20070606 News Clips

News Clips

June 6^th, 2007

State News

Md. taking on polluters

Nearly $500,000 in fines for lead paint violations latest example of strong enforcement

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bay_environment/bal-md.mde06jun06,0,4632666.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Maryland's environmental agency slapped $497,500 in penalties on 17 landlords yesterday for lead paint violations -- the latest example of how the O'Malley administration is stepping up enforcement of pollution laws.

In recent weeks, the Maryland Department of the Environment also hit Constellation Energy with $100,000 in fines for air pollution violations at three coal-fired power plants. The agency sued an Eastern Shore farmer for ripping up wetlands and penalized a builder $60,000 for allowing erosion to foul a protected marsh.

Cabinet leaders confirm more layoffs

http://www.examiner.com/a-765865~Cabinet_leaders_confirm_more_layoffs.html

Layoffs have begun in some Maryland departments to meet Gov. Martin O’Malleys goal to cut $200 million from the state budget, two Cabinet secretaries told The Examiner on Tuesday.

And those waiting on replacements will be waiting a long time. The positions might never be filled, officials said.

On Friday, 12 state employees were let go in the Department of Business and Economic Development, Secretary David Edgerley confirmed Tuesday. They were “part of the savings plan,” he said.

Defining moment for Maryland GOP

http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20070605-103732-2076r.htm

The success tonight of the Maryland Republican Party's largest annual fundraiser will play a key role in the future of the organization, including its leadership.

Party leaders hope to raise $300,000 at the Red, White and Blue Dinner to cover annual operating costs. But ticket sales and corporate sponsorships are expected to fall below the goal, sources told The Washington Times.

Md. chief of energy highlights conserving

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bay_environment/bal-md.woolf06jun06,0,5464001.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

The new head of the Maryland Energy Administration said he will develop the state's first comprehensive energy plan in at least a decade and push for new conservation measures to ensure a sustainable, affordable and environmentally friendly power supply for consumers.

Malcolm D. Woolf, whose appointment was announced by Gov. Martin O'Malley outside the State House yesterday, said a strong state energy policy will be necessary to avoid a repeat of the electrical rate spikes Maryland consumers have experienced in the past few years. Rates for BGE customers shot up 50 percent this month despite the efforts of state leaders last year to curb or delay the increase.

If Fox Home Entertainment hands you a lemon ... by Laura Vozzella

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.vozzella06jun06,0,7388467.column?coll=bal-local-columnists

Your call is important to us

A group ticked off with soaring electricity rates is urging every Marylander to call Martin O'Malley's office 72 times to protest the 72 percent rate increase.

(The actual increase since last summer works out to just under 70 percent, but so what if the guy who promised to "stop the rate hikes" gets some extra calls?)

"O'Malley staffers starting to get curt with caller siege," the group's news release says. "But not enough people are calling - the lines are still not being jammed."

FMH cheers 'grand opening'

State officials celebrate completion of hospital's $103M expansion project

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=61002

It was called a grand reopening, though Frederick Memorial Hospital never closed.

In fact, according to FMH president Tom Kleinhanzl, the hospital hasn't shut its doors since opening in 1902, when an eight-bed center became Frederick's first hospital.

Project 2000 brought to FMH the George L. Shields Emergency Department, three times larger than before, and a new pediatric unit, endovascular lab, the Billy Miller Special Care Nursery and a parking deck, for which Republican U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett is thankful.

Lt. governor tours downtown

http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=167319&format=html

Downtown Hagerstown was on display Tuesday for Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who saw firsthand the city's efforts at urban redevelopment.

A pack of municipal leaders and community figures escorted Brown along South Potomac Street, where they met with developers Mike Deming and Donald Bowman.

They stopped to gaze at Deming's restored Schindel-Rohrer building, which houses a restaurant and a nightclub, and the adjacent building that Bowman is restoring.

Lt. Gov. Visits

Growth comes with challenges

http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_156094012.html

An educated work force and a rapidly growing knowledge-based economy has Maryland poised to benefit economically.

But it won't be without its challenges.

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown offered his thoughts on economic development and opportunities during the Maryland Economic Development Association's banquet held Monday at Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort. With 240 people attending, the group's 46th annual conference, which continues today, is based on the theme "Balancing Growth in Maryland."

