20071018 News Clips

New Clips

Oct. 18, 2007

STATE NEWS

Governor turns professor to explain his tax plan
http://www.examiner.com/a-995827~Governor_turns_professor_to_explain_his_tax_plan.html
"A C student can get this," professor Martin O'Malley, freshman governor, assured a class of several dozen political science majors, faculty and university bigwigs as he rolled through a 50-minute lecture on his deficit-cutting tax package.
"I was a C student," O'Malley told the group at the University Maryland, Baltimore County, library in Catonsville Wednesday, and while some say his plan "is complicated, it has a lot of moving parts," he thinks most people understand it. Certainly, he told reporters afterward, "It's not beyond the ability of the members of the General Assembly to understand and pass."
At the mention of slots, a Baltimore City student asked how he could support slots, encouraging a vice. "That's something I admit to being conflicted on myself," O'Malley said. But many legislators are reluctant to "vote for taxes without closing that loophole" that allows slots revenues to flow to neighboring states.

Politicians warming to idea of a referendum
http://www.capitalonline.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/10_17-18/TOP
Less than two months ago, Gov. Martin O'Malley was against a referendum on slot machines. "If slots is part of the comprehensive mix, (a referendum) puts the rest of the mix in jeopardy," he said at the time.
Now, however - following the defection of necessary Republican support for an outright slots bill - Mr. O'Malley has begun to align himself with House Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Annapolis, on the idea of putting slots before the voters.
In the past, slots bills have only gained enough support to pass in the House or Senate with Republican votes. But Senate Republicans and many House Republicans are against a slots bill that's coupled with higher taxes, such as Mr. O'Malley's proposal to increase the sales tax and corporate tax.
Although many Republicans are opposed to a referendum, that idea could start to gain bipartisan support, said Del. James King, R-Gambrills. To finally put the issue to rest, Republicans and Democrats alike might have to let the Maryland people figure it out, he said.

Slots Plan Is Brought To Delegates
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101701346.html
Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown this week gave the sales pitch to his former colleagues in the Prince George's House delegation on Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to fill the gaping hole in the state's budget. Brown (D) led a PowerPoint presentation Monday at Prince George's Community College to outline O'Malley's proposal. The Prince George's House delegation has been staunchly opposed to any plan that might bring slot machines to the county.
And, at this point, it's unclear where the votes might fall on a slots bill.
Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Prince George's), who acknowledged that she has always voted against legalizing slot machines in Maryland, said she might be open to the idea this time if "the right bill" came before her. She said the components of a "right bill" would keep the bulk of slots proceeds in the state and require each sector of the state to have a slots location. "The entire state will benefit, the entire state should take a hit from having them," she said.

Battling the bug
Health, school officials in Md. pledge action against staph
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.bacteria18oct18,0,4794454.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout
As parents phoned school officials with worries about staph infections, Maryland lawmakers and health officials pledged renewed efforts yesterday to rid hospitals of drug-resistant bacteria that might be causing up to 19,000 deaths a year nationwide. Their actions came in the wake of a national study indicating that the incidence of invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, is twice as high as doctors previously estimated. State Sen. Lisa A. Gladden, a Baltimore Democrat, said she plans to reintroduce a bill requiring hospitals to test incoming patients at risk for the bug . Similar legislation has died twice in the face of opposition from the Maryland Hospital Association. "We need to stay on this until people begin to see this as the health crisis that it is," Gladden said.

Sprawl too much, too fast, poll finds
Traffic, loss of farmland key concerns; most say state should play bigger role
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.growth18oct18,0,5343271.story
Most Marylanders believe that development and growth are occurring too rapidly and are affecting their communities negatively, according to a poll released yesterday. The telephone poll, a random sample of 1,000 registered voters surveyed by 1000 Friends of Maryland, an anti-sprawl group, found that most respondents want the state to take a stronger role in co ordinating and steering growth to existing communities.
Respondents listed traffic congestion as one of their top concerns, and a majority supported spending more on public transit even if it meant spending less on improving roads.
The survey found that residents are "highly concerned" about the rate of growth and development in Maryland, with large numbers expressing dissatisfaction with the way growth has been managed on the state and local levels.

Howard Embraces Health Program for Uninsured Residents
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101700793.html
Although its impact in the future remains unclear, Howard County's new medical safety net for those without health insurance is receiving largely positive initial reviews from local officials in health-care and emergency serv ices. The plan, to be phased in starting in July, offers primary and specialty care, hospitalization and discounted drugs to lower-income people, who pay discounted fees for service. Participants must be legal county residents who have lacked insurance for at least a year.

