NEW TROOPERS TO GRADUATE TOMORROW

(SYKESVILLE, MD) -- Colonel Marcus L. Brown will preside over his first graduation as Superintendent of the Maryland State Police this Friday as he presents badges and diplomas to 52 new state troopers. The trooper candidates have completed six months of rigorous training in a residential police academy that demands their very best. Families, friends and fellow members of the Maryland State Police will be present at the graduation ceremony.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Special Agent In Charge Rick McFeely, of the Baltimore Office of the FBI. SAC McFeely is a terrorism expert, in addition to his many other accomplishments during his FBI career. He is an important partner in Maryland’s efforts to protect the state from terrorism and reduce violent crime.


WHAT: MARYLAND STATE POLICE
137TH TROOPER CANDIDATE CLASS GRADUATION

WHEN: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: CENTURY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
355 RONSDALE ROAD
SYKESVILLE, MARYLAND 21784

DIRECTIONS: Take I-695 to I-70 west and exit at Route 32/Exit 80, travel north on Route 32 to Route 26/Liberty Road and turn left, proceed to Linton Road and turn right, proceed to 4-way stop sign and turn left onto Ronsdale Road.

The GOP Is Trying To Rig The Electoral College

Like Poe’s purloined letter, the Republican plan to heist the 2012 presidential election sits before us in plain view. And going Poe one better, it is perfectly legal.

The first part of the strategy has been unfolding for months. Since the 2010 elections brought Republicans to power in numerous swing states, officials in many of those states have made it harder for minority, poor and young voters to cast their ballots. GOP governments have been curtailing early voting (in Ohio and Florida) and requiring voters to produce official photo-identification cards (in Wisconsin). In South Carolina, the poll tax lives again: Voters who want an official photo-ID card must present a passport or a birth certificate, neither of which can be obtained for free.

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Dollar Rises As Global Stock Markets Plunge

WASHINGTON (AP) - The dollar is rising against the euro and other major currencies as a selling spree in global stock markets increases demand for lower-risk investments.

Asian and European markets plunged early Thursday as traders absorbed the Federal Reserve's bleak assessment of the U.S. economy. U.S. shares followed, with indexes sliding more than 2 percent by midmorning.

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Former Maryland Officer Pleads Guilty In Cigarette Case

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A former Prince George’s County police officer has pleaded guilty to helping transport and distribute untaxed cigarettes and alcohol in Maryland and elsewhere.

Chong Chen Kim of Odenton pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring with others to commit extortion and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Kim, a police officer for 16 years, acknowledged in a plea agreement that between July 2009 and January 2010 he conspired with six others to carry out the scheme, including another officer, Richard Delabrer.

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Marijuana Delivered To Bengals WR Simpson's Kentucky Home

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – Cincinnati Bengals players Jerome Simpson and Anthony Collins were detained by authorities after a package containing 2.5 pounds of marijuana was delivered to Simpson's home in Crestview Hills, Ky., according to multiple reports Wednesday.

Michelle Gregory, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Justice, told the Cincinnati Enquirer that Simpson and Collins were present when a woman, identified as Aleen Smith, 27, accepted the package Tuesday.

According to the report, Gregory said Simpson gave officers consent to search the property, and they found six more pounds of marijuana and related items.

Neither player was arrested. The Bengals have acknowledged the reports but have made no further comment.

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Delaware Renewable Energy Board Meets

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) -- The oversight board for Delaware's Sustainable Energy Utility is set to consider the hiring of an executive director for the agency.

The SEU panel was to consider the executive committee's recommendation for executive director Thursday afternoon at the DNREC offices in New Castle.

The agenda for the meeting says the board may meet behind closed doors to consider personnel and negotiation information, including documents related to the applicants for the executive director post.

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Coast Guard Confiscates 4,355 Pounds Of Cocaine From Go-Fast Boat

MIAMI – The U.S. Coast Guard confiscated approximately 4,355 pounds of cocaine from a go-fast boat in the Caribbean Sea Wednesday.

The Coast Guard Cutter Bear was patrolling the Caribbean Sea when the crew received reports of a go-fast vessel in the area.

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Disability Benefits Battle Probed By I-Team

Lee Davis Eventually Approved For Social Security Benefits

BALTIMORE -- If you become seriously ill or injured and can't work, how will you pay your bills?


You could apply for Social Security disability benefits. But the 11 News I-Team has discovered you could be turned down even if your doctors say you are disabled.

Lee Davis told WBAL-TV's Deborah Weiner that since an accident at work in 2003, he has lived with debilitating pain, neurological and spinal cord problems and temporary paralysis.


