From Speed Cameras to the Shiny New ICC: Patch Keeps a Close Eye on Your (Roads and) Government

Accused of violating a policy banning board members from using “the prestige of their offices for their own private gain or that of another,” Howard County School Board member Allen Dyer is under investigation by the school system’s ethics panel. Learn more about the confidential hearing of Dyer's case on Columbia Patch.

County Executive Ken Ulman and Howard County Police Chief William McMahon announced their intent to introduce legislation that would allow the use of mobile speed cameras. If enacted, two speed camera vans would patrol school zones to ticket and fine violators. Ellicott City Patch has the story.


What do you think of the possibility of police keeping a closer eye on your speedometer? Following up on the proposed legislation, local editor Brandie Jefferson takes to the streets to hear your thoughts on the future of road surveillance in Howard County with a video posted on Ellicott City Patch.


After reading a recent study by the Alice Ferguson Foundation that found 75 percent of Washington, D.C., residents said they had reduced their bag consumption after a 5-cent bag tax, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett presented similar legislation this week. Details are on Colesville Patch.


Several Howard County residents who attended the Feb. 23 delegation hearing in Ellicott City shared their reasons for opposing the bill, which would allow students to pay in-state college tuition regardless of their immigration status.Two weeks later, the Maryland DREAM Act took the floor in Annapolis. Hear about what happened by visiting Elkridge Patch.


The highly anticipated Intercounty Connector is the first new highway in more than a decade in Maryland—a state that is struggling with deteriorating roads and increasing commute times. With claims that the first section of the toll road will substantially cut the suburban Washington and Baltimore traffic, Patch editors Lisa Rossi and Brian Hooks gave the ICC a test run. Get a feel for the road with their video on Savage-Guilford Patch.