It's About Time Ireton Followed A True Leader

Duncan, Ireton Submit $400,000 Plan To Address Retention And Recruitment For Salisbury Police Department

Mayor James Ireton, Jr. is pleased to announce that, working in conjunction with Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan, a preliminary plan to address retention and recruitment at Salisbury Police Department has been forwarded to the Salisbury City Council for their consideration at the September 4, 2012 work session at 6:15 PM at City Hall.

“Chief Barbara Duncan has done an exhaustive study of the issues of retention and recruitment and has made these recommendations to increase compensation to our rank and file, on the street officers. This plan will cost approximately $400,000 for 60 SPD officers – and it will be money well spent for Salisbury. The success of our Safe Streets Coalition and our return to community policing also has to be supported by compensation that is competitive with other jurisdictions. We are ready to answer questions from the City Council and look forward to addressing this issue quickly.” said Mayor Ireton.

“Over the past 4 years Salisbury Police Officers have worked tirelessly with allied agencies to address the issue of violent crime in our city, and that effort has started to pay off. As I approach my 2 year mark as Chief, and as we approach the 4th year in a row without an increase in compensation, I have worked with command staff to draft a proposal for an adjusted pay scale for SPD’s rank and file officers. Over the recent months the Salisbury Police Department has lost four seasoned officers to area law enforcement agencies and one officer to another profession for better pay and a lesser workload. In large measure this activity is due to the combination of a very high workload and comparatively low salary scale. This proposal, with approval by Mayor Ireton, is being drafted for the Salisbury City Council, in an effort to retain productive and quality law enforcement officers, invest in the future of the city and reduce liability inherently associated with the revolving door style of the continuous new recruit training cycle.” said Chief Duncan.

Global Christian Group Takes Up Cause of 11-year-old Down Syndrome Girl Facing Execution in Pakistan

An international coalition of churches representing more than half a billion Christians will meet in Geneva next month to take up the plight of an 11-year-old Christian girl who faces execution under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

The World Council of Churches called the meeting to discuss Pakistan’s brutal blasphemy laws and, in particular, the case of Rimsha Masih. Masih, who is believed to have Down syndrome, has been in jail for allegedly burning pages from a book containing Islamic scripture. The case has generated international condemnation, but the fundamentalist firebrands behind her imprisonment seem immune to criticism, much less diplomatic efforts.

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Ford On Track To Beat Toyota With Best-Selling Car

Ford Motor Co. says its Focus small car is on track to become the best-selling car in the world this year, trumping the Toyota Corolla.

Ford sold 489,616 Focus sedans and hatchbacks worldwide in the first half of 2012. That was almost 27,000 more than the perennial best-seller, the Toyota Corolla.

Ford made the announcement at its assembly plant in Rayong, which opened in May to build the Focus. The Thailand plant, which is one of Ford's most advanced, has the capacity to produce 150,000 cars per year for sale in Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and other countries in the region.

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State Department: 'Hold Down The Fort,' Other Common Phrases Could Be Offensive

Watch your mouth -- everyday phrases like "hold down the fort" and "rule of thumb" are potentially offensive bombshells.

At least according to the State Department.

Chief Diversity Officer John Robinson penned a column in the department's latest edition of "State Magazine" advising readers on some rather obscure Ps and Qs.

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Apple Refuses to Approve App That Alerts You to U.S. Drone Strikes

Have you ever cared to know every time there was a U.S. drone strike? Perhaps not, but an app that could have informed you of every drone attack launched by the U.S. with statistics on the location, result and fatalities has been rejected — three times.

What would be the point of such an app?

“I thought reaching into the pockets of U.S. smartphone users and annoying them into drone-consciousness could be an interesting way to surface the conversation a bit more,” Drone+ app developer Josh Begley told Wired.

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Affirmed: Study That 'Gay' Family Children More Troubled

The University of Texas at Austin says it has investigated and found no evidence of research misconduct in a study that found adult children from “gay” families are “more apt to report being unemployed, less healthy, more depressed, more likely to have cheated on a spouse or partner, smoke more pot, had trouble with the law…” than children from traditional mom-and-dad households.

“The University of Texas at Austin has determined that no formal investigation is warranted into the allegations of scientific misconduct lodged against associate professor Mark Regnerus regarding his July article in the journal Social Science Research,” the school announced yesterday.

