A Lie Here, A Lie There ...

... it's Salisbury. What do you expect.

On the 7PM news broadcast this evening on WBOC we witnessed something that should shock, but unfortunately no longer does - the Salisbury city administration lying to its citizens. Tonight Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman, through City Administrator John Pick tried to brush aside new evidence of the gross incompetence of the city's administration by claiming that $10.2 million of taxpayer funds which had not been accounted for was due to poor training in the city's Finance Department. Pick claimed that employees thought that accounts should have been reconciled on an annual basis when they should have been reconciled monthly.

Sounds semi-plausible, doesn't it? There's just a couple of problems with the specious claims of Mr. Pick.

At the December 10, 2007 Salisbury Council meeting, Councilwoman Debbie Campbell claimed that the city's inability to complete its annual audit on time was equivalent to a taxpayer not being able to balance his (or her) checkbook. Pam Oland, head of the city's Finance Department claimed that this was ridiculous. Oland stated that a fair comparison was the city reconciling its accounts each month, which they did.

OK John, who's lying? You? Pam? It is logically impossible for both of you to be telling the truth.

The second problem with Pick's explanation is that IF the Finance Department thought that the accounts in question were to be reconciled on an annual basis, why didn't they do so? We know that they did not, because the auditor states that they (the auditors) discovered the two accounts totaling $10.2 million.

We now know that Pick lied to the public on Friday, because the auditor has contradicted Pick's statement (prior to him actually making it). As for Oland, we can't be 100% sure (on this count). The auditor states that Oland had told them that the city began reconciling accounts in February of 2007 (only after 7 months of the fiscal year had passed).

Unfortunately for Barrie Tilghman and her merry little band things are getting a little too complicated for them to keep fibbing on the fly.

There was one good thing that came from Friday's fib fest. The next time Debbie Campbell, or anyone else states that the Barrie Tilghman administration can't balance its own checkbook, we have video of the City Administrator stating that the city can't balance its own checkbook.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

Technorati Tags: Maryland, Salisbury, politics, Salisbury politics, fiscal policy, audit, corruption

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This Just In!

Tilghman Blames City Staff For Missing Annual Audit==================================================Daily Times, The (Salisbury, MD)-February 7, 2007 Author: Salisbury Daily Times, Laren Hughes By Laren Hughes Hall Staff Writer

SALISBURY -- Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman blamed city staff for failing to communicate three extensions of a required annual audit to the City Council and high staff turnover for missing the state's deadline altogether.

"I take full responsibility," Tilghman said Tuesday.

City Administrator John Pick said contributing to the delay is that auditors are attempting to reconcile the value of one of the city's capital improvement assets, which he could not name.

City staff also failed to notify the mayor and council of the three extension requests, Tilghman said.

"Unfortunately, that wasn't done. (Pick) simply forgot," she said. "It wasn't done and I apologize, but certainly every time an extension was requested (Finance Director Pam Oland and Pick) did discuss it at length."

Only one of the three extensions has been approved by the State Office of Legislative Audits, according to a Feb. 5 letter from Tilghman to Council President Mike Dunn.

This is the second consecutive year the city has failed to meet the deadline, Oland said. Because of the extension requests, the city could face additional fees beyond the $42,000 initially charged by the auditing firm of Trice, Geary and Myers, said Oland.

"We are very close to having the numbers and then we have to do the financial reporting," she said. "It's not the easiest thing in the world. It's been a challenge, but we're working through it and we plan to get the audit done as soon as possible."

But Councilwoman Debbie Campbell said too much time has lapsed already, making it difficult for her to consider approval of the Capital Improvement Plan, a tool that allows city officials to outline their financial needs for the next five years.

"We have no idea what we can or can't afford," Campbell said. "We don't even have the audit for fiscal year 2006 and we're talking about fiscal year 2008. It's unheard of."

Pick said the CIP is a planning device and its adoption does not commit the city to include any of the items in next year's budget.

"The benefit of the CIP is that you're looking out beyond just one year and looking into the future to see the capital needs the city has," he said. "The City Council can adopt the CIP and then, if it turns out the resources are not available, we can adjust the budget accordingly."

