Prince George's County Afro-American Newspaper, January 22, 2011

January 22, 2011 - January 22, 2011, The Afro-American A1 By George Barnette AFRO Staf Writer The Prince George’s delegation in Annapolis is beginning the 2011 legislative session with some key goals. Most include getting funding for the county as it tries to stabilize its school system and create new jobs. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker has been working hard with the Prince George’s delegation to ensure the county gets its fair share. With a $77 million budget decit for scal year 2012, he wants to get every penny he can from Annapolis. “My legislative priority is protecting the County and making sure we get the funding we need,” said Baker. “The state has made several commitments to Prince George’s County, and I will not back down until they are fullled.” The delegation in Annapolis appears to be By George Barnette AFRO Staf Writer Prince George’s County ofcials and community groups both acknowledge that in order to solve many of the violent crimes that have plagued the county in the early days of 2011, the community will have to get involved. However, some community groups think there is a disconnect between the police and residents that is preventing that from happening. At a Jan. 18 press conference, County Executive Rushern Baker made note of the need for citizens to understand what snitching really means and why hard-working taxpayers need to feel free coming forward to the police. Baker spoke of a visit he made to Community of Hope Church on Jan. 9 in which the Rev. Tony Lee told the young people in the congregation about the issue. Baker said he was glad Lee addressed the issue because young people in the African-Amer ican community oftentimes get the message confused. “Snitching is not when you aren’t doing anything wrong and you tell on somebody who did something wrong,” Baker said. “Snitching is when you’re in violence together and you try to craft a deal for yourself. “Honest people – men and women who everyday get up and go to work, do nothing wrong, should not be fearful of walking out their doors,” he continued. “In this county, as long as I’m county executive, it will not.” Circle of HOPE, a Prince George’s based group formed to promote peace in the county, wants residents to understand the same thing, but Jamal Spratley, the group’s CEO and co-founder, says there’s a bigger issue there. “I think the real issue is our community does not have a real working relationship with law enforcement,” Spratley said. “We have an adversarial relations hip.” Spratley said that former Prince George’s Police Chief Roberto Hylton worked hard at community policing to build relationshi ps with residents and community groups in the county. He said with Hylton’s ouster, there is a void there that still hasn’t been lled. “Ex-chief Hylton I could call and say, ‘this is about to happen or that is about to happen,’” Spratley said. “It was because of a relationship. That’s what law enforcement needs now.” Since that void hasn’t been lled, Spratley says there’ s hesitancy for residents or groups to trust police with information Volume 119 No. 24 JANUARY 22, 2011 - JANUARY 28, 2011 It’s About What Kind of Country We Want to Be A7 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDITION Hear the AFRO on The Daily Drum, Wednesday at 7 p.m. Lady Bison Snap Losing Streak B4 Janet Jackson Set to Rock D.C. A5 By George Barnette AFRO Staf Writer Maryland is heading towards a major budgetary crossroads as policymakers rush to develop a plan for state employee pensions. There are some who believe the counties should now bear the burden, but Gov. Martin O’Malley wants to reform the system before shifting costs. “We owe it to our police ofcers, teachers and other hardworking state employees, and we also owe it to our children, and to our taxpayers to nd a sustainable way forward that protects our commitments and maintains scal responsibility,” O’Malley said in a statement. “It is my belief that we cannot have an honest conversation about sharing costs, or even the need to share costs, until we reach an agreement on how we can x the pension system.” The issue surfaced last year when several Maryland senators proposed legislation that would shift the full cost of pensions to the counties. Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters, D.-Dist. 23, told the AFRO he would ght tooth and nail so counties like Prince George’s would not feel additional economic strain because of new costs. “I am not interested in raising any taxes and the only way I can see making that difference up is cutting,” Peters said. “I feel like if the state is really focused on education then it should fully fund the teacher’s pension so I cannot agree with that decision.” A possible solution would require the state and its counties to share the costs. Last month, the Public Employees and Retirees Benet Sustainability Commission voted to do just that over a three-year period. Under this plan, a wealth equalization option will be formulated where the state will grant aid to counties based on their wealth, meaning afuent counties receive less aid. “The State would then charge the local boards by double the increased aid amount for pension costs,” according to the report. By Dorothy Rowley AFRO Staf Writer AFRO Premieres Online Employment Center AFRO’s Leading into the Digital Age Courtesy Photo/Circle of HOPE Jamal Spratley, CEO of Circle of HOPE believes police should form a better relationship with the community. Disconnect May be Preventing Police-Community Partnership Budget, Ethics are Big Concerns for Prince George’s Legislators Who Should Pay State Employee Pensio n Benets? Continued on A4 “It is my belie that we cannot have an honest conversation about sharing costs, or even the need to share costs, until we reach an agreement on how we can fx the pension system.” ‘AFRO’ Launches IPhone Application New Rollout Provides Easy News Access By Shernay Williams AFRO Staf Writer The AFRO American Newspapers has recently launched a free job search engine on its website. As a supplement to Continued on A4 Courtesy Photo/Maryland General Assembly Del. Dereck E. Davis Courtesy Photo/JoleneIvey .com Del. Jolene Ivey

Prince George's County Afro-American Newspaper, January 22, 2011

Documents

Transcript of Prince George's County Afro-American Newspaper, January 22, 2011