TRAFFIC ALERT

I-495 Interstate Bridge Maintenance Project Will Require Daytime ClosuresFunded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Wilmington -- The Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announces that the left and center lanes on I-495 southbound just before the bridge on Route 141 will be closed between 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning on Tuesday, January 5 and ending on Friday, January 8. The lane closures are needed to allow the set-up of a concrete barrier for the rehabilitation of Bridges 802 and 800. Once this barrier is placed, expect lane shifts throughout the work zone. This work will take approximately two months.

The I-495 interstate bridge maintenance project involves the rehabilitation of seven interstate bridges on I-495. This work includes: replacing expansion joints, joint seals, compression seals and pourable seals; mill and overlay deck; cleaning and greasing bearings; patching and replacing approach slab; patch concrete spalls and concrete cracks; and painting the steel beams. The contractor for this project is Eastern Highway Specialist, Inc. The work is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Missing Person - Sarah Marie Davis UPDATE

DATE & TIME: 01/03/2010 - Sunday

LOCATION: Newark, Worcester County Area

CASE NUMBER: 10-96-000031

Regarding: Missing Persons Report

Missing Persons: Sarah Marie Davis (W/F DOB 09/24/1984) 25 yoa
Last Scene Address; 7615 Mulberry Road – Apartment B
Newark, MD Worcester County
Description: White Female
Height 5’1” Weight 190 lbs
Tattoos on right leg
Brown Hair Brown Eyes
Shoulder Length Hair
Missing Teeth
Mentally Challenged

Vehicle Operating: None

BRIEF RESUME:

On 01/01/2010 at approximately 1600 hrs, the missing person, Sarah Marie Davis was last seen by friends in the Newark area of Worcester County Maryland. Davis has not been seen since she entered into a verbal altercation with friends at 7615 Mulberry Road, Apartment B in Newark Worcester County Maryland. Checks with family and friends have not turned up any leads regarding Davis’ whereabouts. Davis was noted as possibly heading towards the Berlin/West Ocean City area of Worcester County Maryland. Davis was not operating any vehicles, and is not licensed to drive. Davis too was seen as walking on foot along MD Rte 113 shortly after the argument.
Davis was noted as being mentally challenged and is in need of medications. Law enforcement and family members in the area are searching and attempting to contact friends in an attempt to locate Davis.

Members of the community are asked to contact the Maryland State Police, Berlin Barrack if the above aforementioned subject(s) has been seen in your area.

No foul play is expected at this time.

A photograph of the missing Davis is available at the Maryland State Police Barrack in Berlin.

Wicomico County Council to Meet Tuesday NIGHT

In a rare evening meeting, the Wicomico County Council will meet at 6PM in the council chambers of the GOB.  Try to attend.

Come and voice your concerns about the proposed budget amendment which will be discussed in a work session immediately after the regular meeting.

READ MORE …

What To Do If You Are Not SURE That It’s the Police

Reading Joe Albero’s earlier post regarding the young lady who was stopped by someone impersonating a law enforcement officer reminded me of a conversation I had with Wicomico State’s Attorney Davis Ruark a couple of years ago.  While we were discussing something totally unrelated to someone impersonating an officer, the legal principle is the same.

According to Ruark, if you are being pulled over by a law enforcement officer you have a right to pull over in a safe area.  Don’t try to run.  Instead, stay within the speed limit.  Putting on your emergency flashers might not be a bad idea.  However, you can continue driving until you find some place where you feel safe to pull over; perhaps a store that is open or the home of someone you know.

Obviously, 99 times out of 100 this will be a real police officer.  Calmly and courteously explain that you were apprehensive and that you wanted to pull over in an area with other people around.  Even if the officer chooses to charge you with an additional offense, you will be able to be acquitted in court.

My personal experience with Maryland State Police, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Deputies, and Fruitland Police (no disrespect to the Salisbury Police, I have just never been pulled over by someone in the SPD) has been that they are courteous and trying to serve and protect the public.  I believe that they would be understanding if you explain your anxieties.

REGARDLESS – Better safe than sorry.

BREAKING NEWS

"Dear Joe,

MECA did not organize, nor was involved with any such event involving selling magnetic ribbons at Sarah Foxwell's vigil. No one from MECA authorized this.

MECA is a non-profit that has existed in Maryland for 25 years involving missing and exploited children."

Ladies & Gentlemen, my instincts never fail me.

I am withholding the name of this contact person because I do not want the local nut cases trampling all over this person with their notorious phone calls, hence the Salvation Army, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart, Gander Mountain and other local businesses.