Three employees of the city's finance department and three auditors from Trice, Geary and Myers are working to complete the audit by the end of the month or beginning of March, Oland said.

The extended deadline is at the end of February.

"Our audit is close to 80 pages," she said. "You can't churn out 80 pages worth of documents in a day."

Despite the staffing issues, the mayor said she believes the audit will be completed and presented to the City Council prior to the deadline.
"Everything that could happen to cause problems did," Tilghman said.

"But I am confident (Oland) has done everything that needs to be done to make sure going forward that everything is in order."

llhughes@dmg.gannett.com 410-749-7171, Ext. 216 Section: LOCAL NEWS - INSIDEPage: 1Record Number: slb35735725Copyright (c) The Daily Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.

==================================================Annual City Council Audit==================================================Daily Times, The (Salisbury, MD)-March 2, 2007 Author: Salisbury Daily Times, Candice Evans By Candice Evans Staff Writer

SALISBURY -- A large weight was lifted off the shoulders of city staff Wednesday when they presented the completed annual audit to the City Council.

Three employees of the city's finance department and three auditors from Trice, Geary and Myers worked on the 80-page document designed to evaluate the city's expenses after being given the extended deadline last month, officials said.

Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman said high staff turnover was to blame for missing the state's deadline on Nov. 1, forcing the city to apply for three extension requests.

Officials said this is the second consecutive year the city has failed to meet the deadline.

"Whatever could go wrong appeared to do just that," Tilghman said.

She said they were down three senior staffers in the finance department throughout audit completion that greatly contributed to the city being late.

"The circumstances made it very difficult to complete the audit," Tilghman said.

However, City Councilwoman Debbie Campbell said even though the audit has been sent to the state, the city staff neglected to include a management letter and a financial report.

"We're still missing two documents--one (financial report) is supposed to be a useful tool," she said.

According to earlier reports, City Council members were concerned that the amount of time elapsed would make it difficult to consider approval of the Capital Improvement Plan -- a tool that allows city officials to outline their financial needs for the next five years.

"It's like we haven't balanced our checkbook for a year," Campbell said.

The city will also be facing additional fees because of the extension requests, said Finance Director Pam Oland.

Officials said this will go beyond the $42,000 initially charged by the auditing firm of Trice, Geary and Myers.

As to how much money the city will have to pay, Oland said a figure has not been finalized yet.

"No amount has been presented," she said.

Tilghman is confident that audit completion should not be a problem when they start working on the next audit in September.

Oland feels that having a full staff this year will tremendously help the extensive process.

"It's not something that can be done in a week's time," Oland said. "It's a several month process from start to finish."

Section: LOCAL NEWS - INSIDEPage: 1Record Number: slb36542983Copyright (c) The Daily Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.

Mayor Tilghman Takes Full Responsibility For Financial Problems In Salisbury

I am awaiting a copy of the Press Release but I'm told Mayor Tilghman just stated on Froggy 99 Clearchannel Radio she is taking full responsibility for the Audit problems and stated Pam Oland is understaffed!

I am looking into PAC14 Disks where Councilwoman Terry Cohen clearly asked during a Council Meeting, (directly to Pam Oland) IF she needed more Staff and Pam replied, NO!

More to come.......

What Happens If You Double-Dip Chips?

What Happens If You Double-Dip Chips?

So can double-dipping really hurt you? Dawson decided to find out, expecting there would be little or no microbial transfer from mouth to chip, reports The New York Times. Not so! He and nine students recruited volunteers and asked them to each take a bite of a wheat cracker and dip the cracker for three seconds into a tablespoon of test dip. Six dips were used: sterile water with three different degrees of acidity, a commercial salsa, a cheese dip and chocolate syrup. They repeated this using new crackers so that each dip sample had three or six double-dips in it. The Clemson team analyzed the dip to count the number of aerobic bacteria in it.

The results: On average, the students found that three to six double-dips transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the eater's mouth to the remaining dip, reports The Times. So if people sporadically double-dip into a cup of dip, at least 50 to 100 bacteria are transferred from one mouth to another with each bite.

One important note: The type of dip makes a difference. The more acidic the dip, the fewer the bacteria; however, the runnier the dip, the more bacteria are left behind. "The way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here?" Dawson told Times reporter Harold McGee. "Because you don't know who might be double-dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you."

