County Executive David R. Craig is pleased to announce that Harford County has had its AAA bond ratings reaffirmed by rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. The two agencies upgraded the County in 2010, and the confirmation of the AAA ratings are the result of a review of the County’s fiscal management practices and economic outlook, as well as meetings with the County Executive and members of his administration.

Standard & Poor’s, which had previously assigned the County with an AA+ rating also reaffirmed their rating. The three rating agencies employ financial and business experts who seek to advise investors with regard to the safety of investing in a particular organization. By assigning these ratings, the experts are identifying Harford County as a safe place to invest and to do business.

At a press conference in Bel Air this morning, Harford County Executive David R. Craig, joined by Superintendent of Schools Robert M. Tomback, as well as members of the County Council and Board of Education, announced that for the first time in two decades, the county now has no schools that exceed the Adequate Public Facilities capacity standard of 110%.

"This achievement has been a long time coming, and is the result of the determination and the cooperation of Harford County Government and Harford County Public Schools to address and alleviate overcrowding," stated County Executive Craig. "I identified this as a priority of my administration when I first took office, and with the support of the County Council, we forward-funded a number of school construction projects that helped make this possible. While less than one-quarter of the nearly $300 million that the county funded for the construction of five schools has been reimbursed by the state, we know that it is an investment in our children that was worth the cost."

Harford County Executive David R. Craig, along with President Anthony Coliano and members from the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company have officially broken ground for a new substation for the BAVFC at Patterson Mill Road near MD Rt. 924. The ceremony was held Saturday, December 10, 2011 with approximately 80 fire service personnel, local and state elected officials and members of the public in attendance.

"After many years of discussions, negotiations, preparation, planning and budgeting, Harford County and the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company have embarked upon a partnership ~ not without challenges ~ to build a substation to serve the citizens of Bel Air and surrounding communities for many years to come," County Executive Craig stated. The County Executive added, "The Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company has had a distinguished record of service to the citizens of Bel Air and Harford County since 1890. The company has come a long way from its humble origins to today’s financially strong, well-managed, well trained respected leader in the fire service."

County Executive David R. Craig is pleased to announce that Media Rights Capital and Netflix have agreed to base production of the first season of the political thriller series "House of Cards" in Harford County.

The series, which will consist of 13 one-hour episodes and will be Netflix’s first original dramatic production, is based on a novel and an acclaimed BBC miniseries by the same name. Oscar award-winning actor Kevin Spacey has signed on to produce and star in the series, and other Hollywood names such as David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and John Melfi (Sex and the City) will be on the production team.

This morning in Havre de Grace, Harford County Executive David R. Craig was joined by Cecil County Board of Commissioners President James T. Mullin and MTA Deputy Administrator Simon Taylor as they announced new local bus route linking Harford and Cecil Counties.

The new route will be known as Route #7 or the "Teal" line. As currently planned, the route will have nine roundtrips scheduled throughout the day, with the first departing the Aberdeen Train Station at 6:00am, and the last bus returning at 6:17pm. As with other Harford Transit Link routes, Route #7 will run Monday through Friday, with the exception of holidays. A round trip from Aberdeen will take between one and two hours depending on the time of day. The bus service is expected to commence by February 15.

"Getting There Ride Share" (GTRS) is a new senior rideshare program operating out of the Wilson Ministry Center in Darlington that provides low-cost, reliable, supplemental "door-to-door transportation" services for senior citizens age sixty (60) and older who reside in northern Harford County.

The goal of the program is to assist seniors in meeting their transportation needs, which allows them to maintain their independence, freedom, and the ability to age in place with dignity. Trip destinations can be for a variety of purposes, including medical appointments, shopping trips, social occasions or any other activity that enhances and improves the quality of life for those in need of transportation.

Harford County Executive David R. Craig and the Department of Planning & Zoning have announced that the County will be undertaking the development of a Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan is an important part of helping to make Harford County a truly multimodal community; one that promotes and supports increased bicycle and pedestrian activity. It is also an important step in helping Harford County become a healthier community.

The development of the plan is anticipated to take about a year, and to help the department with this effort the County Executive has appointed a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Group. The group consists of representatives from various government agencies and departments as well as bicycle and pedestrian advocates.

Harford County Executive David R. Craig will join the members of the Cedar Lane Sports Foundation and the Greater Bel Air Community Foundation to announce the launch of a campaign to raise funds for the construction of an Events Center at Cedar Lane Regional Park through the sale of personalized brick pavers. The announcement will occur on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 8 am at Cedar Lane Regional Park.

Contributors will be invited to "Leave Their Mark" through the purchase of a 4" by 8" or 8" by 8" brick with up to three lines of engraving. The goal is to raise $200,000 for the construction of events center and the bricks will be utilized in the creation of the patio courtyard. The facility will include team rooms, offices, restrooms, concessions, and much needed storage in addition to the patio.

On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, local homeless service providers, community volunteers, local police agencies, and the Harford County Government will come together in a coordinated effort to conduct a one day count of homeless persons in Harford County.

Like many communities, Harford County has many who are living in places not meant for human habitation; outside and unsheltered, or who are relying daily on some form of emergency housing. Conducting a count of the homeless in the community will not only help determine how many are homeless, but also help to understand the underlying issues that have contributed to the person becoming homeless. Collecting good data, characteristics, and service needs of the homeless in the community will allow local human service providers to obtain the necessary information to effectively plan programs to eradicate homelessness in Harford County.

Harford County Executive David R. Craig has announced that Department of Treasury employee Marcus Williams has been selected as the selected as the Employee of the Month for December 2011.

Marcus was nominated by Donna Birkmire and Paul Kelly from the Abingdon Water Treatment Plant (AWTP) for his "professional and personal service" when helping them handle obstacles that arose when using the P-Card for their year end purchases.