Drilling vs. Renewables - Md. Debate Over Energy Mirrors National Fight
Fracking is on hold and offshore wind legislation failed to pass.
By Ellen Stodola
April 13, 2012
ANNAPOLIS – Republicans and Democrats are at odds in the General Assembly over whether Maryland should pursue offshore wind or natural gas fracking as a way to improve the state’s energy output.
Neither option has been approved, with offshore wind failing to pass in the General Assembly for the second year in a row, and fracking on hold while a commission studies environmental and health concerns.
The debate ultimately breaks down to many Republicans pushing for the cheaper, more immediate drilling solution, while many Democrats argue for the greener, more long-term answer to the question of what Maryland’s energy future will look like.
It’s a Maryland-sized version of the national battle, between those who favor “drill baby drill,” mostly Republicans, and those who favor renewable energy sources, mostly Democrats.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
General Assembly 2012: Winners/Losers
Same-sex marriage finally passes; Currie punished with censure
by Gazette Staff
The Maryland General Assembly went out with a whimper Monday, capping off what observers say was one of the busiest, most unpredictable sessions in recent memory.
Lawmakers adjourned Sine Die without passing a tax plan to balance the state’s $36 billion budget.
The failure to approve a tax package, which budget leaders blessed around 8 p.m., triggers a so-called doomsday budget, which includes $512 million in cuts to education, libraries, public safety and numerous other programs across the state.
Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) has said he will not call a special session without assurance that there won’t be another stalemate.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
Senate approves doubling of flush tax for most of state
Areas not in Chesapeake, coastal watersheds exempted from increase
by Danielle E. Gaines, Staff Writer
The Maryland Senate approved on Saturday a bill that would double the flat-rate flush tax on water and sewer bills for most state residents.
The measure is one of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s (D) legislative priorities for the year….
…In a last-minute change, the Senate approved an amendment from Sen. George C. Edwards (R-Dist. 1) of Grantsville that would exempt any properties not located in the Chesapeake or coastal watersheds from paying the increased tax.
Those areas the westernmost portion of Garrett County and possibly some areas on the shore that drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean would continue to pay the $30 annual fee.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
March 2012 Market Update - Residential
20 properties sold in March 2012, up 4 from last month. Last year there were 22 homes that sold in March.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the stats:
There are 44 homes under contract right now (48 last month).
The average list vs. ORIGINAL sales price was 77.80% – (last month 82.16%).
The ADJUSTED list vs sale price was 90.58 (last month 89.82%).
The current # of active/for sale listings in MRIS (minus timeshares) is 591, up from last months 575. We have a 29.55 month supply of homes available (minus timeshares) based solely on the March sales numbers.
Random observations:
•5 ‘newer’ homes sold in March (5 years old or less)
•It appears that 15 or so of these sales were vacation homes
•11 homes sold under $300,000 (last month was 8)
•15 homes sold under $400,000 (last month 12)
•0 homes sold over $ 1 million (0 last month)
•3 homes sold for higher than full price or at full price (last month was 0)
•One house sold for 48.82% of asking price – 131 Mountain Overlook Ct #9
•The oldest home that sold was 108 yrs old (34 4th St)
•The average age of the homes that sold was 24 years (27 last month)
•6 condo/townhouse/fractional properties sold (5 last month)
Here are the statistical breakdowns:
Average Sale Price: $293,150 (last month $278,250)
Average Days on Market: 272/297 (last month 199/227) (days on market with current broker/total days on market)
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
What’s the Deal? This week’s best travel bargains around the globe.
By Carol Sottili and Andrea Sachs, Published: April 13
What’s the Deal?
Visit the Deep Creek Lake area of Western Maryland with a deal from the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. Through May 16, stay three nights for the price of two, plus receive one discounted activity. Promotion applies to nine lodging companies, including hotels, inns and vacation home rental companies. For example, a suite for two at the Waters Run Guest House & Suite bed-and-breakfast inn is now $190 for three nights (plus $15 taxes), a savings of $95. Discounted activity choices include a pass to Smiley’s Fun Zone family entertainment center for $19.95, a savings of $13. Info: 301-387-4386, www.visitdeepcreek.com.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
State budget debacle likely means special session
Without tax and pensions plan, spending cuts begin July 1
by Jeff Newman and Jason Babcock, Staff writers
Still reeling from the implications of an approved budget that includes $512 million in budget cuts, state Democratic lawmakers expect Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) to call for a special session in the coming weeks to finish work on proposals to raise income taxes on higher earners and shift teachers’ pension costs to local jurisdictions.
Each winter, the Maryland General Assembly convenes in Annapolis with one constitutional mandate — to pass a balanced budget — and yet every year without fail, debate over fiscal issues goes down to the wire, dependent on a ticking clock as much as negotiation between the two legislative chambers.
Lawmakers approved a budget Monday night in the waning hours of the 2012 session — just not the one they wanted.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
Wind power restrictions urged in Garrett
(AP) Some Western Maryland residents are urging the Garrett County Commissioners to impose restrictions on a proposed wind farm near Frostburg. The Cumberland Times-News reported that 39 people signed a petition urging the commissioners to impose setback provisions or other rules to protect families and homes near 24 turbines the Annapolis-based Synergics Group is considering building on Four Mile Ridge and neighboring Big Savage Mountain. Garrett County lacks a countywide land use ordinance enabling it to impose such restrictions. Meanwhile, both houses of the General Assembly passed a bill that would grant Garrett County the authority to impose setback and decommissioning provisions on wind farms.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
Nearly All Of The State Now In Drought
Monday, April 16, 2012
Steve Fermier
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WBAL’s Steve Fermier reports on the drought status currently in Maryland
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Jay Apperson of the Maryland Department of the Environment told WBAL’s Steve Fermier that part of the state is now in a “drought watch.”
