"Next Stop:  Silver Spring" will air on Monday, November 2, at 9:00 PM on Maryland Public television, Channel 22

The film is a nostalgic trip through Silver Spring history and the golden days of passenger railroading, as it tells the story of the B&O railroad station in Silver Spring from its inception in 1878 to today. It includes the history of the B&O Metropolitan Branch as well! 

The film was produced and directed by Silver Spring resident Walter Gottlieb and his nonprofit production company Silver Spring Media Arts.

"Next Stop" features an original soundtrack by Maryland artists performing original songs specifically written for the documentary --- including The Diner Car song, Gracie at the Tastee, Run Railroad Run, Layin' it Down for the B&O!

For more information, visit www.silverspringtrain.org.

by DAVID M. JOHNSON
Capital News Service

Maryland organizations of all sizes have secured more than $4.5 billion and directly created 4,464 jobs as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, even as economic indicators across the state continue to lag.
   
Maryland's unemployment rate has hovered around 7.2 percent since May, double the October 2007 rate of 3.6 percent and nearly double that of a year ago, 4.8 percent.
   
Foreclosure statistics across the state also are still climbing. Maryland holds the 10th-highest rate in the nation according to RealtyTrac, a company that tracks nationwide foreclosures. One in every 16,867 properties in Maryland is facing foreclosure, a frequency higher than all surrounding states.
   
Even though the numbers look grim, Carmen Reinhart, a public policy professor at the University of Maryland, thinks the stimulus helped slow the economy's dive.
   
"I think the recession would have been worse absent the stimulus," Reinhart said. "The fact that we observe in nearly every sector some worrisome signs, shouldn't be taken as a sign our fiscal policy doesn't work."
   

by BOBBY MCMAHON
Capital News Service

Gov. Martin O'Malley, along with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, joined Vice President Joe Biden Friday to announce that federal stimulus funds had directly created or saved 640,239 jobs nationwide since Feb. 17.
   
"The recovery act is operating as advertised," Biden said.
   
The event, held in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, came one day after O'Malley announced that the federal stimulus had led directly to more than 4,464 jobs in Maryland, with roughly 10,000 additional jobs resulting either from indirect jobs, which are often subcontractors for highway projects, or induced jobs, which are created by consumers spending money at restaurants and stores.
   

by TINA IRGANG
Capital News Service

Brad Botwin has been called an extremist and even a Nazi.
   
Others say he is an asset to the discourse on illegal immigration in the state, and Botwin himself maintains he is merely a concerned citizen asking questions about how the government spends his taxes.
   
In just two and a half years, Help Save Maryland, the anti-illegal immigrant group Botwin founded, has grown from a small protest movement in Rockville to a statewide organization with volunteer coordinators in almost every county. The organization protests at day labor centers, attends public meetings, publishes a blog and sends out regular newsletters. Botwin said Help Save Maryland counts roughly 2,000 members, and organizes its protests and appearances mostly by e-mail.
    

by ALEKSANDRA ROBINSON
Capital News Service

The Chesapeake Bay is slated to get $50 million in funding thanks to an appropriations bill that passed the Senate last night and awaits President Obama's signature.
   
In Maryland, the funds will include: $1 million for the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, which provides support to more than 160 parks, wildlife refuges and museums, centered around the Chesapeake Bay, as well as 22 water trails; $2 million for the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County; and $500,000 for the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail.
   
Overall the bill, called the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Conference Report, includes $50 million for the bay out of $641 million for the protection of the nation's great bodies of water.
   

by CATHERINE KRIKSTAN
Capital News Service

BLACKWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE - Tens of thousands of migrating waterfowl, one of the nation's largest populations of breeding bald eagles and the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel all call Cambridge's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge home.
   
And all are vulnerable to the rising sea levels that threaten coastal marshland.
   
The Chesapeake Bay is experiencing sea level rise at a rate twice the global average, and the thin ribbons of marshes and wetlands that form along coastlines--Blackwater, Smith Island, Assateague Island--will be the first to be flooded with rising water.
   
Flooded marshland means the loss of land that filters nutrients and pollutants from entering the water and acts as a barrier to offshore storm surges. It also means the destruction of vital habitat for the wildlife that forms the backbone of Maryland's seafood industry and tourism economy.
   

by SHARMINA MANANDHAR
Capital News Service
   
BALTIMORE - Four protesters, including two doctors, were arrested at a "single-payer health care plan" sit-in at the CareFirst insurance company office in Baltimore Thursday.
  
