Back to School
August 21, 2007
It’s time to get the kids ready to go back to school. It’s time to argue about what clothes they will wear, whether they need a laptop and the hundreds of other minor little details that drive us parents with school age kids crazy.
But let’s all take a minute to think about what we’re actually doing: We’re enjoying a luxury.
Sure, not many of us parents — or kids — consider back-to-school shopping a luxury. But it is.
Face it, because of our hard work, our kids can get two or three pair of new jeans every fall, we can decide whether we want to get them the good laptop or the better one. And, hell, some of us even get to buy our kids a new car!
The thing is, we’re the lucky ones. Our kids are the lucky ones.
For every kid out there choosing between the straight or boot cut for their new jeans, there are a handful of kids that can’t even get pencils.
According to the Maryland State Department of Education, there are 290,000 kids in the state getting free or reduced lunches because they are so poor their families can’t afford them. If lunch is a luxury, then what is a backpack?
Sure, we can go back and forth all day about school funding and a million other things, but that doesn’t change the fact that thousands of kids are going to start school in the next couple of weeks without the most basic school supplies.
So do those kids a favor. When you are out shopping this week and next, do what you can. Buy a couple extra backpacks, another packet of pencils, a few extra reams of paper and donate them. Most counties have drop off sites, so give them a call. If not, call the schools. Trust me, people care and will get the supplies into the right hands.
And, when you’re doing it, take your kids. They’ll learn a lesson before the school bell of the year has rung: In this life, there is a difference between “want” and “need.”
-LOUIS LLOVIO, Daily Record Business Writer
Sphere: Related ContentLottery wins big
August 21, 2007
OK, someone needs to explain this to me. After complaining to fellow Daily Recordian and all-knowing blogger Andy Rosen, I am still in a state of confusion — nothing new if you ask those who reside in our newsroom.
The Maryland Lottery announced it has achieved record sales for the 10th consecutive year, amounting to $1.577 billion. Now that’s all well and good for the lottery — and the state, which gets $494 million in returned revenue — but how does that not fall under the “evils of gambling” so often linked to those hellacious pieces of machinery known as slots?
On top of the Pick 3, Pick 4, Mega Millions and monitor-style lottery games like Keno, Keno Bonus and Racetrax, there are the bundles and bundles of scratch-offs that clutter every gas station sales counter. Yet, the thought of slot machines at a racetrack where people are already wagering their money is somehow blasphemy.
The latest battle between good and evil involves Rosecroft Raceway and Penn National Gaming Inc. Penn, a national casino operator, is in the midst of buying Rosecroft, a harness racing track. Penn National already runs several facilities that have slots, and odds are they would like to see the Prince George’s County track be the next.
On top of the “moral” roadblock Penn National will face, Rosecroft’s nearby neighbor may be an issue. Some developers seem to think if Rosecroft did end up with sinful slots, that the National Harbor would also have to have them. Now, what would a $2 billion, 300-acre, mixed-use waterfront development along a 1.25-mile panoramic stretch of the Potomac River in Prince George’s County want to do with slot machines?
Either way, I would wager that after all the debating and protesting, the state will still have a deficit. Not that I’m a betting man.
-FRANCIS SMITH, Special Publications Assistant Editor
Sphere: Related ContentThe Eastern Shore: going once, going twice…
August 20, 2007
Four more Eastern Shore residences will be on the block this Friday, according to a release from an auction company today.
As our reporters have covered in recent weeks, auctions have become an increasingly popular way to unload homes in areas like Somerset County’s Smith Island and Trappe, in Talbot County (subscriber-only links).
The properties in Crisfield include one three-bedroom home that was built in 2005, one three bedroom restored Victorian with a wrap-around porch, two fish ponds and excellent ‘fixer-upper’ potential, and one four-bedroom cape cod that was built in 2006 and has never been occupied. The mixed-use property is currently a three bedroom home. However, it is zoned for commercial use which increases the potential for this property. … A charming and upscale two-bedroom waterfront rancher is also being offered in Cambridge.
The most amusing part of the release comes at the end, however. After noting that the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy predicts 160,000 new residents will call the Eastern Shore home in the next 25 years (… whoa), Express Auction quotes Ed McGuirk, broker of record for Shore Realty of Maryland: “Crisfield is a diamond in the rough.”
Any takers for these gems?
-JACKIE SAUTER, Daily Record Multimedia Editor
Watch our original video from our reporter’s trip to Smith Island.
Sphere: Related ContentScam goes to pieces
August 20, 2007
Some people will go to any length to make a few extra bucks. But is $200,000 worth a lifetime of stomach problems and jail time? Apparently, one couple was willing to take that risk.
In a scam that hit Gaithersburg and Bethesda as it traveled up and down the East Coast from D.C. to Boston, Ronald Evano (and, allegedly, his wife Mary) collected thousands of dollars in insurance payments after intentionally eating glass at restaurants.
Here’s how the plan broke down: the husband or wife would put glass shards in a dish and then, claiming stomach pain, would be rushed to the hospital to be treated for glass ingestion. The hospitals got stuck with the bill while the Evanos took cash in settlements with the restaurants.
Over the course of eight years, the Evanos performed the scheme at least 12 times and collected more than $200,000 in fraudulent insurance claims, according to a federal indictment. Court documents say the couple used at least 15 aliases between them and left more than $100,000 in medical bills unpaid.
Mr. Evano pleaded guilty Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Boston to conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, identity theft, Social Security fraud and making false statements on health care matters. Mrs. Evano is still eluding the feds.
