A police officer was set up with a radar gun outside Cromwell Valley Elementary School last week to enforce the 25 mph speed limit.
That spot was almost directly across Providence Road from where Police Chief Jim Johnson held a June 1 news conference to announce the county’s intentions to add the cameras to its speed enforcement arsenal. During that conference, almost on cue, a car sped by at a rate of speed clearly too fast for the road. (more…)
Yesterday Steve Bailey filed an ethics complaint against County Executive Jim Smith.
Today, Bailey may find himself on the receiving end.
Bailey and the organization he co-chairs, the Baltimore County Chapter of Americans for Prosperity, may have run afoul of the law when they issued a press release yesterday naming Smith as the target of an ethics complaint. (more…)
Prior to the Tuesday evening vote on speed camera legislation, a few councilmen took the time to explain why they were about to vote the way they were about to vote.
Councilman Vince Gardina, a Democrat who represents the 5th District, said his vote was based, at least in part, on what he explained as a month-long “unscientific experiment.”
“Over the last month or so I’ve been trying to drive the speed limit all the time,” said Gardina, who represents Perry Hall, Carney and Towson. (more…)
The County Council is poised to vote tonight on legislation that would enable the county to use speed cameras in up to 12 school zones around the county.
Police and traffic safety officials are still working on a list of potential locations. Some officials, including Police Chief Jim Johnson and Don Mohler, a spokesman for County Executive Jim Smith, are now giving indications that statistics won’t be the only factor that determines where the cameras are placed. (more…)
Republicans appear to be attempting to use the speed camera issue as a wedge issue in the upcoming 2010 election to unseat Democratic Del. Steve Lafferty in the 42nd District.
Lafferty was first elected in 2006 to the seat that represents Towson, Timonium and part of Pikesville. The seat was previously held by one-term Republican Del. John Trueschler, who decided not to run for re-election citing concerns about the toll the job was taking on his family. The remaining two delegate seats have been held by Republicans since the district was created in 2002.
John Fiastro, president of the 42nd District Republican Club, handed out fliers criticizing Del. Steve Lafferty during the Aug. 19 public meeting on speed cameras, held at the Baltimore County Public Library branch in Towson.
The bright yellow leaflet declares in bold letters “Lafferty voted for speed cameras.” On the reverse side, the group reprinted a blog post that appeared here on July 23 in which Lafferty called for public hearings on the bill. The reprint has several passages underlined with hand-written notes criticizing the delegate.
It should be noted the reprint was done without the permission of Patuxent Publishing Co., which owns this Web site.
Lafferty addressed the flier briefly at the meeting just before speaking about his reasons for supporting speed camera legislation.
“I really love that my opponents have put this piece of crap out,” said Lafferty, who was holding a copy of the flier as he spoke to the crowd of about 60. “Because if you read the other piece, the other side to it, this meeting is about public information. As I’ve walked neighborhoods and talked to voters, people do not fully understand the intent of the legislation and certainly no one has had the opportunity up until now, other than what the county has rightfully put on its Web site, gotten any kind of insights on how (the county) expects to proceed.”
Just a note to our readers: I’ll be live blogging a meeting regarding speed cameras in Baltimore County tonight at the Towson library. You can follow along tonight at Twitter.com/bpsears. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
If you can’t attend, feel free to e-mail me at bsears@patuxent.com or direct message me on Twitter with any questions you’d like me to ask. I’ll try and answer questions during the live blogging event, in my story or here on the blog.
State Del. Steve Lafferty is calling on county officials to hold public meetings to explain how speed camera legislation will be implemented in the county.
Lafferty, a Democrat and supporter of speed cameras, said “it is incumbent upon the county to use (the meetings) as an educational session.”
“I’ve not heard from any community that doesn’t feel (speed cameras) will be a valuable tool if used correctly,” said Lafferty, who represents the 42nd District including Towson, Lutherville-Timonium and part of Pikesville. (more…)
A police officer was set up with a radar gun outside Cromwell Valley Elementary School last week to enforce the 25 mph speed limit.
Yesterday Steve Bailey filed an 
Prior to the Tuesday evening vote on speed camera legislation, a few councilmen took the time to explain why they were about to vote the way they were about to vote.