Opponents wonder: What would unseat Gilchrest?
1st District challenger hopes campaign dollars turn into votes
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/NEWS01/71018003
Despite the news that U.S. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest campaign, R-Md.-1st, was outraised nearly four-to-one in the third quarter by its leading GOP challenger, state Sen. Andrew Harris, R-7-Baltimore County, the campaign remains calm, even assured the Feb. 12 primary will yield another Gilchrest victory. Harris has said that money is the key to reaching all of the markets in the large 1st District, which covers the Eastern Shore, parts of the western shore and parts of Baltimore County.
"When you've raised over half a million dollars, you have all the means necessary to overcome the advantages of incumbency," Harris said during a phone interview last week. "If people weren't confident in my record and disappointed in the incumbent's, we never could have raised this kind of money."
Salisbury University political science Chairman Michael O'Loughlin said that while Gilchrest seems to be more vulnerable this year -- evidenced by the number of challengers and their support -- the race is still well in Gilchrest's court. First, he hasn't alienated the base.
State Sen. Richard Colburn, R-Dorchester-37, a former Gilchrest primary challenger, said he expects Harris will need between $1 million and $1.5 million to take the primary. With political events, such as a fundraiser with former Gov. Robert Ehrlich on Thursday night, and a gathering with large donors including Jim Perdue, chairman of Perdue Farms Inc., later this month in Ocean City, he's on track to do so.
"This could be one of the most expensive congressional races in the country," Colburn said.

Bush to spend Saturday in St. Michaels
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/NEWS01/71018010
President Bush is scheduled to visit the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels on Saturday, followed by lunch at the nearby vacation home of Vice President Dick Cheney. The public portion of the Saturday trip has a conservation theme.
The president, accompanied by first lady Laura Bush, will tour a complex for endangered cranes at the Patuxent Researc h Refuge in Laurel and will make a statement on conservation of migratory birds. Bush will then head to the maritime museum, where he will deliver comments on efforts to protect striped bass and red drum.

With his budget plan, O'Malley promises affordable tuition
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/NEWS01/710180411
Gov. Martin O'Malley assured an audience of political science students Wednesday that his budget plan would keep their tuitions within reach of their families' pocketbooks.
"It's the economically essential thing to do," said O'Malley, to an audience of about 50 Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars and student government members at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The governor's pledge is contingent on revenue from legalized slots an d from a 1 percentage point increase in corporate income taxes, two parts of his plan to solve a $1.7 billion budget shortfall. That plan will be put before the General Assembly in a special session that starts on Oct. 29. O'Malley declined to offer specifics on how the extra money might be spent, but he does expect it would help "smooth out those tuition increases and make them more affordable for more people."
His spokesman, Rick Abbruzzese, said in an interview that the governor's plan will stem increases in tuition at Maryland colleges.

EDITORIALS/OP-EDS

O'Malley's blarney
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/EDITORIAL/110180012
In Ireland this week, we're quite certain that Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley isn't visiting to stud y Celtic Tiger taxation. Maybe he'll be kissing the Blarney Stone. It would be fitting, since the tax scheme Mr. O'Malley will try to ram through Annapolis next month is accompanied by a lot of distraction-inducing nonsense and not much candor about the tax-and-spend future he is building. This plan is part of a regressive step for Maryland which should encounter stiff resistance in Annapolis next month if General Assembly members, particularly in some Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County "swing" districts, wish to keep their jobs. In a state where middle-class earners already struggle with rising gas prices and a skyrocketing cost of living, it is time to force Maryland's political establishment into real budget cuts, not band aids and false promises from a fast-talking spender like Mr. O'Malley.
Democratic senators and delegates from moderate districts are good targets for an anti-tax campaign beginning next month. Marylanders should make their voices heard. Mr. O'M alley has decamped to Ireland, where a tax-cutting, prosperity-inducing policy has yielded great results.
If reason can't reach him, and certainly Ireland's success will not either, then it is up to the citizenry to lead the lawmakers.

