Prince Georges Afro-American Newspaper June 22 2013

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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION

Volume 121 No. 46

JUNE 22, 2013 - JUNE 28, 2013

Prince George’s County Mounts $1.2 Billion Clean Water Effort By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO Prince George’s County officials are touting a $1.2 billion retrofit plan to protect its waterways from urban pollution as required by the federal Clean Water Act. Last year, in response to the federal mandate, Gov. Martin O’Malley enacted the Watershed Protection and Restoration Program, which required the state’s major jurisdictions to devise a plan to collect a fee from property owners to address the issue of stormwater runoff pollution from impervious surfaces. “Virtually all of the county’s major waterways (Anacostia, Patuxent, and Piscataway) are impaired, and have been so for many years,” the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club has said. The major culprit, the

environmental protection group said, is the pollution that occurs when trash, oil, sediment, chemicals and other pollutants that are collected on nonabsorbent surfaces like roofs, roads, parking lots and driveways are washed by rain into the storm drains, then emptied into the county’s creeks, rivers, lakes and streams. “Our environment in

administrative fee of $20.58, commercial and industrial properties will pay $372 per impervious acre per year; residential properties will pay based on a three-tier system: properties with up to 1,479 square feet of impervious surface pay an impact fee of $12.54; up to 2,465 square feet pay $20.90 and up to 4,930 square feet pay $41.80. “Our fees are the lowest among our neighboring jurisdictions,” Ortiz said. For example, Montgomery County charges a residential impact fee of $109.73 and Harford County charges $125. The plan offers an exemption for those who can prove economic hardship; and property owners can receive up to 100 percent of the Impervious Surface Impact Fee if they have installed a recognized structural device or practice some means of storing, treating or using stormwater runoff in order to mitigate pollution.

“‘Virtually all of the county’s major waterways (Anacostia, Patuxent, and Piscataway) are impaired, and have been so for many years,’ the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club has said.”

INSIDE A4

Remembering Legendary Historian Hayward Farrar

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Heavyweight Boxing Prospect Seth Mitchell

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Prince George’s County is very distressed by trash and pollution,” said Adam Ortiz, acting director for the Department of Environmental Resources for the county. “This is an opportunity not just to clean it up, but also to make our county stronger economically.” According to the draft plan, in addition to a flat

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Louis vs. Schmeling II: Looking Back 75 Years Later

Three Members Appointed to Prince George’s County School Board By Courtney Jacobs Special to the AFRO The Prince George’s County Board of Education is at authorized strength with the June 17 swearing-in of three new members—all veteran educators—to create a 14-member board. Former University of the District of Columbia provost Beverly Anderson and former public school teacher Dan Kaufman, executive vice president of a New York City communications consultant firm, were the choices of County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, who culled

them from a field of 160 applicants. Both hold doctoral degrees. “I am pleased to announce and welcome the additions of Beverly Anderson and Dan Kaufman to the Prince George’s County Board New school board members of Education,” said Prince George’s County Executive were sworn in June 17. Rushern L. Baker III said teacher Curtis Valentine, in a statement. “Both are who worked in the county extremely knowledgeable professionals whose expertise district he is to represent on the board and holds a and energy will complement master’s degree from Harvard the existing board University’s Kennedy School membership.” of Government. The County Council selected former public school Continued on A4

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SCOTUS to Arizona: Voters Need Not Show Proof of Citizenship By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO States cannot preempt federal voting standards such as those set by the National Voter Registration Act, the Supreme Court decided June 17 in one of several high-profile cases the nation’s highest court is expected to rule on this term. The justices voted 7-2 in the case of Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, deciding that Arizona and other states could not require proof of citizenship or impose other restrictions on persons registering to vote in federal elections using the standard form created under the NVRA, unless given special federal authority.

Md. Appeals Court to Rule on Public Defender Access Part 1 of a Two-Part Series By Zenitha Prince Special to the AFRO

Supreme Court of the U.S. building, 1st St., SE

Maryland officials, Sixth Amendment activists and other stakeholders are eagerly awaiting the Court of Appeals ruling on a case that could have farreaching effects on indigent arrestees’ right to counsel. In January, the state’s highest court heard oral arguments in Paul DeWolfe Jr. et al v. Quinton Richmond Jr. et al on whether lower-income arrestees had the

Federal law “precludes Arizona from requiring a federal form applicant to submit information beyond that required by the form itself,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the court’s majority opinion. Voting rights groups praised the court’s decision as a victory for voters and a reaffirmation of the NVRA or “motor voter” law, which was passed in 1993 to streamline the voter registration process to encourage more Americans to vote. “State restrictions lost. Voters won, today,” said Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States, in a call with reporters. The LWV filed an amicus brief in the case. “The court’s ITCA decision safeguards the voter registration

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Copyright © 2013 by the Afro-American Company


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