I agree with Representative Anthony Brown that widening I-270 and the Capital Beltway with toll lanes is an outdated solution to congestion. In the editorial “Hundreds rally to stop controversial highway widening project,” local officials and Montgomery County residents favor expanding transit to curb the horrific upper county traffic congestion. Highway expansion will guarantee more […]

On June 28, 2018, a man wielding a shotgun blasted his way into the offices of the Capital Gazette community newspaper in Annapolis. He murdered five staff members, including my brother-in-law, John McNamara. Not only did my young daughters lose a beloved uncle that day, but they must also now navigate a world where the […]

I’ve had the pleasure and the opportunity write this column for about 15 years.  My goal was to inform and enlighten you about housing and real estate issues.  And over the years, recurring themes emerged.  Some are dynamic, while others seem to be unchanging. Through my many columns I wrote about the dynamic nature of […]

Last week, Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera of the Maryland Court of Appeals called for the abolition of contested elections for Circuit Court judgeships in the State. As I say goodbye to this column, and the fine people at the Montgomery County Sentinel, I join in Judge Barbera’s call for a constitutional amendment to change […]

I have often been asked whether there is anything I will admit to as a positive of the Trump administration. Well, there is. The Trump administration has provided me with more issues and incidents to write about than I could ever have imagined. That is as close as I could get to find a Trump […]

With the dispute over the timeliness of commencement of the impeachment trial being much in the news, Maryland’s Court of Appeals last week issued an opinion in Anthony Marlin Tunnell v. State of Maryland regarding the timeliness of commencement of a criminal trial. Maryland, by statute and a 1979 case called Hicks v. State, has […]

When you’re selling a home, a consequential decision is your list price and pricing strategy.  Deciding on your price can be confusing because, sometimes, what you hear from the media is not exactly what your real estate agent is telling you.  Additionally, making matters worse is hearing disparate information from different real estate agents. For […]

Amelia Earhart’s last confirmed words were spoken at 8:43 a.m. on July 2, 1937. She said, “We are on the line 157-337 flying north and south.” Earlier she had spoken the fatal words, “We are on you but cannot see you.” She was in trouble, and she knew it. Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan […]

Appearances are often misleading. Your child comes home from school the day report cards are handed out, but he does not have one. You assume that he is hiding poor grades. You question him as to why he has no report card, and he tells you that he received straight A’s but that he did […]

It’s common knowledge that your home sale must have multiple high-quality photos.  If you don’t, then be prepared for a long disappointing sale.  Multiple high-quality pictures have not only become a home sale must, but it seems as if photos and tours have become the central feature of many real estate agents’ marketing plans.  Not […]

Under the famous Supreme Court Miranda case, persons who have been arrested must be advised of their rights, including the right to consult with an attorney and to have their lawyer present during police questioning.  Once a suspect requests an attorney, the extent to which the police may further interact with the suspect was explored […]

Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan famously asked America during a presidential debate with President Jimmy Carter in 1980, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Good question and a question that has since been posed in every subsequent presidential election and sure to be asked in the 2020 election. However, that is […]