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Climate Report Finds Assateague Island’s Future In Doubt

ASSATEAGUE -- A rather ominous report released this week on climate change and the associated sea-level rise along the Atlantic coast paints a grim picture for Assateague Island if the trend is not reversed, or at least stabilized, in the near future.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, on Wednesday released a new report on the potential long-term effects of climate change and sea-level rise on a handful of popular national seashores along the Atlantic Coast including Assateague. Called “Atlantic National Seashores in Peril-The Threats of Climate Disruption,” the report examines data collected over the last few decades and projects the research into the future in an effort to determine proposed impacts of temperature increase, an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms and sea-level rise on Assateague and similar barrier islands along the Atlantic coast visited by millions each year.

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Armed Bystander Stops Stabbing Outside School

A woman is in critical condition after she was stabbed outside her child's school Tuesday morning.

The attack happened around 10:00 a.m. Tuesday outside the Bonham Academy on St. Mary's Street. Teresa Barron, 38, had just dropped off her child at the school when the child's father showed up, and the two got into an argument. The child's father, 38-year-old Roberto Barron allegedly then stabbed the woman several times in the upper body and neck area.

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Joe Biden In Florida

RNC 2012 Ratings Lag Far Behind 2008's

On Wednesday, nearly 20 million viewers tuned in to the 10 p.m. hour for Paul Ryan’s speech at the Republican National Convention. Four years ago, 37 million people -- 17 million more viewers -- tuned in to view Sarah Palin’s RNC address in Minnesota. 

According to Nielsen, only FOX News and ABC improved their ratings from Tuesday night, when nearly 22 million viewers tuned in to see Ann Romney speak. Meanwhile, viewership across every network was down from 2008. According to Nielsen, FOX News was down 1.5 million viewers, NBC 3.5 million, CNN nearly five million, ABC three million, CBS two million, and MSNBC about two million.

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Star-studded fundraiser in New York to Benefit Same-Sex Marriage in Maryland

A long list of top-flight celebrities are headlining a fundraiser planned in New York next month to benefit the campaign for same-sex marriage in Maryland.

Those advertised to attend include Julianna Margulies and Josh Charles, co-stars of “The Good Wife” on CBS. Sarah Jessica Parker, best known for her work on HBO’s “Sex & The City,” is expected to be on hand as well. As are actors Julianne Moore (who played Sarah Palin in the HBO movie “Game Change”), Edward Norton and Susan Sarandon.

Barbara Bush, daughter of the former president, is also scheduled to attend, along with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and about two dozen other same-sex marriage advocates from the worlds of sports, fashion, movies and television.

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Texas Voter ID Ruling Based On 'Faked' Data

A radical group that has a history of biased research provided data utilized in a federal case in which the court yesterday blocked a new voter ID law in Texas, ruling the state failed to show that the law would not harm the voting rights of minorities, WND has learned.

The voter ID data collected by the group, the Brennan Center for Justice, has been called into question by experts and has been contradicted by other credible studies.

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Free Vitamins Program Launched For Students

Apple Discount Drugs, a locally owned and operated pharmacy, has announced the kick-off of a free vitamins program for students in Wicomico and Worcester counties.

The program was developed to help keep kids healthy and in school. Wicomico and Worcester school officials have partnered with the pharmacy to make parents with students in prekindergarten through the sixth grade aware of the free vitamins program.

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DNC Chair Stonewalls Conservative Media... at RNC

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Chair of the Democratic National Committee, showed up on radio row at the Tampa Convention Center at the Republican National Convention today and promptly insisted that any conservative media be ushered away. Her assistants reportedly required that National Public Radio – NPR! – issue a list of questions before Wasserman Schultz would do a sit-down. And when conservative media crowded around Wasserman Schultz, eager to ask the Chair of the DNC a question or two, her handlers complained loudly to staff, questioning why Wasserman Schultz should even be in earshot of the conservative rabble.

On radio row. At the Republican National Convention.



Scott Hogenson, the professional volunteer for the RNC who dealt with Wasserman Schultz’s aides, told the aides, “I can’t exactly tackle 30 or 40 reporters. This is a media gaggle.” As Hogenson spoke, the exchange was overheard by veteran ABC News Radio reporter Steven Portnoy, who could be seen shaking his head.

