The Federal Pollution Control Act of 1972 was a landmark decision to control pollutants pouring into our waterways from commercial and farming operations. So, why is Maryland rolling over for the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Rain Tax” when Virginia successfully fought and won?

In the first episode of Tales from the Darkside, I shared an experience I had back in the late 1970's. This story continues into darker places.

For most commercial real estate brokers, if you get enough active duty in this crazy business years under your belt … you can say you've seen it all.

It seems that the Doherty Clann of County Donegal in northwestern Ireland has always been a proud and rebellious bunch. Derived from the Gaelic O'Dochartaigh, the name has evolved over the centuries into many variations including (O) Dougherty, Daugherty, Docherty, and Doharty.

As most readers of the TheTentacle.com and MacRo Report Blog know, I have not been a fan of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).

In “Mayor, Mayor, on the Wall, Who’s the Strongest of Them All?” I gave an overview of the candidates for the 2013 City of Frederick mayoral election. This is the second part of that column.

Frederick City’s next mayor needs to bring fiscal order and a commitment to economic development. It appears that the dust has settled enough from the 2012 presidential election…

With additional cuts looming and the impending loss of Bechtel jobs to Virginia, Frederick needs new employers more than ever.

Frederick County’s Department of Economic Development recently hosted a round-table discussion about the health and future of Frederick’s commercial real estate market, and I was invited to be a panelist.

It was another call to Vivian at the central taxi cab dispatching office and her disappointing response of no luck that made it clear: We needed to take this matter into our own hands!

Well, it’s that time of year when gifts of techy devices have changed hands in mass quantities. Today’s technology can make one feel like a 21st Century Sherlock Holmes.

The Frederick News-Post reported last week that Frederick County’s commissioners are proposing a merger of fire taxes with property taxes to make up shortfalls in emergency services funding.

As reported in the MacRo Report Blog last week, there were some bright spots in what appeared to be a stall in the economic recovery during the third quarter of 2012.

Election Day is now passed, and as usual the Wednesday morning quarterbacks around the country, the state, and here in Frederick County were quick to recite all the reasons why certain candidates and ballot issues won and lost.

As Election Day one week away draws near, there have been a vocal minority who have used some of the following statements to express opposition ballot Question A – the proposed charter for Frederick County.

Tuesday, November 6^th will be the day that Frederick County voters will provide the “for” or “against” answer to Ballot Question A – County Charter.

After a heated, down to the wire primary battle last spring, the six candidates for the three open seats for the Frederick County Board of Education were set.

After 18 months of outreach, research, and earnest debate, the appointed charter board (including myself) has completed a proposed charter document for Frederick County.

The Frederick News Post ran an editorial last week endorsing the Charter of Frederick County proposed by the Frederick County Charter Board.

Now that presumptive Republican nominee for president Mitt Romney has chosen his running mate, the real debates can begin in what is shaping up to be a very close race. Surely the malingering “Great Recession” is on deck to be the most hotly-debated issue of the campaign.

Nationwide, the flow of European investment capital into the United States has combined with our sluggish economy to bring the cost of capital to historic lows, which in turn has real estate investors hunting for good deals.

On July 31 the Frederick County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners will hold a joint public hearing on the 2012 comprehensive plan and zoning review.

A committee appointed by the City of Frederick to examine “blighted commercial properties” has issues its recommendations, which include a tiered tax system, escalating fines, and receivership on unkempt real estate within the city. The problem has a long history.

In my last post The Economy and U.S.: Insight from Anirban Basu -- Part 1, MacRo’s Kathy Krach asked Mr. Basu to shine a light through the murk of conflicting economic data that makes it difficult to determine whether or not the U.S. is, in fact, experiencing a sustained economic recovery.

Late last week Kathy Krach, the strategic marketing analyst for MacRo, Ltd., Real Estate Services, had the opportunity to interview renowned economist Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc.

"Austerity" was named the word of the year by Merriam-Webster Dictionary in 2010. (It’s nice to know that the global economy has a stronger influence on Webster’s top words than the urban dictionary.)

Contemplating the sale of a tract of land or commercial real estate, or even a personal residence? A property owner may want to consider taking action sooner rather than later.

Most people think of It’s a Wonderful Life as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Christmas movies ever filmed. It also happens to be just about the best public relations that local community banking has ever received.