Microsoft Offers $44.6B For Yahoo

Microsoft Corporation slammed on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion. Microsoft offered in its boldest bid yet to challenge Google Inc.'s dominance of the lucrative online search and advertising markets. I'm told they offered $31.00 per share.

Hey Mayor Barrie Tilghman, You've Got Some Explaining To Do!

GO HERE to see the actual Audit! LOOK, You're NOT going to be handed information like this from any other local source for news and information, so take this very seriously and tell ALL of your friends to visit Salisbury News and simply read this Post.

Mayor Barrie Tilghman needs to go, period. This kind of mismanagement is exactly what Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen have been fighting against, along with the so called Dirty Dozen.

Do you know ANYTHING about business Ladies & Gentlemen? Do you realize there's almost $11,000,000.00, (eleven million dollars) of YOUR money floating around in accounts NO ONE knew was there? They were set up but NO ONE could answer as to what they're for, where the money belongs, yet you were forced into a 14% tax increase!!!!!!

Oh, it's time for some serious accountability! Here it is, bits and pieces for you to start digging into but I can't do it all on my own. It's up to ALL of YOU to reach out and start doing something about it.

Billy Burke's Response To Today's Grapevine

I told you that reading your blog gets me teed off and writing.

It looks like Gannett is on the run and up against the ropes and we are not even selling advertising.

People forget how much change one pissed off parent or person can do.

Take a look at John Walsh, whose son Adam was kidnapped and brutally murdered.

John Walsh is personally responsible for CHANGING the way child abductions are handled by law enforcement. His TV show is responsible for capturing thousands of criminals and raising public awareness...

As a father of 3 I can guarantee that he (John Walsh) would rather be playing with his grandchildren from Adam and never gotten into the TV business.

One pissed off father changed the way missing children cases are treated, hence when we hear 'Code Adam' come over the loudspeaker in a store, stadium or over the radio...

It's the result of one pissed off father of Adam Walsh.

Pokomoke Tattler, (Billy Burke) Responds To Chief Webster Post

Joe:

It sounds like Chief Webster has enrolled in Russ Blakes School of Boss Hogg Politics in Pocomoke City.

He is walking a fine line of violating your civil rights by abusing his power to deprive you of your First Amendment Right to express 'Freedom of Speech' under "The Color of Law" against a private citizen.

Writing a letter to the editor as a private citizen who happens to be Chief of Police is one thing, calling the station owner or manager getting irate as the Chief is another thing, which is totally unacceptable.

I remember when Mayor Barrie T. came into office as an outsider on the 'reform platform' and applauded her efforts.

I personally supporter her efforts to keep the City Manager form of government OUT of Salisbury using the dictatorship of Pocomoke's Russ Blake as a prime example.

Now she looks & sounds like the Governor from the movie O'Brother where art Thou...

When you have the Chief of Police of a large city, using the power of his office, trying to shut down an independent blogger because of the truth being published, he has crossed the line into criminal behavior.

This can only mean one thing, you are hitting a nerve by publishing the truth.

Two days ago was the 75'th anniversary of Adolph Hitler's election... Maybe if there were Joe Albero's and Billy Burke's sharing the truth with people in an open forum like we have today, that NAZI would not have been elected to a second term.

Be just and fear not.

Compact Vehicles Only?

Everyone's got to eat, right? I missed the Fire Truck that was also parked next to the Pawn Shop while the Crews went into Panera Bread for lunch. Gee Mr. Gordy, you sure are setting a fine example of how to spend $3.00 a gallon to run errands in City vehicles. I know, let's take a Fire Truck and this huge Ambulance to lunch today.

Ellen Sauerbrey Endorses Andy Harris

Annapolis - In her first political act since leaving the State Department, Ellen Sauerbrey endorsed Andy Harris in Maryland's first congressional district Republican primary.

"Andy Harris is the type of conservative leader we need in Washington," said Sauerbrey. "As a resident of the first district, I will be proud to have Andy as my congressman."

