Is ex-Maryland Governor Martin O' Malley run for POTUS considered a JOKE?! (Baltimore: 2015, gated)

[MidValleyDad]

Originally Posted by CBMD

You've completely lost me here. If a tax is collected for the purpose of Bay remediation, why would any system large or small, urban or rural, expect to get anything back?

Then explain to me why a "small system" however that is defined, is prevented from even applying for money, that a "large system" is not prevented from applying for?
I assume there is some bureaucratic rationale, whether you agree with it or not, that may or may not, have anything to do with politics.

The concept that was put forward when the tax was instituted was that the money collected into the 'fund' would be available as grants and low cost loans to assist in updating older systems to put less pollution out.

So far any of the smaller systems that have tried have been told that they don't meet the size requirements to even apply for the funds that their customers are forced to pay. In addition the local water and sewer authorities have been tasked with the requirement of collecting and forwarding the funds to the state. We have had local customers refuse to pay the tax yet we are required to send the amount to the state whether paid or not. Then we have to go through the process (at our expense not the states) of recovering the payment from the customer. When the state raised the rate a couple years back there was no public hearing (required for any of our rate increases) and the local officials were stuck taking time to field the complaints.

Another complaint was that the tax was even applied to Garrett county WHICH ISN'T EVEN IN THE CHESAPEAKE WATERSHED.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by CBMD

Hunting is optional, sewage and waste water is not. My neighbor is allowed to make more crap than me etc.......

It's way past sewer and water. It's economic development and all that entails. From density to transportation to schools.

To really understand it, and I don't really claim to know all the parts, you have to look at the whole package because each piece is intertwined with every other piece.

You're proposing to build a school outside a Priority Funding Area you get no money. It doesn't matter if your other schools are overcrowded and the only property available is the one you proposed. It's outside the PFA.

A major manufacturer wants to build a 2000 employee facility in a Tier 3 designated area and will build a sewer treatment plant for it? Nope, can't do that because it's Tier 3 and your own Water and Sewer District Plan shows no sewer is even contemplated for that area. So, no permits from MDE, no help from DECD. Sorry, no jobs.

I will say that things have loosened up a bit since Hogan has taken over and gotten rid of most of the O'Malley bunch. Projects are still hard to do but common sense is also being injected.

We just finished constructing a Living Shoreline. That project was in the works for 6 years over two different Mayors. O'Malley's folks just wouldn't get off the dime for permits. Usually the Army Corps of Engineers is the picky one to deal with. Not for this, MDE and DNR were the ones who wouldn't decide. As a note, this was a project that they are requiring now instead of armoring shoreline with rock, so we were doing what they wanted.

Hogan takes over, his guys take a look and the permits are issued. Two weeks after they were sworn in.

[ki0eh]

Does the Ohio River watershed in Garrett have to comply with ENR? PA's does not yet. Of course both feed a world scale hypoxic zone but down in Louisiana they don't care.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Does the Ohio River watershed in Garrett have to comply with ENR? PA's does not yet. Of course both feed a world scale hypoxic zone but down in Louisiana they don't care.

The operative word is "yet". PA has committed to it in the Bay watershed. It hasn't done much yet but there are several lawsuits against the Bay watershed states working their way through the Courts which will bring the issue to a head.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

I don't expect you to "get it," but in mining regions, these types of accidents are a generational burden we bare so the rest of the country can, you know, have electricity.

For instance, I had 2 great grandfathers die in mining accidents. I lived in the house the mining company paid for after my great grandfather's death. I was the 5th generation in my family to live in that home.

These events are rooted deep in our psyche and in our day to day reality (like my old family home) and reflect the cost we bear from the benefit of having mining jobs. Your point would make more sense if it wasn't negated by the actions of the Governors of states to our south and north. People fall off ladders in WV and PA too, but the governors still choose to show up when mining accidents happen. Why? Because accidents happen all the time, but mining accidents cut to the core of what mining communities are.

Buff,

It isn't about a photo-op, it is about showing your constituents you understand their needs, concerns, and way of life. It is the equivalent of the mayor of Baltimore showing up when a kid is killed by violence. People die all the time, there is lots of violence in Baltimore every day, why show up for this case? The answer is because kids killed by violence cuts these communities to the core and these tragedies are part of their shared identity.

I understand coal mining culture is present in only two counties of our state, but he was elected to be the governor of the entire state. As mentioned, other governors understood this, and at least tried to relate to the minorities in their own state. MOM didn't, and we remember.

Make that Great-great-grandfathers. My great grandfather got a legacy job with the mining company, but took a desk job rather than working underground.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Make that Great-great-grandfathers. My great grandfather got a legacy job with the mining company, but took a desk job rather than working underground.

Meaning he was given a job w/the co. because his father died in an accident working for the co.? Just curious; hadn't heard that phrase before.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by bufflove

Meaning he was given a job w/the co. because his father died in an accident working for the co.? Just curious; hadn't heard that phrase before.

Correct, although coal mining is generally a family thing and many miners, including some of my ancestors went down into the mines with their fathers, uncles, cousins, well before they were 18.

My great-grandfather wasn't a good fit for the mining business though, even the desk jobs. He started a radio store......during the Great Depression......which didn't work out. We still have the pictures though!

In the end, he found his niche in politics and by the end of his life was a trial magistrate in Frostburg. This was before the days of the statewide District Court system. He still caught a ton of crap from his MIL, the wife of the other dead g-g-grandfather, for being "lazy." He lived most of his adult life in the house paid for by the death benefit she received.

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Correct, although coal mining is generally a family thing and many miners, including some of my ancestors went down into the mines with their fathers, uncles, cousins, well before they were 18.

My great-grandfather wasn't a good fit for the mining business though, even the desk jobs. He started a radio store......during the Great Depression......which didn't work out. We still have the pictures though!

In the end, he found his niche in politics and by the end of his life was a trial magistrate in Frostburg. This was before the days of the statewide District Court system. He still caught a ton of crap from his MIL, the wife of the other dead g-g-grandfather, for being "lazy." He lived most of his adult life in the house payed for by the death benefit she received.

Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by bufflove

Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.

No problem. I like to think they are interesting stories, and add a small window into our lives out here, where the past and present are interconnected in our daily lives.

I lived in that same house too, I still pass it everyday on the way to work, I tell my children these same stories about it and our family. I hope one day they will pass the knowledge onto their kids too.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by westsideboy

Correct, although coal mining is generally a family thing and many miners, including some of my ancestors went down into the mines with their fathers, uncles, cousins, well before they were 18.

My great-grandfather wasn't a good fit for the mining business though, even the desk jobs. He started a radio store......during the Great Depression......which didn't work out. We still have the pictures though!

In the end, he found his niche in politics and by the end of his life was a trial magistrate in Frostburg. This was before the days of the statewide District Court system. He still caught a ton of crap from his MIL, the wife of the other dead g-g-grandfather, for being "lazy." He lived most of his adult life in the house paid for by the death benefit she received.

Oh Jeezus that "lazy" crap. Damned Scots-Irish, they're the same no matter what state they live in. Throw in some Germanic worker bee OCD and you have a toxic mix.