04-13-2021
Photo Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse
It may not be Christmastime anywhere in the world right now, but centenarian Ira Miller has Christmas in his heart all year round.
For years Miller has devoted his time to packing Christmas boxes for children through Operation Christmas Child. He started packing the shoeboxes at his small church in West Virginia. The congregation usually assembled 35 boxes a year, but in 2016, Miller packed 21 by himself.
Then in 2017, Miller was gearing up to celebrate his 100th birthday and the idea arose for him to pack 100 boxes in honor of his centennial.
Miller sees a shoebox gift as much more than a bunch of toys and school supplies. “I hope [the children] are blessed and realize that God looks after them and that there’s still hope for them," he said.
Opening day at Camden Yards Thursday. Governor's Office photo
HOGAN EYES POLICE REFORM BILLS: Maryland’s lawmakers representing both sides of the political aisle said Thursday that they believe it is likely that Gov. Larry Hogan will veto all or part of a package of five landmark police reform bills that the General Assembly recently approved, Bryan Renbaum reports for Maryland Reporter. Should Hogan decide to veto the legislation, it is considered likely that the veto will be overridden given that Democrats have a near-supermajority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate.
As Democrats celebrated the passage of the sweeping reform bills, Republican colleagues, as well as Hogan, voiced concerns that the legislation adopted too much of the House’s strict limits and too little of compromises in the Senate approach to police reform, Steve Lash reports for The Daily Record.
State Roundup: GOP proposes small business bills; lawsuit filed against new digital tax marylandreporter.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from marylandreporter.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
State Roundup: Hogan signs $1.2 billion relief bill; funds target hard hit Marylanders, businesses
It was a bipartisan thumbs up at Monday's signing of the $1.2 billion relief package. From left: At the desk were Senate President Bill Ferguson, Gov. Larry Hogan and House Speaker Adrienne Jones. Behind them, from left, were House Minority Leader Nic Kipke, House Majority Leader Eric Luedtke, Senate Budget & Tax Chair Guy Guzzone and Senate Minority Leader Bryan Simonaire. Governor's Office photo
HOGAN SIGNS $1.2B RELIEF ACT: When Gov. Larry Hogan put pen to paper on Monday afternoon and signed the RELIEF Act into law, he triggered a series of maneuvers that will enable hundreds of thousands of state residents to get stimulus payments and many businesses to get tax breaks, Pamela Wood of the Sun reports.
State Roundup: Hogan offers help for business, but no new COVID restrictions
Baltimore City Hall has a new team of leaders. Official photo
HOGAN ANNOUNCES RELIEF FUNDS, NO NEW RESTRICTIONS: More economic relief is on the way for Maryland’s small businesses, with Gov. Larry Hogan announcing the forgiveness of $75 million in emergency loans from the spring and new investments in housing and other areas, Bryan Renbaum writes for Maryland Reporter. But with new restrictions coming from counties, the fear is many businesses are at a “point of no return.”
Hogan ordered no new statewide restrictions on business or social activities, Jeff Barker and Christine Condon report for the Sun. Hogan’s comments Thursday highlighted a widening gap between the approaches taken by the Republican governor and some of the state’s largest, Democrat-led jurisdictions as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.