Last week Maryland Senate Bill 236 passed and with Gov. Martin O'Malley's signature it will soon become law. Otherwise known as the Septic Ban Boondoggle the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012, it is part of Plan Maryland, which MacRo Report has covered before.

For the first time in his career as president of the Frederick County Teachers Association (FCTA), Gary Brennan is feeling threatened that he may lose his coveted cabal of allies on the Frederick County Board of Education.

In the age before voice mail, mobile phones and emails, pink memo pads used to be an important staple for an efficiently run business. In those days, the office was a hub for making and receiving calls.

It has been only a little over a month since I last wrote about the plight of Frederick County’s straightjacketed charter school movement. However, I can’t let the Frederick County Board of Education’s recent rejection of Frederick Classical Charter School’s request for an eight-year charter go unremarked.

Good news is trickling in about the economy: signs of job growth, record corporate profits, and a downtick in real estate foreclosures.

The fight rages on as the Frederick Board of County Commissioners press forward with the Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Review.

I guess one can call it "Straight Jacket Approval" in that – once approved – public charter school start ups have to enter the cold cruel world of real estate.

The Evil of the Victors … Anger lingers, I guess, when you and your fellow cohorts are still reeling from the major defeat you suffered in the 2010 Frederick County elections.

In our last exciting episode of the Land Planning Game Show, our Frederick County Planning Commission superstars Catherine Forrence and Robert “Bob” White placed high reverence on the sanctity of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan … something they take great pride in playing a part of its assemblage.

Playing politics with land use and comprehensive planning often leads to a “farce.” It’s been nearly 45 days since the Frederick County Planning Commission voted to “Cease and Desist” its review of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan as requested by the Board of County Commissioners.

Here it is, almost Christmas, and we are rapidly closing in on another disappointing year for the national and local business climate. Climbing out of this recession is proving to be a much harder and longer ordeal than most of us had hoped.

There are creative ways in which tenants and charter school start-ups can reduce their annual rental payments by employing innovative financing and longer term leases.

The Frederick Affordable Housing Council (AHC) has identified a unique way to harness Frederick County’s Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDU) Program as a source of funds to purchase foreclosed properties and rehab them as sustainable affordable housing.

After spending a couple of weeks in the Eurozone, I returned to a pile of newspapers that offered plenty of fodder to pontificate over. But as things settled down, I chose a follow up piece on the efforts by our Board of County Commissioners to make our community a more "business friendly" environment.

Could it be that making good wine is not the only thing the French do better? It’s hard for me to admit that I’ve had a Maryland driver’s license for just 48 months shy of 50 years, but it’s the truth.

It has never been accomplished before in modern times, but could the economy come back to nearly full strength without a real estate comeback in housing?

Now that the Republican Iowa Straw Poll is in the rear view mirror, the level of speculation regarding the GOP’s true national presidential front runner has kicked into high gear.

President Barack Obama once again made use of the power of social media by holding the first ever “Presidential Twitter Town Hall” July 6. While 27% of the questions “tweeted” to him placed focus on the very poor jobs market and the sluggish economy, 6% of the queries zeroed in on the nation’s housing crisis.

It was June 16, 2011, and a man from Georgia presented the results of a study at a Board of County Commissioners workshop that he was paid $25,000 to perform. Oliver Porter asked the commissioners to allow him to have the opportunity to present it as soon as possible once completed verses releasing for a public vetting beforehand.

Is there an epidemic of power addiction among the politically powerful? For many Americans the recent rash of political sex scandals leaves them – once again – baffled by the incredible foolishness of powerful men, asking “what were they thinking?” Throughout the media we hear and read differing opinions.

The debate over whether residential real estate growth pays for itself has been reignited over the last few months. The Frederick Board of County Commissioners have been moving forward with a school mitigation proposal for future housing projects that have been stuck in the Catch 22 of its very strict Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO).

"Heartless, inhumane, and cruel" are just a few of the words used to describe the Frederick Board of County Commissioners as they have come closer to finalizing the budget for fiscal year 2012.

While the value of gold has been soaring the last several years, the commercial real estate values of Frederick’s Golden Mile continue to plunge. Much has changed since the early 1990s when the west end of Frederick City was touted as the county's retail hub.

