OTHER VOICES

Remembering Gregg Meade

Anne Arundel County lost one of its great citizens and leaders with the passing of Gregg Meade on Jan. 8. He was the director of Special Olympics Anne Arundel County for parts of three decades.

He left his mark on every sport that Special Olympic athletes participated in. Gregg was our guiding light — a mentor, coach, parent, fundraiser, and advocate. He was a humble, hardworking, congenial gentlemen who invested his heart and soul into making our county’s Special Olympics program something we can all be proud of.

As the father of a Special Olympics athlete, I know firsthand how many hours he invested in this great program. Often when I approached him to offer thanks, he graciously deflected the praise and reminded me that it is the efforts of many dedicated volunteers that make it possible.

He was the Capital Gazette Volunteer of the Week back in 2010, but he never sought fanfare. On the last weekend in April each year, the swimming and track and field qualifiers are held at the Naval Academy. Under Gregg’s leadership, this event expanded to include eight counties, Baltimore City and a county in Virginia.

He was a loving husband and father, and his son is a Special Olympic athlete and has helped with administration tasks for the organization.

In 2020, every Special Olympics athlete in our county will dedicate their performance this season in memory of Walter Gregg Meade.

Rest easy, Gregg. You will always be remembered and appreciated.

GLENN M. CARR Annapolis

Developers

County Executive Stuart Pittman is exactly right to steer the county away from the free-wheeling development era of County Executive Steve Schuh’s administration as made clear in the story “Developers aim to sue county over application” (The Capital, Jan. 19)

It appears Hogan Cos. has not learned any lessons from the denial in the Crofton case. In December, Monticello Property Group LLC (a subsidiary of Hogan Cos.) submitted an application to the county to build a 76-home, 55-plus assisted living subdivision on 47 acres of forested land off of Bestgate Road.

The application seeks a special exception to develop that land, which is currently zoned for low-density single-family detached homes.

A development of this density represents a significant environmental threat to two important streams on the property, Saltworks Creek and Cabin Branch, which feed into the Severn River. The streams and the Severn are already impaired due to runoff from excessive surrounding development.

The Monticello Property Group’s application was submitted on Dec. 13, just days before the county’s new Forest Conservation Law went into effect on Dec. 15 — seemingly an attempt on the part of the developer to skirt the new regulation requiring developers to conserve more existing forest, particularly near streams and wetlands, both of which are on the site.

Like the Crofton project, this one should be rejected by the county. Builders must adapt to the county’s new, reasonable approach to the review process by ensuring their project proposals consider surrounding communities and the environment — not just their bottom line.

HILLARY KLEMMT Annapolis

Junk insurance

As journalists continue to inform the public about the threat posed by the sale of junk health insurance (“Critics: Obamacare still beats short-term plans,” (The Capital, Jan. 23), we wanted to let readers know about similar efforts to resist these harmful plans in both the courts and in Congress.

As the leading association for not-forprofit safety-net health insurance plans, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans initiated the lawsuit challenging the regulatory loophole that empowers the sale of junk health insurance. That case is currently on appeal to the D.C. Circuit. Our lawsuit is supported by the U.S. House of Representatives, who share our concern that the Trump administration violated the legislative intent of Congress in order to sabotage the Affordable Care Act.

Furthermore, ACAP strongly supports legislation introduced in the House and the Senate, (with the strong support of the vast majority of Maryland’s Congressional delegation) to explicitly close this regulatory loophole if the courts fail to act.

For years, ACAP has fought to protect customers seeking to save money on health insurance premiums from being taken advantage of by deceptively marketed junk insurance. We will continue to advocate for better regulations and guidance on the serious risks associated with the misuse of short-term, limited-duration insurance, and urge customers shopping for health insurance on the open market to shop with caution.

MARGARET A. MURRAY CEO, Association for Community Affiliated Plans Davidsonville