In her endorsement, Sauerbrey cited Andy's commitment to controlling the size and scope of government, and his fiscal record of opposing all state tax increases and big spending budgets as reasons she is endorsing him. "In this time of economic uncertainty, we need leaders in Washington who know that lower taxes, eliminating wasteful government spending and respect for the rights of private property are crucial to stimulating our economy," Sauerbrey added. Sauerbrey also noted Andy's pro-life record which is a stark contrast to his opponents support for tax-payer funding of abortions.

"Ellen Sauerbrey brought the Republican Party back to life in Maryland by establishing the Republican Party as the party of fiscal discipline and government restraint" said Andy Harris. "I am proud to have the endorsement of such a respected Republican."

Ellen Sauerbrey has a long record of service to the Republican Party, the State of Maryland, and the United States. She is a former Minority Leader in the Maryland House of Delegates, Republican Nominee for Governor in 1994 and 1998, U.S Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and Assistant Secretary of State.

Sauerbrey joins a long list of endorsements Andy Harris has received. Former Governor Bob Ehrlich, House Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell, seven of the eight Republican state senators who represent parts of the district, ten members of the House of Delegates, former Secretary of Agriculture Lew Riley, Eagle Forum PAC, Gun Owners of America, National Right to Life PAC, and numerous other state and local elected officials.

Governor's Proclamation

The State of Maryland – Proclamation - From the Governor of the State of Maryland BNI International Networking Week - February 4-8, 2008

Whereas BNI Maryland has sponsored International Networking Week commemorating the key role that networking plays in the development and success of business across the world. The focus of these simultaneous events is to bring together representatives of government, businesses and the community to network with each other and to understand the concept of good networking while sharing information on how businesses can grow and succeed through good networking practices; and

Whereas Invitations to attend are open to the wider business community, members of other networking organizations, students, press representatives, and interested parties from all levels of government and business. The purpose of International Networking Week is to raise the profile of networking in the wider community, recognizing it as an essential tool for success in today’s business climate; and

Whereas Maryland is proud to join in celebrating this event and to promote networking between business, government and the community through International Networking Week.
Now, therefore, I, Martin O’Malley, Governor of the State of Maryland, do hereby proclaim February 4-8, 2008, as BNI International Networking Week in Maryland, and do commend this celebration to all of our citizens. - Signed – 4th day of February, 2008

Invite every organization & every business person that you know!

Events Locally In Maryland - Sponsored by:
BNI, Business Network International; www.BNIMaryland.com

MONDAY, February 4th
SALISBURY,11:30 am – 1:30 pm; Java Hut, RT. 50 near K Mart RSVP bni@bnimaryland.com $8

ANNAPOLIS 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm; West End Grill; 2045 West Street, RSVP Deborah@bnimaryland.com $5

TUESDAY, February 5th
WESTMINSTER 7:30 am – 9:30 am; Best Western, 451 WMC Drive RSVP judy@bnimaryland.com $15

ELLICOT CITY – 11:30 am – 1:30 pm; Stella Notte ,8809 RT 40 RSVP mark@bnimaryland.com $15

TOWSON – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm; Bahama Breeze 100 E. JOPPA ROAD; RSVP dawn@bnimaryland.com Free

WEDNESDAY, February 6th
FREDERICK – 7:30 am – 9:30 am; Cafe 611, 611 N. Market St, RSVP jackie@bnimaryland.com $10

GAITHERSBURG – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm; Kentland Mansion; 320 Kent Sq Rd; RSVP eric@bnimaryland.com $10

ABERDEEN 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm; Sluggers;(La Quinta Inn) 793 W Bel Air Ave, RSVP ed@bnimaryland.com

THURSDAY, February 7th
Greenbelt – 11:30 am – 1:30 pm;Willy K's, Holiday Inn, 7200 HANOVER DR RSVP emmy@bnimaryland.com $15

FRIDAY, February 8th
D.C. 7:30-9:30 am City Club of Washington; Columbia Square; 555 13th St, NW; RSVPeric@bnimaryland.com $15

Come And Join The Networking Celebration!

Monday, February 4th
Come And Join The Networking Celebration!
11:30 am – 1:30 pm - $8.00
Java Hut, RT. 50 K Mart Shopping Center
Networking Lunch with Featured Speaker, Jerry Schwartz
RSVP bni@bnimaryland.com

What is International Networking Week™?International Networking Week™ is an initiative of BNI. International Networking Week™ will feature a number of networking events across the world.

