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A Maryland Congressman leads the charge to turn hatemongers away from military funerals.Good evening and welcome to Maryland Newsline.I'm Matt Brody.
And I'm Stephanie Woods.
Just last week.the Supreme Court ruled that free speech took precedent over the offensiveness of protests that are staged at the funerals of veterans by the members of the Westboro Baptist Church. Today.a Maryland Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger announced plans to introduce legislation he calls the "Safe Haven for Heroes Act." It puts limits on those protests. The Second District Congressman says his legislation would protect the privacy of military families without compromising freedom of speech.
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That's why we have people fighting in Afghanistan.to protect the first amendment. But this bill would limit speech at military funerals to a specific time and place.
It's heart rending.to put their loved ones into the ground and have these crazy people want to take it away from them.
Ruppersberger says his proposal could well end up before the Supreme Court if it's passed by Congress and signed by the President. But he also says he expects it will hold up in court.
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The father of a Maryland Marine whose funeral was picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church is saying he WON'T pay the Church's court costs.even though he may be legally obligated to after losing the Supreme Court Case against them. A lawyer for Albert Snyder, who filed the initial lawsuit in Maryland, said that they simply won't write Westboro a check.and that they're going to make the Church work for it.
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Marylanders can feel a bit safer tonight. A man suspected of brutalizing women from Prince George's County to Connecticut is off the streets.
Thirty-nine year-old Aaron Thomas.the suspected "east coast rapist".is in jail in New Haven Connecticut. Police say a D-N-A sample from a tossed cigarette linked Thomas to more than a dozen rapes and attacks in four states including Maryland since 1997. His bail is set at one-point-five-million dollars.
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Maryland's General Assembly is advancing a bill to require the governor's approval for violent offenders' parole. Prisoners serving life sentences face the possibility of getting out early at the hands of Maryland's parole board if the governor doesn't act within a 90-day window. Governor O'Malley said he is currently reviewing the proposal.
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Gun Day at the Maryland Legislature is the day each year that all gun bills are lumped together and heard in one shot. Today the House Judiciary Committee heard a dozen proposals. CNS-TV's Jessica MacLeod talked to those for and against the gun owners rights.
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The Baltimore City Police Commissioner came to support two bills today that would toughen up current gun laws. One bill backed by Governor O'Malley would penalize those who commit a violent crime with a long gun, like a rifle, with the same sentence as those who use a handgun.
we still seize and make a large number of arrests where people are indeed armed with long guns and assault weapons and more often than not, they're not on their way to hunt rabbits. And they're not going to a shooting range.
A Baltimore City police officer has a personal reason for showing his support for stronger penalties after an attack last year.
an individual who had been arrested about 10 times before, five of those were with handguns. Last one was an armed robbery. Only served two years. When he was paroled on November 10th, about two-and-a-half weeks later, he shoots me in full uniform. With his past, he still would have been in jail. And he was sentenced to 12 years for the armed robbery, six of those years were suspended and then he got out on good behavior.
every year, proponents of tougher gun laws present ways to tighten the loopholes to the legislature. and opponents are right there against them.
A 70-year-old firearm instructor from Bowie wants gun carrying laws to loosen up.
I cannot protect my wife here in this state. And it's wrong. And it's our position that Maryland should open up the permits to allow people who are qualified and pass minimum tests like background, fingerprint, whatnot, to have a permit to carry.
Another year, another hearing for Gun Day. In Annapolis, I'm Jessica MacLeod for CNS-TV.
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Sparked by the Arizona shooting, one bill the House Judiciary committee heard today was whether the legal size of ammunition clips would go down from 20 to 10.
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Capitol Hill came calling on Baltimore, today. Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform met to hear testimony about the foreclosure situation in Maryland.and get ideas on what to do about the problem.
There were nearly 30-thousand foreclosure filings in the State of Maryland in 2010. Prince George's County is among the hardest hit in Maryland's foreclosure crisis. Last year, the county handled almost 12,000 foreclosure applications.
