Jolene Ivey Recognized as the Voice of Reason in the State House.

Jolene Ivey Recognized as the Voice of Reason in the State House. Way to go Jolene!

Eric Hartley: A rare glimpse of reason By ERIC HARTLEY, Staff Writer Published February 26, 2009 On an issue as emotionally charged as immigration, reasoned debate is often in short supply. The extremes tend to shout louder than those in the middle - literally or figuratively. Such was the case yesterday afternoon at a House of Delegates committee hearing on licensing requirements for immigrants. Del. Ron George, R-Arnold, set the stakes by invoking Sept. 11 and "terrorists using nuclear weapons," suggesting that allowing illegal immigrants to have driver's licenses puts the nation at risk of an attack worse than 9/11 - never mind that the 19 hijackers were in the country legally. And one woman submitted a packet of written testimony that included articles with headlines like "Illegal aliens linked to gang rape wave: The crime epidemic no one will talk about?" Rape scares. Now there's a good way to start a civil discussion. "It actually makes me sad. I start to feel like the worst side of people is exposed during discussions like that," Del. Jolene Ivey, D-Prince George's, said before the hearing of the House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis. Ivey has introduced a dose of moderation, proposing a compromise under which Maryland could comply with federal law by verifying immigration status, but still allow people without "proof of legal presence," as the jargon goes, to get some form of driver's license. The better of her two proposals is to give undocumented people what amounts to a second-class driver's license. It would be clearly marked as not acceptable for federal purposes like boarding a plane. With a different design and color than a legal resident's license, it would be easy to spot. Of course, to some critics, writing into law that illegal immigrants can get licenses of any kind amounts to legislating lawlessness. The push for proof of legal presence comes as Maryland and every other state scramble to comply with Real ID, a 2005 federal law requiring states to establish legal presence before issuing IDs, among many other things. The risk of not complying is that, perhaps as early as next year, Marylanders couldn't enter a federal building or board a plane with a driver's license. Ivey's proposals aren't perfect - George said other states that have tried such "tiered" systems have abandoned them - but at least they represent a step toward the middle. Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration supports a bill introduced by George that flatly requires proof of legal presence for any state-issued identification. Ironically, that system - while it might make people feel good, having struck a blow for law and order - might actually make us less safe. Ivey's husband, Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn Ivey, told the committee that prosecutors and police want everyone to have state-issued identification because it helps solve crimes. He said the Motor Vehicle Administration database is one of the first places detectives look in homicide and sex assault cases and warned of "unintended consequences" of changing the system. Isn't it better to have everyone, including illegal immigrants, documented with their pictures in a state database than to have thousands of people off the grid, yet still driving and, in some cases, committing crimes?

Tech-savvy Jolene Ivey "seriously bummed out"

Virus concerns block Md. lawmakers' Facebook, MySpace access

By Gadi Dechter | gadi.dechter@baltsun.com

12:02 PM EST, February 6, 2009

Some tech-savvy members of the General Assembly were "seriously bummed out" this morning to learn that their computer access to Facebook and MySpace has been blocked because of virus concerns on the legislature's computer network.

Office of Legislative Information Systems Director Michael Gaudiello today confirmed that lawmakers were notified of the block yesterday and that it was because of a "significant increase in viruses and malware affecting the Maryland General Assembly computers." The block pertains to all computers running on the legislature's network, including the laptops lawmakers often use to surf the Web during bill hearings.

This morning, Gaudiello told The Baltimore Sun that there has been so far no damage or loss of data associated with the dozens of viruses coming from links hosted on the social-networking Web sites, but that the action was taken as a precaution. The ban was first reported on Legum's New Line, a political blog.

"I wouldn't say I'm devastated, but I am, like, seriously bummed out," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat. Ivey said she sometimes used Facebook to communicate with constituents while in Annapolis.

Related links

• Maryland Politics: No more Facebooking in the legislature

Del. Curt Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat and the unofficial Wikipedia-keeper in the General Assembly, had a more pungent reaction: "It's a dark day," Anderson said. "I've personally been contacted by half a dozen [lawmakers] wanting to know how to get [Facebook] back."

