He Can Run a County, but a Copier Is Another Story

How many county executives does it take to run a photocopier?

Answer: two, plus a flack who actually knows how to push buttons on the darn thing.

Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith (D) dutifully reported for work to the office of Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (D) on Monday, making good on a friendly wager Ulman won when River Hill High School beat Baltimore County's Eastern Tech for the Maryland 2A football championship in December.

Smith arrived in Ulman's office suite looking dapper in a pinstripe suit and carrying coffee and doughnuts to make points with the boss. But he fumbled a bit when he was shown the copier to reproduce articles about -- who else? -- Ulman.

"You didn't tell me how to do it," he complained to Ulman, who came over and poked a button or two. Kevin Enright, Ulman's director of communications, sidled up and got the copier whirring.

"I'm cooking now -- I'm a quick study!" Smith declared to the assembled cameramen and reporters.

The two executives then headed out to River Hill High, where they visited a class on government and served pizza, Gatorade and cake to the football team, Coach Brian Van Deusen and Principal Bill Ryan.

Should a Speed Camera Bill Stall . . .

Howard County lawmakers want to pursue their own version of speed camera legislation even though Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has introduced a statewide bill permitting limited use of speed cameras.

The 11-member delegation was scheduled to vote this week on a bill introduced by Sen. James N. Robey (D-Howard) and favored by Police Chief William McMahon.

"Over time, people will change their behavior," McMahon told lawmakers last week in Annapolis.

Del. Elizabeth Bobo (D-Howard), said the county's legislators "want to be prepared in case the state bill gets in trouble."

The Howard measure, similar to one adopted last year for Montgomery County, would set fines of $75 for motorists captured on camera while speeding on roads in school zones and with a maximum posted speed limit of 45 mph. The fines are mailed to the vehicle's owner, identified through the license plate number.

Del. Gail H. Bates (R-Howard) pointed out that the driver of the vehicle would not necessarily be the one receiving the citation: "We are not going after speeders themselves, we are going after the car owner."

The state bill imposes $75 fines in school zones and on residential streets, as well as in work zones along highways. However, unlike the county bill, it provides for a one-year grace period during which warnings, not fines, would be issued.

New Health Board Members

Two new members have been named to the Howard County Board of Health.

Sue Song, an advanced psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, has been active in reducing cultural barriers and securing health services for members of the county's Korean American community. Song, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, is also a past president of the nonprofit Korean American Community Association of Howard County, where she established Care Line, a network and hotline offering outreach services and crisis assessments to local Korean Americans. Song replaces Gladys Curley, whose latest term on the nine-member board has expired. She served nearly a decade.

Also joining the board is longtime public health advocate Kari Appler, project director of the National Conference on Tobacco or Health at Danya International, a Silver Spring-based public health research and communications firm. Appler previously directed Smoke Free Maryland, a statewide coalition of public health and community groups working to reduce smoking and tobacco-related disease. She replaces past Board of Health chair Marilyn Maitland, who is moving from the county.