Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The bill that would exempt Lockheed Martin's conference center from Montgomery County's hotel tax is heading to the House Ways and Means Committee.
The Maryland Senate has voted to support a bill that would exempt Lockheed Martin from paying taxes on its Bethesda training center, and the legislation is moving on to the House Ways and Means Committee, Maryland Juice reports. If the measure is approved, Lockheed would be exempted from about $450,000 a year in taxes, The Washington Post reports. The version of the legislation that passed the Senate dropped language that would have required Montgomery County to pay the Bethesda-based defense giant a $1.8 million refund, Maryland Juice reported. The bill would apply to Maryland companies that operate lodging facilities used only to support training or conference centers – a description Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery) said applied only to…
Monday, December 10, 2012
Carbon monoxide leak at Atlanta elementary school sends 47 to hospital.
According to a recent Reuters story, a carbon monoxide leak caused by a faulty furnace at Finch Elementary School in Atlanta sent 43 students and six teachers to the hospital. The school did not have carbon monoxide detectors installed, and vapor levels of the deadly gas were “the highest we’ve ever seen,” said Atlanta Fire Department spokeswoman Marian McDaniel. As it turns out, no school in Georgia is required to install carbon monoxide detectors. Neither are schools in 47 other states. Information detailing state statutes on carbon monoxide detectors, noted on the website of the National Conference of State Legislators, says that only Maryland and Connecticut require installation of carbon monoxide detectors in schools. Maryland Code…
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Violence Against Women Act would pay for $660 million in programs to help domestic violence victims.
Maryland programs for domestic violence victims could be hurt if the Violence Against Women Act isn't reauthorized by Congress. The proposed legislation, which provides about $660 million over a five-year period, would fund programs aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence, education on prevention and legal aid for survivors, according to the Christian Science Monitor. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) has implored the House to pass the Senate’s version of VAWA. “The Violence Against Women Act has a proven track record of protecting women from domestic violence and it is hard to understand opposition to legislation with the goal of curbing domestic violence,” Cardin stated in a press release. “Saving women’s lives should not be a …
Ovid Benelli
1:25 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Let's see, this is a hard one. Should Lockheed have to pay the hotel tax that other lodging facilities pay? Before the facility is built, Lockheed sent employees to Bethesda, who stayed in hotels owned by others, and they paid the hotel tax. Now, Lockheed will own the hotel where the employees lodge, so it and the politicians who take Lockheed's money think it shouldn't have to pay the tax. Doesn… more ›