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Council Approves Raising County Smoking Age to 21

The Baltimore County Council passed a bill on Monday night that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to anyone under 21 years of age. Members of the military over 18 would be exempted from this ban.

The bill was officially submitted by Council chair Tom Quirk, at the request of the Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski, Jr. The bill was passed 6 to 0. Councilman Jillian Jones was not attendance for the session.

Before the vote, members of the council said there was a time when people could smoke inside public buildings but times have changed because of the health risk.

“We have done so much whether it was taking smoking out of parks away. parking lots, from our schools and now this,” said 6th District County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins.

Fifth District Councilman David Marks recalls in 2012 when the county council banned smoking at Baltimore County parks. Marks stated that it was a controversial ban at that time but believes that society has changed its attitude to smoking.

“I suspect if we did [banned smoking at Baltimore County parks] today, it would not be as controversial,” Marks said.

Pine Grove Elementary Celebrates 50 Years

Pine Grove Elementary opened its doors in 1969. The Parkville school held their 50th celebration at the school on Friday night. Since the school opened in the last year of the 1960s, their theme was “Pine Groovy”, which resembled that time period.

“It was an amazing night with current PGE Pandas, past PGE Pines (tonight we learned pine trees were the former mascot), and community members coming together to celebrate,” said the Pine Grove Elementary Twitter page.

The event brought back old Pine Grove staffers and students from the past 50 years. There were activities such as face painting and a photo booth for students and Chuck Montgomery provided the music for Pine Grove.

“[I was] honored to Dj the Pine Grove Elementary School 50th Reunion,” Montgomery said on social media.

The event was attended by special guests, including Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski, Jr.

“It was an honor and a privilege to celebrate Pine Grove Elementary’s 50th anniversary with the community. For 50 years, Pine Grove Elementary School has created an environment for learning that allows our children the opportunity to grow and achieve academic success while becoming good stewards in our communities,” Olszewski said.

“Thank you to Principal Diane Richmond and all of the faculty and staff for your dedication to Pine Grove students.”

Parkville & Ovelea Win but All Essex Schools Lose in Week 5

Milford Mill 32 Chesapeake 0
The Bayhawks fell to 1-4 as they suffered a 32-0 defeat in their Homecoming game against Milford Mill. The Bayhawks will look for their second win of the season on the road in New Town.

Overlea 15 Lansdowne 0
After losing to Owings Mills and Eastern Tech the last two weeks, Overlea bounced back with a win at Lansdowne to improve to 3-2 on the year. The Falcons will return home after a long road trip to host St. John’s Prospect Hall.

Northeast 41 Eastern Tech 19
The Mavericks have had a pattern of losing one game and winning their next game. After an exciting 28-27 win against Overlea, Tech was hoping to end that pattern with a win at Northeast in Anne Arundel County, but they lost to fall to 2-3 on the year. For the third time this year, the Mavericks will look to bounce back after a loss with a win. They will try to keep that pattern going at home against winless Sparrows Point on Friday.

Franklin 41Kenwood 6
Kenwood faced their toughest challenge of the season as they went out to northwest Baltimore County to play defending 3A state champions Franklin and lost 41-6. Kenwood comes back home to host Dundalk this Friday night.

Dulaney 19 Perry Hall 0
Perry Hall is still looking for their win of the season after losing to Dulaney 19-0 on the road. The Gators will have a tough game to get their first win of the season as they travel to undefeated Parkville next Saturday.

Parkville 34 Catonsville 14
Parkville had their first true test of the season as they defeated Catonsville 34-14 on the road in the battle of the unbeatens. The Knights are now 5-0 and will look to go 6-0 against winless Perry Hall on Saturday. After Perry Hall, Parkville begins the meat of their schedule as they play Randallstown in two weeks and finish the season at Kenwood.

Source:https://mpssaa.countysports.zone/football/

Olszewski to Reintroduce HOME Act But Faces Strong GOP Opposition

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., announced his plans to introduce the Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) Act, which would prohibit housing discrimination based on the source of a potential renter’s income, including housing vouchers.

The bill will be introduced in the County Council session scheduled for Monday, October 7. A similar bill was introduced in 2016, but it was defeated by the County Council 6 to 1 with Democratic 4th District Councilman Julian Jones as the only “yes” vote.

“We have both a legal and moral obligation to expand access to affordable housing in Baltimore County, and the HOME Act is a critical piece of the puzzle,” Olszewski said in a statement. “Discrimination of any kind is wrong, and we have to do everything in our power to expand economic opportunity, improve equity, and eliminate pockets of poverty in our communities.”

According to a Baltimore County press release ,The HOME Act would make it illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent to a potential tenant based on the person’s source of income, just as renters can’t be discriminated against based on their race, sex, religion, and other legally protected groups. Source of income can refer to income from a job, public assistance programs, benefits and considerations (such as an inheritance, a pension, an annuity, etc.) or the sale of a property. Source of income includes participation in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program.

A housing voucher is a source of supplemental income that helps low income residents pay for housing. Recipients are required to pay 30 percent of their income on rent, and the voucher provides a bridge to cover the remaining cost of rent. Across Maryland, nearly 70 percent of HCV recipients are seniors, people with disabilities, or children.

