Maryland Week

Good evening Iran. And on this edition of Marilyn week. The Sports Authority says it needs not one but two stadiums. Louis Goldstein talks about state finances. Karen Michel defends his good name. And we look at a Klan rally that wasn't God. Maryland week is made possible by Waverley press incorporated and the Williams and Wilkins company. By Maryland National Bank. Maryland National Bank is helping the region to grow. And buy the members of Maryland Public Television. Well this has been a busy Maryland week. Former Baltimore Congressman paren Mitchell called a news conference to deny he's the target of a federal corruption investigation. The KKK tried to beat its drums of racial agitation and Easton. It turned out the drums were muffled. Roy Dyson points out what he

sees to be the biggest problems for his congressional district which is the biggest one in the state. Here this evening to discuss our week our reporters Wyly hall of the Baltimore evening sun. Mike Powell of the Frederick news post and Tom Linthicum of the Baltimore morning sun and the top story has to do with the governor's plans for two new sports stadiums and how to pay for them. Mr. Schaffer wants to raise taxes and hold new lotteries to bring in another 200 million dollars for stadia. Maryland's top fiscal officer is state comptroller Louis Goldstein who has begun his eighth term in office and is with us this evening. Good evening Mr. Goldstein. President even though you. Well thanks for being with us we keep hearing how important major league sports are to the state of Maryland and to the metropolitan area of Baltimore and how much money they bring in but no one seems to be able to pin down the amount of money or who actually gets it. Can you shed some light on that for us.

While I'm a bystander Unfortunately I have not contacted me as of this morning or deceiving as the case may be. I read the article in the Vollmer morning sun or Friday Feb. 6 where they had a meeting with the legislators and the governor Shafer a lieutenant governor and they had all kind of suggestions with reference to tax or whiskey taxes on food a reason to tax a bomber city and increase Rio state taxes to sell general obligation bonds. And I'm sitting in a position where I have to vote for the real estate tax of our state the Board of Public Works assisting of the governor the state treasurer to CON-TROLL are there to three individuals a set in a real estate tax in Maryland based on a number of bonds we have to sale each and every year. Mr. Goldstein This is my problem. I guess the question I want to ask is we've talked about it over the last few weeks in the legislature we've heard talk of gas tax lottery taxes a new car a lottery tax. We've heard talks of nuisance taxes. How bad of shape or as the case may be how good a shape is the state in that we need so much talk about tax the state America has an excellent

financial condition. We had our staff meet yesterday and I can report to the people of Merrill deceiving that Marilyn is in the black we have money in the bank. We're paying our bills got some left over. But you know I know if you start having programs. Have to have pavements that are more dense coming in from your present tax structure. Then you have to find new ways of financing these projects. For example the two stadiums that are proposed for Baltimore City at the cabin area. I've seen figures anywhere from two hundred million dollars and may go as high as two hundred seventy five million depending on the price of NY and the player price you have to pay the business that you would displace. The steam pipes electrical wires the sewers were ours and all the things that are made up under the ground surface of that wonderful area comprising approximately 86 to 90 acres right in the heartland of Baltimore City. Mr. Goldstein this time let's go to the Baltimore Sun SSME to a question that I want to ask too

which concerns the state's triple A bond rating. Well I know that there are only a handful of states that have that bond rating and I'm wondering with all this emphasis on new spending and new taxing and floating the bonds we would have to to float to build a stadium What is that going to do to the bond rating. You brought up a very important and pertinent question I met with the governor and state treasurer the first part of the week and we discussed Maryland's triple A bond rate we are one of seven states now rated by Moody's and Standard Poor's as having the prime triple-A credit rating. And we have been told by the rating agencies that you can only have so many bonds issued each and every year in order to maintain that troop rate credit rating. It's been running from 230 billion and 250 million to pay for all the University of Maryland. TASA State University Morgan State University colleges community colleges sewer works prisons you name it and the state of Maryland in that business.

And if you're going to go out here now and sell bonds beyond 250 million dollars a year. We've got to go to New York and meet with the rating agencies and the bankers and find out what our limitations are before we make any commitment and I have one vote on our Board of Public Works as I written to Mr. Bill read today. Tell him I'd like to be informed like they have copies of these reports as of this date I have not received any reports never have been showed a courtesy Amedi with these folks. They're taught by raising all these taxes and I've been around a long time I've had a lot of experience in state finances. I know something about it. I'm respected New York and although a place where Marilyn sells its bonds and I think I should be consulted so I can give you and all the other folks of this state my best recommendations as to how we should finance these projects. Mr. Goldstein This is Wiley hall with the evening sun. I gather from what you're saying that you you have doubts about this entire stadium project. Are your doubts about the project the location or the method of raising funds for it.