The goal of International Networking Week™ is to celebrate the key role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses across the world. Simultaneous events will be held globally to celebrate International Networking Week™.

The focus of these events will be to bring together representatives of government, businesses and the community to network with each other, and to understand the concept of good networking.

Invite every organization & every business person that you know!

Other Events Locally In Maryland

MONDAY, February 4th
SALISBURY – 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
ANNAPOLIS 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

TUESDAY, February 5th
CARROLL COUNTY 7:30 am – 9:30 am
ELLICOT CITY – 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
TOWSON – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

WEDNESDAY, February 6th
FREDERICK – 7:30 am – 9:30 am
MONTGOMERY COUNTY– 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
ABERDEEN 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

THURSDAY, February 7th
SOUTHERN MD – 7:30 am – 9:30 am
PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY – 11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Friday, February 8th
D.C. 7:30-9:30 am

Event details will be posted in the events section of www.bnimaryland.com

SPD Keepin It Real

On January 29, 2008 at approximately 7:51 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police Department received a call to respond to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center to meet with the victim of a reported rape. Upon arrival, the officers met with the victim, a 33 year old female, who advised that she had been abducted the previous night and raped. The victim advised that she had been in the area of Olive St. when she was approached by a lone male suspect and forced into a vehicle. The victim was then driven to a location where she was removed from the vehicle and raped. The suspect then transported her back to the same area in Salisbury and released her without injury. The victim then responded to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center, where she reported the incident.

The suspect is described as:An African American male, approximately 6’ tall, 170 pounds, thin build, with short dark hair, a dark beard, wearing blue sweatpants with a white stripe and a plaid flannel jacket.

The investigation is continuing.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident, they are asked to contact the Salisbury Police Department at 410-548-3165.
CC # 20080003189

Do YOU Know Jeff Disharoon?

As many of you saw earlier this morning, I had a Post up about an employee of WBOC and the fact that he had copied my complete Website and posted it under his own Blog.

This morning I received a very nice phone call from Jeff apologizing for what he had done and assured me it had been removed. He asked what he needed to do to make things right and I replied, "You just did it."

I respect the fact that Jeff was MAN enough to own up to his mistake/error and I also want to thank Laura Baker of WBOC for looking into this matter. Laura expresses that Jeff had not produced this material on their time. We may disagree on that for now but out of respect for both of them I have completely removed the Post.

I do work hard on this Blog with time, money, equipment, gas, vehicles and the list goes on and on. I do not use any advertising to help with those expenses. That being said, the material I produce is mine and unless you ask me for it, I'm going to go after you. Yes, Doug, that goes for you too.

Please respect the fact that this is my material so we don't have this confusion down the road. If any of you see my material, (photos or posts) being used elsewhere, please let me know so I can take it to the proper authorities and get what is due.

We can disagree with one and other, that's cool. But to steal material from someone is criminal, no different from walking into a store and walking out with items you didn't pay for.

Thank You.

A Nice Message From A Reader Of Sbynews

"Since then I have been checking out your blog that covers all of the kinds of stories I was wishing to hear! Your work truly speaks for itself. I really look forward to hearing what comes next. As far as the daily times, they are the most clueless so called "local source of information" I have ever seen. It's nice to know that someone is actually being proactive and trying to bring the truth out. I dont like to sound negative because I really do like Salisbury and I truly envision some very prosperous times to come. I just think as a whole and as a community that we are not taking the steps to do so. In the meantime, we need more people like yourself to uncover the negatives, lies, deceits, and just plain old fashion/old school ways of handling day to day business. Please keep up the good work and pave the way for the new and innovative DELMARVA!"

Gilchrest Too Liberal For Too Long

Washington - Today, the Club for Growth PAC is releasing a $250,000 ad buy on broadcast television and radio throughout Maryland’s First Congressional District (viewable here).

