Pollitt Proposes Reorganization of County Executive’s Office

Wicomico County Executive came before the Wicomico County Council’s budget session today asking for level funding for his office so that he may implement a reorganization of the Executive’s department. Harford County Executive David Craig came down to help Pollitt present the proposal and answer any questions as to how the system operated in Harford County.

Under the current structure, Pollitt’s office consists of:

• County Executive
• County Administrator
• Assistant County Administrator
• Public Information Officer
• 2 – Executive Assistants

If implemented, the new structure would be:

• County Executive
• Chief of Staff
• Director of Administration
• Budget Officer
• Constituent Services and Communications
• 2 – Executive Assistants

The newly created position of Chief of Staff would be, in essence, a deputy county executive. The Director of Administration would be the same position as the current county administrator. Pollitt announced that he would appoint current Assistant County Administrator Sharon Morris to replace the retiring Ted Shea.

The Budget Officer would be separate from the county’s Finance Department. The Budget Officer would prepare the budget and also monitor budgetary items throughout the fiscal year. The office of Constituent Services and Communications would replace the current Public Information Officer.

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Check out SbyNEWS tomorrow morning for a more detailed analysis of Pollitt’s proposal and county council reaction to it, and possible action on the plan.

Wicomico Board of Education’s “Secret Session”

Last Thursday the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) met in closed session. This, by itself, isn’t particularly unusual. What was unusual - downright worrisome - was the subject matter.

The Wicomico County Board of Education met in closed session to obtain legal advice. What advice did they seek? Sources on Long Avenue confirm that the board wanted to know if they were obligated to answer questions posed by the Wicomico County Council; how far they have to go in answering questions from the council; and even if they are required to MEET with the county council. This really jibes well with the claims of Supt. John Fredericksen and multiple board members that they are an "open book" and welcome public scrutiny.

How can the members of the BOE be shocked that the public questions their their integrity, and their stewardship of the taxpayers’ dollars, when they behave in such an underhanded fashion?

WAS THIS “SECRET SESSION” EVEN LEGAL?

The board may have a closed session in order to seek advice from legal counsel, discuss litigation, discuss a personnel matter, etc. I am quite sure that this meets the technical letter of the Maryland Open Meetings Act. They were seeking advice from legal counsel.

This is precisely why this meeting violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the act. The were seeking legal advice on how to stonewall the elected representatives of the taxpaying citizens of Wicomico County.

TRUST ME?

Just a couple of weeks ago, WCBOE members had a hissy fit in front of the county council. They argued that they were tired of being “grilled” and having to answer insulting questions from the council.

A few days later, the Daily Times implied that the Wicomico County Council were equivalent to terrorists for daring to ask valid questions regarding the WCBOE’s stewardship of taxpayers’ dollars. In their scathing, falsely premised, op-ed the DT made the following statement:

While the council does not have authority to manage the school board's budget line by line, it does control the purse strings and may choose to cut funding. However, council members are not better qualified nor do they understand the responsibilities or inner workings of the Board of Education -- which includes 14,619 students, 1,249 teachers and 25 schools -- while meeting local, state and federal regulations.
Pointing fingers and thereby tacitly implying there must be wrongdoing, mishandling or waste somewhere does not lead to constructive resolutions. Divisive behavior does not save money, nor does it lead to a better education for our county's students.
There is only one goal: to make the best possible use of scarce resources to provide the highest quality education for all students. The only way to reach this goal is through open, honest dialogue and constructive debate.

Yet, it is the heroes of our local paper – the Wicomico County Board of Education – who have made fools of the very champions who rode to their defense. One can argue that the Wicomico County Council, who meets in public, answers questions from all comers, and continually strives to be good and faithful stewards of the taxpayers’ hard earned dollars are, in fact, more qualified to make decisions regarding our children’s educations. They certainly set a better example.
Divisive behavior may not save money. Nor does attempting to hide relevant information from the public and its elected representatives. We agree that “open, honest dialogue and constructive debate” are helpful, if not necessary, to setting public policy. We would also argue that conspiring to hide information and obfuscate our elected representatives does not meet ANY definition of these terms.

The next time that a member of the WCBOE or Supt. John Fredericksen dare stand up in public and proclaim that they are forthright individuals with only the best interests of the county’s children in mind, any person present should remember that this same sanctimonious group wasted tax dollars attempting to shield themselves from public scrutiny.