I have a completely open mind so I have no doubts about anything until I get all the facts until I get all the facts I can't make a decision as of this evening I have not received any facts from this commission headed up by Mr. Bill Read a very prominent lawyer former President Menem bar association of which I'm a member and the governor has not discussed it with me the lieutenant governor that this cussed it with me. So I'm now waiting to get the facts and I can guarantee you sir I believe in stop and think do it now I live by six words. Do it now is five I'd like to have stop and think first get the facts so you can make a proper decision. Let's see. The facts not fiction. This goes on I want to put you on the spot so let's speak hypothetically All right. There's a lot of proposals being floated for the financing of these new stadiums and they include the issuance of general obligation bonds and revenue bonds by the state as well as the proposals for the sports lottery and so on and so forth. And just hypothetically speaking do you think that GEOS should be used for the purpose of these stadiums as a last resort. I have always believed that the people who own these football teams and baseball teams

should put some money up front. And here's why I say that if I were to build a shopping center first I'd have to anchor it with two big department stores and then fill it in with smaller business. But I would have to get a commitment from the top people who will be in that shop and center and this is same as the shopping center here we got a big football team oh bye bye Mr. X A. We know Mr. wave a very fine and prominent man a great lawyer a good friend of mine for many years has a wonderful baseball team the bomb orals. And that's a valuable asset. So he ought to be putting up some money up front. So I hear that. We believe in this project will give you a long term lease. I have seen enough of my ghetto I don't want to read the newspaper and other the kind of things ought to be done but for me going to say we've got to stay out of general obligation bond. All right well thank you very much comptroller Goldstein for being with us this evening on Maryland week and good luck in your eighth term. Thank you. Best wishes all goodbye gentlemen. The stadium issue is just causing all sorts of controversy and I thought some of the comments of Mr. Goldstein were interesting that is that general obligation bonds of the state should only be used as a last resort in building a

stadium. But we've got to look realistically at what market conditions are people complain that the major league sports owners can blackmail a community a state whatever and they can because if you don't play ball on their terms they can take their franchises elsewhere. And it made the threats in so many places I mean it's not an idle threat it has happened and so I mean this state and the governor Schaefer has to be serious about that we might not like it. You've got to be serious about it could happen only happen as happened here. This is this is the worst I mean that no one needs to be reminded of the Mayflower moving vans and all that business and and Edward Bennett Williams has told the rep or his representatives have told representatives of the stadium authority that he will never. Emphasize never sign a long term lease of Memorial Stadium no matter how much they fix it up. You know it so happens I just finished reading Howard Cosell book and most of the book centers on this very issue the issue of Major League owners blackmailing localities and it seems to me that should that book should be issued to all

of the legislators. Unfortunately he doesn't come up with any solutions. No because the fact of the matter is it's market forces you're looking at. And if we don't come across in Maryland to keep the Orioles and to please the NFL in the hopes we can get a franchise from the. They can go elsewhere. Moving on to another thing. Governor Schaffer made no secret in his news conference yesterday that he's looking at a whole bundle of new tax proposals. Here's a man who ran against. The Sachs tax and want to election and now it looks like he'll be proposing revenue increases that Saks will have dreamed about is am I right on that. Yeah isn't it great that you can just say Oh well I made a mistake you know people asked him will you. You jumped on sex for saying and he says well you know I just didn't know. And nothing seems to happen I mean except I think he probably did know I think you have a good vision back last summer when you know everyone was when his campaign was stomping on sax. I think that was a pretty good feeling then that most people male felt that if you wanted to do some things differently with roads and bridges there was going to be a need for a gas tax. And that certainly if you want

to do something with a stadium or two you need some of the kind of time you did at the time during the campaign. Nobody said the sax was wrong they just said his political mistake was telling the truth and interesting like Mondale in 84 and the one tax shaper seems. Just he has to avoid is a sales tax if you remember the consultant that was one of the recommendations and that's what he said. One still insists it won't be a sales tax increase because that is the one thing where he actually specifically said that there would not be a sales tax increase. But does this make a difference to mentally. Because if we're going to have an auto registration increase you're going to have a gasoline tax increase. If they're going to increase the taxes on beer and wine and liquor as is proposed I don't get a windfall to end the win for the other idea also and having to do with the stadium is this idea of a regional tax which having been a Baltimorean for so long and having lived in Washington before that now being in Frederick It certainly seems is something that may be a bit more palatable to the legislature if they think that the Baltimore area is going to be taxed for a stadium because a lot of