Slot machines
Assembly passing the buck with referendum
http://www.times-news.com/opinion/local_story_290112228.html?keyword=topstory
Holding a referendum on whether Maryland should legalize slot machines is a cop-out by the Maryland General Assembly.
It is easier to pass the buck to the voters than for individual senators and delegates and senators to vote yes or no on the issue. Why does the legislature have no hesitation to vote on matters like capital punishment, who does or does not receive health care, same-sex marriages, or whether to hike the sales tax- but yet shirk from its responsibility to make a decision on the slot machine issue?
The time for action is now. For Maryland to put its slots component of the solution up for referendum would delay the gambling question for more than a year, when the next general election is held in November 2008. Then it would take at least another year for the state to be up and running with slots - thus losing even more time to begin the revenue stream.
We urge the General Assembly to do the right thing and simply vote a yes or no to the slot machine question.

GOP needs a seat at the table
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2007/10/18/news/opinion/editorial/editorial851.txt
The warm and fuzzy bipartisanship touted earlier this year by Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley seems to be over, meaning that the state's elect ed Republicans will have a more difficult time getting any attention for their agenda items and limiting debate on controversial issues. Republicans kept up their criticism of O'Malley this week, saying the special session called by the governor is ill-thought-out and complaining because they have not been part of the process.
O'Malley came into office earlier this year pledging to not minimize the minority party and saying that they would be a part of decisions aimed at moving the state forward. He needs to stay true to that philosophy.
As it stands, the Republican plan for balancing the budget is more complete and detailed than O'Malley's. Plus, it doesn't rely mainly on tax increases to achieve a balanced budget.

Easy test leaves Maryland behind
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.nclb18o ct18,0,3366671.story
The No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization, is suffering. Its logistical problems are legion. Two are worth noting, because their consequences in Maryland are immense. First problem: No Child Left Behind expects all children - 100 percent - to reach reading and math "proficiency" by 2014. The problem, of course, is that this simply isn't going to happen. No policymaker has the guts to offer a more manageable goal.
Second problem: No Child Left Behind holds states accountable for student achievement, but allows individual states to decide how student achievement will be measured. That means each state has its own test, and these tests vary greatly in difficulty from one state to the next. Maryland's test is pretty bad. Out of 26 states evaluated, Maryland's test was 22nd in difficulty.
And the state officials should be ashamed that they've set their standards so low. By artificially raising the test scores of Maryland's students, they may have saved themselves a lot of hard work, but they did so by denying an honest, rigorous measure of achievement to the state's students.

Ask Congress to support the Clean Water Restoration Act
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071018/OPINION01/71018025

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the passage of the Clean Water Act. Thirty five years later, our waterways are still polluted and the protection we largely take for granted is virtually nonexistent.
In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, making a promise to the American public that the sewage stench, oil spills and burning rivers of the 1960s would be a distant memory. The goal was zero discharge of pollution into our rivers, lakes and coastal waters by 1985.
Of particular importance to Worcest er County is protecting wetlands and small streams. Polluters who release wastes into these important watershed systems should be held accountable under the law.
Our Congress has an opportunity to use this 35th anniversary to ensure our coastal streams and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act, by supporting the Clean Water Restoration Act (HR 2421-CWRA). Write to Rep. Wayne Gilchrest and urge him to support passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act.


NATIONAL NEWS

Senate's OK of visa bill brings relief
Md. crab-picking businesses, foreign workers would benefit from measure
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bay_environment/bal-md.visas18oct18,0,2908095.story
Eastern Shore seafood businesses expressed relief yes terday that a bill to extend a visa program that has brought foreign workers here has cleared a major hurdle in Congress. The Senate voted Tuesday night to extend the visa program, known as H2B, for one year. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat, got the provision written into a spending bill. The H2B program, which began in 1990, allows thousands of workers into the United States on temporary visas to take seasonal jobs that were hard to fill with U.S. workers, such as landscaping and crab picking. Mikulski's legislation allows workers to return to jobs they have held in previous years if the employer requests that they be given visas.
Some Republicans worry about reliance on foreign workers, union leaders say cheap foreign labor keeps U.S. wages low, and advocates worry that immigrant workers could be exploited because they could be forced to leave the country if they complain about job conditions.

Charles Offi cials Strut Plans for Hoyer
County Growth Pains Spark Promise to Seek Federal Funds in Years Ahead
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101602530.html
U.S. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer pledged Monday to help Charles County officials address the issues presented by the county's rapid growth. Hoyer (D-Md.) heard presentations from county commissioners and public school leaders about the need to provide transportation, water, affordable housing, additional public facilities, and job and education opportunities to keep up with the tens of thousands of people expected to move into the county during the next 20 years. In response, he promised to seek federal funding for some of the county's efforts and told leaders they were on the right track to address the challenges.