Our View - baltimoresun.com

Building middle-class Baltimore

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:00:00 EDT

Our view: The mayor's budget is no break-even proposition for residents; rather, it offers a path toward a strong, growing city that benefits all

In passing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's budget Monday night, City Council members said they hoped the whole thing would be more or less a wash for Baltimore residents. Property taxes are going down, but new fees are coming to pay for stormwater pollution mitigation, and new taxes will hit billboard advertising and taxi rides. No doubt some residents will pay more, and some will pay less, and in a city where poverty and joblessness are persistent problems, such changes are inevitably fraught. Likewise, the mayor's proposal to increase salaries for civilian city employees while also forcing them to contribute to their pension for the first time appears not to be a sure thing in the council amid worries that it asks too much of workers who occupy some of the lower rungs of the municipal pay scale.

Can we trust Iran's new president?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:02:34 EDT

Our view: The Obama administration needs to move quickly to determine the whether Hasan Rowhani is serious about negotiating limits on his country's nuclear program

The strong showing by the most moderate of the six presidential candidates who were allowed to run in Iran's national elections last week is a sign that the Iranian people — if not the conservative clerics who have final say on policy matters — are ready for a change. The Obama administration should seize the opportunity and attempt to reopen talks with the new president-elect in order to seriously explore whether he can move his country toward resolving the issues surrounding Iran's nuclear program in a way that leads to better relations with the West.

Shad run is down to a crawl

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:52:00 EDT

Our view: Decision by federal panel to cap commercial harvest of shad is helpful, but more must be done to preserve the once-bountiful fish

You would probably have to over the age of 50 to remember when late May and early June meant shad in Maryland. In those days, the spawning season for American shad and river herring brought young and old to the banks of Maryland tributaries to catch their share of fish once so bountiful that they were shipped by the rail car load from Crisfield to Baltimore.

Arming Syria's rebels

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:59:00 EDT

Our view: Obama's wariness of another Middle East war is warranted, but Assad's use of chemical weapons demands a stronger response

Having determined that the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad has used chemical weapons against his opponents in the country's bloody two-year civil war, the Obama administration is now reportedly preparing to send lethal military aid to rebel forces battling the regime. Mr. Obama said earlier this year that any use of chemical weapons by the Syrian military would cross a "red line" that invited a U.S. response. Now that American intelligence has confirmed Syria has crossed that line, the U.S. response must be measured but leave no doubt that the use of such weapons will not be tolerated.

Another laurel for Md. schools

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:55:00 EDT

Our view: A commitment to adequate funding and smart policies made the state No. 1 in the nation for gains in student achievement, including among the economically disadvantaged

A new report showing Maryland schools now lead the nation in efforts to boost student achievement levels has vindicated the commitment the state made more than a decade ago to adequately fund education and adopt smart policy choices that return the biggest bang for the buck. The study by Education Sector, a Washington-based think tank that tracks school reform efforts across the country, suggests that Maryland's thoughtful approach to improving education opportunities for all the state's children has positioned it to register even greater gains in the future.

The mayor and the lobbyist

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:41:00 EDT

Our view: A high-powered friendship is diminishing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's standing

Based on what we know so far, there does not appear to be anything illegal about the way Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has carried on her friendship with City Hall's top lobbyist, Lisa Harris Jones. Strictly speaking, there may not be anything unethical about it either. But it is certainly unwise. Both parties may have good motives, but the situation does damage to the public's trust in government, and it is up to the mayor to find a way to rectify it.

DJS' slippery slope at Silver Oak

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:01:00 EDT

Our view: Decision to expand Carroll County youth treatment center risks backsliding toward a failed juvenile justice policy

The state Board of Public Works' vote Wednesday to allow the privately operated Silver Oak Academy juvenile treatment center in Carroll County to double in capacity is regrettable not only because it violates the state's own policy of limiting such facilities to no more than 48 beds but because it sets a troubling precedent for how the state will handle future shortages of treatment slots for juveniles. If the goal is to help troubled youngsters get their lives back on track, the state would have done far better if it had accelerated long-delayed plans to build two new, smaller facilities in Baltimore City and Prince George's County. Instead, Maryland seems to have reversed course toward the kind of dangerously overcrowded, harder-to-manage youth facilities it has been trying to move away from in recent years.

Rocky Gap II?

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:37:59 EDT

Our view: The state-backed Cambridge Hyatt has been a winner for the Eastern Shore, and its struggles pale next to those of its Western Maryland predecessor

Henceforth, let there by a rule that nothing can be compared to Maryland's failed investment at Rocky Gap, located just outside Cumberland in Western Maryland, except for Rocky Gap and perhaps any other $55 million white elephant loss that comes along. We know Rocky Gap. Rocky Gap is an acquaintance of ours. Sorry, Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay resort in Cambridge, but you're no Rocky Gap.

The case against NSA's phone record surveillance

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:31:00 EDT

Our view: It's about time that the government's use of the Patriot Act was challenged in open court

The American Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit against the National Security Agency, seeking an end to the collection of data about nearly every phone call made by Americans, provides an almost unprecedented opportunity for the public to challenge the legality of the surveillance being conducted in its name. Although the government maintains that the program is authorized by the Patriot Act, and a special court designed to handle such matters has agreed, it has not been subject to anything like the kind of review we typically expect of the government's actions. The government's acknowledgment of its existence directly contradicts officials' earlier statements about the nature of NSA surveillance, and the author of the Patriot Act says it goes beyond the kinds of activities he intended the law to authorize. The Patriot Act is too broad as it is, and any stretching of it — which this program clearly is — demands a public airing as to its constitutionality.

A better bag tax

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:52:24 EDT

Our view: New proposal for a 10-cent fee on paper and plastic bags is an improvement over previous efforts, but it still requires significant changes

Baltimore has a litter problem in general — trash of all kinds blows down streets, piles up in alleys and parks and clogs streams and the harbor. The company that makes trash-skimming boats uses videos of its products at work clearing massive piles of debris from the Inner Harbor after a rainstorm to advertise the TrashCat. "Has this ever happened to your harbor?" United Marine International's website asks next to a picture of a gigantic floating junk pile. That doesn't speak well of our city or its residents.