things you can do with tax I saw that regional tax surprises me because what about the Washington area. And what about for that matter Fredricka. Don't they watch the Orioles and when they like to follow football which you know I know that politically speaking if they spread it around the whole state there's less damage that if you put it in a heavily populated area but how do you go to the Eastern Shore How do you go to far western Maryland convince those people as they they're still upset about having to pay for the Baltimore metro subway system. You know how do you convince in the paper stating that a lot of them in western Maryland they get the vote. Let's let's move on one more thing quickly about the governor and that is the thirty eight jobs that he wanted the legislature said you can't have them yet well he went ahead and filled them then. His aides sour and Wasserman said yesterday well we're sorry we won't do it again well they don't have to do it again. You know what I like about that. The legislature seems to be starting out just the way the city council ended up. They're saying how dare you do this but then they go ahead and allow him to do it you

know. You know there was hope but I think went over the state treasurer's appointment for instance Schaffer wanted Walter Sondheim the legislature opposed to Walter with through the legislature got its candidate I think some people thought that well maybe this is going to be a change now they stood up to Shafer. But here we go. First first big issue and I just roll over them anything having covered city hall like why aren't I surprised at all. No you know it doesn't it doesn't exactly shock anybody who's been following Schaefer as marriage to every governor so far as holding true to form racism in America is alive and kicking even as we observe Black History Month this month the biggest and most publicized racial incidents so far this year a court in Forsyth County Georgia with a violent disruption of a civil rights march. The most recent incident in Maryland was a Ku Klux Klan rally on the eastern shore a rally that fizzled. John Grassi has the details. This is the story of something that didn't happen the way it was supposed to. Why it failed and what that means for the rest of us. Last weekend there was to be a large Klan rally here in front of the Talbot County

Courthouse in East. In fact only four Klansmen showed up and very few people here took the incident seriously. People in this community. It's black and white. Disturbed by the fact that the demonstration from by the Klan took place here. Yes they were upset. As a symbol for I don't think anyone had it. However people work and you feel the blacks are welcome here in Tulsa County. Well it is an equal opportunity. But. Neither is it the KKK. Despite the poor showing in eastern clans grand Carola seems confident that their support is growing. The question then is why. Why do you feel that the interest in the Klan is growing. I believe on Cal the black race is about oppression as equal rights for now if you know that they don't got equal rights now they want special rights and no white people just fed up and I know where you go. We're getting people cars all the time and telling us about the blacks what they're doing on the streets and I was

saying they don't want to see black history wait Black History Month. They don't want to see a Martin Luther King Day. And we're getting calls and letters every day people want to join or donate to us. Our Constitution allows people to say and do things that are not generally acceptable and we don't want to end that but at the same time we want to keep the influence of these small. The reason people from spreading and causing deadly kinds of things to happen. I believe when the economy begins to reset and people who heretofore have looked have lived rather comfortably in this country middle class America find themselves now having to go to soup lines go to the doors of the welfare they will get go to the groups like the Klu Klux who makes them feel good. They're so pure that you know the laws they can support their family. Do you feel that there's some degree of complacency among both black and white yes one of the problem that black folks have that if they don't have a ride and they're very complacent

and on the show you find a lot of apathy where you can take a chainsaw and cut it is selfish. Well it's not my problem is their problem. The wife that you give us a cold calling a hamburger and some French fries and popcorn lettuce and account with them. That is all. Racial prejudice in its many forms is a problem that's not likely to go away very soon. True we have made considerable progress in the way we live together and regard one another in this society. But it only takes one incident such as this failed. Rally. To remind us there is still considerable work to be done. Smilingly. I'm John grass. And of course the Klan rally in Easton gentlemen was just I mean it was ludicrous. There were four people showed up 350 people curiously watched and nothing happened. But we've seen enough truly ugly incidents around the country here and this winter too. To ask the question well what is the state of of race relations in 1987 and in Maryland