Stonewalling and Sophistry

This recent behavior of the WCBOE would be shameful enough if it were an isolated incident. Talk to parents who have dared question the board’s policies or decisions. Even a relatively small sample yields multiple examples of the same stonewalling. If not stonewalled, the questioning party is treated to sophistry straight from the dialogues of Plato.

The answer to these problems is simple. Fredericksen and the WCBOE need only be honest. If they don’t know the answer to a question, admit it. If they aren’t comfortable releasing certain information, say so and tell us why. Otherwise, simply answer the question. You don’t need a lawyer to do that.

Rep. Harris Joins Bipartisan Coalition In Rejecting Debt Ceiling Increase Without Spending Reductions

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Andy Harris joined a bipartisan coalition in rejecting the President’s request for a $2.4 trillion debt ceiling increase without any spending or deficit reductions. The vote signifies significant bipartisan support for substantial deficit reductions measures to accompany any debt ceiling limit increase.

           

“Marylanders sent me to Congress to end Washington’s spending spree – to get the economy moving and build an environment for positive job growth,” said Rep. Andy Harris. “A vote to yet again increase the debt limit without needed spending reductions would simply continue to kick the can down the road irresponsibly and would place the country on a path to financial disaster.”

The debt ceiling has been increased three times during the Obama Administration without any spending reduction measures. America’s debt is now nearly 98% of our total annual gross domestic product (GDP) and is quickly approaching levels at which other countries have experienced their economic collapse.

House Republicans Not Backing Away From Ryan Medicare Proposal

House Republicans are underlining their support for Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reforms a week after the bitter loss of a New York congressional seat.

Even as newly emboldened Democrats hopeful of retaking the House intensify their criticism, there seems to be little appetite or inclination among Republicans for modifying their approach — even if that approach ends up carrying electoral costs.

“To back away from this or to get skittish for fear of losing a few seats or even the majority would be pretty darn irresponsible,” Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) told The Hill.

Though that kind of view might be expected from a member of the House’s Tea Party Caucus like Gingrey, it is broadly shared, even by more centrist figures like strategist Mark McKinnon.

“Republicans should not run from the Ryan plan,” McKinnon said. “That is a lose-lose proposition. We’re tagged with it anyway, so running doesn’t help. But it’s also a bold and courageous plan that I believe, over the long run, voters will recognize and reward.”

GOP leaders on the Sunday talk shows rallied around the Ryan plan even as they acknowledged the role it played in last week’s loss of a GOP-leaning district. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said he voted for the Ryan plan, while House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said he “absolutely” stood behind it.

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BREAKING NEWS: House Defeats Increase In Debt Ceiling

House rejects bill to raise U.S. debt ceiling by vote of 97-318.

Driver Charged In Fatal Virginia Bus Accident

The driver in Tuesday's fatal bus crash has been charged with reckless driving and is being held on a $3,000 bond in Hanover County, police said. The company that operates the bus that overturned on a Virginia highway also has been involved in several accidents over the last two years.

RSC Update: Cut, Cap, & Balance

From the Chairman

Two weeks ago, the federal government bumped up against its legal borrowing limit of $14.292 trillion. To President Obama and many other Democrats, that just means it’s time to raise the debt ceiling, with no strings attached. So this afternoon, the House will vote on a bill that would up the legal debt limit by $2.4 trillion without making a single spending cut. Republicans will vote against this bill, and it will not pass.

However, this vote will prove to Democrats once and for all that the debt limit cannot be raised without major spending cuts.

There is only one plan on the table that will force the spending cuts needed to fend off the coming debt crisis. It’s called “Cut, Cap, and Balance.” This three-pronged approach would cut next year’s deficit in half, cap spending at 18% of GDP so it aligns with average revenues, and send a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to the states for ratification.

 

Washington must not be given another blank check, which would only accelerate the debt crisis that threatens our economy. Spending must be cut. If Democrats truly want to raise the debt limit, they should be prepared to “Cut, Cap, and Balance.”

God Bless,

Congressman Jim Jordan

Chairman, Republican Study Committee

PUBLIC NOTICE

REVISED - SPECIAL MEETING

In accordance with §SC2-4 of the Salisbury City Charter, a majority of the City Council have called for a Special Meeting to be held on Monday, June 6, 2011. The purpose of the Special Meeting is to hold a Public Hearing on the Mayor’s proposed FY2012 Budget and for the Council to adopt the FY2012 Budget (Ordinance No. 2161 – second reading), Water and Sewer rates (Ordinance No. 2151 – second reading) and Parking Rates (Ordinance No. 2152 – second reading).

