Audit charter amendment headed for Council – again

“This is a dicey moment in time; we still do not have the support of the Mayor and Comptroller. I encourage to make ‘your views’ known on this matter – whatever they are – right now. . . If we do not pass this bill, Baltimore will be the only city in our country among 26 cities with populations of 600,000 or more who do not audit their city agencies on a frequent and routine basis.”
– Chris T. Delaporte

Mayor Rawlings-Blake, City Council President Young and Comptroller Joan Pratt stand squarely on the cusp of making or going down infamously in BMore History. Do the right thing!!!
– Kim Trueheart

“Only vermin want to hide in the dark. Let sunshine rain down on Baltimore. Its citizens deserve better government.”
– Whcampbell
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Unions blocked reforms that could have stopped fire closures, mayor says

“Blaming the unions? Is this mayor really a Democrat? Whenever she’s in a difficult spot she sounds like a typical Republican.”
– Bryce

“A 20 percent pay increase for a 33 percent increase in hours–from a little over what used to be the federal weekly hours maximum to 16 hours (two normal working days) more.”
– Eericson

“A true raise means you work the same hours, and receive an actual increase in pay — why does this need to be explained to the person who holds the highest office in the city?”
– Carol Ott

“Is anyone surprised the fire department doesn’t want to work on a 24-on/24-off shift considering the deal they have now? While I think SRB is a terrible communicator, it’s unfair to say that this idea doesn’t have some merit. Firefighters spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen. Might as well make them work more. Clearly the unions balked mostly because they had a great work schedule in place.”
– Andrew

“Actually Andrew, let me give you a different point of view; that one seems a little skewed. As a wife and sister to three men in the fire department you have no clue how hard the men work for Baltimore City. They run all day, come home take care of their families OR go to part time jobs because the city won’t pay them enough to pay the bills or put food on the table for a small family. The mayor has broken down brotherhoods, morals and the only thing that is dependable in this city. Why do they stay and do it? Not move to the county? Because they have dignity, heart and passion for this city and the job they do. Maybe if the mayor felt the same way about the city, we wouldn’t be in such turmoil right now.”
– anonymous

“The fire dept is already doing more work with no raises, since every time a company closes, that means the remaining companies must now pick up that call volume, and of course, next year they will be closing companies again.”
– Jg11
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BREW AUDIO: The Queen of East Baltimore

“Great story and great photographs. Way to seek out the hidden gems that make Baltimore the best city on earth. Good work Scott and Hanna.”
– Zeke

“Loved Bert!  What a character. . . I am also struck by JHU. The institution with the Alive Program is redeeming itself. It is recognizing the humanity in the poor and the addicted. By studying them and reversing or controlling their maladies, Hopkins is helping and also mining the unique and rich medical material that surrounds its precincts.”
– Unellu

“Bert is an inspiration in the best possible ways – intelligent, compassionate, funny, and a survivor. Thank you to Scott Goldberg for this story on her life.”
– diyadays

“This is amazing; please do more audio in the future.”
– Joe B.
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Ruppersberger joins in bashing bonuses for RG Steel execs

“Representative Ruppersberger is totally correct. RG Steel was run into the ground on PURPOSE by Ira and his gang of criminals. As I stated last fall, their business plan was totally ignorant. It was designed on purpose to destroy any hope of RG Steel making a profit. The deliberately did not start their most versatile plant at Mingo, destroyed Warren’s blast furnace, and ran their most expensive plant at SP, which sank the entire company. NOT ONE PENNY should be given to these bums.”
– Dr Raymond Boothe

“I can’t contain my anger. Is this the America that we live in now? Is this the ‘American Dream’ or ‘Way of Life’ that all of our ancestors died for? If I dont pay my taxes or my bills, there is no way I can expect to prosper so. . . why should they? I am so fed up with people exploiting and making a joke out of ruining the lives of hard working, American taxpayers and then getting away with it. . . They used the goods and services without paying. They now are planning to get bonuses? If PRISON isn’t in the future for these people, if they get these bonuses, if they get away with this, what next?”
– HardSteel

“Maybe we should all get out the ball bats and take a ride to Delaware for the next court date to ‘VOICE’ our frustration.”
– Wileycraneman

“These arrogant, sick bastards actually believe they are entitled to financial remuneration for destroying the careers and livelihoods of over 4,500 individuals and their families! All this while the so called teeth of our lion (USWA), just sits lazily in the corner of the room and permits the pilfering to continue unchecked, never even opening an eyelid!!”
– Hot Metal Guru (Jack Rose)
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Mayor to reappoint fire chief who closed fire companies

“20 million dollars in bonuses planned for the upper echelon of Sparrows Point even as the place is in receivership – the fire chief of Baltimore who plays footsie with SRB gets to keep his job forever-and-a-day with increases in his salary and benefits to boot! The rich get richer while the poor and the middle class are marked for burning by fire or dying by job insecurity and eternal anxiety.”
– Unellu