Gaudiello said DLS is monitoring additional sites for virus activity and may be blocking those, but the user-generated encyclopedia Wikipedia is still available. "At least there's somewhere we can go," said Anderson, shaking his head mournfully.

Ivey Fights to Protect Neighborhoods

Community calls for public hearing on natural gas plant

Residents say facility could pose safety hazard, decrease home values

by Elahe Izadi | Staff Writer

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Leah L. Jones/The Gazette Chillum resident Imani Kazana stands in a neighbor's yard on 21st Place on Saturday near the potential site of a liquefied natural gas plant on Chillum Road, directly behind her across the street, that will be 800 feet from her home and closer to this one. Featured Jobs DENTAL ADMIN. & RECEPTIONIST Dental Office is seeking FT Dental Administrator & Receptionist. More ACCT/SALES REP Open position for P/T & F/T Acct./Sales Rep. Competitive More America is changing, get the skills to change: Quality Training since 1983, WIA, VA approved More CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES Rockville based services co. in its 75th year seeking FT More See All Featured Ads

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Some Chillum residents have fought the building of a proposed natural gas plant in their neighborhood for years and now they're seeking a public hearing on the matter.

Washington Gas has proposed building a liquefied natural gas plant on a 21-acre site it owns on Chillum Road near Queens Chapel Road. It is less than a block from the West Hyattsville Metro Station.

Washington Gas submitted a portfolio plan to the Maryland Public Service Commission in November, which included building the plant on the Chillum site. The PSC reviews such sites to determine if they meet federal safety regulations.

Imani Kazana, president of Avondale/North Woodridge Citizens' Association and a founding member of the Washington Gas Watch Alliance, said residents want the PSC to pay close attention to the proposed plant, which is one part of the company's 23-page plan that analyzes the company's customer demand and natural gas capacity through 2013.

"We want everything to be very transparent, and not just sort of rubber stamp what they submit," she said. "We feel if it's put more out in a public way and have an opportunity to make our case, some modifications may be required by the PSC in this plan."

According to the plan, the plant was originally scheduled to be in service by fiscal 2013. Washington Gas selected the Chillum site because it meets the load requirements and there's existing infrastructure from an old gas plant in place. There would be no additional costs in land purchase and it's the most cost effective option for Washington Gas, according to the plan.

Kazana said residents are worried primarily about the safety risk of having the plant so close to their homes.

"The dangers from the vapors and so forth, and possible fires starting because of meeting up with a flame somewhere and igniting offsite, that can go up to 3 or 4 miles," she said.

In the past, Washington Gas representatives have said LNG facilities exist near high-populated areas, like in downtown Baltimore, and the industry has a very good safety record. They have also said Washington Gas needs to build the Chillum plant in order to meet forecasted increased demand.

Residents also worry that the plant could decrease home values, which has caused some neighbors to move over the past four years, Kazana said. The site is 800 feet from Kazana's house, and she had just finished building a $100,000 addition onto her home when she found out about the proposal five years ago.

"Nobody wants to lose the value of your home because somebody else has plopped some God-awful thing next door," she said.

Washington Gas spokesman Ruben Rodriguez said the company can't comment on the proposed plant because it's the center of an on-going legal matter. A federal judge is reviewing the legality of a county ordinance which barred the company from building the plant, and a decision could come in March.

Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Dist. 47) of Cheverly opposes the plant and plans to submit legislation to the Maryland General Assembly this session that would require the PSC to use U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development safety standards in approving such facilities.

There is no PSC public hearing scheduled on the plan yet.

Ivey Friend confirmed as attorney general

Holder confirmed as attorney general

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Senate confirmed Eric Holder as attorney general Monday, voting 75-21 to place him in charge of the Department of Justice.

Eric Holder is a former federal prosecutor and served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration.

Holder, 58, is a former federal prosecutor and served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration. His confirmation makes him the first African-American confirmed to the post, though he held the job on an acting basis in early 2001.