Entitled “Too Long,” the ad tells voters just how liberal Wayne Gilchrest’s record is. Over his eighteen years in Congress, Gilchrest has only gotten more liberal over time. Just this year, Gilchrest voted to raise taxes by billions, voting for the overbloated farm bill and the energy bill, both of which contained billion-dollar tax increases. Gilchrest also voted for hundreds of pork projects, including Alaska’s notorious “Bridge to Nowhere,” and voted to raise his own pay seven times. Finally, Gilchrest beat his own liberal record this past year, voting with Nancy Pelosi more often than any other Republican in Congress, according to Congressional Quarterly.

“When Wayne Gilchrest is voting with Nancy Pelosi more often than any other Republican, it’s clear that he has been in Congress too long,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Maryland Republicans deserve a consistent economic conservative like Andy Harris, not a left-wing politician who grows increasingly out of touch with his constituents with each passing year.”

The script is below; documentation is attached:

TV: 30: “Too Long”
After eighteen years in Washington, look at Wayne Gilchrest’s record
He voted to raise taxes by billions
Voted for hundreds of wasteful pork projects like Alaska’s Bridge to Nowhere
Gilchrest voted to raise his own pay seven times
And last year, he broke his own liberal record, voting with Nancy Pelosi more often than any other Republican
Wayne Gilchrest; too liberal for too long
Club for Growth PAC is responsible for the content of this advertising

PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.

Chief Webster Should Learn To Close His Office Door

My inside COEIU Agent, (Crack Offshore Electronic Intelligence Unit) was able to intercept a conversation between Chief Webster and upper Management at WMDT yesterday.

It turns out Chief Webster freaked out over Salisbury News being placed on the WMDT 47 News BLOG Link on their Website and wanted it removed.

It's my understanding that this is an ABUSE OF POWER and I for one will NOT tolerate it. Did he learn how to throw these temper tantrums from the Mayor? Webster thinks he can control other businesses, like my Blog interferes with Police work!

Please Chief, stick to doing Police work and leave me alone. This certainly will not help your case.

Bob Caldwell Speaks Out Over Audit Management Letter

After viewing the management letter and delving into the body of Salisbury’s audit, it is difficult to fathom how one can have any confidence in the current administration.

For the past several years, in issue after issue, questions posed by citizens have been met with bobbing, weaving, and half-truths, or worse, total falsehoods. We have seen administrative incompetence regarding the WWTP, the Salisbury Zoo, the handling of the Mall property, and the TIF process. We have witnessed money being committed and spent prior to being authorized by the City Council. A department head was hired for a department not yet created at the time of the hiring. Questions about a $10 million firehouse built on land appraised at $175,000 and purchased for $350,000 go ignored and unanswered. This merely skims the surface of the reprehensible actions of the mayor and those residing under her thumb.

Unfortunately for the mayor, we may have come to the end of the road. There is no way to avoid the issue of the just-delivered audit. It can’t be dodged, and it can’t be swept under the rug. The audit can’t be fully explored in this short letter, but phrases like “no management review process”, and “deficiency has impaired the City’s ability to report reliable financial data”, and “new cash account of $5.3 million which had not been reconciled to the general ledger” speak volumes. The ineptitude exhibited in handling and documenting the City’s funds is staggering. The lack of adherence to fundamental accounting procedures creates a Petri dish ripe with the opportunity for fraud.

Empty promises and deceptive statements won’t make this go away. . It’s time for sunshine in the inner workings of Salisbury. It’s time to demand accountability

Bob Caldwell

The Rumor Mill

After my Post yesterday about the Audit, my phone went off the hook the entire day. Certainly people were calling about being upset but more than that, some were calling to inform me they were going to RUN FOR MAYOR.

Barrie Tilghman has dug a hole so deep for herself, she's history Ladies & Gentlemen. After almost burning up TWO cell phone batteries, it was decided we were not going to make any announcements as of yet but I can assure you, Barrie Tilghman is in deep trouble.

Rest assure, you are in good hands with Candidates that are coming forward. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it will be my pleasure to watch the door of the GOB smack her in the ass on her way out. Yes, I'll have a camera at the front and back doors.

Starbucks Will No Longer Sell THIS

If it's your morning routine to stop at Starbucks on the way to work and grab coffee and a breakfast sandwich, you're going to need a new routine. In a bid to win back customers, Starbucks will no longer sell hot breakfast sandwiches come this fall. It's a strange financial move since the sandwiches boost a typical store's annual revenue by $35,000. Pulling egg, cheese and bacon sandwiches off the menu is going to mean less profit for the stores.

