MD: Teachers union seeks fees from teachers who don’t join up

By   /  January 11, 2013  /  Education, Featured, Maryland, News, Uncategorized, unions  /  2 Comments

PAY UP: The state teachers union in Maryland wants to force teachers who don't join to pay fees to the group, anyway.

By Meg Tully | MarylandReporter.com
Maryland teachers would be required to pay union fees even if they are not union members under legislation expected to be introduced this session on behalf of the state teachers union.
The “fair share” fee is a top priority of the Maryland State Education Association, which represents about 70,000 people or 80% [...]

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VA: Virginia, Maryland, D.C. scramble for new FBI headquarters

By   /  December 10, 2012  /  Featured, Federal Government, Maryland, News, Virginia  /  No Comments

MOVING OUT: The FBI is looking to move its headquarters from the J. Edgar Hoover Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

By CartenCordell │ Watchdog.org, Virginia Bureau
ALEXANDRIA — Christmas is two weeks away, and officials in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia already are getting visions of sweet treats dancing in their heads.
The FBI is looking for a new home, and the General Services Administration, which manages federal property, is ready to go shopping. The agency released [...]

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MD: Problems persist with highway agency contract

By   /  November 28, 2012  /  Maryland, News  /  No Comments

PROBLEMS: Auditors continue to find problems with contracts at the state highway administration.

By Sam Smith | Maryland Reporter
ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland State Highway Administration wrongfully authorized modifications and extensions to architectural and engineering contracts without the approval of the Board of Public Works, auditors have found.
They also found that the highway agency is not providing proper justification for the board to approve maximum contract awards.
These findings are [...]

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MD: Bipartisan group pushes fix to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’

By   /  November 20, 2012  /  Federal Government, Finances, Maryland, News, State Government  /  Comments Off

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By Len Lazarick | Maryland Reporter
ANNAPOLIS — The bipartisan group, Fix the Debt, is mobilized to urge Congress to come up with “a grand bargain” that will avoid the “fiscal cliff” of massive tax hikes and budget cuts scheduled for Jan. 1.
Anne Arundel County Council Member Jamie Benoit is taking off the entire second half [...]

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MD: Transportation dept. dinged for not bidding contract work

By   /  November 16, 2012  /  Accountability, Business, Economy, Maryland, News, State Budgets, State Government  /  Comments Off

AUDIT: The Maryland Department of Transportation was dinged for more contract problems.

By Len Lazarick | Maryland Reporter
ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Department of Transportation was focused more on experience than fairness, when an audit dinged it for allowing a contractor to perform work outside the original agreement without rebidding that work.
The department admitted it bent the rules by making a rail safety inspection contractor a subcontractor under [...]

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