The protest, part of the "Patients Not Profits" campaign of the Mobilization for Health Care for All, was jointly organized by advocacy groups Prosperity Agenda, Healthcare-NOW!, and the Center for the Working Poor.
   
Baltimore was one of 20 cities nationwide to host such protests this week, said Kai Newkirk, national coordinator for the Mobilization in a conference call Tuesday.
  

by BOBBY MCMAHON
Capital News Service

Federal stimulus funds have created or saved the equivalent of more than 14,000 jobs since late February, the O'Malley administration announced Thursday, even as questions remain about how fast those funds are distributed and the accuracy of the job numbers.
   
According to state officials, funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act led to more than 4,464 "direct jobs," meaning that those funds directly paid for projects like highway construction and education. The remainder of the 14,082 resulted either from indirect jobs, which are often subcontractors for highway projects, or induced jobs, which are created by consumers spending money at restaurants and stores.
   
The job numbers arrive amidst what is widely considered to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Since February, more than 25,000 jobs have been lost in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  

by SHARMINA MANANDHAR and MEGAN E. GUSTAFSON
Capital News Service

Three Montgomery County clinics distributing swine flu vaccines Wednesday closed hours before they were scheduled, after demand far outstripped the scant supply, leaving families frustrated.
   
Silver Spring resident Scott Sidel, 44, was hoping to get the vaccine and didn't expect it to run out as quickly as it did. He arrived at Northwood High School in Silver Spring around 5:30 p.m. for a clinic expected to run until 8 p.m.
   
Sidel was seeking the vaccine for his daughter Tammy, 13.
   
"(The H1N1 virus} gives me a great deal of concern," he said, adding that he wants to get his daughter vaccinated as soon as possible.
   

by DAVID M. JOHNSON
Capital News Service

Quarantine, forced vaccination, and martial law are just a few of the options available to Gov. Martin O'Malley should the H1N1 virus spread uncontrollably, according to professors who talked Wednesday about the civil rights problems an outbreak could create.
   
Michael Greenberger and Dr. Marita Mike from the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security and Wendy Mariner from Boston University's School of Public Health discussed the legal and constitutional implications of the government's response to a potential H1N1 pandemic at the National Press Club.
   
"The Maryland governor has the power to compel people to take medical measures; he could compel medical vaccinations; he can quarantine; he can isolate; he can seize medications...he can condemn or reorient how hospitals give treatment; he can shelter people in place; he can move them out of the city," Greenberger said. "He has the power to overturn any law that interferes with his ability to respond to the catastrophe."
  

by LAURA GURFEIN
Capital News Service

Fall foliage may be burning red, orange and yellow these days, but the University of Maryland, College Park is turning green.
   
UMCP's 2008 Strategic Plan laid a course for the university to become a national green campus model and carbon neutral by 2050. The plan set a benchmark goal of reducing gr
geenhouse gas emissions on campus 15 percent from 2005 levels by 2015.
   
There's evidence that its efforts are paying off.
  

News Release from Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County Health officials today urged residents to get their annual seasonal flu vaccination now. Vaccination is the best way to protect against illness during flu season. Seasonal flu is a separate virus that is also circulating this fall and can cause serious illness.

Seasonal flu vaccinations are readily available through private health providers, as well as at retail locations throughout the community. County seasonal flu vaccination clinics will be held beginning in late October. Check the County's flu website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/h1n1flu for information on flu vaccination. Anyone not wanting to get the flu should receive the seasonal flu vaccination, particularly the elderly, household members living with children younger than six months of age, health care workers and individuals with chronic illnesses.

THERE WILL BE NO H1N1 VACCINATIONS AVAILABLE AT THE SEASONAL FLU CLINICS LISTED BELOW:

October 31, 2009
10 a.m. -  2 p.m.
Silver Spring Health Center
8630 Fenton Street, 10th floor
Silver Spring

November 5, 2009
8:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Germantown Recreational Center
18905 Kingsview Road
Germantown
240-777-3380

November 12, 2009
4 - 7 p.m.
University of Maryland Shady Grove
9630 Gudelsky Drive, Building II
Rockville

The cost for the flu vaccination is $20 per person. Vaccines for children are free. Individuals with Medicare should bring their Medicare card. A parent or legal guardian must accompany children under the age of 18.

• Maxim Healthcare Services offers seasonal flu vaccine at locations in Montgomery County. To find the nearest vaccination site go to www.findaflushot.com. 

• Passport Health provides vaccinations for children and adults six months of age and older. Contact Passport at 301-408-4544 or go to www.passporthealthmetro.com.

