Marianne D. Fishler: Include philanthropy in your estate planning 
BY: Marianne D. Fishler
POSTED: February 20, 2012
Tags: charitable giving, estate, Marianne D. Fishler, philanthropy
As spring approaches and tax season is upon us, it is a good time to think about planning strategies for 2012, including philanthropic legacy planning, also known as planned giving.
Generally speaking, a planned gift is a promise made to a charitable organization that upon your death, the organization will receive a certain sum of money. [...]
Scott Livingston: Will state retreat from open competition?
BY: Scott Livingston
POSTED: February 20, 2012
Tags: Business, General Assembly, maryland, Maryland’s general procurement law, open competition, Scott Livingston, Taxes
The General Assembly has been asked to take a giant step backward into an era of fraud, waste of taxpayer funds and favoritism in the awarding of government contracts by repealing major features of the state’s model procurement law, including the requirement for a fair and objective bidding process.
Certain state officials are now urging passage [...]
C. Fraser Smith: Defining moments in a legislative session
BY: C. Fraser Smith
POSTED: February 20, 2012
Tags: C. Fraser Smith, house of delegates, legislative session, maryland, Maryland General Assembly, Sen. Ulysses Currie
There are moments every year when the Maryland General Assembly defines itself — and us.
Sometimes, the entire 90 days makes us seem generous and forgiving, sometimes less so. Sometimes single actions seem to say something about who we are as people. Lawmakers are us, of course — like it or not.
We’ve had [...]
Letters to the Editor – 2/21/12
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: February 20, 2012
Tags: conviction integrity unit, gregg bernsetin, patricia c. jessamy, police, police misconduct unit, prosecutors, state's attorney's office
Kudos to Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein for his documented changes in the Office of the Baltimore City State’s Attorney (“Bernstein outlines changes made, to come,” Jan. 10). When Bernstein was running for office, I wrote all of my friends to vote for him precisely because I knew he would be a clear improvement [...]
Donald C. Fry: Developing a bright, young, local workforce
BY: Donald C. Fry
POSTED: February 16, 2012
Tags: Baltimore, Development, don fry, Economy, jobs, maryland, mayor stephanie rawlings-blake, Unemployment, workforce, youth
Employers in Maryland industry sectors such as health care, IT, technical services, manufacturing and sales often complain that too many prospective employees today are “not hirable” for a number of reasons.
This is not a phenomenon unique to Maryland, according to the Pew Center for the States, which this week reported that elected leaders around the [...]
C. Fraser Smith: Political ambitions and hard votes
BY: C. Fraser Smith
POSTED: February 16, 2012
Tags: Annapolis, C. Fraser Smith, gasoline tax, General Assembly, Gov. Martin O’Malley, lawmakers, Maryland’s comptroller, peter franchot, sales tax, sewage treatment
Lawmakers in Annapolis are watching a somewhat unusual drama: Gov. Martin O’Malley running from pillar to post in search of their votes!
The governor has worked hard for votes in the past, of course, but the pace this year may be unprecedented.
Run he must, however, given the scope of his legislative agenda and given the politically [...]
Editorial: Moving forward on foreclosure
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: February 16, 2012
Tags: Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, Editorial, foreclosure, housing, JPMorgan Chase, market, maryland, mortgage, Settlement, u.s. attorney general eric h. holder jr
Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler took the right step by joining 48 other states in accepting the $26 billion out-of-court settlement with five of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders regarding some of the dubious foreclosure methods they employed during the country’s mortgage crisis.
Maryland’s nearly $1 billion share of the settlement – enough to help as [...]
Kevin Fusco: New 401(k) regulations to help investors
BY: Kevin Fusco
POSTED: February 13, 2012
Tags: 401(k), investors, Kevin Fusco, maryland, regulations
Determining, and actually accumulating, adequate retirement savings has never been an exact science, and many investors and workers have become increasingly frustrated by not only the performance of their 401(k)s, but also other detractions that have tarnished the nation’s most popular retirement savings vehicle.
Since its advent in the 1980s, the 401(k) has been a favorite, [...]
Betsy Nelson: Legal safety net needs stable funding
BY: Betsy Nelson
POSTED: February 12, 2012
Tags: Betsy Nelson, charitable giving, federal reserve, funding, iolta, legal safety, Maryland Legal Services Corporation
It likely comes as no surprise to anyone that poor people haven’t seen their fate improve since the advent of the Great Recession.
Nor would most people be surprised to learn that there are more people living in poverty in the United States today than at any other time in our country’s history.
When we add to [...]
Editorial: Time to review development incentives
BY: Daily Record Staff
POSTED: February 9, 2012
Tags: Baltimore, Constellation Energy Group, development incentives, Editorial, Exelon Corp., Harbor Point, headquarters, maryland
The dynamics of the decision by Exelon Corp. to build its $120 million Baltimore headquarters for Constellation Energy Group at Harbor Point instead in the core of the central business district illustrate the need for a comprehensive review of the city’s policies for using publicly financed tax breaks to stimulate private development.
Exelon listed its reasons [...]
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