The Garrett County Commissioners met on Tuesday. The presentation that was given by Dr. Ann Bristow is now online.
Click here for more information: http://garrettcounty.org/resources/commissioners/pdf/GaCo_Comm_3-17-15-(2).pdf
Author: Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales
Md. Senate kills effort to weaken proposed resistrictions on fracking
ANNAPOLIS — A key amendment offered by Republican Sen. George Edwards to weaken a bill that could restrict the process of drilling for gas in Western Maryland was defeated on the Senate floor Thursday.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Bobby Zirkin, D-Baltimore County, seeks to hold energy companies responsible for any damages from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling process that is used in states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The Senate voted 26-20 against an amendment to strip the bill of the words “ultra-hazardous and abnormally dangerous” to describe the process.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process by which water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to fracture rock and release natural gas.
Senators hotly debate language in fracking bill
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —The debate over whether to allow fracking in Maryland lit up the state Senate chamber Wednesday.
Legislators from western Maryland oppose a bill that would hold fracking companies accountable for any damage done during the process, saying it would kill any chances of cashing in on natural gas deposits in the state.
Spirited debate came to an abrupt halt when the Senate decided to seek the state attorney general’s opinion on disputed language in the bill.
Fracking extracts natural gas from Marcellus shale, which can be found underneath of nearly all of Garrett County and parts of Allegany County. A Towson University study finds tapping into Marcellus shale could infuse billions into the western Maryland economy.
Read More Here: http://www.wbaltv.com/politics/senators-hotly-debate-language-in-fracking-bill/31871292
Md. schools superintendent visiting Garrett robotics lab
ACCIDENT, Md. (AP) – Maryland State Schools Superintendent Lillian Lowery is visiting a robotics laboratory in far western Maryland that produced a regional championship team two years in a row.
She’s visiting the Garrett Engineering And Robotics Society building in Accident Wednesday. Her visit is part of a tour highlighting science, technology
, engineering and mathematics programs in Garrett and Allegany county schools.
Read More Here: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/28548514/md-schools-superintendent-visiting-garrett-robotics-lab
Fracking in Maryland needs to be stopped before it begins
Well it looks as if hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is going to make its debut in Maryland in the near future. After conducting a three-year long study concerning the potential effects of fracking on Maryland, former governor Martin O’Malley declared the state fit to frack just before leaving office. His successor Larry Hogan has also expressed his desire to start drilling in the very near future. While fracking might create short-term jobs and tax revenues, Maryland needs to realize the costs will far outweigh the benefits. Fracking will only destroy the state’s environment and worsen its already outdated infrastructure.
The process of fracking involves drilling about a mile and a half into the ground, injecting water into the well created by the drill in order to crack the shale bedrock and extract the gas within it. It’s a process that threatens the environment above and below the ground.
The biggest danger inherent in the fracking process is the possibility of leakages in the pipes, which would cause gas to seep into shallow rock layers and private wells, creating the possibility of it ending up in peoples’ faucets. When the contaminated water arrives at the tap, it becomes flammable.
The chemicals in the byproducts of the gas consist of benzene, xylene toluene, and methane; all of which are known to cause cancer, birth defects and nervous system disorders. Since fracking is such a recently developed process, there are also possible long-term risks that are still largely unknown. According to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a non-profit devoted to “building a movement to solve the climate crisis in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia,” doctors are already connecting fracking to numerous health problems like respiratory illness and increased infant mortality.
Read More Here: http://silverchips.mbhs.edu/story/12863
Price Improvement!
Inaccurate Zillow 'Zestimates' a source of conflict over home prices
When “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah O’Donnell asked the chief executive of Zillow recently about the accuracy of the website’s automated property value estimates — known as Zestimates — she touched on one of the most sensitive perception gaps in American real estate.
Zillow is the most popular online real estate information site, with 73 million unique visitors in December. Along with active listings of properties for sale, it also provides information on houses that are not on the market. You can enter the address or general location in a database of millions of homes and probably pull up key information — square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms and baths, photos, taxes — plus a Zestimate.
Shoppers, sellers and buyers routinely quote Zestimates to realty agents — and to one another — as gauges of market value. If a house for sale has a Zestimate of $350,000, a buyer might challenge the sellers’ list price of $425,000. Or a seller might demand to know from potential listing brokers why they say a property should sell for just $595,000 when Zillow has it at $685,000.
Read More Here: http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20150208-story.html
Famous Travelers: Edison, Ford, Firestone Travel Through Allegany County
By Francis Champ Zumbrun
“I like to get out in the woods and live close to nature. Every man does. It is in his blood. It is his feeble protest against civilization.’’ – -Thomas Edison at Muddy Creek Falls, 1921
In the summer of 1921, Thomas Edison, world famous inventor; Henry Ford, automobile manufacturer; and Harvey Firestone, tire magnate; camped out at two different locations in Western Maryland. Traveling on Route 40 from one campsite to the other took these well-known men from east to west through the entire width of Allegany County.
From July 21 to 27, they camped in Washington County on a 200-acre farm located along Licking Creek, about six miles east of Hancock. From July 27 to 31, they camped in Garrett County along Muddy Creek, at present-day Swallow Falls State Park.
Edison, Ford and Firestone were business partners and knew each other from working together on various business projects over the years. Their working relationship transformed into a bond of great friendship through the experiences they shared camping together about two weeks each summer from 1915 through 1924. On these camping trips, these wealthy captains of industry called themselves “vagabonds” as they roughed it together in the great outdoors away from civilizati
on.
The publicity that followed these celebrated men on their summer adventures helped to introduce to the general public the pleasure of motorized recreational touring, outdoor recreation and camping. Historians have noted that these camping trips were “the first notable linking of the automobile and outdoor recreation.”
The loud sounds of the motor caravan breaking the quiet of the rural countryside would have certainly drawn the attention of anyone within hearing distance. An Allegany County citizen standing at the right place at the right time along the National Road on the afternoon of July 27, 1921 would have certainly noticed the long caravan of vehicles passing through the area.
Read More Here: http://dnr.maryland.gov/feature_stories/FamousTravelersPart1.asp
Defendant Found Not Competent for Md. Bank Fraud Trial
BALTIMORE — A federal judge says a Garrett County developer is not competent to stand trial on charges he bilked banks out of $3.7 million in fraudulent real-estate schemes.
The order pertaining to Samuel VanSickle was unsealed this week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. His trial was to have begun Monday.
VanSickle will be evaluated at a Bureau of Prisons medical facility for up to four months to determine if he is likely to become fit for trial.
Read More: http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/03/13/defendant-found-not-competent-for-md-bank-fraud-trial/
100+ Maryland businesses call for fracking moratorium
More than 100 businesses in western Maryland have come out in support of a bill that would establish a moratorium on oil and gas exploration via hydraulic fracturing, citing concerns over pollution, health and tourism consequences.
Lawmakers in Maryland are currently considering bills that would either place an eight-year moratorium on fracking or ban the practice completely, much like New York did late last year.
However, state Gov. Larry Hogan believes the time is right to allow the practice – which involves blasting highly pressurized water, sand and other chemicals into layers of rock to free up oil and gas – as long as strict regulations are in place. According to the Baltimore Sun, the Maryland Environmental Department is considering regulations that would pave the way for fracking to begin in the state.
Read More Here: http://rt.com/usa/240293-maryland-businesses-fracking-moratorium/