• Adventist Healthcare provides vaccinations for adults 18 years of age and older. www.adventisthealthcare.com/health/calendar.

• Other resources include:

www.medstarhealthvna.org

www.minuteclinic.com

www.walgreens.com

www.WashingtonTravelClinic.com

The best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits can often help stop the spread of germs and prevent illnesses like the flu. Good health habits include:

* Always cover cough or sneeze with a tissue--then throw the tissue away. Or, cough or sneeze into the inside of the elbow.

* Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze and before you eat. Alcohol hand sanitizer (minimum 60% alcohol) will do if soap and water are not available.

* Avoid touching the eyes, nose or mouth. These are places germs can enter the body easily.

* Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, too.

* Monitor yourself and your family for symptoms of fever, chills, headache, sore throat, cough, body aches and vomiting or diarrhea.

* If you are sick, stay home from work, school or other public places until you are feeling well.


Check the County's flu website-- www.montgomerycountymd.gov/h1n1flu - frequently for updated information and resources.

News Release from Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County health officials will offer H1N1 nasal spray vaccinations for school age children ages two to 24, at three clinics scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2009. There is no injectable vaccine available at this time. While injectable vaccine has been ordered, additional supplies have not been received at this time.

Children ages two to 24 are one of the target high risk groups and can receive nasal spray vaccine. The nasal spray vaccine may NOT be given to pregnant women, children under the age of two or children with chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes.

The clinics will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. at three school locations:

Northwood High School
919 University Boulevard West
Silver Spring, MD

Rockville High School
2100 Baltimore Road
Rockville, MD

Northwest High School
13501 Richter Farm Road
Germantown, MD 

There will be 1,000 doses available at each site. Those attending the clinics will not be allowed entry on to school property until 3:30 p.m. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

"While it is important that everyone consider getting an H1N1 vaccination, there are currently limited doses available and we want to be sure that those in the target high risk groups receive the vaccine first," said Dr. Ulder J. Tillman, County health officer. "There will be clinics for Montgomery County residents not in the target high risk groups at a later date."

Check the County website for frequent updates on vaccine availability as well as upcoming clinic dates and locations (www.montgomerycountymd.gov/h1n1flu). The flu information line is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The number is 240-777-4200.

"The supply of vaccine is very limited at this point and the situation can change frequently," said Tillman. "I urge everyone to keep informed by checking the website frequently or calling the flu information line."

News Release from Montogmery County, Maryland

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will host a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Takoma Park Middle School, 7611 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring. Previous town meetings have drawn thousands of residents who have taken advantage of the opportunity to voice their concerns to the County Executive.

"Town meetings present an excellent opportunity for me to find out what's on the mind of our residents," said Leggett. "A cornerstone of my administration has been to make sure 'everyone has a seat at the table' and these public meetings provide a forum for our residents to share their ideas and concerns."

The town meeting is free and open to all and will be videotaped by County Cable 6, the County government channel, for future airing.

Sign language interpreter services will be provided only upon request with notice as far in advance as possible, but no less than 72 hours prior to the event. If these or other services or aids are needed to participate in this activity, please call 240-777-6507, TTY 240-777-6505 or email a request to karen.falcon@montgomerycountymd.gov.

For more information about the town meeting or the cable television program schedule, call 240-777-6507.

News Release from Montgomery County Maryland

Eligible Montgomery County residents are encouraged to apply for the Maryland Homeowner's Property Tax Credit program, which limits the amount of property taxes a homeowner must pay based on income. The deadline has been extended to November 2.

In order to be eligible, a homeowner must have:

• A combined household income of less than $64,000;
• Lived in their home for at least six months, or will live in it for the next 12 months; and
• A combined net worth (of everyone in the applicant's household) of no more than $200,000. This does not include the value of the residence or the cash value of any qualified retirement savings or individual retirement accounts. It does not include any other real estate.

To apply for the property tax credit program, eligible homeowners must fill out an application form each year.

To get an application form, call the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) at 1-800-944-7403, or download the form and instructions from the SDAT web site at www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/htc.html .

 

Announcement from Montgomery County, Maryland

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Committee is seeking nominations for the Humanitarian Award and the Children of the Dream Awards to be presented at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Monday, January 18, 2010. All winners and honorable mentions will be acknowledged during the ceremony to be held at Strathmore Music Center, 5301 Tuckerman La., North Bethesda.

Nominations must be received by Friday, November 20.

