County prosecutor to take post with nonprofit group
I. Matthew Campbell, the well-regarded Howard County deputy state's attorney who won convictions in some of the office's highest-profile cases during his nearly four-year tenure, will leave the office this month to litigate securities fraud cases through a quasi-governmental nonprofit organization.
Campbell, who joined the Howard state's attorney's office in 1999 after spending nearly a quarter-century investigating and prosecuting cases in Montgomery County, said a job opportunity with the National Association of Securities Dealers "kind of landed on" him a few weeks ago.
Although politics was not the "determining factor" in his decision to leave, State's Attorney Marna L. McLendon's decision not to seek re-election this year did weigh on his mind, he said.
Death penalty sought in killings of children
Howard County State's Attorney Marna L. McLendon announced Monday that she is seeking the death penalty against a Columbia banker accused of killing his two preschool-age daughters - marking the first time in her nearly eight years in office that the prosecutor has opted to pursue the state's most severe punishment.
But McLendon, who filed the required paperwork Monday, would not explain her decision to seek death for Robert Emmett Filippi, saying that too much comment "could prejudice the whole case at this point."
The prosecutor's announcement was met with dismay from Filippi's defense attorney and some surprise by local court officials who have watched McLendon decide against death in every other eligible case during her two terms and have said they wondered at her silence.
Democrats celebrate victories in local races
Howard County Democrats were celebrating a near-total victory Tuesday night, as County Executive James N. Robey and a majority of County Council members won four-year terms - keeping control of county government. Robey beat Republican Steven H. Adler with 58 percent of the vote.
Democrats also won a majority of seats in the county's General Assembly delegation - but did not capture the new District 13 state Senate seat, a race that Republican state Sen. Sandra B. Schrader won. Democrat Timothy J. McCrone is the new county state's attorney, winning with a 56 percent majority, and Sheriff Charles M. Cave, also a Democrat, kept his seat.
Courtney Watson won the nonpartisan school board seat by a wide margin.
County to launch program to reduce truancy
When children consistently miss school - whether because of their apathy or that of their parents - the situation requires intervention.
Howard County, which has seen a steady rise in truancy during the past three years, has put together a pilot program that is based on one developed in Baltimore County and designed to cut absenteeism before it gets out of control. The program will make its debut at four test schools as needed in the coming months.
The multiagency effort calls on volunteers, the Sheriff's Department, the Department of Aging, the state's attorney's office, the Mental Health Authority and the Department of Social Services.
Sniper-related overtime could cost about $250,000
The sniper never struck in Howard County, but the long hours police worked during the three weeks the shooter terrorized the region are expected to cost the county nearly a quarter-million dollars in overtime, police officials said Wednesday.
About 30 officers typically are on patrol in the county at any given time, but at times during the weeks of the sniper attacks, more than 140 officers were on the streets, Police Chief Wayne Livesay said. Officers typically work three consecutive days, but many worked six days a week through the crisis, Livesay said.
When all expenses are totaled, the cost of the sniper alert easily could swell to a half-million dollars and the department could surpass its nearly $2 million overtime budget.
Land with septic problems auctioned for $340,000
This is how frenzied Howard County's real estate market has become: A piece of land can be dropped like a hot potato because someone thinks it's more trouble than it's worth, but people still will flock to bid for it - and pay nearly as much the second time.
An eighth of an acre was auctioned for $340,000 Thursday in Cooksville, six months after a winning bidder forfeited his $40,000 deposit rather than pay the $400,000 he had offered. That unusual action might have given new bidders pause - but commercially zoned land in rural Howard is rare.
Despite septic problems on the property that threw a monkey wrench into dreams of development, 40 people showed up. At least a dozen of them brought money to put down.
Absentee ballot count seals Schrader's victory
An unofficial count of absentee ballots late Thursday confirmed the victory of Republican state Sen. Sandra B. Schrader over Democrat C. Vernon Gray in the District 13 race for state Senate.
Schrader, who was 731 votes ahead after the election night tally, gained 61 more than Gray in the election board count. She received 665 absentee votes to his 604. A few dozen overseas and provisional ballots remain to be counted.
Gray, a 20-year Howard County councilman, said his message to Schrader is "I wish her well," although he had not spoken to her directly. He vowed to remain active in community affairs, such as the Oakland Mills Village Center revitalization effort and the First Tee golf program, and he did not rule out running for office again.