Annapolis Capital Punishment

The following is from The Center for the Study of Local Issues (CSLI) at Anne Arundel Community College conducts surveys of Anne Arundel County residents each March and October, offering students a valuable learning experience while providing the community with public opinion findings. What CP finds interesting is that Bush's approval rating has sunk from a paltry 28% to an abysmal 24% yet McCain and Obama are tied, yet it appears that 19% of the surveyed voters chose neither, which likely means they are undecided. Undecided? Still? Not yet figured it out between Oct. 20-23rd?? Hulloah! Wake up and smell the coffee. The CSLI is one of our terrific local resources and Director Dan Nataf is a long-time and always excellent source of news and analysis. And now the news release:

These surveys focus on items of significant public and policy interest. I have summarized the major topics included in the fall survey below; the press release and questionnaire (with percentages substituting for the original answer values) are enclosed. A copy of the press release is available in pdf format at survey along with all other press releases (and other information about the Center) since 1995.

Some of the major findings from this fall's survey include:

Rising Concern over the Economy: Numerous variables tapped into economic anxiety. Over one-third (38 percent vs. 23 percent last spring) of respondents thought the economy was 'the most important problem facing the residents of Anne Arundel County at this time' - the highest percentage ever recorded in our surveys for any single response category. Perceptions of the county's economy dipped as well with 49 percent (vs. 44 percent last spring) saying that economic conditions were fair or poor. As was the case last spring, utilities, slowly rising salaries, taxes and transportation costs topped the list of economic problems respondents said applied to them. However, a new item "significant losses in stock or retirement accounts" was added this fall and immediate rose to the most cited item (71 percent saying it applied to them).

Right direction/wrong direction: There was little change in the percentage saying that the county was moving in the right direction - 52 percent - compared to 50 percent last March.

Ambulance fee: A majority (67 percent) opposed a $500 ambulance fee to help pay for county services.

Sports leagues, park fees: Half of the sample favored "creating or increasing fees to sports leagues that use public parks to cover the cost of maintenance of those parks."

Increasing impact fees: Two-thirds (63 percent) said they would favor "increasing impact fees on new construction in our county."

Increase hotel tax: Only about a third (33 percent) favored increasing "the tax on hotel stays from 7 percent to 10 percent."

Illegal immigration: A large majority (70 percent) favored "efforts by police to identify illegal immigrants and refer them to federal immigration services."

Environmental measures: An overwhelming majority (84 percent) favored "environmental measures meant to restrict development in the critical areas."

Drinking Age: Less than one third (29 percent) favored "decreasing the drinking age to 18."

Wind turbines: A majority (80 percent) favored making it "easier to install wind turbines to generate energy, even in scenic places like across the river from Annapolis where the old radio antennas are located or in state parks in Western Maryland."

Slots Referendum: A majority (52 percent) said that they would be voting in favor of the slots referendum listed as question 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot.

President George W. Bush's job approval: There was a drop in President Bush's job approval from 28 percent last March to only 24 percent saying "approve" this October.

Presidential election preferences: The presidential election was exceptionally close, with a weighted sample saying that there were about equally likely to support Barack Obama (40 percent) as John McCain (41 percent).

Methodology: The survey polled a random sample of 579 county residents who were at least 18 years old. It was conducted Oct. 20-23, 2008, during evening hours. Phone numbers were derived from a database of listed numbers as well as computer chosen, randomly assigned numbers. There was about a 5 percent statistical margin of error for the overall sample; the error rate was higher for subgroups such as "Democrats." The dataset was weighted only by gender to better represent the general population for those questions that did not involve the presidential elections. In the case of the latter, party and gender were both used to weight the sample. College students were trained and used as telephone interviewers.

Dan Nataf, Ph.D.
Director, Center for the Study of Local Issues
Anne Arundel Community College


Please send comments,subscribe,share with your friends,and support our sponsors. Join us at Ahh Coffee almost every Thursday from 8-9 am.