Maryland
Affordable Housing Working Group Members Announced By County Executive
HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The Howard County Affordable Housing Working Group has been formed. Its members will be responsible for recommending goals and criteria for a targeted incentive program for affordable and accessible housing in the county.
The group also will provide recommendations regarding the use of affordable housing allocations outlined in the county’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance housing unit allocation chart.
“The establishment of the Affordable Housing Working Group reflects our commitment to providing a full spectrum of housing opportunities in Howard County. As we face an ongoing housing crisis across our country, the working group will help address our local housing challenges and propose policies that will expand housing options for individuals and families who seek to live and work here,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.
Specifically, the working group will define the criteria for affordable and accessible housing, including physical factors such as unit type, size or physical accessibility design criteria. The group will also identify incentives related to development and the development process, such as density bonuses or setback relief, that will encourage the expansion of affordable housing options.
The working group will convene this summer and develop a written report of its assessments and recommendations to be shared with the Office of the County Executive, the County Council, the Adequate Public Facilities Task Force and the Department of Planning and Zoning no later than Dec. 1.
Comprised of 11 voting members and two non-voting members, the following voting members were appointed to the Affordable Housing Working Group by the County Executive:
- Ned Howe
- Timothy J. Goetzinger
- Justin Kennell
- Grace Morris
- Jacqueline West-Spencer
- Jessica Zuniga
The following voting members were recommended by the County Council:
- Cedric Brown
- Tom Evans
- Paul Revelle
- Taneeka Richardson, MPH
- Kathryn Valentine
Finally, the following non-voting members will serve on the group:
- Kelly Cimino, Director, Department of Housing and Community Development
- Peter Engel, Executive Director, Howard County Housing Commission
WalletHub’s “2024 Happiest States in America” report, released Monday, ranks Maryland as the second happiest state in the United States.
To determine happiness, WalletHub compared states across three key dimensions: well-being, work environment, and community, using 30 metrics.
Maryland ranked in the top five for several metrics, including the fourth-lowest suicide rate and an unemployment rate of 2.9%.
Maryland leads the nation in households earning over $75,000, and its residents rank third in job satisfaction and motivation.
A panel of experts, including Peter Harms, a professor at the University of Alabama, answered questions about happiness. Harms noted, “Money doesn’t bring happiness, but a lack of money brings unhappiness.”
Wondering which state is the happiest? Hawaii ranked number one.
Maryland
Mother of murdered Maryland mom Rachel Morin to testify on Capitol Hill on immigration policies
BALTIMORE – Patty Morin, the mother of murdered Harford County resident Rachel Morin, is expected to testify on Capitol Hill on Tuesday on the U.S.-Mexico border crisis and Biden Administration immigration policies.
Morin, a mother of five, was killed off the Ma & Pa Trail in August 2023 allegedly by a man who was in the country illegally.
After a 10-month nationwide manhunt, Victor Martinez Hernandez was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June. He was extradited to Maryland where he has been charged in Morin’s murder.
Martinez Hernandez, who has been indicted by a grand jury and awaits trial, allegedly left his home country of El Salvador in February 2023 after an arrest warrant was issued for the murder of a woman, according to law enforcement. He was also connected to a home invasion and assault of a child in Los Angeles.
Patty Morin will testify before the House Committee on the Judiciary at a hearing titled “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Victim Perspectives.”
She will provide her insights as a mother of a victim of an alleged illegal immigrant.
According to her attorney, Patty Morin will “honor Rachel’s memory and address how current border policies contributed to the devastating loss of her daughter.”
“Patty’s courage in speaking out during such a difficult time is admirable,” said Randolph Rice, the Morin family attorney. “This hearing provides a crucial platform to shed light on the consequences of our nation’s border policies, and we hope her voice helps create meaningful change.”
Patty Morin sat down with WJZ’s Jessica Albert for an exclusive one-on-one interview after an arrest was made.
Immigration authorities in Baltimore, Maryland, have arrested 153 illegal immigrant sex offenders this fiscal year, a record, with the latest being a Honduran man who was deported from the United States after he was previously convicted of raping a Maryland resident.
The Enforcement and Removal Operations branch under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said last week that Madai Gamaliel Amaya was taken into custody on Aug. 29 in the suburb of Montgomery Village.
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Madai Gamaliel Amaya, a convicted rapist, has been deported from the United States multiple times, authorities said. (ICE)
“This is a landmark arrest for ERO Baltimore, in that they secured a record 153 noncitizen sex offenders arrested in their area of operations during a single fiscal year, but more importantly, there are 153 victims who need not fear their predators because of ERO officers,” said ERO Executive Associate Director Daniel Bible.
Amaya initially illegally entered the U.S. at an unknown date and place years ago, ICE said. On Jan. 8, 2009, he was arrested by Montgomery County police and charged with second-degree rape.
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He was convicted months later and sentenced to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised probation upon his release. Two years and six months of the sentence was suspended by a judge. ICE filed a detainer request in 2010 with local authorities and Amaya was deported in 2013.
On July 27, 2016, Amaya was caught trying to illegally enter the U.S. by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Hidalgo, Texas. He was convicted of unlawful entry in 2017 and sentenced to 30 months in an Oklahoma federal prison.
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He was deported once again in 2018. He then entered the U.S. again at an unknown date.
His most recent arrest came last month and he remains in custody pending deportation proceedings, authorities said.
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