Tragedy Strikes Popular '60s TV Star

The 30-year-old girlfriend of actor Max Baer Jr. has died in what appears to be a suicide. Chere Rhodes apparently shot herself last week and died several days later, according to police in Douglas County, Nev. Baer, who is now 70, played the role of Jethro on the 1960s "Beverly Hillbillies" TV sitcom.

Baer is the one who found Rhodes with a single gunshot wound to the chest and summoned police to his Lake Tahoe home on Thursday, Jan. 24. No foul play is suspected. "She was conscious on the scene and told (officers) that it was a self-attempted suicide," Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Halsey said. "There was a suicide note as well, which substantiated her statement." The handwritten note cited "relationship problems." Rhodes was flown to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno and placed on life support. Her family took her off the life support on Sunday.

Look Who Is On The Cover Of Playboy!

Hugh Hefner is showing off, again! For the third time he is featuring his three girlfriends, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson on the cover of Playboy. The trio stars in E!'s "The Girls Next Door" and are featured in the March issue of Playboy as part of the "25 Sexiest Celebrities." Yes, being Hef's girlfriend and on a low-rated reality TV show makes you a "celebrity."

GO HERE to visit their Home Page.

GO HERE, (if you can) to see the front cover of the March Issue.

Governor's Press Event At Martin State Airport

This Friday, February 1, 2008 at 11:30 AM the Governor will be announcing the funding of the 3 new helicopters. You all are invited and President Sterling has been asked to speak. We hope to see you there!

Jim

James W. Brown

Director, Public Information and Media Services

Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS)

653 West Pratt Street

Baltimore, MD 21201

(P) 410-706-3994

(F) 410-706-3485

The New Grapevine's Here, The New Grapevine's Here, I'm Somebody!

"Marriage of newsgatherers?

I see blogger Joe Albero and WMDT-TV 47 have joined forces. This is truly a marriage of outstanding newsgathering entities. Delmarva is sure lucky to have Albero and the 47 crew working together -- right."

"Political endorsements

The four not-very-tall men who run Wicomico government -- Mike Lewis, John Cannon, Lewis Riley and Joe Albero -- have come out against another not-tall man -- Wayne Gilchrest. This county sure has a bounty of leaders with Napolean complexes."

Today's Grapevine clearly shows us little guys are the leaders of the Eastern Shore and anyone over 5'-10" is a giant going nowhere in life. You see, to be extra special you have to be short and also sport short hair or no hair at all, right Wayne?

Nevertheless, I'm disappointed you didn't mention Chief Gary Baker of the WCSO. You see, he's kinda short too. Oh, let's not forget our States Attorney Davis Ruark. This Post will be all over 47 News too, so now we get more bang for the little buck. Let me assure you, 47 News got more hits yesterday than they have in their entire history of being On Line. Smart move for them, smart move for me. I should add, more Blogs will be added daily.

Enjoy the Blogs and thanks for all the attention. There's nothing better than FREE PRESS!

Is Louise Smith the New Chair of the "Lynn Cathcart for Council Committee"?

As we have intimated several times, it is our belief that former Salisbury Councilwoman Lynn Cathcart is keeping her face before the public in order to challenge Councilwoman Debbie Campbell in 2009. After Monday night's performance we are left with the question of who is chairing her campaign committee. It seems to be Salisbury Council President Louise Smith.

Smith called Cathcart to comment on the proposed ordinance to budget additional overtime and repair dollars for the Salisbury Police Department. Cathcart came up and spoke for five minutes of so, but not about the ordinance. The closest Cathcart came was her preface that everyone knows that she supports our police. Yes, Lynn. We also know that you are in favor of puppies, small children and apple pie.

Cathcart then went on to encourage the council to support a tax differential for Salisbury taxpayers. A valid area of public discourse to be sure, but what did it have to do with the ordinance before the council at that particular time. If the speaker had not been one of Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman's sycophants and the subject had turned to something like a tax cut the speaker would have surely been gaveled out of order by Smith. Yet more evidence that there are different rules for different people.