"I'm not the same person I was," said the 46-year-old former truck driver.


The main provider for his Harford County family for nearly half his life, Davis has been unable to work for four years, though he tried to return. He and his wife, Vicki, an oil company bookkeeper, find themselves on the verge of losing their home, Weiner reported.

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SaveFarmFamilies.org Adds Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc.,

SaveFarmFamilies.org Adds Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc., Worcester County Farm Bureau and Wicomico County Farm Bureau to Growing List of Supporters


Hudson Benefit Dinner Planned for October 1 in Ocean City, Maryland

Willards, MD (September 22, 2011) – SaveFarmFamilies.org has added Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. (DPI), the Worcester County Farm Bureau and the Wicomico County Farm Bureau, all powerful voices for the agriculture community, to its effort to raise funds for the legal defense of the Hudson family farm. The Hudsons are involved in ongoing litigation originated by the Waterkeeper Alliance, a New York-based activist organization that seeks to use the courts to push their radical agenda. “We are very pleased to join other agriculture leaders in support of SaveFarmFamilies.org to defend our family farms and to help raise money for the Hudson‟s legal defense,” said DPI Executive Director Bill Satterfield. “It‟s a known fact that the Waterkeepers are determined to end animal agriculture in this country and the Hudsons appear to be collateral damage in their larger efforts. We need to highlight their tactics and put them on notice that we won‟t allow it to happen.”

SaveFarmFamilies.org, which is raising awareness around the Waterkeepers‟ bankruptcy-by-litigation tactics, has released a video on SaveFarmFamilies.org to depict just how damaging misguided litigation can be for farm families like the Hudsons.

“The outcome of the Waterkeepers‟ litigation will impact not only the Hudson farm, but also will resonate with all family farmers, suppliers, and related businesses for years to come,” said Lee Richardson, President of the Wicomico County Farm Bureau and SaveFarmFamilies.org member. “I think the SaveFarmFamilies.org video really puts the impact of this tragic situation involving the Hudsons into perspective and is necessary to show how the Waterkeepers‟ litigation could destroy family farming in America forever.”

The video outlines the detrimental impact that the Waterkeeper litigation has had on everyday life for the Hudsons, including financial burdens caused by legal bills, stress-related medical bills, and frozen credit for their farming operation due to the lawsuit, which they have been engaged in since early 2010.

“This lawsuit has serious consequences for real people and we are so glad to welcome our new supporters,” said Richardson. “We are going to make a stand against these radical groups who put their narrow agenda ahead of the facts, regardless of the consequences for the family farmer who works hard to put food on the table for the American consumer.”

In addition to fundraising efforts through the website, SaveFarmFamilies.org is also proudly supporting a benefit dinner sponsored by the Worcester County Farm Bureau from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 1st at the Hooper‟s Crab House in West Ocean City, Md. The all-you-can-eat benefit is the third of its kind and is an effort to raise additional funds for the Hudson‟s mounting legal bills.

“We are so happy to host a dinner in the Hudsons‟ honor,” said Daniel Holland, vice president of the Worcester County Farm Bureau and member of SaveFarmFamilies.org. “The farming community is a tight-knit group and we all understand the magnitude of this litigation – we will do everything it takes to make sure the Hudsons have the necessary resources to defend themselves against these out-of-town extremists.”

State May Fire Child-Support Staffers

Agency has poor record of collecting, monitoring benefits for poor

The head of the state office that collects child support acknowledged his agency has done a poor job collecting funds. Theodore Dallas, secretary of the Department of Human Resources, told a hearing in Annapolis Tuesday he will consider replacing employees to improve operations.

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How Facebook Is About To Change Even More

Facebook gave its News Feed a makeover Wednesday and many users got angry. How dare the social network suddenly change so much, after all? Well, we hope you saved some of your rage — because a lot more changes are going to be announced at F8, Facebook's developer conference, today.

The official announcements will start trickling in once Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the stage to give his keynote speech at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET, but there are already a lot of whispers regarding what's coming.

One of the key hints about all the announcements is F8's motto, which All Things D's Liz Gannes reports is "Read. Watch. Listen." This leaves us expecting a new way to consume text-based news, some sort of video component, and the long-rumored incorporation of music streaming.

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Man Charged With Trying To Run Over Attorney

As Steve Beatty returned his shopping cart to the Safeway Food Store in Pasadena on Sunday, he didn't give much thought to the dark 2010 Volkswagen Jetta coming his way.

The car, which police say was driven by 36-year-old Erik Smith of Glen Burnie, was nearly 100 yards away and the parking lot speed limit was 10 miles per hour.

