Quick eye on Maryland
January 25th, 2006
H/t: AM and Gopcharlie. Thanks!
Amid calls for prudence, Miller pushing O’Malley for tax increase
http://www.examiner.com/a-527683~Amid_calls_for_prudence__Miller_pushing_O_Malley_for_tax_increase.html
Maryland Senate President Thomas Mike Miller continues to pressure Gov. Martin O’Malley to find new tax revenues this year, but the new chief executive and other lawmakers are apparently satisfied with a go-slow approach.
This time next year, the Senate’s going to be in turmoil, Miller told his fellow senators. We’re going to be in crisis. We’ll have a summer session.
He said the governor had enough in the rainy-day fund this year to patch together the budget.
But the following year, all hell’s going to break loose, Miller said. He supports a sales tax increase, a proposal that passed the House three years ago.
O’Malley has persistently resisted any talk of tax increases this year, despite looming deficits, and promised to be looking at more efficiencies in government. On Wednesday, he told state and local officials seeking more school funds that there needs to be a leap of faith that were going to get our fiscal house in order in the years ahead.
Most leaders of the House and Senate have said they support a study of the complete revenue picture this year. We need to initiate some kind of study now, said Del. Norman Conway, chairman of the Appropriations Committee. We’ve known since the implementation of Thornton [education aid] that we didn’t put a funding source in there.
O’Malley is trying to be deliberative about it, and not immediately come in to be the tax-and-spend guy, Conway said.
Ehrlichs chat morning away on WCBM-AM
State's former first couple take calls with aplomb as they fill in for Tom Marr
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-to.ehrlich25jan25,0,2498697.story?coll=bal-features-headlines
A three-hour appearance yesterday by former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his wife, Kendel, as talk-show hosts on a Baltimore radio station became a nostalgic walk through the Ehrlich administration's accomplishments and a chance for the Ehrlichs' supporters to thank them for their service to Maryland.
"It's the Ehrlich edition of the Tom Marr Show!" the former governor said after every commercial break, naming the host who normally takes the 9 a.m.-to-noon slot on WCBM-AM.
"You're doing a good job," Kendel Ehrlich told her husband, who was elected Maryland's governor in 2002, the first Republican governor in 36 years.
"Thank you, dear," he replied, evidently enjoying himself. "By the way, who needs Tom Marr? We can do this!"
Ehrlich handled callers with ease, joking with several whom he knew and showing his flair for conversation. The former governor often appeared on radio talk shows during his tenure in Annapolis, choosing to speak directly to the electorate over airwaves.
He may make more such appearances on WCBM, said the station's general manager, Bob Pettit, who was very pleased with yesterday's show.
After Victory, O'Malley Wrangles an Array of Donors
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012402028.html
Hackerman was at the center of a controversial land deal, eventually aborted, in which the Ehrlich administration sought to sell him 836 acres of state timberland in St. Mary's County at what Democratic lawmakers characterized as a bargain rate. During the governor's race, O'Malley traveled to the site, news media in tow, vowing never to do anything like that.
In the opening days of the new administration, Hackerman's name has surfaced again, along with hundreds of others, in a new finance report as having contributed money to O'Malley during the weeks after his election. Hackerman gave $4,000 on Jan. 3, according to report details made public this week. Hackerman could not be reached to comment.
Post-election largess came O'Malley's way from several political action committees, including the Maryland Realtors, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, the Maryland Highway Contractors and the State Law Enforcement Officers Labor Alliance. They all gave at least $5,000.
Among the well-heeled Annapolis lobbyists contributing to O'Malley after the election: Casper R. Taylor (the previous speaker of the House of Delegates), J. William Pitcher and the firm of Alexander & Cleaver each gave $2,500.
Another interesting name: former state senator Paula C. Hollinger, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress last fall. Hollinger, who gave $4,000, has been mentioned as a possible nominee for several Cabinet posts.
Major F. Riddick, the chief of staff to Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D), and Riddick's wife, Manervia, gave $2,000 each to O'Malley. Riddick's standing in the Democratic Party was tarnished last year by his support of then-Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, a Republican, for the U.S. Senate.