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Eastern Shore as been designated as in a severe drought.
That’s not all.
The only part of the state that is not now on the drought map as dry is the extreme western portion of Garrett County.
In just three months Maryland has gone from normal rainfall to almost entirely abnormally dry or in drought.
In fact the lower Eastern Shore from Queen Anne’s County south is now in a severe drought and has been designated as such by the state Department of the Environment.
The national drought monitor lists only 2 percent of Maryland as having had normal rainfall and that’s basically the western sliver of Garrett County in far western Maryland.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
Deep Creek Lake POA Help Cover Sediment Study Funding Shortfall
Apr. 5, 2012
Deep Creek Lake Property Owners Association (POA) officials announced this week that they have joined with the Garrett County commissioners to make up a funding shortfall for Phase II of the Deep Creek Lake sediment study.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to begin Phase II next week. The first phase was completed for selected DCL coves during 2010–2011.
“Phase II will be a continuation of those studies, targeting the entire lake to evaluate sediment distribution, character and chemistry of the sediment, and to determine alternatives to control and cope with sedimentation,” said POA board member Scott Johnson.
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The cost estimate for Phase II is $180,000, of which $65,000 has been committed to by the DNR, leaving a $115,000 shortfall for funding. The POA has joined the county commissioners to cover that shortfall.
“At a special meeting of the board of directors called by President Troy Ellington on Saturday, there was a unanimous vote that the POA, as a stakeholder in the welfare of the lake, would contribute $20,000,” Johnson said. “In the meantime the county has committed to make up the difference of approximately $95,000.”
By so doing, the study can begin immediately, he stressed.
“The importance of starting Phase II immediately is to do much of the sampling prior to the sub-aquatic vegetation starting to grow as the lake water temperature begins to rise,” Johnson said.
Funded totally by the DNR, the POA, and the county, the effort will be a scientific study, giving a data base to go forward into the future to study trends of sediment deposits and knowing how to deal with its management, according to the POA.
“Members of the POA and the county commissioners have been providing input to the DNR that will greatly improve the validity of the study,” said Johnson. “The DNR has accepted much of that input and incorporated it into the scope of the work.”
He added that sedimentation is a natural process whereby soil is deposited through erosion into a body of water.
“The existing bathymetry map (water depth) of the lake is inadequate for this study, and hence, a new map of the entire lake represents a major effort of this study,” Johnson said.
According to the POA, Phase II study has four objectives:
1. To map the accumulated sediment in Deep Creek Lake.
2. To determine the physical and chemical properties of accumulated sediment.
3. To identify realistic, feasible, sustainable alternatives to address the removal and/or relocation of the sediment.
4. To identify the sources of the sediment inputs to the lake and develop strategies to minimize additional accumulations.
Results of the study will be released as they become available. A final report is due in approximately one year.
“The report will receive widespread dissemination to all stakeholders to allow for the maximum benefit of this investment,” said Johnson.
The POA has conducted two workshops over the past two years involving a wide range of Deep Creek Lake stakeholders.
“Brainstorming sessions, along with panel discussions, have proven to bring awareness to areas of concern, sediment being one of those concerns about the long-term health of the lake,” Johnson said. “The relationships among all the stakeholders have greatly improved through those workshops. The POA wishes to express its appreciation and thanks for the excellent working relationship that has been established between its membership, the county, and state offices. As stakeholders, we all want to maintain the wonderful recreational experience that Deep Creek Lake offers.”
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
Deep Creek study reaches Phase II
From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News
2012 — MCHENRY — The Department of Natural Resources is planning next week to begin Phase II of a Deep Creek Lake sediment study, according to the Property Owners’ Association of Deep Creek Lake.
Phase I was completed for selected coves during 2010-2011.
Phase II will target the entire lake to evaluate sediment distribution, character and chemistry of the sediment, and to determine alternatives to control and cope with sedimentation, Scott Johnson, association board member, said.
The cost estimate for Phase II is $180,000, with $65,000 to be funded by the DNR, according to Johnson. Working with the Garrett County commissioners, the association has agreed to help make up the $115,000 difference.
At a special meeting of the board of directors, called by president Troy Ellington, members voted unanimously to contribute $20,000.
The county has committed to about $95,000, according to planning director John Nelson. The funding will allow sampling to begin prior to subaquatic vegetation starting to grow as the lake water temperature begins to rise.
The study will provide a database to examine trends of sediment deposits and how to deal with their management. Members of the association and county staff have been providing input to the DNR to incorporate into the scope of the work.
Sedimentation is a natural process whereby soil is deposited through erosion into a body of water. The existing bathymetry map — the water depth of the lake — is inadequate for this study.
Phase II will include mapping the accumulated sediment in the lake, determining the physical and chemical properties of the sediment, addressing the removal and/or relocation of the sediment and identifying the sources of the sediment and strategies to minimize additional accumulations.
Results of the study will be released as they become available, with a final report is due in approximately one year.
The association has conducted two workshops over the past two years. Brainstorming sessions along with panel discussions have brought awareness to concerns about the long-term health of the lake.
More here.
Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!
