A bipartisan group of Maryland General Assembly leaders is calling on Gov. Larry Hogan to double the financial aid he pledged for Baltimore school heating projects, money that would come from an emergency fund that the legislators control. Hogan offered the city school system $2.5 million llast week after a recent snap left students huddled in classrooms wearing winter coats. The cold closed schools for days to allow for emergency heating work. Hogan said it was the result of financial mismanagement on the part of the school system. But in a letter to Hogan, a group known as the Legislative Policy Committee is urging him to spend $5 million instead. “The images of our children in our schools shown across Maryland and across the country are an embarrassment to all of us,” wrote House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. “We respectfully request that you consider amending your request to the Legislative Policy Committee to $5 million to … [Read more...] about General Assembly leaders ask Hogan to double emergency aid for Baltimore school heating projects
Heat
Heat equipment issues displace Broken Arrow students amid single-digit temperatures Tuesday
As dozens of school districts closed Tuesday due to freezing temperatures and below-zero wind chill, some Broken Arrow students whose classes weren't canceled had to be moved as equipment failures killed heat at the district's Freshman Academy. After a service regulator failed and 16 classrooms lost heat, the students were moved until the issue could be fixed. District spokesman Charlie Hannema said those classrooms resumed normal function after the equipment was fixed and inspected. Some pre-K classrooms at the district's Park Lane Early Childhood Center also have been experiencing displacement due to the cold weather, but Hannema said those students were moved to other rooms due to an equipment issue prior to Tuesday. … [Read more...] about Heat equipment issues displace Broken Arrow students amid single-digit temperatures Tuesday
2 Baltimore City Schools close early, Calverton EMS reopens after extensive heating repairs
A West Baltimore school has reopened after problems with the building’s heating and piping kept it closed for much of the first two weeks of 2018. Calverton Elementary/Middle School required some of the most extensive repairs of any of the roughly 85 city schools that saw burst pipes or heating problems during an extended cold snap at the start of the year. The weather and related facilities issues closed schools systemwide for two days in the first week of January, and the district called for extended closures at a handful of schools. By Jan. 10, all schools had reopened except for Calverton. For those students, Tuesday represents their first day back in the classroom since Jan. 2. All schools were closed Monday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The school system tweeted Tuesday morning that all repairs had been made and Calverton, which enrolls about 650 students, was scheduled to open on time. But a few hours later, the district announced that Lakewood Elementary School and … [Read more...] about 2 Baltimore City Schools close early, Calverton EMS reopens after extensive heating repairs
Hassan Whiteside again unable to stand tall for Heat (not by choice)
Erik Spoelstra did not want to talk about numbers before or minutes after when it came to center Hassan Whiteside. The upshot for the Miami Heat center was another game when he found himself purely as spectator. "Um, you know, it's whatever Coach Spo wants," Whiteside said after sitting out the entire fourth quarter of Monday's 119-111 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center, pulled for good with 5:52 to play in the third period, limited to 6:08 of action in the second half. "That's what Coach Spo wants to do. That's the lineup he wants to go with, Coach Spo, he thinks that's what he thinks going to get us the win, I can't do nothing about it." It hardly was the best of Whiteside, who closed a game-worst minus-20, the Heat outscored by that amount when he was on the court. Spoelstra instead went with backup big man Kelly Olynyk for all but four seconds of the final period and rookie center Bam Adebayo for 3:29 in the fourth quarter, as the Heat trimmed what had been a 19-point … [Read more...] about Hassan Whiteside again unable to stand tall for Heat (not by choice)
Heat might be down to Plan D(esperation) at shooting guard
Plan B proved rejuvenating for the Miami Heat. Plan C got the Heat through an unexpected rough patch. But when you starting moving toward Plan D, that's when it can get, well, a bit daunting.With Tyler Johnson going down at the start of this five-game trip with what appeared to be a significant ankle injury in Monday's loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Heat again are left to consider a replacement strategy at shooting guard. The initial approach was to move Johnson into the role when Dion Waiters went down with the ankle sprain that will lead to season ending injury. The Heat went 8-2 with that alignment. Then, when Johnson came up with a sudden shoulder/neck ailment last week, the Heat survived with Derrick Jones Jr., in the midst of a two-way contract, stepping into the starting role for road victories over the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers. Now, after an injury so severe that it led to Johnson being rolled to the Heat's locker room at the United Center, coach Erik Spoelstra finds … [Read more...] about Heat might be down to Plan D(esperation) at shooting guard