Delegate goes after trans fats
Hubbard introduces a bill to ban most of them in restaurant cooking
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-md.fat25jan25,0,6815668.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Del. James W. Hubbard, a Prince George's County Democrat, has introduced a bill that would ban the use of most artificial trans fat in restaurant cooking.
The legislation, which mirrors a fat-busting measure adopted last month in New York City, would force corporations such as McDonald's as well as mom-and-pop operations and corner delis to stop using margarine, shortening or any kind of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils when preparing food. Those ingredients raise cholesterol levels, have been linked to heart disease and contribute to obesity.
"From a public health standpoint, I thought this was the right thing to do," Hubbard said. "All those kids out there who are eating french fries and other fried foods; they're starting to clog their arteries at a young age."
An anti-trans fat movement has been sweeping the nation nearly a century after Crisco shortening, which became synonymous with the unhealthy fat, hit the market. Trans fats are created when liquid oil undergoes a process called partial hydrogenation; the resulting fat stays solid at room temperature. Several chain restaurants - including Au Bon Pain, KFC and Wendy's - have decided to reduce trans fat in their foods, using a healthier oil instead. Even Crisco now offers Zero Trans Fat Shortening.
But an outright ban is likely to be met with strong opposition. Melvin R. Thompson, vice president of the Restaurant Association of Maryland, said food-service companies want to adopt healthier practices but that a mandate could strain supplies of other oils or lead to the use of oils high in saturated fat, which also increases the risk of coronary problems.
"We're opposed to this bill because it's a mandate, but we are not opposed to reducing our use of trans fats in certain products," Thompson said. "It's something that we must do voluntarily while considering the issues of supply, price, and quality and taste of the end product."
O'Malley backs stem cell funding
Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that if the state's financial picture during his term allows it, he hopes to continue an annual $25 million state commitment to stem cell research.
"If we're able to do 25 [million dollars] every year for the next four years -- that would be, under public school or Catholic school math, $100 million -- that we could do over a four-year period of time," O'Malley told researchers, families and activists gathered for a stem-cell research summit yesterday in Annapolis.
"I don't know whether we will be able to do that. I would like to be able to do that."
O'Malley recently added $10 million to the previous administration's $15 million research allocation.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.sbriefs25jan25,0,5808910.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Governor Demurs on a Stem Cell Bill
Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said yesterday that he is not inclined to support a bill introduced in the General Assembly this year that would place a priority on embryonic stem cell research projects competing for state funds.
Current policy, established last year, allows researchers to seek funding for projects using embryonic and adult stem cells. Both types of research are considered promising for a variety of debilitating conditions. But federal funding has been restricted for embryonic work, which is controversial because it involves the destruction of a human embryo.
O'Malley said he thinks that lawmakers should leave it to scientists to determine which type of research is worthy of funding. "I think it is probably pretty good the way it is," he told reporters after addressing a conference on the emerging science.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012402028.html
opinion
O'Malley's marathon
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-ed.agenda25jan25,0,2145523.story?coll=bal-opinion-headlines
Here are some of the causes Mr. O'Malley didn't pick up: closing the loophole in Maryland's ban on workplace smoking to include all restaurants and bars, raising the tobacco tax to pay for health coverage for thousands of uninsured people, putting an end to capital punishment, and creating a so-called green fund to finance local pollution controls, waterway by waterway, to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay. He might have at least championed campaign finance reform.
We would not advocate that the governor be impulsive. He's been there, done that as mayor. But Mr. O'Malley can't stay on the sidelines on these and other important issues for long - not if he expects to produce a winning term.
Death Penalty Ban Unveiled Today
http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=53310
Lawmakers in Annapolis today will unveil a pair of bills that will ban the death penalty in Maryland, and replace it with life in prison without parole.
The legislation comes after a federal judge last month effectively halted executions in Maryland, to require state regulators and the General Assembly to review Maryland's lethal injection procedure.
Jane Henderson, executive director of Citizens Against State Executions tells WBAL News that most Marylanders support a ban on the death penalty.
"I think there's a growing consensus in this state that the death penalty doesn't work to save lives. It's discriminatory, and it costs more than life without parole," Henderson said.
Henderson adds that she is also encourage by Governor Martin O'Malley's position on the death penalty.