"I didn't even think about him," said Beatty, a 42-year-old defense attorney in Baltimore City who ran unsuccessfully for Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge in 2004.

But Beatty found himself being chased by the Jetta. And Smith, who had no previous criminal history in Maryland, is charged with trying to hit Beatty with his car. Twice.

"It was the most bizarre thing I've ever experienced," Beatty said.

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Maryland On Pace For $195M Surplus In 2012; Caution Remains

Maryland government is on pace to post a $195 million budget surplus in the current fiscal year because tax receipt forecasts have improved.

But the state is scaling down estimates for future growth, expecting tax revenue to grow 2.8 percent in the next fiscal year. Comptroller Peter Franchot warned that lingering unemployment and other economic stagnation could continue to have an impact.

“Given this extraordinary degree of economic volatility and given the growing likelihood that conditions will worsen before they begin to turn around, I would strongly encourage our state’s leaders to proceed with the highest possible degree of caution as they prepare the upcoming budget,” Franchot said in a statement.

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Need Help Finding A Dog A Home

Our neighbor has been going through a very rough time (long drawn out story) and has some serious medical issues. He is having to go into a VA home temporarily until housing can be established and he is only upset about having to take his dog to the pound, TODAY. I started making calls yesterday and have people helping along with me, but time is running out. The dog is a 3 year old lab/pointer mix, stands about knee high, she is fixed and up to date on all shots. She is good with kids and used to being around other dogs, primarily an outside dog but she does go inside some. If you could help it would be greatly appreciated and would ease the mind of a man already carrying a lot of burdens on his shoulders that he should not have to deal with! He said his cell phone can be contacted, the number is 443-397-8246.
Thank you for any help you can give!!!

Fill In The Blank 9-22-11

I think local law enforcement is doing a _____ job.

Get Charged Up On The Downtown Plaza

With more than a dozen Charging Stations openly available on the Downtown Plaza, many seem to be taking advantage of the FREE power being provided by the City of Salisbury Taxpayers to no taxpayers.

We at SBYNews.com do NOT recommend anyone else take advantage of such opportunities as we believe it is illegal. You know, for people like you and me, taxpayers footing the actual bill.

For some reason I could see such a charge being challenged, since you asnd I are paying for the power anyway. Nevertheless, I strongly suggest NO ONE pull up in a Motor Home and start charging their vehicles, or cell phone, or extension cords running into your businesses and so forth.

Some have suggested lock boxes but I guess we'll have to wait and see what the City chooses to do. If you happen to work or live on the Plaza, (and you happen to be republican) and you have the ability to take pictures of people taking advantage of this free service, please send those pictures to alberobutzo@wmconnect.com.

BREAKING NEWS: Selling In Stocks Heats Up, Dow Down 400 Points

Stocks are at their session lows Thursday around midday, retreating on a host of concerns, primarily growing fears that global economies are on the cusp of recession. Oil and gold are plunging, while Treasury yields are near record lows. The Dow is down 400 points, or 3.6%, at 10723, and financial stocks are plunging.
From Fox News

Proof: Cracking Your Hiney Can Cause More Than Just Bodily Damage

Downtown Plaza Damage

This morning, severe structural damage was found on several foundations obviously caused by this Heineken bottle being crushed by bruit force.

More evidence the Plaza is under attack. Its no wonder the Mayor can't keep up. Tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, you wondered what was next, well, here it is. OH MY!

Senate Panel OKs Delay Of Crab-Picker Wage Raise

Measure would have made industry pay more for temporary guest workers

A new federal rule that would require crab-processing plants on the Eastern Shore and elsewhere to pay a higher wage to temporary foreign workers would be delayed for a year under legislation approved Wednesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Advanced by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, the measure was attached to a larger spending bill in the Senate and appears to enjoy bipartisan support. The rule, created by the U.S. Department of Labor, will take effect Oct. 1 unless Mikulski's change is approved.

"We're for everybody earning an honest wage," the Maryland Democrat said. But, she added, "80 percent [of the workers] come back every year. They must be satisfied."
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Washington Area Richest In Nation Last Year

The Washington region ranks as the wealthiest metropolitan area in the country, with half of the top 10 -- and four of the top five -- richest counties located in Maryland and Virginia.

Census data released Thursday show that it still pays to live in the nation's hub of lobbyists and government contractors, with its cocoon of federal government jobs holding steady in a slowly rebounding economy.

Loudoun County's median household income reached $119,540 last year, towering above the next closest, Fairfax County at $103,010 and followed by Maryland's Howard County at $101,771. Arlington County rounded out the top five with a median household income of $94,986 and Prince William County's was $92,655, ranking ninth.

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