I can assure you, I just got off the phone with these people, (they contacted me) and they were clueless. I have forwarded this contact information to the proper authorities and hopefully something gets done about it.

In a letter sent by an individual to MECA, this is where they learned their group was being questioned by SBYNews and they responded immediately.

I don't want your group to take a lashing in the press, but a local blogger is questioning the integrity of your group (MECA of MD) because it does not appear that any support was offered to the family of Sarah Haley Foxwell after her abduction and murder Dec. 22. by MECA of MD, and therefore wonders why our local dollars should go to support this group.

This would be a great time to build awareness and exact legislative change on the Eastern Shore and state wide. Is assistance being offered to her siblings and immediate family? I don't know, but I hope so. I hope your group is involved in Haley's case and working to make legislative changes. There are many here who would want to help!

Please be very careful when it comes to certain groups claiming to be affiliated with National or state wide Organizations. The homework has been done and MECA clearly states they had NOTHING to do with this and were completely unaware of it, until now.

More to come..........

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Please Be Aware

My teenage daughter (18) was driving home last night at about 2:25 am at the crossroads of Union Church Rd and Coulbourne Mill Rd in Salisbury/Fruitland area.

She was at the three way stop a silver suv passed her and turned around they started following her flashing their lights at her, she went a short distance and pulled over in front of a house on Straw Ridge Lane. The man yelled to her POLICE get out of your car, petrified she sat in her car and did not move. The homeowners went to the front door heard the man yelling at the girl to get out of her car, they let their dogs out and started to walk outside the silver suv erratically sped away.

Thank god over and over again that nothing more serious happened to my daughter !! We have no idea what their intentions were. Someone is impersonating a police officer something needs to done. Their is no telling what could have happened.

Just to let you know, the first call to 911 that was made they dismissed it, they said their is nothing they can do. I am not sure who they dispatched me to. We then called 410-548-4891 and demanded an officer come out and write a report. He was very concerned about the incident.

Please tell your daughters or ANYONE driving DO NOT STOP call the police and tell them someone is following you. Please lets try and get him before we find out his intentions are!

Delmarva Power Gets 1.1% Rate Increase

Delmarva Power has won approval for a 1.1 percent rate increase in Maryland, about half the increase it had requested.

The Maryland Public Service Commission approved the distribution rate increase for Delmarva’s Maryland customers, most of whom are on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The average monthly residential bill will increase by $1.66, Delmarva said.

Commercial and industrial customers in Maryland will also see rates go up 1.1 percent.
“This modest increase is justified primarily by construction costs incurred for the purpose of improving the reliability of the company’s electric distribution system,” the PSC said in a statement. Distribution rates cover infrastructure costs and are separate from supply rates.
The increase will generate an additional $7.5 million for the utility, half of what it had hoped to win approval for.

“We are disappointed, but we understand the Commission’s concern for customers in these challenging economic times,” Delmarva Power president Gary Stockbridge said in a statement.
Delmarva Power, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POM) says it is the third time in 15 years it has raised distribution rates.

Source

Thank God I Didn't Pay For Today's Daily Rag

Did you get a load of what the Daily Times delivered today? I went on line and thought, they charge WHAT for this! Almost $2 Bucks! Davis Ruark and Mike Lewis hugging is the best they could do? Look, I'm not suggesting I delivered any better. However, you're not paying me $2 bucks a day to read Salisbury News and trust me, we get far more visits per day than the Daily Times gets per day on line.

Sorry, I'm just in that "mood" today. I feel sorry for all of those people who either wasted almost $2.00 at a store to get today's paper or those who were subjected to such junk while committed to a subscription.

Impending Civil War?

Joe,

Attached please find a link to an article published in the European Union Times more than a month ago.

http://www.eutimes.net/2009/11/obama-orders-1-million-us-troops-to-prepare-for-civil-war/comment-page-6/#comment-4538

Why is it that the AP picks up everything else that goes on in the world but somehow "missed" this. Read about halfway through where it addresses the fact that one of the largest banks in the EU is advising it's investors to prepare for global economic collapse. It wasn't more than three months ago when you told me that is where you thought we were headed financially. It just adds credibility to the idea that our government actually does control our media.

Republican Study Committee Statement On Act Of Terror

Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement regarding the failed terror attack on American soil and the administration’s response.

