DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
40 comments:
This post needs to stay at top of the blog until the next election cycle. Keep voting the local morons with no real experience at running anything and this is what you get.
This is the problem. Anyone making real money does not live in sby. We will keep getting rookies that run and are elected.
Don't limit this to just Salisbury, but the entire lower shore from Dorchester county on down. There are no jobs here except service jobs and they don't pay squat!
Wow, that's pretty grim. Wages are about 30% lower than the USA average, yet rent is over 10% higher. There's a serious problem.
I'd like to see these same figures, graphed over the past 25 years, with possible influences noted chronologically. Events such as ECI opening in Somerset County (the influx of convicts into Salisbury), the closing of the old Salisbury Mall, and so on.
And the crime rate by demographics, to show the correlation with the increased population of convicted felons coming out of ECI.
Wonder if Zillow tracks elections, just got an email that my home value just dropped yet again, I live in the city.
It's a liberal bastion that's decaying like other liberal bastions.
Man....thats a pretty bleak report. That being said, I place blame squarely on the leadership of this community. The games they play with each other and against each other while in office have spiraled out of control, and sadly, its going to take a long time to repair. Day is not the answer. Ireton is not the answer. Quality, conservative leadership will bring Salisbury back from its pitiful death, but even that will take a decade to accomplish.
Salisbury is like a bad TV show.If we don't like it we change the channel.If anyone hates it too much, move.No one said you have to stay.
That ridiculous 11:36. Some people are not in a position to leave so don't even try to simplify the problem with such an inane statement.
The first step that needs to be taken in an attempt to turn these dreary statistics around is for officials to focus on getting in employers whose business does NOT depend on the local economy. Bars, restaurants, etc aren't going to cut it. They will do zero to stimulate the economy. Same with retail. Rt 13 has grown into a dining/retail strip for many miles and the whole time this was occurring the economy became stagnant and then tanked.
When you think about it, Salisbury isn't on the way to anywhere but the beaches on the Eastern Shore or a place to drive through on the way to points further south or north to avoid the I-95 congestion areas. It's not in the main flow of commerce. It's easier to remove the raw materials (Agriculture/Seafood) and have them processed elsewhere, closer to the main flow of resources. This whole area is the end of the line. Major manufacturing isn't coming out here unless given government incentives, not when you have to ship everything in to be manufactured and ship back out again. There is nothing out here that can't be provided by some other location especially when the eastern shore is so isolated.
Every other city and town on the Shore (maybe excepting OC, and even they're in financial downturn) has the same dreary statistics, some even worse. To put the blame on local government is a cop out.
It's been a busy day for me and I'm just now getting around to these comments.
I think all of you are starting to get it.
Salisbury is all about the special interests. You can clearly see the select few that are actually living the American Dream, with a major exception to the blacks.
I'd love to know NAMES. I'd love to know how many, (if any) of the higher income people are WOMEN. I'd love to know what current and former politicians have property inside and outside of Salisbury and the developers who built them.
You see, THIS is why the special interests couldn't allow a Joe Albero to get elected. Yesterday was more proof that their scare tactics have worked and they have bullied their way to the top and or should I say, in control.
Your republican club can't/won't even pony up a candidate, HELLO!
We at Salisbury News have at least provided a platform in which you can comment anonymously without fear of retaliation.
Look at how things are done now. Salisbury News is forbidden to talk to the Police Chief or ANY Officer or they will be fired. Same goes for the Sheriff's Deputies. The same can be said at the Board of Education, PRMC or ANY Department Head within the City. The Mayor refuses to allow us to receive ANY Press Release and or question anything ongoing within the City.
WHY, because they are scared to death we'll expose the truth. They have control of everyone else in the media and the sad part is, we get to the bottom of everything anyway and well before anyone else. Think back of ALL of the stories the rest of the media either covered up or took weeks and months to finally get under enough pressure they had to expose is. CRIME is a perfect example. Do YOU know if crime is up or down since Sheriff Lewis was elected, NO!