Kevin Matthews was an Iraq Air Force veteran who nearly lost his home after a car accident left him unable to pay his mortgage. He says this hearing was a step in the right direction. Lawmakers blamed the high number of foreclosures in the state on banks robo-signing foreclosure documents WITHOUT reviewing them. And.they said, paperwork often got lost.
Governor O'Malley says Maryland's foreclosure rates are trending down. and PEOPLE. not money. need to take priority. A amn who almost lost his home says government is on its way to solving the problem.
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"I think up until this point that the people have not been represented and finally with this platform the people are finally being taken into consideration. Not the people with money but the people they represent.
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Have you ever thrown money at a problem to solve it.and it didn't work? That's what independent consultants say Pepco's new plan to reduce power outages will do. The plan would cost just over two-hundred and 50-million dollars in Maryland alone.It was created as Pepco faced customer anger about outages and perceived lack of reliability. A Pepco spokesman says the plan was not hastily thrown together.
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Do you read text messages while driving? Are they worth five-hundred dollars?
The Maryland Senate approved a measure yesterday banning people from reading text messages while driving. even if they're stopped at a traffic light. If you're caught, you might be fined up to five-hundred dollars.
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Is it just us, or is traffic in D-C beastly during rush hour?
The National Traffic Scorecard shows it really is a nightmare.the FOURTH WORST TRAFFIC in the nation! Interstate 95 South, from the Beltway down to Russel Road in Quantico, is the slowest stretch. It's SUPPOSED to take under 30-minutes to drive the 23-miles. Instead, it takes almost an hour during heavy traffic. The District was beat out by only Los Angeles, New York, Chicago.
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Coming up.Bed Bugs in our area. Find out where these little pests have recently been crawling and nibbling.
Plus.the battle over gun rights in Annapolis.
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Maybe you've heard it.twice the number of wedding bells ringing.
A spokesperson for DC Superior Court says the number of marriage licenses issued in the past year has more than DOUBLED since gay marriage was legalized last March. applications have increased from around 3-thousand to over 6-thousand.at least half came from same-sex couples.
Meanwhile, the Maryland House of Delegates delayed debate on the gay marriage bill until tomorrow, although some delegates estimate that they are close to the 71- votes needed for it to pass.
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Going green could save you green in Montgomery County.
A proposed bag tax has been backed by the county's Chamber of Commerce. County Executive Leggett says the five-cent tax would be easy to dodge. Just bring your own bag. Officials say revenue from the tax could reach one-and-a-half million dollars. And the bulk of the money would go to water protection. Before the proposed law could take effect in January it needs to be passed by the Montgomery County Council.
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Some good news for the bay this week.
The Maryland Senate voted unanimously today to pass a bill that would limit phosphorous in commercial dishwashing detergent to point-five percent by weight after 20-13. That will reduce phosphorous runoff that pollutes the bay. ALSO, officials at the Port of Baltimore say they've installed storm drain screens and removed underground fuel tanks to help keep the bay clean. Plus, local companies are recycling and burning less fuel.
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They're tiny in size.but the fear they strike at the mere mention of their name is enormous. Bed bugs. Just saying those two words makes some people.well, scratch. They're just about everywhere.and now.that includes the campus of the University of Maryland:
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Bedbugs.can't live with 'em, hard to live without 'em.
10:00
They creep me out
13:05
I think they're nasty
11:30-11:36
The whole concept of bedbugs is gross to me. I'm shocked that they are here at Maryland on campus.
But on campus they are.and, so far.they're limited to dorm rooms at South Campus Commons at the College Park campus. The job of getting rid of the bugs is underway.and starting NEXT semester.all tenants must sign a lease promising to have their belongings bedbug-FREE when they move out.
Tenants will not be allowed to bring in off-the-street furniture. If an outbreak were to occur, students will have to notify management who will then conduct an inspection.If they find bedbugs. an exterminator will be brought in to take care of the job.
