Howard County Executive Calvin Ball Hired and Generously Paid Family Member Who Wrongly Denied the Public Release of Hundreds of Emails Exchanged with Developer Lobbyist

Budget, County Government, Developers, Elections, Ethics, HCPSS, Howard County, Legal Issues, MPIA, Must-Reads, Special Education, Special Interest Groups

An investigation of how Howard County Executive Calvin Ball hired and gave unusually generous pay increases over three years to his family member who was simultaneously being paid as Ball’s election campaign manager, and how this family member proceeded to repeatedly and wrongly deny the public release of hundreds of emails related to correspondence between the County Executive and private developer attorneys & lobbyists.

“Ownership & Monopoly-Like Control?”: An Examination of The Howard Hughes Corporation’s Local Election Campaign Contributions

County Government, Developers, Elections, Ethics, Housing, Howard County, Legal Issues, Must-Reads, Special Interest Groups

A deep dive into the local election campaign contributions of Downtown Columbia’s “Master Developer”, The Howard Hughes Corporation, and a discussion about concerns related to their campaign finance activities.

One Too Many Hats for State Delegate Jessica Feldmark? The Concerning Case of Calvin Ball’s Special New Employee

County Government, Developers, Elections, Ethics, Housing, Howard County, Legal Issues, MPIA, Must-Reads, Special Interest Groups

Should a sitting Maryland state delegate be allowed to simultaneously work for a County Executive, managing business relationships & major county-level decisions between special interest groups that donated generously to that state delegate’s own election campaign?

HoCo Watchdogs Newsletter – Issue #3

Board of Education, Budget, County Government, Developers, Elections, HCPSS, Housing, Howard County, Must-Reads, Newsletter, Special Education, Special Interest Groups

Issue #3 of the HoCo Watchdogs newsletter. This newsletter provides a concise list of articles, videos & social media posts for readers to stay well informed about important Howard County, Maryland issues such as public school policies, land use & development, and county governance.

HoCo Watchdogs Newsletter – Issue #2

Board of Education, County Government, Developers, Elections, HCPSS, Housing, Howard County, Legal Issues, Must-Reads, Newsletter, Redistricting, Special Interest Groups

Issue #2 of the HoCo Watchdogs newsletter. This newsletter provides a concise list of articles, videos & social media posts for readers to stay well informed about important Howard County, Maryland issues such as public school policies, land use & development, and county governance.

HoCo Watchdogs Newsletter – Issue #1

Board of Education, Budget, County Government, Developers, Elections, HCPSS, Housing, Howard County, Legal Issues, MPIA, Must-Reads, Newsletter, Special Education, Special Interest Groups, Superintendent

Issue #1 of the HoCo Watchdogs newsletter. This newsletter provides a concise list of articles, videos & social media posts for readers to stay well informed about important Howard County, Maryland issues such as public school policies, land use & development, and county governance.

Intrusive Letters From Nebulous New Non-Profit Organization About Columbia Association Elections

Columbia Association, Developers, Elections, Howard County, Special Interest Groups

Many Columbia residents who didn’t vote in past Columbia Association (CA) elections have been receiving an intrusive letter from a nebulous organization entitled the National Voting Behavior Institute. An example of the letter, sent to a District 4 Wilde Lake resident four days before this year’s CA election, is shown below.