and we can also talk in a larger context. You know the governor's task force on violence and extremism. Their final report found that there was in fact a decrease in the type of incidents such as cross burnings. But there was also an increase in racially motivated assaults and attacks. So it's it's really hard to put your hands on it. The one thing that they suggested is that the state of Maryland enacted criminal laws against cross burnings and that that would tend to discourage that. But is the answer really to crack down so very hard someone got 6 months in jail for burning a cross. And you can make the case that this is a little bit of overkill for that kind of incident which after all those not hurt anyone physically. Funny thoughts when I get it. But you have to look at it like we might look at some political crime. The point there is to send a message so that this kind of thing would stop it's not so much the punishment aspect of six months it's the make sure that we send a message. More than a criminal message we send a political message maker because if they does not tolerate this kind of activity

and hope hopefully that wouldn't put it would put an end to it. But you need to send a different kind of message to at the same time I think like To me it was a very powerful message that at the same time this Klan rally didn't get off the ground. You had standing room only at a local church. Both races were having a prayer vigil obviously saying that the that there's no room in our community for this thinking in this behavior. It's also obvious that the majority of people are not in the camp of extremists on either side the majority of people want basically to get along get on with their lives and not have so much disruption. You know what I found interesting going back to the governor's task force report was that it seemed to me that the closer people got to the other. Personal relationships with members of other races the more tolerant they were the further they got away. When you began to talk about well how do blacks feel and how do whites feel about blacks and vice versa. Then you began to come up with some old prejudices and some old stereotypes. But when they talked about the people that they know and people

that they live with they seem to seem to have been an improvement in race relations. I think it's harder you know it's that mob psychology again it's very easy to be part of a group and be opposed to another group. And when you get on an individual level it's a lot different for most people who start saying well gee that person isn't the way I would expect a member of that group to be one of the things that was encouraging I guess is the fact that we saw so few people at the Easton rally there was one in Frederick where I work now about a week before that in which only 14 people showed up. You know maybe they remember huge rallies back in the early 70s that we were covering up in Harford County in Carroll County. Maybe this does indicate that. This kind of hatred this kind of bigotry is the last that last I do now. I do have to say though I'm sort of parroting the NWC that the Reagan administration does have a role to play and they are playing a role in reducing racial tensions. There's been accusations that the Reagan administration's attitude is indeed responsible for incidences

such as the Howard Beach incident in Queens. You know I find that to be far fetched although I can understand why the accusations are made any comments on that. Well I think two things are happening. Number one the Justice Department obviously isn't moving forthrightly in the area of civil rights. And I think that if you're an extremist that that should be encouraging. But also number two some of Reagan's appoint appointees such as William Broad breath Edwin Reynolds. Whether or not they were legally racist or is one thing but I think that there were enough questions raised that black people at least would have liked to have said would have liked the government to have said well you know you're a good guy but there are some questions and you know we'd rather be squeaky clean in this area. But does not move back far to change between now and say 30 years ago is the fact that the government whether it be local or federal or state could no longer tolerate outright racist behavior or incidents or or structures or

laws or so and so there has been an improvement at least in that regard the the laws have changed. Now let's move on to Congressman former Congressman Aaron Mitchell And again that that is almost part of his name you know just as with Mary Shaffer but Perrin Mitchell felt compelled to call a news conference to deny charges that he was part of a federal investigation into corruption involving the your firm name the web tech and involving the Mitchell family's law firm. This is a strange situation where you know wasn't strange was the fact that we how many times have we seen a politician call a news conference to deny guilt in some way. What's fascinating about this is the U.S. attorney in Baltimore also called a news conference that basically mirrored what Jerry Mitchell was saying which really but then I did a lot of credence to the New York people said that the Maryland federal people didn't know what was going on leaving the implication that perhaps he is under. Well as they also said that the Maryland report that the lead Wilcox's letter tended to mitigate against the Daily News reports that we're getting mixed signals there.

What you got I think happening in New York is at least three different prosecutors. You have the Bronx D.A. the Manhattan D.A. and you have the local U.S. attorney who's really sort of keeping a low profile while the two local guys are duking it out and calling press conferences and sealing indictments. We we think leaking. So it's to be has just been like this. 10 o'clock this is a problem for any ship you can think of which happens all the time in these kind of investigations now and much to the dismay of many people. And much to the titillation I guess of the news media and the people who like that kind of gossip. But there's not much doubt is there that that that his nephews are very much under investigation according to the leaks is that right. They certainly seem to be. Yes. I mean again no indictments no. No real facts to trade in here but they persisted and they seem to be pursuing is war. Clarence and or Michael

