Cecil Times readers will now be able to share articles posted on Cecil Times with friends via email, Facebook, Twitter and the “Share this” option. At the end of each news article, there are now icons (that’s pictures) that you can click on to share with friends or your social networks. The first option...
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The evolving political split among the Cecil County Commissioners came into play Tuesday when two commissioners tried to get the Board go on record against proposed state legislation, sponsored by state Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R-36), to transfer some financial responsibility for teacher pensions from the state to the counties. But a three-member majority of...
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Gov. O’Malley, USDA Secretary, Gush Over Grant It sounded like a political lovefest when Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley joined U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in a conference call with reporters a few days ago to announce $5 million in “hunger-free community” grants in eight states, including $923,000 for Maryland. Vilsack is a former...
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Poll on Same-Sex Marriage: What’s the Question? Opponents of the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland recently commissioned a poll which they claim shows a significant majority of voters oppose legalization. But the questions they say were asked are not the same questions that this reporter was asked when a pollster said to...
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The ink was barely dry on the Cecil County Commissioners’ appointment of a citizen budget advisory panel when two Commissioners firmly aligned with the Pipkin-Smigiel political machine released on Thursday afternoon a duo-lateral edict for the county’s budget process, with a proposal that settles several political scores for their mentors. The full five-member Cecil...
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Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan submitted to federal authorities last December will have “a significant impact on everyone” and the burden of enforcement could be dumped on the counties, Cecil County Commissioner Robert Hodge (R-5) told fellow commissioners. Moreover, the program could pit the county against its incorporated towns as they vie for allowable...
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After weeks of discussion and hand-wringing, the Cecil County Board of Commissioners finally named a five-member budget advisory panel Tuesday, with some Commissioners picking people with impressive credentials while Board President James Mullin (R-1st) picked a major donor to his political allies’ Political Action Committee. The Commissioners have been discussing appointment of a budget...
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The town of Elkton saw significant population growth in the past decade while the rest of the county’s towns saw more modest gains, according to new census data. Elkton grew by 29.8 percent, growing from 11,893 people in 2000 to 15,443 in 2010, according to census data. Elkton moved up a notch, from 18th...
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Cecil County’s population grew by 17.6 percent over the past decade but the increase was slightly less than planners had expected, according to new data from the 2010 Census released Wednesday by federal and state agencies. The minority population also grew, but Cecil County remains an overwhelming white county. The county population grew to...
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Cecil County commissioners are salivating over the potential revenues that the new Hollywood casino in Perryville will generate and, commissioners hope, save them from having to make tough budget choices this year. But the state’s projections of upcoming revenues may be overly optimistic, while gas prices and possible local bridge toll increases may dampen...
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The Cecil County Board of Commissioners decided Tuesday to delay action on a proposed revision to the county’s animal control ordinance, which was drafted by a citizen “task force” working for over a year to revise county laws dealing with public health, safety and humane treatment of animals issues. The Commissioners held a public...
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A Cecil Times Special Report Gov. Martin O’Malley’s otherwise predictable State of the State speech Thursday had a surprise for many rural residents: a proposed ban on septic systems for new “major” housing developments. But the real shocker wasn’t in that speech: buried in the state’s Bay cleanup plan issued in December is a...
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EDITOR’S NOTE: We are debuting a new feature on Cecil Times, called “Cecil Chatter,” that will be a roundup of tidbits from here and there and observations on things of interest, or amusement, for the Upper Eastern Shore. Got a tip on something quirky, juicy, just plain funny or exasperating? Drop us a line...
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Cecil County commissioners will seek guidance from a citizen advisory panel on the upcoming Fiscal 2012 budget but they were unwilling to give any guidance to the county school system Tuesday on what to expect in funds from the county. Commissioners discussed the formation of the citizens’ panel at their worksession meeting, and Board...
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Cecil County voters overwhelmingly approved a switch to charter government in last November’s election, but the county’s leaders are still learning a lot, and questions abound, on what the shift will mean to the county’s governance. So the County Commissioners indicated Tuesday they will appoint a transition team to help them figure it all...
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