Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Councilman Carl Stokes previously touted the school as a success story.
The Baltimore school board decided not to renew the contract for a charter school in the Gay Street neighborhood co-founded by Councilman Carl Stokes, who represents Remington and parts of Charles Village. On Tuesday night, the board voted not to renew the The Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy’s contract because it has not made enough academic progress—although its unclear if the school will be closed, according to The Baltimore Sun. The creation of the school, which opened in 2007, is listed as one of Stoke’s achievements on his 12th District page on the council’s website. The councilman served as the school’s chief operating officer prior to returning to the council. "In 2008, after only operating for one full year, Bluford Drew …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Council members share concerns about employee benefits, trash collection fees and audits.
Some members of the Baltimore City Council, who represent North Baltimore, liked parts of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s State of the City Address, but had some concerns about the initiatives she proposed. Scroll through the photos to find out what council members had to say about the speech.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The City Council passed a resolution asking that the city maintain recreation spending.
The administration of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will withhold comment on a resolution asking for the state legislature to pass a bill requiring the city to maintain a level of funding for recreation after voters approved table gaming in the state. In November, voters approved table games in the state, with 50 percent of the funds coming to Baltimore earmarked for maintenance, operation and construction of recreational facilities. The City Council passed a resolution last week asking the city’s state legislators to add a provision to the bill requiring the city to maintain its spending level on recreation, in addition to the funds coming from gaming. "If we are going to be receiving dedicated state funds toward recreation, then these …
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The Committee of the Whole rejected a plan to cut $6.1 million from the mayor's proposed operating budget.
(UPDATED 7:36 p.m.)—Councilman Carl Stokes—a vote in favor of cuts to the mayor’s proposed $2.8 billion budget—missed Thursday’s committee vote. The Committee of the Whole voted to reject a plan to cut $6.1 million from the budget supporters argue would allow the mayor to fund priorites, such as preventing the closure of three firehouses and increase funding for after-school programs. Even if Stokes' was able to make the meeting his vote would not have been enough to stop the mayor's council allies from rejecting the amendments, and passing the budget on to be considered by the full City Council. The amendments were defeated by a 9-5 vote and the committee approved the mayor's budget by the same margin. Earlier in the day, a …
Monday, June 11, 2012
Find out how your City Council member voted on a 3 cents bottle tax increase.
The City Council laid their cards down tonight, and passing a 3 cents increase of the bottle tax now appears to be just a formality. The council voted 11-4 to pass the tax increase, which will now go on to a final passage next week. The Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee voted to move the bill forward without a recommendation earlier in the day. Scroll through the pictures above to find out how and why your council member voted.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Stokes defended his stance against the bottle tax during a Baltimore Education Coalition rally on Monday.
Councilman Carl Stokes said that by not holding a vote on a proposed bottle tax increase he is keeping the legislation alive. "The committee—I’m keeping the bill alive—the committee doesn’t want it," Stokes said. Stokes, who represents Remington and Charles Village, made his comments in an interview following his appearance at the Baltimore Education Coalition’s rally at the War Memorial Building on Monday. Stokes stood up before the rally, which was held in part to show support for the tax increase, and said he wants the city to reevaluate its total budget and not just depend on a bottle tax for school construction. When asked during the rally if he would let the bill out of committee Stokes did not answer. Stokes is the chairman of the …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Councilman Carl Stokes said that he was "besieged" by unhappy residents.
Councilman Carl Stokes was critical of the Charles Village Community Benefits District on Monday night following a City Council meeting. During the meeting Stokes spoke against legislation sponsored by Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke that would allow Waverly Main Street to appoint members to the benefits district’s board. Currently Waverly Merchants Association is supposed to appoint members to the board but that group is no longer active. Waverly Main Street and Waverly Merchants Association have jointly appointed two members to the board that have been voting on issues such as the district’s financial plan. Stokes questioned whether it was legal to have these members voting on issues when its currently specified that Waverly Merchants …
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Some member of the City Council who represent North Baltimore want to see more details of proposals from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's State of the City Address.
Following Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s State of the City address on Monday, some City Council members who represent North Baltimore said they want to see the details of the mayor’s proposal. Councilman Bill Henry, who represents neighborhoods such as Guilford and Radnor-Winston, said he wants to see the details of the mayor’s plan to reduce property taxes, which are currently $2.268 per $100 of assessed value, by 20 cents by 2020. The proposal would mean a $400 savings for the owner of a home valued at $200,000 in eight years. “It sounds great,” Henry said. Henry was critical of some parts of the speech and said that some of the rhetoric was just that, and nothing more. “There’s a point where she was talking about how we shouldn’t just…
Friday, December 9, 2011
Councilman Carl Stokes called the legislation a "good government bill."
Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes introduced a bill on Thursday that would make accessing ethics reports filed by elected officials and some staff members more accessible to the public. Stokes wants the reports, which the public can currently review at City Hall, posted on the Internet. “I think it’s a good government bill,” Stokes said. “I think in the effort to be as transparent as possible I feel elected officials should make it as easy as possible for people to look at their public disclosure forms, campaign finances, etc.” According to Baltimore City codes, all elected officials and staff, agency officials and staff, and procurement, legislative liaison and enforcement personnel are required to file reports with the Ethics Board. …
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Campaign volunteers, voters and election judges report a low turnout so far in the Baltimore City mayoral primaries.
Lynwood Wimbish, 87, stood in the parking lot of Guilford Elementary/Middle School trying to beat the late morning heat Tuesday. Wimbish would have been handing out campaign material for Councilman Bill Henry, but there were few voters to give the paraphernalia. He said he’s worked at polls near his Wilson Park home for 20 years, but couldn’t remember turnout being so low. “It’s never been like this before,” Wimbish said. There are two precincts located inside Guilford Elementary/Middle School. By about 9:40 a.m., each precinct reported 27 voters had cast ballots. In the last mayoral Democratic primary, 407 voters cast ballots for the mayor. At Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School, volunteers electioneering for City Council candidates …
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Sean Tully
4:09 pm on Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Earth to Baltimore City elected officials - the trash tax is a very bad idea. more ›