Humanitarian Award applications must provide a short write-up explaining the nominee's contributions to Montgomery County residents, including:

• -The community-based or civic activities for which the nominee is being recognized;
• -Whether or not the nominee is paid for the activities previously listed;
• -The specific period of time the nominee has been involved in these activities; and
• -Other contributions of a humanitarian nature made by the person to the community.

Children of the Dream Awards will be presented to one male and one female student in grades nine to 12, or a group or club, that demonstrates outstanding character and community/school involvement. Volunteer activities may include a single significant project or an on-going effort and must be above and beyond routine class work or school or community projects.

Montgomery County, the City of Gaithersburg, the City of Takoma Park and the Town of Garrett Park are co-sponsors of the celebration.

For more information or to request a nomination form, contact Kimberly Ham by mail at Montgomery County Office of Human Rights, 21 Maryland Ave., Suite 330, Rockville, MD 20850, by phone at 240-777-8478 or email kimberly.ham@montgomerycountymd.gov.

by BOBBY MCMAHON
Capital News Service

The O'Malley administration is hoping to receive almost $127 million dollars in federal stimulus funds to shore up the state's unemployment insurance trust fund.
   
In the past year, the trust fund has been significantly depleted, dropping from $895 million to $301 million as of Sept. 30. The decrease was caused by a combination of factors that have resulted from the recession, including the highest unemployment rate in decades and a decrease in the overall number of employers across the state.
   
The trust fund's depletion triggered a significant spike in unemployment taxes for businesses, which will see an increase from 0.6 percent to 2.2 percent at the low end and from 9 percent to 13.5 percent at the high end. The higher rates will go into effect in January.
   

by ALEKSANDRA ROBINSON
Capital News Service

President Obama thanked Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown on Thursday for his service in Iraq during the White House signing of a bill to ensure health care for veterans.
   
The Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 will change the way health care for veterans is funded by requiring it be requested and approved one year in advance.
   
Brown was co-chairman of the Veterans Affairs Agency Review Team for the Obama-Biden transition. He is also the nation's highest-ranking elected official to have served in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
   
"It's challenging, to say the least, to provide service to veterans ... when the budget is being held hostage on Capitol Hill," Brown said. "This was not an easy battle."
   
Over the past two decades, Obama said, the VA budget has frequently been late because Congress is rarely able to pass a budget before the start of the fiscal year, making it difficult for the VA to plan and manage care for sick and disabled veterans.
   
"At this very moment, the VA is operating without a budget, making it harder for VA medical centers and clinics to deliver the care our vets need. The hardworking folks at the VA know this," Obama said. "It's frustrating for them (the VA) and it's frustrating for our veterans."
   
Obama called the bill "common sense reform," and said the VA, "will no longer be held hostage to the annual budget battles in Washington.... The United States of America will keep our promise to our veterans."
   
The bill, Obama said, represents the largest percentage increase in the VA budget in more than 30 years.
   
"We're making real progress for our vets -- like those with us today, including Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown," Obama said as the crowd cheered. "Thank you, Col. Brown."
   
After the signing, Brown said he was excited to have been invited to the bill signing and pleased to see Obama come through on a campaign promise to veterans.
   
"President Obama understands the challenges veterans face," Brown said. "As a veteran this means a lot to me."
   
The bill passed the House June 23 and was co-sponsored by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Baltimore. Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski was a co-sponsor for the bill in the Senate; it passed the Senate last week.

by BOBBY MCMAHON
Capital News Service

State officials sent a clear message Wednesday to those involved in the slots bids in Baltimore and Anne Arundel County.
   
Get moving.
   
Even as the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission formally approved a bid to place slot machines in Cecil County, commission members expressed frustration at the lack of progress of the two remaining slots bids.
   
By a 7-0 vote, the commission granted a license to Penn Cecil Maryland, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming, for 1,500 slot machines in an 86,440-square-foot casino in Perryville. The casino is slated to open Oct. 2010.
  

by CATHERINE KRIKSTAN AND JAMES B. HALE
Capital News Service

Lawyers for organizations opposed to a wind energy project in West Virginia said in federal court Wednesday that it could violate the Endangered Species Act by harming a rare species of bat.
   
The 124-turbine wind farm being built by Rockville-based Beech Ridge Energy would put the lives of endangered Indiana bats, and other bat species, in danger, according to the plaintiffs -- The Animal Welfare Institute, Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy and David G. Cowan.
   
