[CPEO-IRF] Maryland and the Air Guard

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Maryland decides not to fight Air National Guard switch

By Melissa Harris
Baltimore Sun
July 29, 2005

MARYLAND will not be joining two states in lawsuits against the Defense 
Department over a proposal to remove all aircraft from nearly two dozen 
Air National Guard bases, including eight cargo planes from the Martin 
State Airport in Baltimore County, a state official said this week.

The lawsuits filed by Pennsylvania and Illinois challenge whether the 
Pentagon has the authority to reconfigure state-run Guard units without 
the approval of the state's governor, whose right to form militias is 
guaranteed in the Constitution. The suits contend that base-closing 
statutes can't supersede the Constitution.

...

Aris Melissaratos, Maryland's economic development secretary, said that 
he isn't going to complain about this issue because the overall picture 
for high-tech and job growth in the state is bright under the BRAC plan.

"Our position is that we support the BRAC recommendations," he said. "I 
have to be very careful because I'm playing around with 10,000 potential 
jobs, and those airplanes would only cost 150."

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.federal29jul29,1,6475715.story?coll=bal-local-arundel


--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Installation_Reuse_Forum mailing list
Installation_Reuse_Forum@list.cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org/mailman/listinfo/installation_reuse_forum