The Evanos scammed two Maryland establishments out of about $40,000 from claims in 1999 and 2000, according to the indictment. In the first instance Mr. Evano claimed he ingested glass at a Bethesda hotel’s buffet. He was treated at nearby Suburban Hospital where he vomited blood and eventually passed two large pieces of glass, the indictment said. The hotel settled for $19,213 and Suburban was left with a $3,000 unpaid bill.
A year later, Mrs. Evano showed up at Suburban claiming she had consumed glass at a Gaithersburg hotel restaurant. The hospital was left with $4,000 in unpaid bills and the Evanos made off with a $20,000 settlement, according to the indictment.
Mr. Evano is being held at Norfolk County (Mass.) Jail. He faces up to 100 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 4.
-LIZ FARMER, Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentBLOG POLL: Worst lawyer ads
August 20, 2007
Samurai warriors? Lawyers in bad toupees? Those “you-have-a-phone ads” — love ’em, hate ’em or respect them as the pioneers in lawyer advertising?
In short, what’s the worst lawyer ad you’ve seen?
(Anonymous responses are welcome, but if you’d like credit for your answer when we post the results please include some way to reach you, or e-mail brendan.kearney@mddailyrecord.com)
-BRENDAN KEARNEY, Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentFlash from the past
August 17, 2007
It’s a new day in Maryland politics… well, maybe not.
A little under six months into the reign of Governor Martin O’Malley somebody must have forgotten to pass the good news on to the folks over at the State of Maryland Business License Information System.
The site that allows you to check businesses licenses online seems to be stuck in the old days. Down on the bottom it shows good ole radio talk show host and private attorney Robert Ehrlich as the captain manning the helm of this fine state.
-LOUIS LLOVIO, Daily Record Business Writer
Sound the alarm - judiciously
August 17, 2007
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has been doggedly following the saga of District Judge Elizabeth Halvorson, an alleged black-robed monster who made her staff fix her lunch, handled cases inappropriately and reportedly asked a deputy if he would shoot her husband. (Thanks to Above the Law for following the story.)
The newest allegation is that Halvorson slept on the bench all the time. Unfortunately, judicial nighty-nights are nothing new; catnap claims have even been made about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (It’s actually surprising that more judges don’t nod off during court proceedings; I don’t know that any courtroom journalist can say she has never accidentally “rested her eyes” in court.)
Here’s a question for our lawyer readers: what do you do when a judge appears to be catching some shut-eye on the bench? Do you let His or Her Honor sleep? Do you speak louder, clear your throat at top volume or intentionally drop your COMAR book on the floor? Do you leave the problem to the court clerk or deputy?
-CARYN TAMBER, Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer
How much is a billion billion?
August 17, 2007
News of Michael Vick’s latest legal hurdle broke on Wednesday: the Atlanta Falcons star has been hit with a “63,000,000,000 billion dollar” lawsuit by a South Carolina inmate.
Any words I could use to describe the filing wouldn’t do it justice. Click here to read the handwritten complaint by Jonathan Lee Riches, which alleges that Vick stole his pitbulls, sold them on eBay and used the earnings to purchase missiles from Iran (all on behalf of Al Qaeda).
Taking the suit to a new level of absurdity, Riches requests that the money (in gold and silver) be delivered to the front gates of the correctional facility where he is serving a wire fraud conviction.
Maybe Roy Pearson (filer of the now-infamous missing pants lawsuit) has found his soulmate.
-JACKIE SAUTER, Daily Record Multimedia Editor
UPDATE: The Smoking Gun reports that Mr. Riches has filed another suit, this time against home-run hitter Barry Bonds, commissioner Bug Selig, and Hank Aaron’s bat.
This you gotta see.
Have you ever heard of Inspector O?
August 17, 2007
Well neither have I, but I came across a mention of him/her yesterday when I was doing some Web surfing. According to the Baltimore city Web site, Inspector O is quite possibly the nation’s first advice column on environmental health and hygiene regulation
.
The site offers this description:
“Inspector O: There is a new sleuth about town to help Baltimore residents understand environmental regulations and other related mysteries. The Baltimore City Health Department is proud to introduce Ask Inspector O, a Web-based advice column for businesses and city residents about such issues as rat control, restaurant safety, pool hygiene and other important but little-understood facts of life. To ask your own question, please send an email to: AskInspectorO@baltimorecity.gov “
I’m glad to hear about the service, but I’m also a little curious about Inspector O, and what other important but little-understood facts of life he/she could be talking about. I’m thinking of some great stuff to ask Inspector O right now.
What would you like to ask Inspector O? Let me know and I’ll post an upcoming blog entry about the answers.
-TODD ZIMMERMAN, Presentation Editor
Sphere: Related ContentTrustworthy? Nevermore.
August 16, 2007
You’ve likely heard that a 92-year-old fan and Edgar Allan Poe preservationist has claimed responsibility for the legendary “Poe Toaster,” a cloaked figure said to visit the dead writer’s grave each Jan. 19 bearing gifts.
“We did it, myself and my tour guides,” Sam Porpora told the AP. 
“It was a promotional idea. We made it up, never dreaming it would go worldwide.”
According to the Baltimore Sun, Porpora “casually mentioned” his role in the Poe hoopla to a public relations official at the Catonsville retirement community where he lives.
Whether or not his story is true (several reports suggest that Porpora’s testimony is questionable due to the timing of sightings), this anticlimactic revelation is reminiscent of another more notable letdown: the true identity of Deep Throat as FBI man W. Mark Felt.
Felt and his family — who chose an article in Vanity Fair, of all places, as the conveyance of the sensational nugget — released their secret a little more than two years ago. Longtime admirers of Deep Throat had to sync their romanticized profile of the informant with that of a 91-year-old stroke survivor.
It seems that the expression “taking a secret to the grave” isn’t taken literally.
-JACKIE SAUTER, Daily Record Multimedia Editor
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