HoCo Watchdogs

02/12/2024

🚨🚨ALERT -- CONTACT YOUR COUNTY COUNCILMEMBER TODAY ABOUT 7PM VOTE TONIGHT: County Executive Calvin Ball Is Attempting to Weaken Independent Oversight Powers of New Howard County Inspector General🚨🚨

Tonight at 7:00 PM, the Howard County Council will vote on legislation that will establish a new Howard County Inspector General --- an important government oversight position that is long overdue.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball has introduced amendments to this bill that will weaken its independence and grant the County Executive the power to make two appointments to the seven-member Inspector General Citizen Board and to allow this Citizen Board the power to terminate an Inspector General instead of keeping that power reserved the County Council.
https://howardcounty.granicus.com/player/clip/5998?meta_id=209884

Amendments 2, 5, and 9 are most concerning: https://apps.howardcountymd.gov/olis/LegislationDetail?legislationId=13630&legislationNumber=CB61-2024

https://apps.howardcountymd.gov/olis/api/Documents/LegislationDocument?documentId=37255
https://apps.howardcountymd.gov/olis/api/Documents/LegislationDocument?documentId=37258
https://apps.howardcountymd.gov/olis/api/Documents/LegislationDocument?documentId=37262

Contact your County Councilmember and advise them to stick to the bipartisan Inspector General legislative language the council created to ensure an independent Inspector General and ask them to not vote for the amendments from County Executive Calvin Ball that will strip away its independence and weaken oversight of the County Executive and the rest of the Executive branch of the Howard County government.

District 1: Liz Walsh, Council Member
[email protected]

District 2: Opel Jones, Council Member
[email protected]

District 3:Christiana Mercer Rigby, Council Member
[email protected]

District 4: Deb Jung, Council Member
[email protected]

District 5: David Yungmann, Council Member
[email protected]

Full County Council:
[email protected]

https://marylandmatters.org/2024/11/29/a-tale-of-two-counties-a-tale-of-two-cultures/
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/local-government/howard-county-inspector-general-7Y4ODIMRBVDXVKUKMZUC5B5ND4/

31/10/2024

Good or Bad for Howard County? A Glimpse at How Non-Residents and Partisan Political Entities are Dominating Election Campaign Contributions for HCPSS Board of Education Candidates Chamblee and Mallo
https://www.hocowatchdogs.com/blog-20241031/
A summary of 2024 election campaign contributions for Districts 4 and 5 HCPSS Board of Education candidates and concerning details of how almost 80% of over $120,000 in contributions to two candidates has come from individuals and businesses residing outside Howard County, partisan elected official and political party/club transfers and self-funding instead of from the residents of the Howard County District that the candidates are running to represent.

What do you think about this post? Please share your thoughts, ideas, questions, and personal research in the comment section below.

A summary of 2024 election campaign contributions for Districts 4 and 5 HCPSS Board of Education candidates and concerning details of how almost 80% of over $120,000 in contributions to two candidates has come from individuals and businesses residing outside Howard County, partisan elected official....

31/10/2024

Board of Education candidates Jen Mallo and Andrea Chamblee have brought in a record-breaking total of over $121,000 in election campaign contributions so far this cycle. Almost 80% of these contributions (over $93,513) have come from individuals/businesses residing outside Howard County (36%), partisan elected official and political party/club transfers (24%) and self-funding (17%).
Only 13% of Mallo and Chamblee's total received contributions (less than $17,000) have come from the Howard County District that they are running to represent (District 4 for Mallo, District 5 for Chamblee).
Is this healthy for HCPSS Board of Education elections, especially the District-specific ones?

16/10/2024

What are your thoughts on this HCPSS police response data? What do you feel the school system should change or improve? What would you like to be investigated further?
Full report here: https://www.hocowatchdogs.com/blog-20240926/
Data repository here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LlXV6AuoHvAVLtmxohC7yRAuEcNhxRfo

13/10/2024

Just what is going on at Howard Community College???
https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/howard-community-college-daria-willis-PV5IRUQR55C4NKYV2JMNFDSQWQ/
https://archive.ph/5h4O4
The website referenced in the Baltimore Banner article ( http://howardcc.fyi/ ) has hundreds of detailed and personal concerning accounts from anonymous HCC faculty, staff, parents and students, most of whom have come forward in just the past month

The board of Howard Community College sent an email to the campus community voicing confidence in President Daria J. Willis, defending her against criticism.

28/09/2024

Police Response and Lockdown Data for Howard County (HCPSS) and Carroll County (CCPS) Public School Systems (2017 - 2023)
https://www.hocowatchdogs.com/blog-20240926/

26/09/2024

Police Response and Lockdown Data (2017 - 2023) for Howard County (HCPSS) and Carroll County (CCPS) Public School Systems
https://www.hocowatchdogs.com/blog-20240926/

A data deep dive into lockdowns and County Police Department responses to public schools in Howard County (HCPSS) and Carroll County (CCPS) between 2017 and 2023.

What do you think about this post? Please share your thoughts, ideas, questions, and personal research in the comment section below.

A data deep dive into lockdowns and County Police Department responses to public schools in Howard County (HCPSS) and Carroll County (CCPS) between 2017 and 2023.