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Adam Meister

Baltimore Politics Examiner
Adam Meister's scribe spreads his innate enthusiasm for all things Baltimore--and, in particular, the political inner workings of his beloved hometown.

Mayor Dixon going on a trip to Egypt
Slots Will Not Provide Property Tax Relief
Mayor Dixon may fire city workers
Only in Baltimore- When An Attempted Armed Robbery Becomes A Property Crime
Grandstanding Elijah Cummings Complains About AIG After Giving $1 Trillion Of Our Money Away
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    Ground Rents Are Worthless

    July 8, 4:40 PM
     
     
    Did that headline get your attention?  You probably have not had it explained to you like that yet, but it is true.

    In 2007 (after the Baltimore Sun did a series about ground rents) the Maryland general assembly abolished the use of ejectment if ground rents were not paid.  People can no longer be kicked out of their homes for forgetting to pay $60 or whatever their ground rent may be.  No new ground rents can be created.  It sounds fair but the story does not end there.

    Ground rent owners can still try and collect up to three years of past unpaid ground rents.  No legal costs can be assessed to the home owner now.  So let's say a home owner has not paid his yearly ground rent of $120 for three years.  The ground rent owner can try and collect the $360 owed to them but the legal fees to do so will most likely cost $500 or more and make it completely not worth it.  Most ground rents are $120 or less.

    So because of an article in the Baltimore Sun the general assembly destroyed the rights of ground rent owners (I am not saying that is a bad thing).  From what I have heard a lot of home owners are catching on to this and are not paying ground rents.  Ground rent owners (many of whom are senior citizens) are infuriated at the Governor and are feeling quite helpless since their retirement income producing assets are now basically worthless.  It is amazing what one article in a newspaper can bring about.  I think our politicians should learn a lesson from all this.

    There is a lawsuit to get the state of Maryland to compensate ground rent owners and buy back the ground rents.  I do not have a lot of information on this case.  The last I heard the case had been remanded from federal court back to state court
    Topics: Martin O'Malley , Ground Rents
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    More from Baltimore Politics Examiner

    Mayor Dixon going on a trip to Egypt

    October 13, 8:56 AM
    That title is not a joke. In these times of great economic hardships and mayhem the Mayor of Baltimore is going to Egypt in the name of diplomacy. If you have $2540 you can join her. The trip includes :• A day with Luxor community including dinner... Read More
    Topics: Sheila Dixon , Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
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    Slots Will Not Provide Property Tax Relief

    October 11, 9:57 PM
    The Sun reports that Shelia Dixon supports slots.  This really is not news.  What she says in the article is news though: "Dixon could not say by how much the expected revenues would lower city property taxes. "Probably about six... Read More
    Topics: Slots , Sheila Dixon , Locust Point
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    Mayor Dixon may fire city workers

    October 10, 12:52 PM
    The Sun is reporting that Mayor Dixon may consider laying off city employees because of the turbulent budget situation. This is a great sign! I can assure you that the national economic crisis that we are witnessing is going to hit municipal governments... Read More
    Topics: Sheila Dixon , Budget , layoffs
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    Only in Baltimore- When An Attempted Armed Robbery Becomes A Property Crime

    October 9, 11:55 PM
    This Sun article explains how the gun that was used to murder Ken Harris was also used at an attempted armed robbery at the same shopping center back in January. The attempted robbery back in January was not classified as an attempted robbery though.... Read More
    Topics: crime , Sheila Dixon , Ken Harris
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    Grandstanding Elijah Cummings Complains About AIG After Giving $1 Trillion Of Our Money Away

    October 8, 1:35 PM
    This entire bailout situation disgusts me. It makes me even sicker to see a grandstanding Elijah Cummings complain about AIG after giving $1 Trillion of tax payer money to equally corrupt entities. You can watch the video below: Congressman Cummings... Read More
    Topics: bailout , Elijah Cummings
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    Video From NAACP Meeting About Slots- What the Mayor And Governor Really Thought

    October 7, 3:35 PM
    The following is a must see video from the NAACP meeting about slots:     It starts out with some theatrics from Doc Cheatham, but intertwined with his sometimes hilarious words are hard disgraceful facts about Martin O'Malley and Sheila Dixon.... Read More
    Topics: Martin O'Malley , Sheila Dixon , Jill Carter , NAACP , Doc Cheatham , Heber Brown , Peter Franchot
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    Pigtown's Frustration Evident At Crime Summit

    October 6, 9:16 AM
    The people of Pigtown have been very frustrated with the revolving door criminal justice system of Baltimore for the past few years. I have posted summaries that dealt with crime summits they have held to address specific concerns. Below is an email... Read More
    Topics: Patricia Jessamy , pigtown , Dan Cosgrove
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    Shame On Elijah Cummings And The Maryland Congressional Delegation.

    October 4, 1:33 PM
    The irresponsible banker bailout bill was approved by congress and signed into law by the President this week. Roscoe Bartlett was the only member of the Maryland congressional delegation who voted against it. I am appalled that Elijah Cummings voted... Read More
    Topics: Elijah Cummings , Roscoe Bartlett
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    Report From The Live Entertainment Ordinance Hearing

    October 3, 12:15 PM
    Yesterday at City Hall there was a hearing to discuss the proposed live entertainment ordinance (read the official legislative file here). Below is an email I received that describes what happened at the hearing.  In these times of economic uncertainty... Read More
    Topics: Federal Hill , Stephanie Rawlings-Blake , Live Entertainment