“As our nation was once again targeted by extremism, this is a time for great resolve and strong presidential leadership,” said Chairman Price. “The slow trickle of troubling information, bizarre statements from administration officials, and a staggered response from the President, however, do not instill confidence that the White House appreciates the gravity of this situation.

“This event should open the eyes of the administration to the real threat that continues to permeate around the world. The President must recognize that we are at war with a murderous enemy who will not relent because we heed political correctness, acquiesce to international calls for deference, or close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. While the President has long indicated that he believes terrorism can be treated as a simple law enforcement matter, rather than as acts of war, this near horrific disaster should dispel any such naïveté or reckless notion.

“The fact that this plot was disrupted by courageous passengers without loss of life is a blessing and now provides the President an opportunity to refocus his efforts on defeating terrorism wherever it may be fomenting. We hope this is an opportunity the President takes seriously and we look forward to working closely with the administration to ensure bureaucracy never gets in the way of security again.”

The Republican Study Committee-- The Caucus of House ConservativesCongressman Tom Price, M.D., Chairman

Clueless...

Now is it just me....... Are both of them as dumb as they appear??... I guess this could have been taken in a mirror which would screw it up, or maybe it is authentic. I would not doubt it being authentic!!!! Note both have rings on their ring finger and most likely on their left hand. I think they are truly clueless!!!!

His suit coat is buttened correctly, so it is not a mirror image.

These people are so clueless .They are not Americans

GOD BLESS AMERICA

A Brooke Mulford Update

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to catch you up on the past week. Brooke was discharged from CHOP last Wed late afternoon. I was very nervous about leaving as she was still not even close to herself yet. She went right to bed when we got home and slept most of Christmas Eve day. Christmas day wasn't much better. She woke up at about 10am and would take little cat naps between opening presents. She would just lay down on the floor where she was opening her gifts and rest for a short time then sit up and open a few more. After opening gifts she fell asleep at the table during brunch with Grammy, Nana & Pop Pop Vince and then moved to the couch to sleep some more. It was kind of scary how similiar it was to last Christmas (when her symptoms started). It was a difficult day emotionally for me and adding to the emotions was hearing that they had found Sarah Foxwell's body...Please pray for her family...I can't and don't want to even imagine what they are going through. I hope that many attended her vigil tonight.The weekend was much better for Brooke. She is able to stay awake most of the day now and is finally getting to enjoy her Christmas presents. Other than stomach pains she is starting to feel better and we have a nice little break before having to go back to start round 3 (Jan 13th).

Have a Blessed New Year,

Amy

Interest Rate Increase

Joe, it seems the local economists got it right. This article -

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view/20091229mortgage_rate_hike_feared_as_poison_to_home_sales/srvc=home&position=also

indicates there is an impending increase to as much as 8% on interest rates for 30 year fixed mortgages. The fear of this will likely pressure some to buy now but a fragile housing market will likely be crushed by this in the longer term. The economist I spoke to at SU predicts that if we continue the way we're going we can expect a robust recovery at the end of 2010 after which the economy will make a downturn. One caveat. He believes that if cap and trade is passed we won't see that robust recovery - just the downturn.

It seems that the potential for a false sense of economic security is a real possibility.

Hope On The Horizon For The Demise Of Obamacare..

Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress given the power to mandate that an individual enter into a contract with a private party or purchase a good or service and, as this paper will explain, no decision or present doctrine of the Supreme Court justifies such a claim of power.

Therefore, because this claim of power by Congress would literally be without precedent, it could only be upheld if the Supreme Court is willing to create a new constitutional doctrine.

This memorandum explains why the two powers cited by supporters of this bill--the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce and the power of Congress to tax-- do not justify an individual mandate, even under the most expansive readings given these powers by the Supreme Court.

In particular, this paper addresses four topics that have not yet been given adequate consideration by Congress and most, if not all, of the commentators:

* First, most arguments, either favoring or opposing the individual mandate, do not discuss the Supreme Court's "class of activities" test, which it has applied in every relevant Commerce Clause case. This paper addresses this oversight and argues that, despite the broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce, the individual mandate provision fails this test and is unlikely to survive the Court's review.

* Second, this paper addresses the common, but mistaken, suggestion that a universal federal mandate to obtain health insurance is no different than a state requiring its licensed automobile drivers to have liability insurance for their injuries to others.

* Third, this paper analyzes claims arising under the Taxing Clause. A preliminary review raises serious questions about the constitutionality of using the taxing power in this manner.

* And finally, this paper explains why it is highly unlikely that the Supreme Court would break new constitutional ground to save this unpopular personal mandate.