Nevertheless, we stick our necks out like no one else. We do so for free. 10 years of lawsuits, (all of which we have won) arrests, peace orders and death threats like there's no tomorrow. Heck, we've had several people flat out quit with Salisbury News because they witnessed all the death threats first hand.
It's a shame all of you have to experience life as it existed back in the 1940's and 1950's TODAY. I grew up in an Italian Mafia Family and let me assure you, I'd feel a lot safer with them in charge as well as much wealthier then these group of political thieves and their special interest partners.
Salisbury Maryland is the next Prince Georges County, you wait and see.
The local elitists are not going to let Salisbury grow.Their view is they have made their money and don't want to see it become another Annapolis with traffic and population.
3:42 -
What are you smoking -- look at Sussex County, it's booming.
Joe, how are you comparing Salisbury to P.G. County
6:24, crooked politicians and police. Special interests making millions. You just had one officer arrested and charged with embezzling money. Other officers have lost cases for assaulting citizens. Taxes through the roof and property values plummeting. Foreclosures left and right. No need to go on.
The BIGGEST thing Hogan could do is to streamline Maryland's police organizations. WHY are there SO MANY? Compared to Delaware's single State Police, Maryland must fund stovepipe infrastructures for up to 5 different police organizations. Why different cop cars? Why different uniforms? Why different HR rules? Why different HQ buildings? You can go on and on with these type of questions but, in the end, a cop is a cop responsible for the safety of the citizens in Maryland.
Take time to notice that traffic mishaps in West OC are attended by County, State, (and sometimes OC) cops.
Our BOE "higher ups" have great salaries for this area but the teachers and classified have been left to scrounge for what is left. When you have employees that haven't had but 1.8% cost of living increase since 2008, but a school district that can afford to go into the busing business you have to say "umm". Your school district is only as good as your employees that are in the trenches. Those educating your children are making less than surroundings counties. The classified employees make less than Somerset county. As the old saying goes....you get what you pay for. Remember all of those employees are tax payers and do put money back into the economy. The BOE has a lot of classified employees that have to use government assistance because the salaries are so low.
Fudging crime stats to suit the grants they apply for.
7:21 Please don't compare the teachers' salaries to other positions in the schools. Contractual employees don't make enough to feed a pet, let alone a family. Often these employees are kept as permanent part-time staff and laughed at when they request a full-time position after years of service. Teacher's assistants make 1/3 or less of a teacher's salary. Teachers who feel that they are "left to scrounge for what is left" should consider the poverty rate of the students in the county and at the desks in front of them. Stop asking those families to pay more and more and more to boost already sufficient salaries and programs that may not even provide what this population needs to pull themselves out of poverty.
Those statistics are horrible, but can someone explain to me how we have 32% of income going to rent compaired to 21% for US and 19% for MD; yet at the same time have only marginally more cost burdened rental households?
The same goes for county employees. Keep in mind we have a chef at the civic center making 85k a year along with a long list of hi paid salaries at the same location as the blue collar workers in the same building struggle to make ends meet.No freshly painted with new furniture office for any of them. Just some left over chicken and rice and another list of thankless jobs to do.
Joe,
Everyone knows (or does now) that you do this for free. And with the number of hits on this site, you must be doing something very right.
Keep their feet to the fire. You know we ain't gettin' the skinny anywhere else but here. Great efforts and great work.
I'll cheer THAT.
9:22PM Rental housing is like this because our slum lords can get $2000.00 for a 3 bedroom house (and not even a nice house) by renting to students but if he rented to a family he could only get about $800.00 per month. Even at $800.00 a month that is a lot for families in this area with the wages. This city is going to be a college town and no families will be able to live in it at the rate these crooks (landlords) are going. They would rather have students partying and destroying because they know rich little mommy and daddy will bail them out than a family that will take care of it. I know someone that rented an apartment last year for $760.00 and the year lease ended where now they raised the rent to $831.00. This person makes the same amount of money they made last year. No regulations on rent is another of the problems. In other words government has given the landlords a license to steal.