Mitchell somehow trading on their uncle's name without his knowledge or consent and somehow attempting to represent themselves as being able to gain some sort of so this is a story that remains to be played out and I'm sure that we'll hear and read lots about that in the in the months ahead for our capital report this week. Garth Clark talked with Congressman Roy Dyson who represents the state's largest and most diverse Geographic district. The first congressional district in Maryland is unique wrapping around the southern Chesapeake Bay and Ocean City. Residents of this district include a mix of military Waterman federal employees heavy industry and high technology representing this mix in Congress. Is Roy Dyson who feels he has a clear mission for both Southern Maryland and Eastern Shore unemployment is always an issue. We have some rules in the first district in the state really that have some of the highest unemployment in the state. We also have some of the areas some of the few

areas in the state that have some of the lowest unemployment. So that's always an issue. What I have done my position on the Armed Services Committee to bring jobs into the first district and that has worked out very well trying to entice a new employer to come into an area generally means the promise of some government support and future growth. Dyson says that promise is transportation. First of all we need a lot of new roads. We've seen tremendous growth even in the first district that I represent. One of the counties that I represent to the counties I represent are some of the fastest growing counties in the state. We can't keep up. With the needs and. We need the help from the federal government. We have another very serious problem we have bridges on the eastern shore and I guess I don't need to identify any of them like in Cambridge in Vienna. And which of the more obvious ones because they hold up quite a bit of traffic beach traffic in the

summertime. But we have other ones such as the sassafras river the Bohemia and some of these others that have been around since before the Depression. We don't get the help from the federal government and through H.R. two we're just not going to be able to do it. The state's not going to be able to come up with the kind of bonding authorization that they would need the General Assembly would have to do to rebuild these bridges just the existing ones. Dyson acknowledges that overriding President Reagan's expected veto of the Surface Transportation Act which would flood many of the building projects would be difficult. But with both houses of the Congress controlled by the Democratic Party the president will have to make spending compromises. What it's going to mean is that we're going to take cuts in domestic programs that we don't like. And he's going to have to take a few cuts in defense that he's not going to like. He won't get all of his money for SDI In other words that he has he has recommended in Washington. I'm going to start reporting from Maryland. Well General we heard Congressman Dyson say that they need to attract new industry and I was just wondering

what your impression on the success or lack of success that Merrill is having at attracting industry to the state at this point maybe a little too early to tell we do know we have a governor who is going to be very aggressive in this area we've seen it with Kelly Springfield in western Maryland and I'm sure that Congressman Dyson hopes we're going to see he's going to see the same thing in his district. Absolutely you also see just a flood of legislation that the shaper administration is already sending to the legislature they want to revamp the workman's comp system which has been perceived before is negative to business they want to ease up on liability of corporate directors it's going to be a pro-business administration at least that's what the last governor's race was all about it was a referendum on whether we want to be a pro-business or pro-consumer I mean the two candidates were very sharply Don't go there. It's hard to actually separate those two because yes you can. Sure I think if you're pro-business that the consumer consumer interests are going to take a there's a sharp dividing line in Europe. You know I think you're right. Wiley thank you very much.

Mind you there's still time to vote in this week's opinion poll. It's your chance to vote on an issue of importance to Marylanders the results aren't scientific but we do want to know what you think. Last week we asked Do you support a new stadium in Baltimore. Fifty five percent of you said yes while 45 percent of you voted against it so the ayes have it. This week we want to know if you think radar detectors should be banned in Maryland to vote yes in favor of banning them call 3 3 7 4 1 6 3 to vote no against banning them call 3 3 7 4 2 8 4 these are Baltimore numbers so if you're dialing from outside the area be sure to dial either 1 or 3 0 1 first polls will stay open for the next half hour. If you get a busy signal please try again. Because we do want your vote and we want to hear from you about this program. Things we may have said that you liked or didn't like. We also want to tell you about a special program I'll be hosting next week Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Governor William Donald Schaefer will be joining me for a live electronic town meeting.

We'll be taking your calls on the air and we'll be talking with you around the state about your concerns. If you've got a question why not send it to us now. We'll read some of them on the air. The address is Maryland week NPT Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. That's Maryland wake Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7 I will use the questions we get for ask Governor Schaefer which will air Wednesday at 7:00 and we'll consider your remarks about Maryland week coming up next as Washington Week in Review for the Maryland week. I'm Ron Smith Wishing you a good weekend and a good Maryland with. Maryland week is made possible by Waverley press incorporated and the Williams

and Wilkins company by Maryland National Bank. Maryland National Bank is helping the region to grow and buy the members of Maryland Public Television.