Read "The Paper" from The Heritage Foundation..

Caption This Photo

Rednecks

Mayo Clinic in Arizona To Stop Treating Some Medicare Patients

By David Olmos
Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) --

The Mayo Clinic, praised by President Barack Obama as a national model for efficient health care, will stop accepting Medicare patients as of tomorrow at one of its primary-care clinics in Arizona, saying the U.S. government pays too little.

More than 3,000 patients eligible for Medicare, the government’s largest health-insurance program, will be forced to pay cash if they want to continue seeing their doctors at a Mayo family clinic in Glendale, northwest of Phoenix, said Michael Yardley, a Mayo spokesman. The decision, which Yardley called a two-year pilot project, won’t affect other Mayo facilities in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.

Obama in June cited the nonprofit Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio for offering “the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm.” Mayo’s move to drop Medicare patients may be copied by family doctors, some of whom have stopped accepting new patients from the program, said Lori Heim, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, in a telephone interview yesterday.

“Many physicians have said, ‘I simply cannot afford to keep taking care of Medicare patients,’” said Heim, a family doctor who practices in Laurinburg, North Carolina. “If you truly know your business costs and you are losing money, it doesn’t make sense to do more of it.”

Medicare Loss

The Mayo organization had 3,700 staff physicians and scientists and treated 526,000 patients in 2008. It lost $840 million last year on Medicare, the government’s health program for the disabled and those 65 and older, Mayo spokeswoman Lynn Closway said.

Mayo’s hospital and four clinics in Arizona, including the Glendale facility, lost $120 million on Medicare patients last year, Yardley said. The program’s payments cover about 50 percent of the cost of treating elderly primary-care patients at the Glendale clinic, he said.

“We firmly believe that Medicare needs to be reformed,” Yardley said in a Dec. 23 e-mail. “It has been true for many years that Medicare payments no longer reflect the increasing cost of providing services for patients.”

Mayo will assess the financial effect of the decision in Glendale to drop Medicare patients “to see if it could have implications beyond Arizona,” he said.

Nationwide, doctors made about 20 percent less for treating Medicare patients than they did caring for privately insured patients in 2007, a payment gap that has remained stable during the last decade, according to a March report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, a panel that advises Congress on Medicare issues. Congress last week postponed for two months a 21.5 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements for doctors.

National Participation

Medicare covered an estimated 45 million Americans at the end of 2008, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency in charge of the programs. While 92 percent of U.S. family doctors participate in Medicare, only 73 percent of those are accepting new patients under the program, said Heim of the national physicians’ group, citing surveys by the Leawood, Kansas-based organization.

Greater access to primary care is a goal of the broad overhaul supported by Obama that would provide health insurance to about 31 million more Americans. More family doctors are needed to help reduce medical costs by encouraging prevention and early treatment, Obama said in a June 15 speech to the American Medical Association meeting in Chicago.

Reid Cherlin, a White House spokesman for health care, declined comment on Mayo’s decision to drop Medicare primary care patients at its Glendale clinic.

Medicare Costs

Mayo’s Medicare losses in Arizona may be worse than typical for doctors across the U.S., Heim said. Physician costs vary depending on business expenses such as office rent and payroll. “It is very common that we hear that Medicare is below costs or barely covering costs,” Heim said.
Mayo will continue to accept Medicare as payment for laboratory services and specialist care such as cardiology and neurology, Yardley said.

Robert Berenson, a fellow at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C., said physicians’ claims of inadequate reimbursement are overstated. Rather, the program faces a lack of medical providers because not enough new doctors are becoming family doctors, internists and pediatricians who oversee patients’ primary care.

“Some primary care doctors don’t have to see Medicare patients because there is an unlimited demand for their services,” Berenson said. When patients with private insurance can be treated at 50 percent to 100 percent higher fees, “then Medicare does indeed look like a poor payer,” he said.

Annual Costs

A Medicare patient who chooses to stay at Mayo’s Glendale clinic will pay about $1,500 a year for an annual physical and three other doctor visits, according to an October letter from the facility. Each patient also will be assessed a $250 annual administrative fee, according to the letter. Medicare patients at the Glendale clinic won’t be allowed to switch to a primary care doctor at another Mayo facility.

A few hundred of the clinic’s Medicare patients have decided to pay cash to continue seeing their primary care doctors, Yardley said. Mayo is helping other patients find new physicians who will accept Medicare.