The special meeting is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers (Room 301) of the City/County Government Office Building (125 N. Division Street).

Debt Drama In House Today

House GOP Sets the Floor on Debt Ceiling

“I don’t think a lot of people outside of Washington – and maybe some of the people here – really understand how hard this is. This may give them some idea.”

--Senior GOP congressional aide discussing with Power Play today’s vote on an unconditioned, $2.4 trillion increase in the federal borrowing limit.

In case Democrats need any convincing of how difficult it is going to be to obtain President Obama’s requested increase in the federal borrowing limit, House Republicans will remind them today.

More than 100 House Democrats recently signed a letter demanding that Speaker John Boehner bring forward a vote for an increase in federal debt levels without any conditions for cuts or future spending curbs. Imagine their surprise when Boehner agreed and will serve up a bill that would provide enough borrowing to cover all of president Obama’s spending requests for next year without any preconditions.

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Ocean City braces for its yearly influx of 'June bugs'

Often unruly 'Senior Week' tourists bring big challenges, but also big business, officials say

OCEAN CITY —— The infestation has only just begun.

There were only a few of them on Ocean City's boardwalk Thursday night, but within a week, the incident reports will start to spike, and so will the alcohol citations for minors. Buses will become crowded again. Traffic will swell with unreliable drivers. The June bugs will have arrived.

An average of 4 million people come to this resort town every year — an estimated 200,000-250,000 this past Memorial Day weekend — but the crowd that local businesses and the town brace themselves for are the graduating high school seniors who, in a ritual exercise in excess, take over for several weeks in June.

"We've had years that are pretty hellacious," says Lee Gerachis, owner of Malibu's Surf Shop on the boardwalk. "I mean trouble. Each year is a different set of problems. Some years they all think they're UFC fighters, some years they think they're all hippies."

Loath to discourage any kind of business, especially after a soft 2009 summer, city officials and businesses welcome the young with doubled police presence, plainclothes officers checking in on clubs and bars, free PG-13 events for the entire month of June and foam parties instead of keggers.

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Trial of former Del. pediatrician postponed

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- The trial of a former Delaware pediatrician accused of sexually abusing scores of patients over more than a decade has been postponed because of a death in the judge's family.

Officials said Tuesday that the trial of former Lewes pediatrician Earl Bradley, which was scheduled to begin Wednesday, will now start next Tuesday, June 7.

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Del. woman killed in watercraft collision

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- State officials say a Millsboro woman has died following a collision between two personal watercraft on Rehoboth Bay.

Authorities said 31-year-old Min McManus was killed when her Sea-Doo watercraft collided with another Sea-Doo operated by 20-year-old Brandon Bennett of Millsboro.

The accident occurred Sunday afternoon near Herring Creek.

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Consumer Confidence Falls Unexpectedly In May

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 60.8 in May from a revised 66 in April. Economists had been expecting an increase to 67.

Baltimore Among Most Dangerous Cities

Last week FBI reported violent crime is down 5.5 percent nation-wide, but a new list of ten exceptions to that trend includes one city close to home.
At number eight for cities where crime rose: Baltimore, Md.
According to 24/7Wall St., Baltimore is ranked tenth for aggravated assaults, and fourth for murders, with 223 in 2010.
While that number is down from the previous year, the crime rate in the Charm City is the second highest, east of the Mississippi.
Flint and Detroit, Mich. hold the number one and two spots on the list, respectively.
Police polled on the issue say it boils down to money, and unemployment. Residents in all 10 cities make less than the national average, with jobless rates to rival.
from WTOP

Why Some People Are Mosquito Magnets

Some folks seem to be magnets for mosquitoes, while others rarely get bitten. What makes the little buggers single you out and not the guy or gal you're standing next to at the Memorial Day backyard barbecue?

The two most important reasons a mosquito is attracted to you have to do with sight and smell, says Jonathan Day, a professor of medical entomology at the University of Florida in Vero Beach. Lab studies suggest that 20 percent of people are high attractor types, he says.