Public works board establishes new tone
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.board25jan25,0,4639515.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
O'Malley and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp mused about making yesterday's "beg-a-thon" -- a humbling annual ritual in which local officials show up to plead for school construction money -- the last.
And unlike the days of the love feasts between Schaefer and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., no cakes were exchanged.
"It is the dawn of a new day," Franchot said.
O'Malley began the meeting as Ehrlich always did, by giving opening remarks and inviting the treasurer and comptroller to provide their own. It was at that point in the proceedings that Schaefer would unleash most of the tirades that contributed to the end of his political career.
Franchot took a different tack. He wrote his comments ahead of time, and they were, unlike some of Schaefer's monologues, related to the day's agenda.
Where Schaefer tended to mumble, Franchot spoke directly into the microphone.
Franchot said he wanted to hear from school officials there for the day's beg-a-thon about their efforts to make environmentally friendly buildings, a move that he said would save the state money in the long run.
City's homicide rate hits one a day for '07
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.homicide25jan25,0,4072762.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Baltimore's homicide rate reached one a day for the new year with the death of an unidentified man who was shot on a westside street early yesterday, city police reported.
Although no homicides were reported on nine days this month, the other 15 days have accounted for the 24 killings this year, according to police.
Md. to pay ex-worker cleared in fund probe
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.amos25jan25,0,4687831.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
After more than a year of delay by the Ehrlich administration, the Board of Public Works agreed yesterday to repay a former state employee nearly $200,000 for legal bills incurred from what some considered a politically motivated investigation engineered by leading Republicans.
Stephen P. Amos, who headed the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention under Democrat Parris N. Glendening, had been caught up in a corruption probe that became public in 2002, weeks before the gubernatorial election between then-Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Townsend oversaw Amos' office.
The Maryland attorney general's office approved the compensation more than a year ago. But the item never came before the Board of Public Works because Ehrlich's chief counsel, Jervis S. Finney, believed the charges were justified even though Amos was cleared of wrongdoing. Finney stood by his position yesterday.
"It did not meet the former governor's standard because there were too many unanswered and unasked questions," Finney said.
Steele to head GOP funding outfit, start firm
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070124-104441-9773r.htm
Former Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele will lead a major Republican fundraising group and start a public affairs consulting firm in Maryland.
Mr. Steele will be the chairman of GOPAC, the national fundraising outfit that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich elevated to national prominence in 1994, and start the Legacy Strategies public affairs firm, he told The Washington Times yesterday.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Mr. Steele said. "It has been a whirlwind challenge. I just finished up four years as lieutenant governor, and I was excited to do it. We'll keep plugging along."
Charter schools' reviews mixed
First-year study finds poor are served, many students leave, those who stay are satisfied
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.charter25jan25,0,2510122.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Overall, Baltimore's charter schools are serving just as many poor and minority students as other public schools in the city, but they have fewer students with disabilities. They have not turned into enclaves for children from wealthy families, as some had feared.
On average, charter schools are losing more students over the course of a year than regular schools, but the parents and children who remain report high levels of satisfaction. And charter students are performing better in reading than they are in math.
These were among the conclusions of a report by the city school system on the first-year performance of Baltimore's charter schools - public schools that operate independently. Last school year, the city opened 12 charter schools that enrolled about 3,000 students. Seven of the schools had existed previously and converted to charters, while five of the schools were new.
School staff told to reapply for jobs
Poor performance by Annapolis High students is noted by superintendent
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-md.ar.annapolis25jan25,0,7875006.story?coll=bal-local-arundel
Cafeteria workers. Teachers. School secretaries. The principal. All 193 staff members at Annapolis High School must reapply for their jobs in a drastic step announced yesterday by Superintendent Kevin Maxwell.
It is a radical move that top Anne Arundel County school officials hope will reverse anemic student performance and head off a state takeover they fear is in the future of their flagship high school.
Annapolis High, which has about 1,700 students, has failed to meet state and federal benchmarks under the No Child Left Behind Act four years in a row.
The school has struggled with poor reading test scores among low-income students and lagging graduation rates among minorities. Those academic hurdles, along with persistent discipline problems - including fights that led to an Annapolis mall shooting around Thanksgiving - have marred the school's reputation in recent years.