Plaintiff's witness Michael Gannon, a bat biologist and professor at Pennsylvania State University, said he is "very much in favor" of wind energy, but remains concerned that this project could have a devastating effect on the Indiana bat.

by SHARMINA MANANDHAR
Capital News Service

People did what health officials encouraged them to do -- they went out and got their flu vaccines. But that diligence has caused a shortage of both seasonal and 2009 H1N1 vaccines that prompted canceled clinics and immunization programs.
   
Health officials are now advising residents to check with multiple sources of inoculations, as more vaccines become available in coming weeks.
   

by ALEKSANDRA ROBINSON
Capital News Service

Biologists from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources stood knee deep in cold water Friday afternoon, pawing through the contents of a seine net, searching for a species of fish that many believe could be extinct.
   
They tossed brightly colored leaves unceremoniously back into the stream at Susquehanna State Park in Havre de Grace, but each tiny fish was inspected. There were plenty of them -- many of them belonging to the darter family.
   
But, by late Friday evening, they hadn't found the right tiny darter.

by MEGAN E. GUSTAFSON
Capital News Service

More than 7,000 people across Maryland who struggle with substance abuse aren't receiving publicly funded treatment for it, according to the results of a recently completed county-by-county treatment needs assessment.
   
Spurred by the passage of HB 850 during the 2007 legislative session, the study was a joint effort by the University of Maryland's Center for Substance Abuse Research and Dr. William McAuliffe of Harvard Medical School's Department of Psychiatry.
   
By looking at certain data that were likely to indicate a substance abuse problem--such as arrests for drug possession, driving under the influence or deaths attributable to drugs or alcohol, for example--the study sought to determine the level of need each Maryland county has for substance abuse treatment. Those data were then compared to the actual numbers of admissions at publicly funded treatment programs.

by KAREN ANDERSON
Capital News Service

When a family hits hard times, it cuts obvious excess spending by eating out less, shopping smarter, and abstaining from luxuries.
   
But when hard times keep coming and reducing the excess isn't enough, families can be forced to cut back on essentials, dip into savings or make more money to pay the bills.
   
This is the situation the state of Maryland finds itself in.
   
"We're essentially broke. We're broke," said Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot.

by TINA IRGANG
Capital News Service

If the reaction from Maryland-area politicians, academic experts and advocacy groups to a new immigration reform proposal is any indication, the upcoming debate on the issue will be vehement and contentious.
   
The "compassionate, comprehensive" proposal from Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., includes a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants, rules for the humane treatment of immigration detainees, as well as a plan to appoint a commission which would adjust visa quotas based on employer needs.
   
Maryland Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, D-Montgomery, who is not related to Congressman Gutierrez, called the proposal "impressive."
   
"It's very aggressive and I think very clear in its commitments," Ana Sol Gutierrez said. "The path to legalization is definitely front and center, but also the other point of regularizing the future flow of immigrants so that we don't recreate a situation where people have to come without any documentation."
   

by CATHERINE KRIKSTAN

Capital News Service

From brown and mahogany tides to slick surface masses of blue-green scum, stretches of unnaturally abundant algae drift through the Chesapeake Bay.
   
Some of the more benign blooms merely produce foul odors. Others form sweeping masses that block sunlight from reaching the submerged seagrass that provides a habitat for young fish and crabs.
   
Although it is an integral part of the watershed, too much algae can suffocate marine life, endangering the state's seafood industry, tourism economy and bay culture.

by SHARMINA MANANDHAR
Capital News Service

Both seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu vaccines may be given to a patient at the same visit, as long as they're not both in the nasal spray form, health officials said.
   
The reason for not mixing the two nasal sprays is to ensure optimum immune response, according to Tom Skinner, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public affairs officer. If both vaccines are in spray form, they should be given a month apart.
   
"The attenuated (weakened) viruses in the vaccine have to infect cells in the nose to cause an immune response," wrote Skinner in an email message. "It's believed that if separate viruses were introduced into the nose at the same time then they may compete against each other and result in diminished immune response."
   
Both vaccines are also available as injections in which the virus has been killed.
  

by KAREN ANDERSON
Capital News Service

Eighty-three percent of Marylanders support an increase in the alcohol tax to fund addiction treatment and developmental disability services, according to a state-wide Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies poll released Thursday.
   
"This poll clearly sends a message to our elected officials that despite the popular wisdom that no one will support a tax increase, voters have the ability to understand the needs of their fellow Marylanders," said Laura Howell, executive director of the Maryland Association of Community Services for Persons with Developmental Disabilities.
   