“We’ve had many patients call us and express their unhappiness,” he said. “It’s not been a pleasant experience.”

Mayo’s decision may herald similar moves by other Phoenix- area doctors who cite inadequate Medicare fees as a reason to curtail treatment of the elderly, said John Rivers, chief executive of the Phoenix-based Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association.

“We’ve got doctors who are saying we are not going to deal with Medicare patients in the hospital” because they consider the fees too low, Rivers said. “Or they are saying we are not going to take new ones in our practice.”

To contact the reporter on this story: David Olmos in San Francisco at dolmos@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 31, 2009 00:01 EST

How Do You Say DANG In Chinese

(1) An underground garage was being dug on the south side, to a depth of 4.6 meters
(2) The excavated dirt was being piled up on the north side, to a height of 10 meters
(3) The building experienced uneven lateral pressure from south and north
(4) This resulted in a lateral pressure of 3,000 tonnes, which was greater than what the pilings could tolerate.


Thus the building toppled over in the southerly direction.

Brought to you by the same folks that make your kids' toys and want to build your car.

HR 615

On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment, courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn which would require all Members of Congress and their staff members to enroll in any new government-run health plan.

Congressman John Fleming has proposed an amendment that would require Congressmen and Senators to take the same health care plan that they would force on us. (Under proposed legislation they are exempt.)

Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go to his Website and sign his petition. The process is very simple. I have done just that at: http://fleming.house.gov/index.html

Senator Coburn and Congressman Fleming are both physicians. Regardless of your political beliefs, it sure seems reasonable that Congress should have exactly the same medical coverage that they impose on the rest of us.

Please urge as many people as you can to do the same!

Someone Show Her To The Door, Please

"The system worked.."

Not only does her department oversee the Transportation Security Administration, but her initial claim last Sunday that "the system worked" was widely ridiculed and interpreted by critics as a sign that she's in over her head.

Some Republicans, who've taken issue with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in the past for calling terrorist acts "man-caused disasters" and other remarks, started calling for her ouster in the spring. The failed bombing on Christmas Day revived those calls.

Now Democrats have joined the chorus.

New Jersey State Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat, wrote a letter to Napolitano this week calling on her to step down. He said Napolitano, an attorney and former Arizona governor, does not have the experience for the post she is in.

"We should have someone who doesn't need to go in there and learn about terrorism, learn about security," Codey told Fox News. "How close were these 300 people on this plane from losing their lives because homeland security broke down? Boy, it was really close."

Democratic strategist Dan Gerstein also said Napolitano's response to the incident should be the last straw.

Republican Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said Napolitano does not have the experience for the job, and her remarks only prove that she doesn't take the terrorist threat as seriously as she should.

"She's not doing her job," Burton told Fox News.

Former New York Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato also said Napolitano should resign.

The administration says it has absolute confidence in Napolitano.

More from Fox News..

Shooting Stars-Explained

Whatever Works For You

Hi, Joe Albero.

PublicSafetyWorkers (pSWdOtCom) is now following your tweets on Twitter.

A little information about PublicSafetyWorkers:

2 followers2 tweets

following 12 people

1st Degree Assault

Time: 12/31/2009 @ 2054 hours

Case #: 09-96-008766

Location: 12802 Old Bridge Road Ocean City, Maryland 21842

Crime: First Degree Assault

Accused: Nathaniel Irving Schneider, 20 YOA of Berlin, MD


Narrative: On 12/31/2009 at 8:54 PM, troopers from the Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack responded to the Royal Farms at 12826 Ocean Gateway Ocean City, Maryland for a reported stabbing. The attack occurred at the nearby residence of Ian Todd and Jeremiah Miller 12802 Old Bridge Road Ocean City, Maryland. The victims were two Ocean Pines residents identified as Max Emiliano Rolon, 18 YOA and Joseph Donald Nalborczyk, 19 YOA and a 17 year old companion of Pennsville, NJ. Rolon was stabbed in his throat and upper left arm, the 17 year old was struck over the head with a beer bottle and Nalborcyk was punched by another subject (Nalborcyk declined charges in regards to his assault). Both other victims were treated and released at Atlantic General Hospital for lacerations. Nathaniel Irving Schneider 20 YOA of Berlin Maryland was identified by the victims as the assailant who inflicted the stab wounds to one victim and struck the other victim with the bottle. Worcester County Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene and Scheider was charged with 1st Degree Assault, related charges and held in the Worcester County Jail, $500,000 bond.

Disposition: Taken before Commissioner and held on $500,000 bond