Mosquitoes are highly visual, especially later in the afternoon, and their first mode of search for humans is through vision, explains Day. People dressed in dark colors -- black, navy blue, red -- stand out and movement is another cue.

Once the mosquito keys in on a promising visual target, she (and it's always "she" -- only the ladies bite) then picks up on smell. The main attractor is your rate of carbon dioxide production with every exhale you take.
Those with higher metabolic rates produce more carbon dioxide, as do larger people and pregnant women. Although carbon dioxide is the primary attractant, other secondary smells coming from your skin or breath mark you as a good landing spot.

Lactic acid (given off while exercising), acetone (a chemical released in your breath), and estradiol (a breakdown product of estrogen) can all be released at varying concentrations and lure in mosquitoes, says Day. Your body temperature, or warmth, can also make a difference. Mosquitoes may flock to pregnant women because of their extra body heat.

But with more than 350 compounds isolated from odors produced by human skin, researchers have barely scratched the surface behind a mosquito's preference for certain people, says Joseph Conlon, a medical entomologist and the technical advisor to the American Mosquito Control Association.

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2011 Commencement

May 31-June 3Wicomico Youth & Civic Center

Close to 1,000 students from Wicomico County high schools will receive their diplomas in commencement exercises held at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. Tickets are required for the event, held at 7 p.m. each night. Additional seating has been made available this year so that more family members can attend. For ticket information, please contact schools.

Tuesday, May 31: Mardela High School
Wednesday, June 1: Wicomico High School
Thursday, June 2: James M. Bennett High School
Friday, June 3: Parkside High School

Friday, June 10
Last Day of 2010-11 School Year

The last day of the 2010-11 school year will be Friday, June 10. Schools will be on a half-day schedule on June 8, 9 and 10.

Dismissal schedule* on half-days:Middle and high schools dismiss at 12:50 p.m.
Elementary schools dismiss at 1:30 p.m.

*Exceptions:11:30 a.m. Delmar Elementary Magnet students dismissed.
11:55 a.m. Delmar Elementary dismissed.
12:20 p.m. North Salisbury/Pemberton Elementary Magnet students dismissed. Pinehurst Special Learning Center dismisses.
12:30 p.m. Wicomico High/Wicomico Middle Special Learning Centers dismiss. ELL dismisses. Prince Street Elementary dismisses.
12:45 p.m. Willards Elementary dismisses.
12:50 p.m. Pittsville Elementary and Middle dismisses.

Tuesday, May 31: Mardela High School
Wednesday, June 1: Wicomico High School
Thursday, June 2: James M. Bennett High School
Friday, June 3: Parkside High School

Rise In Single Fathers Defies Historic Trend

More growth in single dads than in single moms in last decade

After he and his wife separated in 2007, Bruce Jordan, 37, entered a long custody battle for one of their children, Matthew, an active 7-year-old who loves watching "SpongeBob SquarePants" and other cartoons.

The father of seven children in all, Jordan, who lives in East Baltimore, says he felt he had been too absent from the lives of his other kids.
"As far as my son, I wanted to make a difference," Jordan said on a recent afternoon, clutching a water bottle and looking relaxed in a Nike T-shirt and jeans. "I didn't just want to be a father with seven children and not have any of them with me."

In taking over the day-to-day care and supervision of his child, Jordan has joined the increasingly large ranks of single fathers in Maryland. According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the rise in the number of Maryland families led by single fathers in the past decade outpaced the rise in single-mother families for the first time since at least 1970, as far back as the state data is available.

There are now about 47,200 single-father households in the state, an increase of nearly 6,000 over 2000, or 14 percent. The number of families led by single mothers increased by about 5,000 over the past 10 years, or 3.2 percent.

Though just 22 percent of single-parent households in Maryland are led by men, the data suggest more parity than ever before. Experts attribute the change to a more flexible court system where joint-custody arrangements are far more common, and to broader career options for women.
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Sarah Palin's Bus Tour Stops At National Archives, Mount Vernon And Baltimore

The former Alaska governor is believed to be headed to Philadelphia next. She continues to insist her patriotic-themed bus is not a campaign bus.

It's still unclear whether Sarah Palin's road trip is an educational family tour of historical America or a dry run for her potential Republican presidential bid.