Lt. Governor Brown In Town Yesterday

http://www.wcbcradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7629&Itemid=35

The Terrapin Run housing project proposed for eastern Allegany County continues to generate controversy. Lt. Governor Anthony Brown visited Cumberland this week and while not making a firm stand on the project, he noted that the O’Malley administration is emphasizing good use of resources.

Leopold reports for possible jury duty

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/06_05-26/GOV

Among the 85 other potential jurors reporting to the courthouse this morning, only one looked familiar from November's ballot.

"I voted for you," Bailiff Nolan Burgess told County Executive John R. Leopold as he checked in.

"Nobody's above jury duty," Mr. Burgess said a few minutes later.

Wicomico passes $131.9M budget

http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070606/NEWS01/706060360/1002

Ten days before its deadline, the Wicomico County Council passed next year's $131.9 million budget Tuesday in a meeting ending in handshakes rather than sparring.

"We passed our first test of the new system with flying colors," said County Executive Rick Pollitt, in reference to the new executive form of government that began last December.

Councilman calls for drug legalization

http://www.examiner.com/a-765861~Councilman_calls_for_drug_legalization.html

One Baltimore City Council member wants to change the battle plan for the war on drugs.

Decriminalizing all types of narcotics may be the only option left for quelling the violence of the drug trade, said Council Member Bernard “Jack” Young, who wants the council to hold hearings on the idea.

“We’re losing the war on drugs,” said Young, D-District 12. When teenagers are getting gunned down on the street because of the drug business, then we have to rethink our approach.

National News

Gilchrest Says He's Running Again

http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6613196&nav=QEMt

First District Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is undaunted by challenges from within and outside his party and says he will run for a 10th term next year.

He has not formally announced his candidacy but confirmed Monday that he is running. Gilchrest was in North East to address a meeting of the Cecil County Republican Club.

Haughty and nice

http://thehill.com/cover-stories/haughty-and-nice-2007-06-06.html

Though most interns are young, work for free and have grand ambitions to learn the ins and outs of Congress, they tend to be the most bothersome to service-sector employees on and around Capitol Hill.

They don’t tip well, ask annoying questions and tend to be the rudest people in the nation’s capital, many employees say.

He said he regularly deals with staff members, many of whom are very friendly. Clyburn and Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) are exceptionally nice, he said.

Clinton fundraisers planned in Maryland

O’Malley backing paying off for former first lady, professor says

http://www.gazette.net/stories/060607/montnew21747_32335.shtml

Seeking to transform Gov. Martin O’Malley’s early endorsement into big bucks, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will make three fundraising stops across Maryland in the next five weeks.

O’Malley will raise money for the Democratic presidential candidate and former first lady at a $1,000-a-plate reception at Martins West in Baltimore County on June 13.

One week later, financier John K. Delaney will host a fundraiser for Clinton at his Potomac home. O’Malleys fundraisers are also helping to put together a reception in mid-July at the Annapolis home of Thomas L. Siebert, a former U.S. ambassador to Sweden under President Bill Clinton.

House Approves Iran, Darfur Resolutions

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-06-06-voa4.cfm

The House of Representatives has approved resolutions on Iran and the situation in Darfur. One calls on the government in Tehran to release dual Iranian-American citizens it is holding, the other urges China to do more to pressure the government of Sudan to end violence in Darfur. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

“Their detention is a gross perversion of the rule of law, and the claim that the Iranian government has made that they seek dialogue and improved relations with the west, is belied by the actions they have taken with respect to these individuals," said Chris Van Hollen.

Democrats Fear a Wider Black Caucus-Pelosi Rift

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060401664.html

Democratic leaders fear that Rep. William J. Jefferson's indictment yesterday on racketeering and bribery charges, coming exactly one year after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engineered his ouster from the powerful Ways and Means Committee, could rekindle a smoldering dispute between the speaker and black lawmakers who were once pillars of her power.

For months, the Louisiana Democrat's mounting legal peril has bedeviled Democrats as they sought first to point to corruption as a tool to oust Republicans from control of Congress, then pressed for ethics and lobbying changes that they said would usher in a new era of clean politics on Capitol Hill. For every thrust Democrats made against the GOP, Republicans parried with Jefferson, saying problems in Congress were bipartisan.

"For the good of the people of Louisiana's 2nd District, who have been through so much, we hope this matter is quickly resolved," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

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