Patrols around school zones are stepped up
Howard County police have been assigned to roads near the county’s schools in a program enforcing speed, seat belt and child safety seat laws.
County police established a Helping Arriving Students Through Enforcement program 20 years ago to heighten safety, Sherry Llewellyn, a police spokeswoman, said in an email. In 2017, officers spent 149 enforcement hours on 59 roads, according to Llewellyn.
Speed limits range from 25 mph to 45 mph in school zones, according to Llewellyn.
Officers also will follow school buses to watch for drivers who fail to stop when a school bus is stopped with its red lights flashing, according to police.
Officers issued 40 citations and warnings during last year’s program. Llewellyn did not have a breakdown of the violations by type.
Speed cameras will continue to be rotated among school zones. The registered owners of speeding vehicles are mailed citations.
Council rejects plan to kill tax on mobile homes A proposal to repeal a 40-year-old Howard County mobile home tax failed to clear the County Council on Tuesday. Co-sponsored by council members Calvin Ball and Jen Terrasa, both Democrats, the proposal would have provided relief for 1,100 county mobile home residents who pay an average of $45 a month in mobile home taxes.
More than 20 mobile home owners or renters supported the proposal at hearings this summer, saying they could use the savings to pay for expenses, such as tutoring and after-school activities for their children.
“I can’t believe we’re actually discussing whether mobile home residents are paying their fair share of taxes,” Terrasa said during Tuesday night’s meeting. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”
Council chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty and Councilman Jon Weinstein, both Democrats, and Councilman Greg Fox, a Republican, voted against the repeal and said the issue needed to be reviewed more comprehensively.
“To assume everybody in a mobile home is in need of a tax credit when there are people in single family homes, townhomes and apartments, that also may need those same needs,” Fox said.
When asked if he and Terrasa would reintroduce the bill, Ball said, “This council has demonstrated they are not going to support this kind of tax relief.
“Honestly at this point we’re close to the election, that is a reminder of why we need change, to look out for hardworking people,” said Ball, who is running for county executive against Allan Kittleman, the Republican incumbent.
The County Council tabled the proposal in August before adjourning a summer recess and Tuesday’s vote “kills the bill,” Ball said.
Fundraiser hits the right notes for Ellicott City Student musicians from the band and orchestra programs at Centennial Lane Elementary School Ellicott City raised $1,200 to support Ellicott City as it recovers from Memorial Day weekend floods.
The Centennial Lane Band and Orchestra Boosters sponsored a “practice-a-thon,” where students asked family and friends to sponsor them when they practiced their instruments. Last month the students presented a check to the Ellicott City Partnership, which is helping with flood relief efforts.
County police established a Helping Arriving Students Through Enforcement program 20 years ago to heighten safety, Sherry Llewellyn, a police spokeswoman, said in an email. In 2017, officers spent 149 enforcement hours on 59 roads, according to Llewellyn.
Speed limits range from 25 mph to 45 mph in school zones, according to Llewellyn.
Officers also will follow school buses to watch for drivers who fail to stop when a school bus is stopped with its red lights flashing, according to police.
Officers issued 40 citations and warnings during last year’s program. Llewellyn did not have a breakdown of the violations by type.
Speed cameras will continue to be rotated among school zones. The registered owners of speeding vehicles are mailed citations.
Council rejects plan to kill tax on mobile homes A proposal to repeal a 40-year-old Howard County mobile home tax failed to clear the County Council on Tuesday. Co-sponsored by council members Calvin Ball and Jen Terrasa, both Democrats, the proposal would have provided relief for 1,100 county mobile home residents who pay an average of $45 a month in mobile home taxes.
More than 20 mobile home owners or renters supported the proposal at hearings this summer, saying they could use the savings to pay for expenses, such as tutoring and after-school activities for their children.
“I can’t believe we’re actually discussing whether mobile home residents are paying their fair share of taxes,” Terrasa said during Tuesday night’s meeting. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”
Council chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty and Councilman Jon Weinstein, both Democrats, and Councilman Greg Fox, a Republican, voted against the repeal and said the issue needed to be reviewed more comprehensively.
“To assume everybody in a mobile home is in need of a tax credit when there are people in single family homes, townhomes and apartments, that also may need those same needs,” Fox said.
When asked if he and Terrasa would reintroduce the bill, Ball said, “This council has demonstrated they are not going to support this kind of tax relief.
“Honestly at this point we’re close to the election, that is a reminder of why we need change, to look out for hardworking people,” said Ball, who is running for county executive against Allan Kittleman, the Republican incumbent.
The County Council tabled the proposal in August before adjourning a summer recess and Tuesday’s vote “kills the bill,” Ball said.
Fundraiser hits the right notes for Ellicott City Student musicians from the band and orchestra programs at Centennial Lane Elementary School Ellicott City raised $1,200 to support Ellicott City as it recovers from Memorial Day weekend floods.
The Centennial Lane Band and Orchestra Boosters sponsored a “practice-a-thon,” where students asked family and friends to sponsor them when they practiced their instruments. Last month the students presented a check to the Ellicott City Partnership, which is helping with flood relief efforts.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