But Monday, two things became clear: She will not shy away from unscripted encounters, and she isn't going let anyone know in advance where she's going as she wends her way across the country this summer.
In an impromptu news conference Monday evening in the parking lot of her Gettysburg hotel shortly after taking a four-mile run in steaming heat, Palin said she thought the current crop of Republican presidential contenders is "strong" and that any campaign she might wage "would definitely be unconventional and nontraditional, yes, knowing us, yeah, it would have to be."

And that was as far as she would go, leaving the former Alaska governor's intentions, like much of her bus tour, a mystery. Although she announced her "One Nation" tour with great fanfare on her website, Palin has refused to post information about her schedule, leaving reporters scrambling across the Eastern Seaboard to figure out her stops.

Her bus tour began for real on Monday after she spent Sunday, the ostensible start day, riding in a motorcycle procession for veterans and surreptitiously visiting Washington monuments. Her patriotic-themed bus, decorated with a blown-up image of the U.S. Constitution, pulled up to the National Archives in Washington at 9:30 a.m. on Memorial Day, half an hour before opening.
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Today's Survey Question

Should Presidential condolence letters be sent to families of service members who commit suicide?

Life Sucks

Traveling "Education" Salesman

Yesterday around 5pm, a heavyset white male named “Bryan” wearing a lanyard with some “official credential” like ID card affixed to it, came to my front door.  I live off of Mt Herman and Walston Switch Rd.  This slimy character engaged my wife in a conversation about education and held a clipboard with handwritten names, addresses, and even children’s names.  I found him hassling and pressuring my wife who was struggling with the tail end of nap time for my kids.  I told him to leave my property and to not come back.  He told me his last name after I asked and I conveyed my dismay by him being at my house on Memorial Day Monday trying to sell whatever it was that he was selling.  His comment back to me was, “Well I would like to think that then this certainly assures my freedom to be here then!”  I quickly retorted, “Not on my property!”  I told him I was going to call the Sheriff’s Office due to his suspicious nature and he quickly moved his fat ass down my driveway and to his car where he just stood continuing to argue with me.  I told him to leave my neighborhood as well.  He stated, “I am going to all of your neighbors!”  I told him that my neighbors wouldn’t tolerate his crap either.  I know it was hot yesterday, but this shady “Bryan” character was broke out in a full sweat this time.  I know a snake when I see one and something about this guy just screamed child abduction / pedophile / sex offender.  I would like to know if anyone else in the SBYNews blog area has had contact with this guy.  With the amount of name son his “list” I am sure someone else out there has talked to him.  I want to know his credentials and what he is doing in my neighborhood. 

“Bryan”

White male

602 270 pds

Brown hair

White Ford Taurus

Iowa tags “N11 ???”

**a lot of stickers /decals and junk on his car

Despite Gerrymander, VA Republicans Will Not Go Away

Dominant Democrats in Virginia's Senate were looking to put away their Republican rivals in redrawingSenate district lines. But some Republicans aren't going away quietly.

In at least one instance, a targeted Republican senator has moved out of a district where he'd have to challenge a fellow Republican senator.

Sen. Bill Stanley of Franklin County says he's renting a house 10 minutes from the home he owns so he can meet residency requirements to take on Sen. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Henry.

If Republicans can pick up two Democratic seats, they'll control the House of Delegates, the Senate and the governor's office for the first time in 10 years and give Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell the chance he's looking for to more easily enact his conservative agenda.

All 40 Senate seats are up for election this fall.

READ MORE …

Trio Nailed For Food Stamp Fraud

A trio from Stockton, California received sentences ranging from three to six years in prison for federal food stamp fraud. The case resulted from a joint investigation by the Agriculture Department's inspector general and the IRS criminal investigation section. Ahmed Kahn, his brother Mumraiz and his daughter Naheed operated a smoke shop. According to the Justice Department, they used it to buy food stamps from customers at 50 cents on the dollar. Then they redeemed the food stamps to the tune of $2.6 million. In one year, they reported $7,000 in food sales, but processed $718,000 in food stamps.The Kahns were also convicted of money laundering because they sent some of the money to Pakistan.

FEMA Pays Out More Than $643 Million In Katrina And Rita Fraud

A Senate panel approves a bill forgiving the debts of disaster assistance recipient who were overpaid by FEMA. It's called the 2011 Disaster Assistance Recoupment Fairness Act. GovExec reports bill sponsor Senator Mary Pryor of Arkansas tightened up language ensuring that debt would not be waived in cases involving fraud. Since hurricanes Katrina and Rita, FEMA has paid out more than $7 billion in aid. DHS' inspector general found $643 million in improper payments because of human error and fraud. The bill now goes before the full Senate.

