(from Monday)
Prosecutors try to make their jobs easier; slightly craftier murderers continue to murder
Upon first glance, this plan ‘serves to increase the rate of convictions’ but if they outright refuse to prosecute a murder simply because they’re too fucking incompetent to protect a single witness or get them to testify, then we truly should all just buy shotguns and walk around in body armor at all times. I would have no problem with the entire city entering a state of Mutually Assured Destruction. Everyone in body armor, armor-plated cars (sorry, Hummers), laser guided Pit Bulls and surveillance cameras documenting the whole thing. Then, we sell the feed to Fox, turn it into a cable pay-per-view channel, and use the forthcoming windfall to build 10 foot walls around Federal Hill, Canton, Roland Park, Hampden, Otterbein, Harbor East, Fells Point, connect them all with tunnels, and laugh LAUGH as we sip brandy out of oversized snifters.
or, you know, the fucking prosecutors could do their jobs.
(from Today)
Dixon scraps plan to make the city a more attractive place to live
This one is actually a followup to a draft I never published, detailing how the city is facing a 50+ million dollar deficit this year. Flying in the face of this, Sheila Dixon did something I approved of – continued a reduction in city property taxes (2 cents per year for 5 years) that Smilin’ Martin implemented in 2005. “Hmm.” I thought. “Is the mayor actually beginning to understand how to rebuild a city from years of financial torment AND reduce the crime rate?” Well, as it turns out, maybe not. Budget cuts dictate otherwise.
And HOLY MOSES those property taxes are realllllllllly high. 2.07X that of those in Baltimore County. Yeah that totally sweet barely 1000 sq. ft. rowhome you just bought for $298K is gonna run you roughly an astronomical $6758.64 per year in taxes ($3278.00 in the county) on top of your mortgage. Renting is looking like a pretty damn good option. A house right up the street from my current residence sold for $312K and the taxes are estimated at $6690 annually, thanks to this handy calculator.
(from yesterday)
Baltimore might have more trees before we retire
Here’s an interesting city program to “double Baltimore’s tree canopy from 20 percent to 40 percent within 30 years.” Hopefully we’ll all live to see it happen. Oddly enough, yesterday I commented on this program after ‘b’ printed an article (very) loosely related to it, and at that time the time span of the project was 40 years. At least, I would swear up and down that it was when I read it. Now it’s 30.
I suppose my point here is that the plan’s timeline is totally arbitrary; most people won’t be alive, in office, or give two shits about a program like this three months from now, much less 30 years from now when the city is underwater, or on fire, or both. My only advice to the city government people in charge of this, um, ambitious project is this: If you’re going to engage in a plan normally reserved for self-congratulating white people, go big – set a deadline of less than 10 years. Everyone will get really excited about it, pat you on the back, and it’ll probably contribute to getting you elected to some nice position or hired at some swanky job. The best part is, you never have to live up to the plan’s goals! Because as I said before by the time you end up reaping the rewards of coming up with a really great plan, you’ll be out of office or into a new job, someone else will be in charge, and they can take the blame when it fails! Perfection!
Clifford blamed the slow economy and the housing slump for the falling revenue estimates
Gee you think the outrageous tax rate might have a little something to do with people not wanting to buy houses in baltimore?
I’ll just quote myself from the b post:
Also I updated the entry with some very relevant information regarding the actual cost in taxes on property owned. I knew it was high, but jesus wept that is horrific.
Where do we profit? This plan was flawed from the start.
What ever happened to the underground Metro expansion? That was big news at one point. But on a 40 year schedule which is so far in the future, surely urban needs will have changed. Plus, who cares about anything 40 years away…
Well since the subway and Owings Mills experiment were such a rousing success (note: not a success) I think any sort of expansion is out of the question. But hey, the light rail and its dispersion of crime up to Hunt Valley seems to be working out great! And actually I’d have to look it up but the light rail is supposedly adding another line or something.
yeah, the cost of expanding metro would be astronomical compared to expanding light rail. It’s a bus on a track until you get out of the city! it’s GENIUS.