14:19-14:27
I don't think anyone wants them in their room, so if they can stop it the sooner the better
The associate director of Commons, Shayla Benson refused to talk to us but she told the campus newspaper.
"Our main thing is to educate our residents-that's why we have this lease. And we want to let them know so they can be responsible leaseholders not just here but even outside of here."
The experts say one way to be responsible and prevent bedbugs is to practice good hygiene.
I'm going to bath regularly.make sure my sheets are clean.
Tidy tenants are the key to keeping clean, so that everyone.can stop bugging out.
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If you think you might have bedbugs remember they can live for months without food or water. So
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Next on Maryland Newsline.if you're tired of the chilly weather, there's a new warm destination flying fromBaltimore. We'll tell you where you can go to get away.
And a different way to pay those electric bills.
.
It may be exhausting, but this gym is cutting down costs with manpower.stay tuned.
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On this, the day of the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, we learn that Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski will be inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. The organization made the announcement today. Mikulski is one
of 11 women who will be inducted Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Mikulski, a Democrat who became the longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. Senate this year, is in her fifth term. Jazz singer Billie Holiday and Coretta Scott King, the wife of
civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., are among the 11
women who will be inducted.
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For all of you planning spring break, there's a new option. Chartered flights to Cuba are now coming to the BWI Marshall Airport. U.S. Customs and Border Protection added BWI to the select list of airports allowed to charter service to Cuba. For people who can't charter a flight you can always follow former Cuban President Fidel Castro's tweets. His following has passed 100-thousand. Higher than any other Cuban-themed twitter account.
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When you work up a sweat at the gym, do you ever think about how much energy you're creating? Well the Columbia Association does and it knows your sweat. can reduce its carbon footprint. It's the first gym in Maryland to roll out "green bikes." CNS-TV's Tolleah Price takes us for a ride to show us how it works.
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Nat break…Get that number up! There's no slacking there's no cheating. Everyone can see…panting…
She wants those numbers to soar.because as they go up…the gym's carbon footprint …goes down.
Nats…
Keep going…
Judy Reese has taught cycling for 8 years at the Columbia Association.
Reese welcomed the idea of "pedal power" but says the class is about more than what you see on the screen
It's not about the number, it really isn't. It's about getting coming in here and getting a great workout and knowing you're doing something absolutely fantastic for the environment.
One number it is helping is the bottom line on the electric bill:
I looked at my December 2010 bill, versus my 2009 bill and I had a savings of about $1000 so it says we're going in the right direction."
Here's how it works…
The bikes are hooked up to generators that are linked to a grid box.
When the cyclists create energy…the grid box captures it.
Then….
Flynn sot: It goes to an inverter. The invertor converts it to energy that's usable by the building
Stand up: Well, think of it this way.energy in equals energy out. Green revolutions provides the equipment that turns the pedal power into electricity and says a class of about this size can produce 3 point 6 megawatts of electricity a year…now that's enough energy to light 72 homes for a month
nat break of instructor:
Ann Vilece has been spinning for four years but says she enjoys it more now because she's sweating for a greater cause.
I though it was a great idea, I would tell my friends, we're just wasting all this energy too bad we can't save it and now we are
One spin at a time…
In Columbia, I'm Tolleah Price for CNS-TV.
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The gym rolled the bikes out back in November. They cost between 30 to 40 grand.
And it could take a decade before the gym sees that money again. But the Columbia Association says it's worth it and plans to expand to treadmills and elliptical machines soon.
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Ocean City tourists will get to take a walk on a real boardwalk.and we're not talking Monopoly!
The town's city council voted five-to-two in favor of restoring the attraction with an all-wood deck. The council members who opposed.cited cost as the reason and favored building a concrete lane instead. Work will begin in the fall.
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That's Maryland Newsline for tonight.thanks for joining us.I'm Stephanie Woods. You can check out this--and past newscasts--online at newsline-dot-umd-dot-edu.
And I'm Matt Brody.have a good night.we'll see you back here tomorrow!
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