MARYLAND
Charles Man Charged in Fatal Stabbing
A Charles County man was arrested last night and charged with murder in the death of a 74-year-old man who also was a county resident, the sheriff's office said.
Authorities said Christopher A. Buck, 21, of Bryans Road was being held in the killing of Edward E. Broody, also of Bryans Road. Broody was fatally stabbed Sunday evening, the sheriff's office said.
WSSC Proposes Budget, Rate Increases
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission has proposed a 2.5 percent average rate increase for its 1.6 million water and sewer customers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
The agency's six-member governing board approved the rate increase last week as part of a $738.7 million budget proposed for fiscal 2006, a 6.9 percent increase over the current budget. The budget and rate increases, which must be approved by the Montgomery and Prince George's county councils, would take effect July 1.
Under the proposed rate increase, the average residential user would see annual bills rise by $12 to $556.
The 3 percent rate increase enacted last summer was the agency's first increase in six years.
Annapolis Wants Bridge Event Revived
The Annapolis City Council has asked the state to reconsider its cancellation of the popular Bay Bridge Walk and Governor's Bay Bridge Run.
Last month, the state called off the annual event -- which for 30 years has attracted as many as 60,000 participants who sprint and stride across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge -- because of concerns about traffic congestion, cost and security.
"The city council's vote underscores the importance of this event for our region," Alderman Joshua J. Cohen (D-Ward 8) said in a statement. "Not only is it a great family tradition, it gives a boost to the local economy by bringing in participants from across the country."
Montgomery Revises Funding Process
The Montgomery County Council has created a formal application process for nonprofit groups wishing to obtain funding in an effort to reform a system that some council members criticized as opaque and overly political.
"This new process will provide human service organizations with a fair and transparent method to apply for funding," council member George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) said in a statement. For the current fiscal year, the council appropriated $3.3 million in discretionary grants to several dozen organizations.
Under the new process, the council will convene a review panel that will evaluate applications for funding, but council members will not be bound by the panel's recommendations and will be able to nominate groups for funding that have not been reviewed by the panel.
Organizations that wish to receive funding in the fiscal year that begins in July must apply to the council by April 1.
