Friday, January 18, 2013
Courtney Watson raised more funds than the other members of the County Council combined.
2012 was a great fundraising year for Howard County Council member Courtney Watson. Watson, a Democrat who represents Ellicott City, Elkridge and Hanover in the First Council District, raised $254,410 in 2012, more than the total fundraising numbers of the four other Council members combined. She has a total of $374,457 cash on hand. "I am working hard to make Howard County an even better place to live and work," said Watson in a statement announcing her fundraising figures. "We should all be proud of the progress we are making." Watson has not formally announced whether or not she'll run for County Executive in 2014, when Ken Ulman must step down from the post due to term limits. In a recent Baltimore Sun report, she said she has been …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A local leader found a sign that Ellicott City will pull through the tragic train accident from last week.
Less than a week after the tragic train derailent in Ellicott City took the lives of two young women, Howard County Councilwoman Courtney Watson shared a photo that encapsulated what many people in the county feel for the families affected in the accident. "This (spotted in the Patapsco River as we walked over the bridge at the end of Main Street tonight) says it all," Watson said about a group of rocks on the water in the shape of heart, on her Facebook page. For news and events in Savage, sign up for the Savage-Guilford Patch newsletter.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Republican State Senator announces his intentions at a breakfast fundraiser in Ellicott City.
Republican State Sen. Allan Kittleman, of West Friendship, told supporters at a breakfast fundraiser on Wednesday morning that if he gets the funds and support, he plans on running for county executive in 2014, according to an article on Explore Howard. In the article, Kittleman said he commissioned a poll this spring that surveyed 450 county voters. That poll, administered by a Republican political research firm, showed Kittleman 20 points ahead of likely Democratic candidates Del. Guy Guzzone and County Council member Courtney Watson, according to the article. Current County Executive Ken Ulman is term-limited and will be forced to step down from his position in 2014. On Thursday, Ulman is holding a breakfast fundraiser that costs $1,…
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Change allows a strictly residential building to go up adjacent to the existing Ashbury Courts.
Howard County Council members voted 3-2 in favor of a change to the zoning code, allowing builders to create a purely residential building adjacent to Ashbury Courts, in the median of Route 1 in North Laurel. Patriot Realty, which built the complex, has struggled to attract merchants to the first-floor retail spots and wishes to make the second building all apartments. Prior to the change, the “Corridor Activity Center” zone, in which Ashbury Courts exists, required developments to have a certain percentage of retail space. Greg Fox, R-District 5, and Courtney Watson, D-District 1, both opposed the change, saying they are concerned that it could set a precedent for future development along the Route 1 corridor. “I think this is something …
Friday, April 15, 2011
Council members want the county to seek speed control strategies beyond speed cameras.
Howard County department heads faced hours of stern questioning from the county council Thursday on the proposed $179 million of spending in the FY12 capital budget. The Department of Public Works fielded much of the scrutiny after County Executive Ken Ulman highlighted stormwater management and infrastructure improvements as some of the most important additions to the FY 12 budget, alongside education. Speed Control The issue of speeding in communities and school zones drew a lot of discussion as the county considers speed cameras as a possible remedy to what Councilwoman Courtney Watson called “the No. 1 complaint from citizens in the county.” The proposed FY 12 spending budget for intersection improvements, which includes speed control…
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The budget director says the clear focus is education and environment.
Howard County budget director Ray Wacks told the county council Tuesday night that the focus of spending in the $179.3 million capital budget is on schools and stormwater projects. The proposed budget is about $31 million trimmer than the FY 2011 budget, which was approved at $210.4 million last year. Although a hearing on the budget was not specifically about educational budgets, Wacks noted that $70 million is going to public schools and another $30 million to Howard Community College. “The focus of this capital budget is clear this year, and it’s a focus on the environment and on schools,” Wacks said. For the past three years, the capital budget for public schools has hovered around $70 million. Wacks said expenditures would allow for …
Friday, February 11, 2011
Council unanimously votes to amend zoning regulations
And the bees win. The County Council Monday night unanimously approved a bill that could expand the number of apiaries in Howard County. The bill amends zoning regulations to allow apiaries, so long as they are at least 25 feet from abutting properties. An amendment to the bill allows for a 10-foot setback, so long as the entryways for bees are directed at least six feet above decks or other outside structures or are protected by a solid, 6-foot barrier. “I feel wonderfully about this because I feel like I’ve freed 14,000 acres in the middle of Howard County to be able to house bees,” said council member Mary Kay Sigaty, D-Columbia, who sponsored the bill with Greg Fox, R-Fulton. “And, who knows,” she added, “when I’m no longer a council …
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The bee bill, sign regulations, design guidelines and veterans' commission will come back before the council at Jan. 18 public hearings.
With several major topics before them on a single evening – the proposed creation of a veterans' commission, bills concerning sign regulations and design guidelines in downtown Columbia, and a bill about backyard beekeeping in the county – the Howard County Council decided it needed more time before making other decisions. The council voted Monday evening to push those decisions back until after they've heard once more from area residents. Public hearings have been scheduled for Jan. 18. The additional weeks will also give more time to staff to flesh out what council members are looking for in the bills – time that the staff didn't have between days off for holidays and the mandatory furloughs they had to take at the end of 2010, according…
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Smaller crowd endures cold weather to see "sequel" swear-in ceremony.
Violins, cello and bass welcomed about 300 people from the bitter winds to the swearing-in of the Howard County executive and council at Howard High School on Monday night. National Public Radio's Korva Coleman emceed the occasion, where all six incumbents again took the oath to serve the county. Administered by Clerk of the Court Margaret Rappaport, Ken Ulman was sworn in as county executive, along with county council members Courtney Watson (District 1), Calvin Ball (District 2), Jen Terrasa (District 3), Mary Kay Sigaty (District 4) and Greg Fox (District 5). Numerous Maryland legislators from both sides of the aisle were in attendance, including Delegates Guy Guzzone and Liz Bobo, and Senators James Robey and Allan Kittleman. Each …
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Sean Colin
9:09 pm on Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Why would Ulman stop using speed bumps which actually slow someone down? Perhaps so he can put in the speed cameras that do NOTHING at the time the person is speeding to slow them down, except send them a bill for it two weeks later-is $$$$$$$ is the true reason. Speed cameras are nothing more than a sin tax-you can speed all you want, it will just cost you. more ›