Smith doesn't think twice about interrupting or gaveling down councilmembers who don't agree with her, but if you are one the few who would agree with Tilghman if she said that the moon was made of green cheese ...

In addition to this display of gross partisanship on behalf of Smith, there were a couple of other problems with Cathcart's comments - they were grossly misleading. People like Cathcart (and Tilghman) talk about a tax differential, but that is not what they want. I support a tax differential - where a Salisbury taxpayer would pay a lower county property tax rate than one living in an unincorporated area. I support it strictly on principle, but realize that Wicomico County is not in the fiscal position to deliver one at this time.

What Cathcart (along with Councilman Gary Comegys, Tilghman, et al) advocate is for the county to make a payment to the city's coffers. There's a HUGE difference. With a tax differential, a Salisbury taxpayer would pay lower taxes. Under the Cathcart plan that same taxpayer would not receive a tax break, but the Tilghman administration would receive a multi-million dollar check to feed their bureaucracy with!

With Louise Smith, it's a two-fer! Break your own rules, and deceive the public while you're at it.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings

Technorati Tags: Maryland, Salisbury, politics, Salisbury politics, Louise Smith, Lynn Cathcart, Barrie Tilghman, Gary Comegys, fiscal policy, taxation, tax differential

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Shove It Up Your Tailpipe!

Crazy State of Affairs.

I received a notice in the mail the other day from the great oppressive State of Maryland letting me know that I neglected to get my emissions test done. Now I don’t remember even getting one in the first place but they seem to think I should have and of course in this day and age you are guilty until they tell you your aren’t. The neighborhood I live in has numbered streets and there is a house with the same number as mine on ever street. Now because of this the people that work at our local Post Office routinely get confused. We routinely get mail from other people, not an occasionally occurrence but fairly regular and we either put it back in the mailbox or have one of the kids deliver it. I have to wonder how many times our mail gets delivered to other houses and the occupants don’t even bother trying to get it back to us because they don’t just don’t care. Although the failure of the Post Office is not what this is about.

With the failure to comply notice from the State, not only do I find they want another fifteen dollars from me, but if I fail to comply with their demands my registration on my car will be suspended, which to me sounds vaguely like blackmail. This I find to be absolutely tyrannical behavior in a number of ways. For one, older cars are not required to get their emissions test and yet they are more likely to pollute as I often see black clouds of noxious gas belching out the tailpipes of old jalopies running down the road. Second, why would they need to charge more? Is the test more expensive after a certain day or is this just another way for the State to steal money because I am a miscreant and they need to punish me for not jumping at their command. The whole thing in fact is one big ripe off of the citizens. It is a money making scheme and a way it seems for the state to employ people that do nothing but stick things up peoples tailpipes. Normally a car will not deteriorate in two years to make a difference in it passing or failing an emissions test, but of course if they required it every five years they would not make as much money now would they.

Third why would they suspend a registration, do they think the car is polluting the ever so fresh air that we breathe? No, of course not but demonstrates to us all that our personal is really not our property but the State believes it belongs top them. This is not the behavior of legitimate government.

However, this is really not the point of this post. The main problem I have with all this is that this State knows exactly when I fail to get my emissions test done in their allotted time frame, yet they let children like Bryanna Harris die because they cannot perform their jobs properly and keep track of parents that are a known danger to their children. Of course they do not make money off keeping unfit parents from harming their children but they do make money off of the requirement for an emissions test. How many other children have died because of their failures to keep tabs on known irresponsible parents? Yet they will come after me with threats and fines, imposed without due process of law because I failed to let them stick a tube up my tailpipe and know exactly when I fail to comply, something just does not add up in all of this. After all what is more important to them, making money or keeping defenseless children alive?

SALISBURY CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AGENDA

REVISED – 1/31/08

- - - - - - - - - - -

FEBRUARY 4, 2008

CONFERENCE ROOM 305 GOVERNMENT OFFICE BUILDING

4:30 p.m. FY07 financial statements – Pam Oland/Herb Geary

7:00 p.m. Status of FY08 budget – John Pick/Pam Oland

7:25 p.m. General discussion/upcoming agendas

7:30 p.m. Adjourn