusing on the second quarter of 2010). From the article:
And in many ways, the slowdown is both natural and normal. It is true that economic growth tends to accelerate in the second year of recoveries, but there have often been substantial short-term slowdowns within these periods. In fact, real gross domestic product has logged at least one quarter of sub-2.0% growth within the first two years of every recovery of the last half-century. More than half of these low-water marks came in the second year of the cycle, including during each of the last two.
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Posted by Michael Sanderson
August 30, 2010
As reported by the Gazette, it is unclear whether early voting will increase voter turnout or result in individuals voting early instead of waiting until election day.
Regardless of whether residents know about early voting — or take advantage of it — Maryland will initiate early voting statewide this year. For the primary election, early voting will take place between Sept. 3 and 9, except for Sunday, Sept. 5. The primary election is Sept. 14.
Early voting also will be conducted before the Nov. 2 general election — from Oct. 22 to 28, except for Sunday, Oct. 24.
Thirty-two states nationwide offer some type of early voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Most election officials say they have no idea how many voters will turn out for early voting.
“It could be thousands; it could be hundreds; it could be no one,” said Gail Carter, Carroll County’s election director. “We don’t know how receptive the public is going to be for it, so it’s going to be a learning experience for the whole state.”
In other states that have adopted early voting, overall voter turnout has not been affected, said Guy Mickley, Howard County’s deputy election director.
“I don’t think early voting is going to have any impact on anything,” he said.
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Posted by Andrea Mansfield
August 30, 2010
MACo is proud to introduce Constellation Energy as a bronze-level partner in our Corporate Partner Program. 
Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Constellation Energy is a national energy service company that provides consulting, on site generation assets, energy-saving services, and renewable energy procurement to government, institutional, and large commercial and industrial customers. Additionally, Constellation offers an array of services including solar, biomass and wind renewable assets, shared savings energy projects, demand auditing and management, LEED consulting, and performance contracting.
Constellation Energy has received a number of accolades for their products and services which increase energy efficiency, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and savings. These awards and recognition include:
- Ranked #149 in Fortune 500′s annual ranking of America’s largest companies
- Gold Level Recipient of the American Heart Association’s Start! Fit-Friendly Companies
- Recipient of the National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials 2009 Distinguished and Notable Service Awards
As an energy service company, Constellation Energy is directly linked to the use of natural resources. In recent years, the company has spent more than $1 billion on environmental upgrades at their facilities. More details are available in Constellation’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2009.
For additional information contact Leyda Santo at leyda.santo@constellation.com
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Posted by Emily Hollis
August 30, 2010
An August 29 Baltimore Sun article discusses how Maryland school systems are preparing to receive nearly $400 million from the federal Race to the Top initiative and the education jobs bill. The monies provided from both sources of funding are one-time only.
Unlike states where budget tightening has increased class sizes or shortened school days, Maryland is starting the school year largely protected from such drastic changes — and looking forward to a $400 million infusion of new federal money over the next several years. …
Over the course of the next year, students should begin to see the effects of the cash infusion: more rigorous assignments, a greater use of technology and an overall rise in the level of teaching, said James Foran, an assistant state superintendent and project manager for Race to the Top. …
While local school officials say no decisions have been made yet, Foran said each district is likely to target the area that needs the most improvement. …
The money also commits the state to developing a new evaluation system for principals and teachers, directly linking student test scores to teacher performance. Teachers unions will begin negotiating with their school boards in the next year over the details of those evaluations, and some counties will begin pilot programs in the spring.
The second half of the Race to the Top money will be spent by the state to provide teachers and principals with more training, and to develop the new state curriculum and other programs such as a statewide data collection system.
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Posted by Les Knapp
August 30, 2010
An August 27 Gazette article highlights the ongoing debate about the safety of artificial turf fields for both people and the environment.
Depending on who is talking, synthetic turf fields are either the environmentally sound wave of the future or a yet-to-be-fully known threat to humans and the Earth. …
As the debate goes on, federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, still are measuring the risks that might be posed by direct and environmental exposure to chemicals in grass yarns and in crumbed tire rubber, widely used as infill “dirt” by various brands of synthetic turf fields.
Although most fans and detractors agree man-made turf fields have improved since the debut of “astro turf” in the 1960s — which was widely panned as unforgiving and more likely to cause injuries — concerns about high surface temperatures, abrasions and infections, as well as inhalable and absorbable toxins, persist.
December 11, 2009 Conduit Street post on EPA study of use of recycled tire material for playgrounds and artificial turf fields
December 2009 EPA Study
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Posted by Les Knapp
August 27, 2010
New figures released from the Maryland Department of Education indicate that there has been more than a 10 percent decline in new teacher hires for the 2010-11 school year. The Gazette reports :
“Being in an economic downturn, we’re retaining our teachers. People are not as apt to up and leave the system or retire, and so therefore we have less attrition,” said Amber Waller, an at-large school board member for Prince George’s County.
For 2009-10, 3,463.5 teachers were hired in Maryland’s 24 public school districts, compared with 2,991.5 teachers for the upcoming year, including full and part-time teachers, according to the state Department of Education statistics. This represents a 13.6 percent decline. Prince George’s County Public Schools experienced the most dramatic drop-off in hiring — from 663 new teachers hired as of mid-August last year to 220 this year, a decrease of about two-thirds.
While a number of school systems throughout the state continue to deal with budget cuts, decreases in employment opportunities, and increases in class sizes; Baltimore County has witnessed an increase in their new teacher hires.
Baltimore County Public Schools, one of the state’s largest systems, hired 361.5 teachers for the upcoming school year, compared with 244 teachers for 2009-10, according to the state statistics. In addition, despite the security that a teacher’s job often provides, the projected number of new teachers needed jumped from 300 to 500 in Baltimore County, while the number of students is projected to remain flat from last year to 2010-11 at about 104,100.Baltimore County schools are in good shape financially, having not eliminated any teacher positions this year while implementing cost-of-living increases for teachers, said Charles Herndon, a spokesman for the school system. At the same time, the large number of teachers on the East Coast who have been laid off recently has created a larger applicant pool, he said.
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Posted by Emily Hollis
August 27, 2010
An August 27 Gazette article describes the decision of Montgomery and Frederick Counties to decline Race to the Top funds by refusing to sign onto the State’s Race to the Top application.
The two counties, which share a geographical border, also share the distinction of being left out of the quarter-million-dollar pot coming Maryland’s way. That’s because Montgomery and Frederick declined to sign on to the Race to the Top application. …
“There was concern about a lack of detail regarding how Race to the Top would be implemented, what some of the expectations would be and also the concern about funding adequacy,” said Marita Loose, a spokeswoman for Frederick County Public Schools.
In a written statement Thursday, Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Dana Tofig said the school system’s lack of support for Race to the Top centered on how teacher evaluations might differ from what the county uses and the nature of the tests that would be administered to students.
“We are not willing to undo that simply to chase money that will amount to less than 0.3 percent of our budget, much of which cannot be used for direct instructional costs,” Tofig wrote.
August 25 Conduit Street post on Race to the Top
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Posted by Les Knapp