Obama Administration Appointees Get Low Marks

Obama administration appointees don't impress senior career managers. The team which started arriving in 2009 gets lower marks from career managers than the appointees of the George W. Bush administration. That's according to a survey conducted by Government Business Council, part of Government Executive magazine. The survey asked 148 senior executives and GS-15s how the Obama appointees are doing. The appointees received an average grade of C. A third of the respondents gave them D or F grades. Their average of 2.0 compares to an average of 2.3 for the Bush appointees. Career managers cited a lack of appreciation for procurement and human resources rules on the part of appointees.

Air Quality Alert Issued For Tuesday In Delaware

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- An air quality alert has been issued across Delaware.

State environmental officials have issued a code orange alert for Tuesday, which means air pollution concentrations within the area could become dangerous for certain people. Children, the elderly, those with asthma or lung diseases are among those who could be most affected.

The alert says the effects can be minimized by avoiding strenuous activity and exercising outdoors.

Source

Maryland Advocates Eye Missouri Model As Juvenile Justice Solution

Ask some Maryland leaders interested in juvenile justice what they think of the state's system, and they say it's not working. Ask them how they'd reform it, and many point to the model used in Missouri. In Missouri, less than 10% of delinquents return to the Division of Youth Services within three years after release from a treatment facility. In Maryland, 56% are rearrested within three years.

Continue Reading...

BREAKING NEWS–4 Killed in Bus Crash on I-95

A commercial tour bus ran off Interstate 95 in Caroline County early today and flipped on its roof, killing four people and injuring most if not all of 53 others on board, Virginia State Police said.

All of the remaining people aboard the 60-passenger bus were taken to hospitals from Fredericksburg to Hopewell, except for the driver, who suffered minor injuries, said Sgt. Thomas Molnar, a state police spokesman. Passenger injuries ranged from minor to serious and life-threatening.
The northbound interstate was expected to be closed until at least noon at the site of the wreck, less than a mile south of  the Carmel Church exit at mile marker 104 in southern Caroline.

Traffic was being detoured at Exit 98 and placed back on 95 at Carmel Church.

The route of the bus and its owner or operator were not immediately released because authorities were still trying to notify family members about the 4:55 a.m. wreck, Molnar said.

Details were not immediately available on what caused the crash.

About 9 a.m. two funeral home vans arrived to transport those who were killed.

The wreck happened near interstate shoulder construction work, but state police said that was unconnected to the cause of the wreck, which was not immediately released.

from Frank Green @ the Richmond Times-Dispatch

BREAKING NEWS: Home Prices Fall For Eighth Straight Month

The Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas shows home prices fell a worse-than-expected 3.6% in March from a year ago.

CD Captures Sounds Of Ocean City

Recording lets you take a home a piece of your favorite vacation spot. WTOP's Michelle Basch reports.

Buy the CD online here, or at these Ocean City retailers: Donald's Duck Shoppe and Gallery at Gold Coast Mall, Souvenir City on the Boardwalk and the Life-Saving Station Museum.

Download

Virginia State Trooper Shot; Deputy Sheriff Is Suspect

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A Virginia State Police sergeant was shot and wounded Monday by an off duty Franklin County deputy sheriff, and the deputy then was shot by officers who had come to the aid of the wounded trooper, authorities said.

Sgt. M.K. Brannock's injuries were not considered life-threatening, police said.

The deputy, Jonathan A. Agee, 32, of Boones Mill, had been sought as a suspect in an earlier shooting when Brannock stopped him. Police said Agee shot Brannock just before noon. Agee then sustained life-threatening injuries after being shot by two state police officers who arrived to aid Brannock, police said.

Both men were taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. No other injuries were reported at the scene of the Interstate 81 shooting, which is being investigated by the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and a police shootings investigation team.

"The focus of investigators right now is piecing together the exact sequence of events leading up to both shootings," said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police superintendent. "This is a difficult day, needless to say, for Virginia's law enforcement community."

Media reports said traffic on Interstate 81 was backed up for 14 miles as vehicles were forced to detour off the freeway.