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WBOC To Recycle Salisbury News At 6

Tonight at 6 PM WBOC will do the story about handicapped chilldren. Oh wait, we did that yesterday. Nevertheless, they'll have faces and voices.

Just kidding. I think it's important that as large an audience as you can get on this topic is in the best interest of Wicomico County.

Just remember that Michelle Wright cowardly voted to keep Dr. Fredericksen and then left the Board and resigned.

At this point Dr. Fredericksen couldn't care less what you think because by the time it comes around to vote again in 4 years you'll have forgotten how disrespectful he is towards handicapped children.

While there have been many comments on that topic I just want you to think. Imagine you were tied to a wheel chair, (as one comment suggested) and there was NO WAY for you to move. I'm not saying the Fire Department would ever ignore you BUT THINK of what would be racing through your mind while there is fire all around you.

Here's what I think. I think that there would be enough young Eastern Shore kids that would disrespect Dr. Fredericksen's wishes and they would simply go ahead and rescue those kids FIRST. Why, because that's the kind of people we have here on the Eastern Shore Mr. Fredericksen. You just go ahead and put them in a stairwell. By the time the Firefighters got there I'm sure you'll find them safe and sound outside the building.

The Teachers will be counting students and saying, don't worry about the handicapped kids, the Firefighters will get to them. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!

Recycled News at 6 on WBOC.

Michael Moore: 'Get used to saying President Romney'

TAMPA, Fla. – What a difference four years make.

Early signs emerging from Democrats during the Republican National Convention indicate the White House and influential activists are in a panic, fearing that Gov. Mitt Romney is increasingly likely to emerge victorious Nov. 6.

The Obama campaign has sent out a fundraising email by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., warning Democratic supporters that Obama is in the process of being “Swift-Boated” by conservative PACs, while filmmaker Michael Moore has predicted in a Huffington Post interview that Romney will win.

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New Branch Promotion Turns ATMs Into No-Lose Slot Machines

How can you spice up a routine visit to the ATM? Easthampton Savings Bank in Massachusetts is promoting a new branch by turning its ATM into a sort of no-lose slot machine. They call it the "ATM Gone Mad," because sometimes it will dispense $50 bills in place of the normal $20 bills. Cute promo. One local blogger finds it amusing that this is going on around the same time that the nearby city of Springfield is considering a downtown casino proposal from MGM Grand. All of the fun of gambling, none of the risk of financial ruin. But what's the fun if there's no chance of destroying your family's future?

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Berlin Seeks Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Dismissal

Less than a week after the Berlin Mayor and Council voted to cease all financial aid to its fire department ,citing hostile working conditions and hints of discrimination and harassment, town officials filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit at the heart of the issue.

In May, the town terminated EMS supervisor Norris Phillip Donohue, Jr. after 23 years on the job after at least two EMS employees filed formal complaints about alleged workplace harassment and discrimination. The allegations of harassment and discrimination in the EMS department of the Berlin Fire Company (BFC) were cited as a primary reason for the town’s decision last week to pull all funding for the entire fire company. However, the BFC alleges the town’s decision to defund it was based on control of the scheduling and operations.

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Paul's Backers 'A New Force' In Virginia GOP

TAMPA, Fla. -- They're young, energetic and, increasingly, a healthy slice of the Republican Party.

Virginia supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who sought the GOP presidential nomination, have in recent years begun to shift from campaigning to organizing. They have made inroads in local and state politics and hold a visible presence here in Virginia's delegation to the Republican National Convention.

Paul is allotted three delegates based on vote totals in Virginia's GOP primary in which he finished second to Mitt Romney, but one supporter estimates that roughly two dozen of the 49 delegates and 46 alternates in Tampa are Paul backers.

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Maryland Reports 1st West Nile Virus Death

Maryland health officials are reporting the state's first death from the West Nile virus.

State health department spokeswoman Dori Henry said Thursday that the department is not releasing any details on the death. Maryland has had 13 cases of West Nile virus so far this year. Nineteen cases were reported last year and 23 the year before in Maryland.

Federal officials announced Wednesday that West Nile cases nationwide are up 40 percent since last week and may rival the record years of 2002 and 2003.

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