The poll, which surveyed 833 registered Maryland voters by phone in mid-September, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points

by JAMES B. HALE
Capital News Service

Garrett County residents told the Maryland Public Service Commission Wednesday that a proposed wind farm would be noisy, ineffective and potentially put them in danger.
   
Representatives for Synergics Wind Energy, the developers of the proposed 24-turbine wind farm in Garrett County, said the project would provide clean energy and be completely safe. The commission is expected to rule on the project in the near future.
   
Residents who own land next to the site on Backbone Mountain voiced several concerns, but were primarily worried about safety.
   
 

by ALEKSANDRA ROBINSON
Capital News Service

The head of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Wednesday implored Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin not to set local governments up for failure with his new Chesapeake Bay bill.
  
Cardin's Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem Restoration Act of 2009, which Cardin said he hoped to introduce "very, very shortly," would establish a firm deadline for Chesapeake Bay restoration plans; codify President Barack Obama's Chesapeake Bay Executive Order, which requires annual reports to Congress by agencies involved in cleanup; and provide $1.5 billion in grants to help fund storm water runoff pollution in urban and suburban areas.
  
The bill would also mandate strict penalties for states that fail to meet the act's requirements and deadlines -- a fact that concerned several members of the council, including Chairwoman Penny Gross.

by TINA IRGANG
Capital News Service

More than 2,000 immigrants and reform advocates watched on Capitol Hill Tuesday as Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., outlined an immigration reform bill he hopes to introduce in the House of Representatives this fall.
   
Gutierrez introduced his proposal at a vigil organized by Reform Immigration for America, an alliance of more than 600 non-profit advocacy groups, including the National Council of La Raza and CASA de Maryland.
   
CASA de Maryland Executive Director Gustavo Torres also spoke at the vigil, saying "immigrant communities have heard the promises and the campaign speeches, but now we want action to go with the words."

by DAVID M. JOHNSON
Capital News Service

Takoma Park resident Thomas E. Perez was confirmed Tuesday as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, nearly four months after his nomination was reported to the Senate.
   
"I'm proud to be a Marylander and appreciative of efforts of Sen. (Ben) Cardin and (Sen. Barbara) Mikulski in securing my confirmation," Perez said. "The civil rights challenges in Maryland are similar to the challenges across the country so I can use my experiences."
   
In the end, the overwhelming 72-22 confirmation vote did not reflect the political maneuvering that took place in the months leading up to it.
   
Perez was nominated by President Obama in March and quickly cleared his first hurdle with approval from a Senate Judicial Committee hearing chaired by Maryland Democrat Cardin.
   
The final confirmation vote, however, ran into roadblocks as Republican senators held the vote once it reached the Senate floor. Then, the Senate Judiciary Committee put Perez's nomination on the back burner while members focused on confirming Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The hold ended Tuesday afternoon when Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., called for a vote after speaking with his Republican colleagues.
   
"Tom Perez has been an aggressive champion for justice and the public good his entire career," Cardin said in a written statement. "The Civil Rights Division is our nation's moral conscience and, with Tom's leadership, will again be empowered to take action against those who violate our laws."
  

by BOBBY MCMAHON
Capital News Service

Maryland's housing industry has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Probably.
  
According to recent figures and industry experts, the state's real estate and homebuilding industries have hit bottom and begun a slow climb back up.
  
BRAC-related jobs and a better-than-average economic outlook could mean a faster recovery than expected, but concerns remain about the expiring first-time home buyer tax credit and other problems in the industry, all of which put continued growth in doubt.
   

by SHARMINA MANANDHAR
Capital News Service

President Obama announced Thursday that the National Institutes of Health is halfway through awarding its portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 fund, calling the grants the "single largest boost to biomedical research in history."
  
"We've awarded $5 billion, that's with a 'b,' in grants through the Recovery Act to conduct cutting-edge research all across America, to unlock treatments to diseases that have long plagued humanity, to save and enrich the lives of people all over the world," Obama said in an NIH auditorium filled with employees as well as federal and local legislators.

by BOBBY MCMAHON
Capital News Service

"BTW," "LOL" and "TTYL" are now outlawed from the driver's seat for Maryland motorists.

Regardless of texting IQ, a state law prohibiting most cell phone text messaging while driving went into effect Thursday. The law was approved by the General Assembly last session, and lawmakers and highway officials hope it will increase driver attentiveness and decrease traffic accidents and deaths.
  
"There's just no way a person can use both hands on an electronic device and focus on a conversation and at the same time drive safely," said Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, a co-sponsor of the bill. "It makes no sense."