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More Adults Using Internet To Make Phone Calls

WASHINGTON - The land line telephone is slowly disappearing from American life, replaced by the cell phone. But, the cell phone may be on its way out too.
 
That phone on your hip or in your purse may soon be replaced with some other kind of device, smarter than your smart phone.
 
A new poll by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project shows 24 percent of adult Internet users have placed calls on the Internet, a major spike from just 8 percent four years ago.
 
"It's part of a longer term process where people are moving away from land line telephones to cell phones or Internet phones" says Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

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Could Giuliani Shake Up Republican Primaries?

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani tops a CNN/Opinion Research poll. Does that mean he has a shot at the White House?

How Do We Know Pakistan Terror Witness Is Telling The Truth?

Prosecutors knew the star witness in a U.S. federal court trial involving the 2008 Mumbai attacks had a tainted past. So FBI investigators scoured the world for evidence to corroborate his testimony.

 

Is David Coleman Headley telling the truth?

That question will continue to hover over a packed courtroom in Chicago this week as the 50-year-old Pakistani-American businessman resumes his testimony in a high-stakes terrorism trial involving the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The trial could have a profound impact on the troubled relationship between the United States and Pakistan because Headley has asserted that Pakistani intelligence officers played a key role [2] in the attacks.

By his own admission, Headley has credibility problems.

He is a former heroin addict and drug smuggler. He has juggled allegiances to the DEA, the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, al Qaeda and Pakistani intelligence. He has maneuvered among overlapping relationships with three wives [3], including the mother of his four children. To save himself from the death penalty, he has pleaded guilty to doing reconnaissance for the Mumbai attacks [4] and a plot in Denmark and is now the star witness against Tahawwur Rana, his boyhood friend and accused accomplice.

When the FBI arrested Headley in 2009, investigators were stunned by his insider’s knowledge of the Mumbai plot, which killed 166 people, six of them Americans. At the same time, however, they worried that his prodigious talent for deception could result in disaster in court, so they worked around the world to confirm as much of his account as they could.

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Health Care Rationing For Beginners

“Obama-care kills Medicare as we know it. Obama-care raids $500 billion from Medicare to spend on Obama-care, puts in place a 15-panel board to ration Medicare by unelected bureaucrats.

“Our budget, repeals the raiding, gets rid of the rationing board, preserves this program, makes no changes for a person 55 years of age or older and saves Medicare, by reforming it for our generation, so it’s solvent. The president’s plan does not save Medicare, it allows it to go bankrupt, rations the program and raids the program. We get rid of the rationing, we stop the raiding and we save the program from bankruptcy.”

That wasPaul Ryanon Fox News recently.

Ordinarily this wouldn’t be worth responding to, except to point out, asSam Steindid, that Ryan’s proposed budgetalso ”raids $500 billion from Medicare,” so the statement that “we stop the raiding” is, um, a lie. But it isn’t news that Paul Ryan has an issue with honesty, except perhaps forDavid Brooks.

But there’s a theme that is surfacing that goes something like this: OK, Ryan’s plan is extreme and has no chance. But we all know we spend too much on health care, and we have to spend less, which means that we have to ration care one way or another. Ryan does it by scrapping Medicare in favor of indexed vouchers; Obama does it by reducing Medicare payment rates and, more ominously, with “a 15-panel board to ration Medicare by unelected bureaucrats.”

On one level this seems true. We are projected to spend too much on health care, and we need to reduce those projections. And in one sense, we can call that “rationing.” As you learn in Economics 101, economics is about the allocation of scarce goods and primarily about using markets to allocate scarce goods. If you define rationing as the allocation of scarce goods (where everyone can’t get everything she wants), then obviously we have to ration health care. But just as obviously, we ration it already: we ration health care by denying most of it (except emergency care) to poor people, people without good jobs, people with preexisting conditions, and so on. So the statement that we have to ration care is unexceptional to the point of being meaningless.

But let’s move on to the issue of “we have to spend less on health care.” I’m going to get to the Affordable Care Act (“Obama-care”) and the Ryan budget, but first we need to take a detour through free market fantasy land.

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Criminal News Release

DATE & TIME: 5/30/2011 @ 2124 hours

LOCATION: 4648 Tyaskin Road, Tyaskin, Wicomico County, MD

CASE NUMBER: 1154003816

CRIME: 1. Burglary

2. MDOP
3. Assault on Law Enforcement
4. Resisting Arrest

VICTIM: Richard David Cruz

Accused: Wayne Watson Fadely, W/M, 26 YOA, of Tyaskin, MD.

