20030314 Maryland’s New Gov Off To Bumpy Start by Penny Riordan “Stateline.org”

20030314 Maryland’s New Gov Off To Bumpy Start by Penny Riordan “Stateline.org”

Maryland’s New Gov Off To Bumpy Start

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By Penny Riordan, Staff Assistant Friday, March 14, 2003

Maryland's first Republican governor in 36 years is getting a political baptism of fire as he seeks to implement his conservative agenda in the liberal-leaning Free State.

So far in the current legislative session, Gov. Robert Ehrlich's signature proposal to legalize slot machines is stalled in the General Assembly and his choice to head the Environment Department was rejected by the state Senate. Democrats control the legislature.

"He's really learning on the job," Baltimore Sun Statehouse bureau chief David Nitkin said of the governor's first few weeks in office.

Ehrlich is the first Republican elected governor since Spiro Agnew in 1966 and this is the first time since the Agnew administration that Maryland has different parties in power in the executive and legislative branches. Although legislators from both parties said after last year's election they had high hopes for the new governor, many have now given up hope for a productive legislative session. Ehrlich, a former state legislator and U.S. representative, defeated Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in the race for the state's top office.

The centerpiece of Ehrlich's agenda is to help plug the state's $1.8 billion budget deficit by gleaning revenue from 10,500 slots that would be at placed at four Maryland racetracks. Currently the governor is still ironing out the details and has not submitted a bill to the General Assembly.

Ehrlich's proposal has alienated some of his old friends in the legislature. On Feb. 26, when newly elected House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) questioned why Ehrlich would put slot machines at racetracks in low-income and heavily black neighborhoods, Ehrlich accused Busch of racism.

"Just about everybody was shocked," said House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery). "(It eroded) a tone of civility that has existed in Maryland forever."

In addition to problems with his slot proposal, Ehrlich's nominee for secretary of the Department of the Environment was rejected by the state Senate on March 11. It was the first time in Maryland history that a governor's nominee has been turned down.

Lawmakers and legislative observers are asking if these political missteps can be attributed to growing pains or if this foreshadows four long years of partisan squabbling.

Tom Stuckey, a long-time Annapolis correspondent for the Associated Press, said any governor faced with a budget deficit and trying to legalize gambling would hit roadblocks with a Democratic legislature.

"They've certainly made some missteps but they are trying to learn," said Stuckey, who has been covering the General Assembly for 40 years. "Any one of these [issues] would make for a difficult beginning."

Stuckey also said that legislature has undergone some significant changes, with an unusually large number of freshman legislators and a brand new host of leaders in the House and Senate. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. is the only party leader returning from last year.

In the past, other governors have also gotten off to a rocky start. As soon as Ehrlich's predecessor, Gov. Parris Glendening took office, he was embroiled in a scandal over a pension deal he had arranged from his previous job as Prince George's County Executive. Gov. William Donald Shaefer, Ehrlich's predecessor twice removed, also had a difficult time forging relationship with legislators. Both were Democrats.

Despite Ehrlich's missteps, reporters and legislators say he is a friendly and approachable governor, which should work to his advantage in the long run.

They also say other elements of his agenda are being overshadowed by current problems. Ehrlich's other priorities include charter schools, faith-based programs and Project Exile, a crime-reduction initiative modeled after a Virginia program.

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Riordan - Penny Riordan, Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Maryland General Assembly Opera, Slots, Maryland State Budget,

Suzanne Albert Web Site Bio

Suzanne Albert Web Site Bio

Westminster Councilwoman Suzanne P. Albert

Retrieved March 15, 2003

Suzanne is married (husband Charles) and has three daughters and five grandchildren.

She is a native of Westminster and was first elected to the Westminster City Council in May 1995, on which she is currently chair of the Public Works Committee and vice-chair of the Committee on Finance.

Suzanne also serves as the Council's Liaison to the Historical Society of Carroll County.

Suzanne is a graduate of the Women’s Hospital Nursing School (now GBMC), University of Baltimore and Western Maryland College graduate.

She participated in the Leadership Maryland, Class 1996 and is a former member of the following: Nurse Practice Issues Committee of the State Board of Nurses, past District President of the Maryland Nurses Association, Governor’s Board of Drug Abuse Prevention and the Anne Arundel County Executive Board of Health Cost Review.

Suzanne is active in the community as a Board of Trustees, and Vice Chair, of the Carroll County Rape Crisis Intervention Center, Vice President of the Greater Westminster Kiwanis Club and a Board Member at Large for the Women in Government Services (WINGS).

She is past President of the St. John’s Roman Catholic Church Parish Council.

Her term expires in May 2003.

If you wish to contact Councilwoman Albert, you may send her an email, or a fax (410-876-0299). If you wish to call or make an appointment to see her, please call 410-848-2522.

20030315 Suzanne Albert Web Site Bio

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

20030225 Golf vs Corporate America

Golf vs Corporate America

February 25^th, 2003

THE QUESTION: Over a generation ago, in 1923, who was:

1. President of the largest steel company?

2. President of the largest gas company?

3. President of the New York Stock Exchange?

4. Greatest wheat speculator?

5. President of the Bank of International Settlement?

6. Great Bear of Wall Street?

These men were considered some of the world's most successful of their day. Now, 80 years later, the history book asks us, if we know what ultimately became of them.

The answer:

1. The president of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, died a pauper.

2. The president of the largest gas company, Edward Hopson, went insane.

3. The president of the NYSE, Richard Whitney, was released from prison to die at home.

4. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cooger, died abroad, penniless.

5. The president of the Bank of International Settlement, shot himself.

6. The Great Bear of Wall Street, Cosabee Livermore, also committed suicide.

However, in that same year, 1923, the PGA Champion and the winner of the most important golf tournament, the US Open, was Gene Sarazen.

What became of him?

He played golf until he was 92, died in 1999 at the age of 95. He was financially secure at the time of his death.

THE MORAL: Screw work. Play golf. You'll live longer and be better off in the end.