By Dan Morse and Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) is asking FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to investigate a series of racist graffiti hate crimes in Charles County.
"Families deserve to know their neighborhoods are safe and free from intolerance and discrimination," Mikulski said in a statement released this week.
County and federal officials say the FBI is already involved, having been part of a task force for months.
"I believe we're doing everything that's appropriate in this case," said Special Agent William Chase, who's in charge of the FBI's Baltimore office. Chase said one or two agents in his satellite Annapolis office have been assisting the Charles County Sheriff's Office in investigating a series of incidents since last year in which racist graffiti have been scrawled on Charles roadways, houses, cars, church signs and playground equipment.
Maj. Joseph C. Montminy Jr. said his Sheriff's Office has received help from the FBI's Annapolis office since September. "We welcome any help that they bring to us," he said.
The Sheriff's Office has made several arrests in the most recent cases and to date has charged 15 people, including 14 juveniles, with hate crimes. "We are making progress" in the cases, Montminy said Tuesday.
Many of the incidents, going back to last year, remain unsolved. Sheriff's deputies have not been able to connect those arrested with many of the crimes from last year. The graffiti have included "KKK," "white power" and similar phrases.
A spokeswoman with Mikulski's office said Tuesday that the senator was aware the FBI was part of the task force. By asking Mueller for an investigation, "she is trying to raise the level of visibility," the spokeswoman said.
According to Mikulski's statement, a group of constituents, including the leadership of the Charles County NAACP, has been in contact with her about the hate crimes.
Chesapeake Gets FundsThe National Park Service will make $739,000 available for the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Program and Watertrails Network this year.
The funding, announced Tuesday by Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and Mikulski, includes money allocated to implement the new Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
"The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network is unique because it brings volunteers, parks, historic sites, wildlife refuges, museums and water trails together to ensure that visitors can experience the fullness of life along the Chesapeake Bay," Cardin, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said in a statement.
Created in 1998, the network has grown to encompass more than 150 gateways in six states and the District. It includes more than 1,500 miles of developed trails. It is a major driver of tourism, drawing an estimated 10 million visitors a year to its exhibits and sites.
The Smith trail would be the first national water trail in the nation, commemorating the exploratory voyages of Smith on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries from 1607 to 1609.
"The Chesapeake Bay is part of who we are as Marylanders -- our heritage and our culture. I am proud to support the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Program and Watertrails Network and the creation of the John Smith Trail so that visitors can enjoy and appreciate this national treasure and Maryland's greatest natural resource," Mikulski, a member of a key appropriations subcommittee, said in a statement.
Task Force to MeetThe first meeting of the St. Mary's County Form of Government Task Force is from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Governmental Center, 23115 Leonard Hall Dr., Leonardtown.
County commissioners created the task force recently to evaluate the possible forms of government for St. Mary's County and make recommendations to commissioners. The options are no change (maintain the commissioner form), proceed with the process for a referendum on adoption of a code for home rule and proceed with the process for development of a charter and a referendum on adoption of a charter government.
These St. Mary's residents were appointed to the task force: Anne Bell, Elmer Brown, Francine Dove-Hawkins, Richard Gass, John L. Madel Jr., John Mattingly, Patrick Murphy, Kathleen O'Brien, John K. Parlett Jr., Dan Rebarchick, Doug Ritchie, Patty Robrecht, Judith A. Spalding, Clare Whitbeck and Patricia A. Woodburn.
Cardin Pleads for FundingCardin is seeking full funding of the Resource Conservation and Development program in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's budget for fiscal 2008, his office announced.
President Bush has called for funding of the program to be cut by 74 percent, which could eliminate 325 federal coordinator positions, according to Cardin's office.
Agriculture is among Maryland's largest industries, with more than 12,000 farms in the state. The state has three federal coordinators, in Southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland.
Cardin said budget cuts to the program would "severely affect economic development in agricultural communities."
The Resource Conservation and Development program "has been in existence since 1962 and it provides an important way for communities to address their natural resource and development concerns," Cardin said in a statement.
Cardin wrote a letter March 30 to Sens. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), top appropriators for agricultural issues, asking them to provide full funding of $56 million for the program.
"One of the main benefits of the RC&D program is the promotion of local economies through the leveraging of federal dollars," Cardin wrote.
Accreditation HearingSheriff Timothy K. Cameron (R) announced last week that a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. will be in the county beginning Saturday to examine all aspects of the St. Mary's Sheriff's Office policies, procedures, management, operations and support services.
The visit is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation from the organization.
As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and residents will have a chance to offer comments at a public information session from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center, 44219 Airport Rd., California. Anyone interested in speaking should sign in between 6:30 and 7 p.m. in Room 135.
Comments also may be made by telephone. Those unable to attend the meeting may call 240-298-3759 between 2 and 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The Sheriff's Office has to comply with 446 standards to gain accreditation, Cameron said in a statement. A copy of the standards is available in the lobby of the Sheriff's Office, 23150 Leonard Hall Dr., Leonardtown.
Mail comments to Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, 10306 Easton Pl., Suite 320, Fairfax, Va. 22030.
Patuxent Park Makes CutGov. Martin O'Malley (D) announced last week that the Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $200,000 grant for the Patuxent Park area wastewater collection system in St. Mary's County.
The board -- whose members are O'Malley, Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) -- must approve major state construction and procurement expenditures.
The proposed project involves rehabilitation of a substantial portion of the Patuxent Park area wastewater collection system in Lexington Park. The work will include repairing and/or replacing defective sewer lines and manholes.
"I am pleased that the Maryland Department of the Environment has assisted the St. Mary's County Metropolitan Commission with funding for the Patuxent Park sewer improvement project," commission director Steven L. King said. "By eliminating a severe inflow and infiltration problem, the leaching of untreated sewage directly into the groundwater will be curtailed."
Chamber to Honor WomenVicki Lucas will be the keynote speaker at the Charles County Chamber of Commerce's 38th Annual Working Woman's Appreciation Day from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 26 at the Greater Waldorf Jaycees Community Center.
An expert on women's health, Lucas runs a health-care consulting company and has published many articles.
Reservations are required. Registration costs $35 for chamber members, $45 for others.
To make reservations or for information, call 301-932-6500 or 301-870-3089.
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