BRIEF RESUME: On the above date and time, Troopers from the Salisbury Barrack were dispatched to the above address in reference to a neighbor dispute. Upon arrival it was learned through investigation that Fadely gained unlawful entry into the victim’s residence. Fadely was later located a short distance from the residence. While attempting to place Fadely under arrest, he became combative toward Troopers and resisted arrest. Fadely was transported to the Wicomico County Detention Center to appear before the Court Commissioner.

Governor Nominates New Transportation Secretary

Dover -- Governor Jack Markell has announced he is nominating U.S. Department of Transportation official Shailen Bhatt (pronounced "SHAY-linn BAT") to become Delaware's next Secretary of the Department of Transportation.

Bhatt has experience working on local, state and federal transportation issues and is currently serving as Associate Administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in Washington, DC. For the last two years, he has been responsible for setting policy and managing relationships with members of Congress and has been leading FHWA's efforts in reauthorizing the nation's surface transportation legislation.

"Shailen offers energy, experience and leadership," said Governor Markell. "Transportation plays a critical role in the daily lives of Delawareans. We face significant challenges in transportation. It was important for us to find someone with strong leadership skills ready to take on those challenges. Shailen offers us local, state and federal level experience. The job demands someone of his caliber."

"I appreciate the confidence Governor Markell has placed in me by nominating me for this important position," said Mr. Bhatt. "The challenges facing the Delaware Department of Transportation are real, but so too are the opportunities. If I have the honor to be confirmed by the Senate, I will work tirelessly on behalf of the people of Delaware. We will work to help DelDOT reach its full potential. I look forward to meeting Delaware Senators in the days ahead and, if confirmed by the Senate, to spending time with other elected officials, DelDOT employees, civic and business leaders and the transportation community and doing a lot of listening."

The Federal Highway Administration is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Through the Federal Aid Highway Program, the FHWA supports State and local governments in the design, construction, and maintenance of the nation's highway system. Bhatt played a key role in establishing the Federal Highway Administration's signature initiative on accelerated project delivery, called Every Day Counts (EDC).

Before joining FHWA, Bhatt served as a Deputy Executive Director with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) where he was responsible for advancing transportation projects and addressing regional transportation needs. During his time at KYTC, he helped oversee a record construction letting period for the state. Prior to that, he was Director of the Bowling Green/Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Bhatt is on the advisory committee of the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) and formerly served as a board member for Preservation Kentucky and the Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport. Bhatt currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Neelam.

Republicans Line Up for General Assembly Seats

Five Republicans are seeking the nomination to run for the newly created 22nd District state Senate seat. Three are seeking the nomination to run for the 99th House District seat of a retiring Democrat. Five are running for the soon-to-be open seat in the 98th House District.

But where are the Democrats?

Even Democrats are beginning to wonder about the shortage of candidates for the General Assembly this fall when all 140 legislative seats are on the ballot. A recent posting by Ben Tribbett, who runs the "NotLarrySabato" blog, questioned why so few Democrats had been recruited to run for the House of Delegates.

If the party chooses to nominate by a primary, it doesn't have long to do so. Candidate declarations can be filed with the State Board of Elections beginning June 7. The deadline for filing in a primary ends eight days later, on June 15.

Not to worry, said Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax. The party is still recruiting and still has time, he said.

"We have a ... good candidate in the 22nd, and he is going to win," said Saslaw. He has not announced yet.

The 22nd is a new Senate district that stretches from Louisa County through a broad swath of central Virginia to Lynchburg.

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Wicomico Council Budget Session Today

The Wicomico County Council is scheduled to have a budget work session today from 9AM – 3PM in the council chambers of the GOB.  Most of session will be be spent on the usual thorough, watch paint dry, topics of county government.  Two items should prove particularly “interesting”:

• County Executive Rick Pollitt is to appear at around 10 AM.  He is scheduled to make a pitch for his department’s budget and present a plan to restructure his office.  Harford County Executive David Craig is scheduled to present Pollitt’s pitch for re-structuring.
  
• At approximately 12 Noon, the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) is scheduled to appear before council.  We expect this to be quite “interesting” in light of information learned this weekend.  Look for a special post at 8 AM this morning to provide details.