The HCV program is a federal program, and the federal government determines the number of overall vouchers available to each local jurisdiction. Baltimore County distributes approximately 5,000 vouchers. The HOME Act would give them greater flexibility in choosing where to live.

Republican Councilman David Marks and Todd Crandell both disagree with the idea of the HOME ACT. Marks released a statement in opposition to the bill.

“I will oppose this legislation, just as I voted against a nearly-identical bill in 2016,” Marks said in a statement on social media
“A healthy balance of rental and owner-occupied housing is natural in many communities. Unfortunately, this and similar legislation may lead to a massive increase of rentals in neighborhoods such as Ridgeleigh, Belmont-Dunfield and Seven Courts that are already nearing a tipping point. My vote will be “no.”

Crandell told the Baltimore Sun that he voted against the 2016 HOME ACT because it was “un-American” to force property owners into federal contracts and is concerned that the legislation will hurt the southeast region of the county.

Honeygo Park Event to Honor Officer Amy Caprio

A family fun public safety day will be held to honor fallen Baltimore County Police Officer Amy Caprio. She was killed in the line of duty on May 21, 2018 when a vehicle driven by a juvenile burglary suspect intentionally struck her during a pursuit in Perry Hall.

The event will take place at Honeygo Run Park on Saturday, Oct. 5 from noon to 3 p.m. and it will start with a ceremony at Honeygo’s dog park (Perry Paw) where a plaque will be dedicated in honor of Amy Caprio.

After the ceremony, there will be events held by Baltimore County Police that include fingerprinting for kids, and displays from Baltimore County Police’s tactical team, K9 unit, aviation, marine unit, motorcyclist and honor guard.

Members of the Harford County Humane Society will also be present at this family event.

Eastern Tech to Receive Temporary AC Units From County

With several Baltimore County schools closed on Oct. 2 due to excessive heat, County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced that he has identified up to $16 million in matching funds for air conditioning and heating units in county schools that do not have air conditioning.

These funds will be matched by $13.4 million in state funding awarded by the Maryland Interagency Commission on School Construction’s Healthy School Facility Fund.

Projects funded with the Healthy School Facility Fund and the county’s matching funds are estimated to be complete by spring of 2021. Six schools that will receive air conditioning units and that includes Eastern Technical High School in Essex.

BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams and Board of Education Chair Kathleen Causey issued statements following County Executive John Olszewski’s announcement.

We are appreciative to state and county elected leaders for their partnership in providing funding for temporary cooling solutions at six of our buildings without central air conditioning. During the last decade, we have made significant progress adding air conditioning in schools throughout the county through renovation and new building projects. This is another positive step that will provide more comfortable spaces for BCPS students to learn.” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams.

“Our first priority as a Board is ensuring our children are equipped with the tools they need to learn in environments conducive to their success. I am very grateful for County Executive Olszewski’s support to move forward much-needed temporary air conditioning projects in our district.” said BCPS Board Chair Kathleen Causey.

CCBC Essex Women’s Soccer Ranked in NJCAA Top 20 After Weekend Wins

– by Patrick Coonan of CCBC-

CCBC Essex women’s soccer won 12 straight games after defeating Monroe Community College and Genesee Community College on Saturday and Sunday by scores of 3-1 and 4-1, respectively.

The Knights (12-1) are now ranked 19th in the nation, their first time in the NJCAA Top 20 since 1989.

Essex trailed early against Monroe when Gaia Iacuzzi scored a ball crossed to the six-yard line by Kimberly McPhearson for 1-0 Tribunes lead. It wouldn’t take long for the Knights and Kara Dietrich (Perry Hall) to answer when she rolled the ball past the goalkeeper in the sixth minute of play.

In the 25th minute, Kimberly McPhearson hit a rocket off the crossbar that Knights’ goalie Sam Tornatore (Eastern Tech grad) would gather safely. In the 15th minute Joey Eskey hit the crossbar from a head ball off an Emily Vetri (Sparrows Point grad) corner. In a competitive first half, the score at the break was tied at one. For the much of the beginning of second half, the Knights were under siege.

They would eventually gain their footing and in the 73rd minute Natalie Marx had the breakthrough for Essex. The dagger came in the 87th minute when Vetri hit a shot that would go over the goalie’s reach and into the upper corner to put Essex ahead 3-1. Tornatore finished the game with three saves on four Tribunes’ shots on goal.

On Sunday, Dietrich beat their keeper near post for a 1-0 Essex lead in the 16th minute. It was Dietrich’s 31st goal of the season. Dietrich would assist on the next goal, as she played Mikayla Boyle (Eastern Tech grad ) for the 2-0 lead in the 23rd minute.

In the 35th minute, Dani Zacierka (Sparrows Point) would score to make it 3-0. Quickly after, in the 36th minute Ashley Hearn would score for the Cougars to make the halftime score 3-1 Essex.

In the 53rd minute, Boyle scored her second goal of the day to make it 4-1. The Knights would dominate the second half and see the 4-1 win out closing a big weekend and defeating its third ranked team in five days.

Author: eastbaltco