Subscribe
Community
County rolls out red carpet for gov.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by CARRIE LOVEJOY
The Rev. Robert Hahn, left, of Chesapeake Church, accepts a proclamation from Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) on Friday. Hahn was honored for his work on the county's largest food pantry and his initiative End Hunger in Calvert County.
|
E-Mail This Article
See related stories
Calvert County may not be central to Gov. Martin O'Malley's reelection campaign, but it does encompass some of his administration's top priorities: environmental stewardship, high-quality education and health care, agricultural preservation and energy expansion.
All were on display Friday as O'Malley (D) and his Cabinet swept through Calvert as part of his Capital for a Day program.
"This county is a microcosm of those big leadership qualities we try to tackle every day," O'Malley said after the Cabinet meeting at Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum in St. Leonard.
County officials used their face time with state leaders to underscore the importance of a proposed third reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant both to the local economy and the state's energy generation capacity.
The reactor's development could hinge on Constellation Energy Group's proposed $4.5 billion merger with a largely government-owned French energy conglomerate that must first gain approval from Maryland's Public Service Commission, a decision that Constellation officials are appealing.
O'Malley reiterated on Friday that the PSC has the right to review any deal to ensure it is in the public interest. Of particular concern is whether the merger would cause electricity rates, which have skyrocketed since artificial rate caps expired in 2007, to increase for customers of Baltimore Gas & Electric, a Constellation subsidiary that has more than 1 million customers, including several thousand in the Twin Beaches and surrounding areas.
The governor continued to voice support for a new reactor and the additional jobs it would bring.
Constellation representatives have said the deal with Electricite de France, which operates 58 nuclear plants in France, will not impact ratepayers. The deal would create a joint venture called Unistar to oversee the company's nuclear assets.
Although Calvert Cliffs was chief among local officials' talking points to O'Malley, the governor did not make a stop at the plant, which he has previously visited. State business and economic development secretary Christian S. Johansson toured Calvert Cliffs with County Commissioner Gerald Clark (R) and local economic development leaders.
"It gave us the spotlight for the day," Clark said. "Hopefully, they go back and see things that we do very well that may work in other parts of the state."
Other members of O'Malley's administration met with local counterparts and saw area facilities to get a first-hand look at success stories and needy programs.
Planning Secretary Richard E. Hall toured the Twin Beaches with the towns' mayors to understand development challenges amid laws restricting growth too close to the shoreline. Three secretaries held a public safety roundtable with area officials at Courthouse Square to identify crime-fighting strategies and other law enforcement issues.
O'Malley worked his way south through Calvert, beginning with a prayer brunch in Chesapeake Beach that gave local faith leaders an opportunity to share their concerns, which ranged from rising unemployment to the lack of arts curriculum in Maryland schools.
Religion plays an important role in making communities stronger, particularly in tough economic times, O'Malley told the crowd of about 75 that munched on eggs and bacon. He pitched his administration's "Problem Solver" Web site as a resource for needy citizens and talked about a list of lofty goals he has set, which includes the eradication of childhood hunger in Maryland.
He presented a proclamation to Pastor Robert Hahn of Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown for his work with the church's food pantry and his creation of End Hunger Calvert County, started last year.
Heath Wilson, an assistant pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church, who moved to Maryland from Vermont last summer, expressed concern about the erosion of life skills as part of the schools' curriculum. His son, a rising third grader, had some problems adjusting to the rigid math and reading coursework that didn't incorporate real life applications, as was the case in Vermont.
"In too many places, the music and arts programs have been either jettisoned or pushed to the backburner and we'll work to strike a better balance," O'Malley said, acknowledging the emphasis on teaching to the test.
From there, the governor was whisked to the newly-opened Calvert Medical Arts Center to take part in its official grand opening ceremony. The 75,000 square-foot facility on the campus of Calvert Memorial Hospital houses physical therapy and medical imaging centers, an information technology data center and several medical specialists' offices. It will also eventually be home to breast and neuroscience centers.
For Brandon Greening, a St. Leonard resident who was diagnosed in October 2007 with breast cancer, the center is a "one-stop shop" for cancer screening and treatment that means Calvert residents don't have to drive outside the county for those services.
"This building has the technology to rival any of those centers, so you really don't have to leave Calvert County," he said, referring to other hospitals in Southern Maryland and specialized services that are offered at the Johns Hopkins' medical campus in Baltimore.
The cabinet meeting, held under a pavilion at Jefferson Patterson Park, was light on business, but enabled local officials to make their pitch in front of the entire Cabinet.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert, Prince George's) said it was particularly valuable for members of the Cabinet to see some of Calvert's needs. He also noted the county's geographic diversity — a mix of urban and rural areas with beaches and many farms — that few other areas in the state share.
"Good things are coming together in one place for the betterment of all," he said of the county's development in recent years.
Calvert County Commissioners' President Wilson H. Parran called the O'Malley administration "a team that's responsive to Calvert County and local governments" in the current challenging economic environment. He appealed the state to accelerate funding for a new span of the Gov. Thomas Johnson Memorial Bridge and additional support for commuter buses and park-and-ride lots given that 60 percent of residents commute outside of the county to work.
Chesapeake Beach Mayor Bruce Wahl told the Cabinet the challenges of having roughly two-thirds of the town lie within the critical area – 1,000 feet from the shoreline – but said it also presents great opportunity to be a model for smart land use and environmental stewardship.
Rapid beach erosion was the chief concern shared by North Beach Mayor Michael Bojokles.
Former state senator Bernie Fowler proudly told the Cabinet that the annual Patuxent River Wade-In, held every June for the past 22 years in Broomes Island, will move next year to Jefferson Patterson Park so it can continue for years to come.
"I would like to see this go on in perpetuity," the 85-year-old Fowler said. "We think it's the right time to make the transition so we can make this a part of history so long as the Patuxent River stands."
All citizens must play an individual role in cleaning up the state's polluted waterways, O'Malley said. "It would be great if we could just push a button and clean the Bay."