Will the dream of developing the Hargett Farm, off Butterfly Lane in western Frederick City, into a regional park ever become a reality?

As many know, I've expressed my views here and on the MacRo Report Blog regarding my advocacy of public education reform, school choice and specifically public charter education.

This past week the Frederick Board of County Commissioners whittled the list of 50 applicants for the proposed charter government writing board down to 15 people.

It all started about 14 years ago when Capt. Edward “Massie” Simpkins began the process of removing “peeling paint” from the west elevation of his residence located at 134 W. 3rd Street in downtown Frederick.

On January 30, Jennifer Dougherty, a former mayor of the City of Frederick (2001-2005), offered a commentary in The Frederick News Post entitled Uni-Gov — a great option for Frederick County. She seems to suggest that we skip the county's effort to consider a charter home rule form of government and jump right to "dissolve county government and create a Unified Government" with the City of Frederick.

Frederick County Commission President Blaine Young has been a hot topic lately, capturing what seems to be an unceasing flow of headlines in both The Gazette and The Frederick News Post. In the 54 days since taking the oath of office, Mr. Young along with fellow board members are making a serious dent in fulfilling campaign promises.

Well, if you haven't noticed already, former Commissioner Kai Hagen is on the campaign trail; not sure that he ever really stopped campaigning after his sixth place showing in last November's Frederick Board of County Commissioners' race.

Well, it's that time of year again, when the topic of establishing resolutions is rolling off of the tongues of many – and it seems that the same eight to 12 timeless resolutions dominate the discussion.

The Frederick Board of County Commissioners and the Board of Education begin to fulfill campaign promises … and the whining begins!

As the Thompson Era comes to an end, it's not only the business community that has a lot to look forward to.

Okay, so election day has passed … almost two weeks ago! The local pundits have done their share of Monday morning quarterbacking on the near full sweep of Republicans into all local offices. Of course I have my opinions, but that is not the focus of this column.

It seems all too often that in order to affect an ideological change circumstances must get so serious that people “just won’t take it anymore!”

The revitalization of Downtown Frederick has made the city a genuine arts, entertainment and recreation destination for residents of Frederick County as well as for visitors. The Tourism Council of Frederick County reports that a record number of hotel room nights were booked in Frederick County in 2009, despite the economic downturn.

For those who are fans of country living, including the farming community, it may be worthwhile to keep a close eye on what our governor is up to with his vision to put his stamp on Smart Growth. The O’Malley version is called PlanMaryland (www.plan.Maryland.gov/).

I have decided to change things up this week from typical posts I do on the MacRo Report Blog and TheTentacle.com and write about a little adventure that I am about to embark.

In Part 1 of my column on this topic I outlined some of the differences between public and private education. The goal is to offer information that the new and existing members of the Frederick County Board of Education should consider as they move forward in this new school year.

I've been a long time advocate of the school choice movement. I see some tremendous opportunities for the soon-to-be elected Frederick County Board of Education to break from its long entrenched establishment and take a fresh look what this movement has to offer our public schools.

In my last article on TheTentacle.com, entitled Pushing the Envelope: Taxes and Leadership, I expressed concern with Frederick City alderman for what I misunderstood as an effort on their part to increase certain taxes to supplement the city's revenue stream.

One of the below-the-fold front page headlines in The Frederick News-Post last week caught my eye:  “City considering new tax options.” Seems that a couple of the Frederick City aldermen threw out some “preliminary ideas, including a hotel/motel tax, a property recordation tax and an excise tax on construction … to raise tax revenue for the City,” according to Patti Borda’s article July 20.

Over the course of the last few months, I have made it pretty clear that I believe that Frederick County’s current form of government is outdated and not appropriate for the complex obligations that face our community. especially as we dig deeper into the 21^st Century.

Up until just 50 years ago the economy of Frederick County ran purely on the business of agricultural. Our 12 incorporated areas (Frederick City, Thurmont, Middletown, Brunswick, etc.) were centers of trade that served the farming community.

It's been quite a few years since I last wrote something for TheTentacle.com. As some readers may know, I started a blog several weeks ago called the MacRo Report Blog (www.macroreportblog.com), and the response has been terrific; so I appreciate the invitation to pontificate in more than one place on the web!