“How on earth could a mayor of a major city have so little political tact as to announce something like this on the very day the fire companies close? Is she just testing us to see how much it will take to get Baltimorons to show up at the ballot box?”
– Darlene

“So the issue here is that a mayoral appointee does what the mayor wants? Isn’t that the whole point of having appointees?. . . The City Council could eliminate the mayor’s power to appoint fire chiefs. Short of that, there is no way ANY fire chief will be able to *publicly* defy the mayor on important issues, because that’s the whole point of political appointments.”
– Lex Apostata

“I’m a big fan of the Brew, but the reporting on the Fire Company Closings has not at all been objective, so it’s hard for me to determine where to come down on the issue. . .  it’s not clear to me why the company closures are bad other than that ‘it risks lives’ or that the ‘Mayor sucks.’ How about reviewing some CitiStat or Open Baltimore data on fire calls for service from the past 5-10 years? Or comparing Baltimore’s fire company levels to that of other mid-Atlantic cities? And their salaries? And that of other first responders?”
– Guest

“Guest is someone from City Hall trying to turn the direction of the story. Two of the three companies closing are busier than the bottom third of medic units in responses. Under your theory then the medic units should be closed also. Truck 15 is the busiest in the state. Our chief got a HUGE raise because fire deaths are down. Well Chief Clack didn’t make that happen, it was the men in the field.”
– Bob

If you are a city fire fighter, you are complaining about the reduction of jobs in a shrinking tax base to which you probably contribute little. What percentage of fire fighters are city residents? 25 percent? At most? I think there is an excellent argument to be made that we spend excessively on fire infrastructure and that companies can be closed and/or moved. As to whether these specific cuts were the best ones. I defer to the experts.But what I find frustrating is the fact that few coherent alternatives are being proposed.”
– Lex Apostata

“The Fire Dept is already at bare minimum for the current population. Loosing 3 more is now past the danger zone for firefighters and citizens alike. The dept has been cut in half of its original size, as, yes, population has decreased, calls for service have increased, so your argument is pointless.”
– Jg11

My community requested a briefing on department response times and were told that Chief Clack declined to address the matter with us. He needs to either engage or find some other place to dispatch his unpopular edicts where the citizens are willing to be bamboozled by dictatorial mandates. . . NOT BMore!!!”
– Kim Trueheart
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Superblock tax break will cost $48 million, Stokes says

“The tenants there previously didn’t get any special breaks from the city, and they were doing fine before they were evicted. Also, Southern Management manages to profitably maintain the Superblock east of this project and a building west of this project, with no special breaks from the city. It’s sad that at this point I just want them to get their shady little deal through so something happens over there.”
– Jed Weeks

“While not a fan of this project something needs to happen there. If tax breaks are what it takes then so be it. Jed – both of those SMC properties received (and continue to receive) several tax credits including one for historical preservation.”
– Westside Resident

“Example of things that might be more deserving are unfortunately legion, but picking one – I’d rather they do a much smaller seed money enticement for ten-twelve blocks of Central Ave stretching up from the gold coast. Stage it so benefits go to smaller developers and prioritize local employment.”
– Bmorepanic

“I can’t believe I’m sticking up for Baltimore’s notoriously corrupt city-developer relationship, but saying that it will ‘cost the city $48 million’ is not really true? The city will be foregoing $48M in potential taxes – but, in theory anyway, those would be taxes on a development that would never happen if not for the PILOT process. It’s not like the city is writing anyone a $48M check, and it’s not like the city would be able collect $48M in taxes on the crumbling, mostly vacant buildings sitting on the site now.”
– jfruh

“If they lowered property taxes for the rest of us, they wouldn’t have to worry about vacant buildings. There would be an influx of homeowners.”
– Rebecca

“We should just have John Paterakis move the old Reads Drug Store down to one of his classy waterfront locations, he could turn the historic lunch counter into a combination Starbucks and Civil Rights Museum and make everybody happy!”
– Walter
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Where rats rule, residents await impact of $175M settlement

“It’s unfortunate that thousands of the city’s abandoned blighted homes are owned by the city, and have been for decades, along with a handful of slumlords who are not African-American. Until the City decides to stop selling off its blight to “investor” types who want to sit on a home until the market turns, or to turn it into marginal overpriced rental housing – nothing will change in these communities. Until then, decent people like Mr. Faison will continue to suffer.”
– Baltimore Slumlordwatch

“I stand second to no one in my contempt and loathing for Wells Fargo and the other banksters who destroyed the economy. Still, it’s not Wells Fargo’s fault that the current owner allows rats to run rampant in the building.”
– Lex Apostata

“Get your $ out of Wells Fargo.”
– srgoldberg via Twitter
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Inside City Hall: Round 2, Pratt vs. SRB

“Sequel coming. I can’t wait.”
– Kim Trueheart