Not all landlords rent to students. Don't want to rent, then stop spending money on things you don't need, save money and buy a house.
if the mayor wont lead this city to free us of crime( nearly worst in Maryland) no job creator wants to be in Salisbury AND the DOWNWARD SLOPE continues. IF YOU CANT MOVE, MAKE SURE YOUR KIDS DO WHEN THEY LEAVE HOME. THIS MAYOR IS A CURSE TO THIS CITY. The right leader could plot a new course and it will take some time. The time is now to take the first step. mister mayor resign tomorrow
11:23, the arrogant child mayor will not resign. He is running for council (again). Pray he does not make it. Barrie Tilghman started the destruction of the city. Ireton is finishing it.
When he is done, he plans to go on in politics because he thinks he is God's gift to the Democrats.
Does the Wicomico County Income Distribution include the same income distribution as Salisbury? Either way that is a significant number of residents making $200,000 a year plus. Who makes that kind of money? WTF am I doing wrong?
Maybe because salisbury is in wicomico county. Either you don't own a business or you don't have an advanced/professional degree.
It's the result of years of promoting subsidized apartments and letting the slumlords run things under Barrie and the Dream Team and more recently Ireton and Day-Mitchell and Shields.
Unfortunately all four of those incumbents could be elected again this time - two have no opposition. Salisbury is now in free fall.
Covering for Gillis Gilkerson so they could finish a project while breaking the law on a daily basis.
The Mayor and Council have only been concerned about butterflies and rainbows and not REAL issues that make a City desirable to live in. They appease every special interest as long as it fulfills the Mayor's agenda to promote the Downtown area and bike trails... I'm all about revitalizing Downtown Salisbury, but not at the expense of EVERYTHING else. Bringing businesses downtown is only going to employ a few people as opposed to major manufacturing, technology and industrial companies that are leaving this area at an alarming rate. Ireton has done everything possible to deter and push away the larger businesses that employ the lower end of our society. His last genius idea hasn't even fully hit us yet - yes, I'm talking about the rain tax! You know, the tax that isn't mandatory by the State anymore, but Ireton decided that it would be a good idea to be the ONLY city in Maryland to follow through with it so he could increase revenue for his spending habits. Each residential property owner can expect a $20 "fee" sneaked into their tax bills, but the commercial/industrial property owners are the ones taking the biggest hit. A lot of property owners are seeing increases of THOUSANDS of dollars on their tax bills and NOBODY is exempt from this "fee." I heard rumor that the Mall's rain tax is in excess of $20,000!!! Basically for every acre of impervious surface (as conveniently determined for you by the City) non residential property owners will be charged about $260. It does not take a economic analyst to know that this does not promote business - this tax WILL HAVE ZERO POSITIVE IMPACT ON BUSINESS IN SALISBURY! PERIOD! Personally, I have a $660 increase on my tax bill from this rain tax and I would like to extend a big middle finger to Ireton. My property will be going on the market shortly (hopefully somebody is stupid enough to buy it) and I will be moving my operations and taking my 62 employees 5 minutes north to Delaware as soon as possible.
DA BURY IS DETROIT
Anyone making 200.000 in Wicomico Co., let alone Da'bury is very overpaid.
If people didn't rent for $2000, then those prices wouldn't exist. But they are... so...
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall , all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put Salisbury or the U.S. back together again.
Way too late to recover , stock up folks food and ammo .
Should be a lot of good changes here since Jake needed no special interest money to win.
11:52. You are very ignorant.
All true including many comments. But it isn't news. Salisbury and Wicomico have had similar stats for decades. Administrations come and go. Excitement builds around plans for improvement, that fail and excitement dies. There is a long list of issues that each need to be fixed before any plan has a shot of success. In other words, the conditions have to change at a foundational level before it can be built upon. My two cents: start with low hanging fruit, involving crime. MD practices a "catch and release" policy where the worst offenders are caught in Baltimore and then released at the gate of the prison in Pokomoke rather then being shipped back to the home from whence they came, and many wind up in Salisbury. Get the help of the Governor to change this simple thing and every so slowly good policing can thin the ranks of the bad guys with less replenishment of the pond.
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