20070308 News Clips

News clips

March 8th, 2007

Thanks GOPCharlie

State News

Death penalty repeal due for panel's vote
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.notebook08mar08,0,10714.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
Sen. Brian E. Frosh, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said yesterday that he is putting a proposed death penalty repeal measure on the panel's vote schedule for today or tomorrow. However, Frosh said, a vote on the bill could come as late as next week.
"I'm for the bill," he said. "I'm ready to vote."
The 11-member Senate committee has been waiting for word from Sen. Alex X. Mooney, a Frederick Republican whose vote could swing the outcome. Mooney, a conservative Roman Catholic, has struggled to decide whether he will support the measure, which replaces the death penalty with life without parole.

GOP Delegates Back Death Penalty
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030702310.html
The House Republican Caucus announced its opposition yesterday to the effort to repeal the death penalty.
"The death penalty needs to be available when prosecuting the most heinous crimes," said Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert), the House minority leader. "It is the supreme punishment and should not be entirely removed from the justice system."

Myers proposes identification requirement for Md. Voters
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=160433&format=html
Voters would have to show identification cards at the polls, under a bill heard by a Maryland House committee Wednesday.
Currently, Maryland law says election judges must confirm a voter's identity by asking for his or her date of birth, then comparing it to a registry.
A bill sponsored by Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, would force voters to present "a voter notification card, a driver's license, or an identification card issued by the Motor Vehicle Administration" to an election judge.

Should Illegals Get Md Drivers' Licenses?
http://www.nbc25.com/content/fulltext/?sid=bfa3d28a9a1bd92a85a149bbc3b36a2b&cid=10867
In Annapolis Wednesday, Maryland lawmakers will consider legislation to keep illegal immigrants from getting drivers' licenses.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee will hear testimony on the legislation, which would require driver's license applicants to produce documents proving legal status in the U.S. The bill's lead sponsor is Republican Senator Janet Greenip of Anne Arundel County.

Growth Measure Prompts Concerns
Board Fears Effect On Rural Residents
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030700010.html
Members of the St. Mary's County Board of Commissioners expressed concern at a meeting Tuesday over a bill in the Maryland General Assembly that would potentially impose thousands of dollars in fees on owners of new development projects of all types.
"The bill will affect rural areas much more severely than urban areas, especially constituents wishing to build in rural areas," said Denis D. Canavan, director of St. Mary's County's Department of Land Use and Growth Management.

Luring support for bay initiative
McIntosh, seeking development fee to help in cleanup, offers compromises
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.green08mar08,0,4897076.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
The delegate sponsoring a proposed fee on development to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay has offered to give millions of dollars to local governments in an effort to win their support.
In addition, Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, chairwoman of the House Environmental Matters Committee, proposed amendments to the Chesapeake Bay Green Fund bill that would allow exemptions for developers who limit runoff.
The fee on construction projects -- backed by environmentalists, the O'Malley administration and House Speaker Michael E. Busch -- would raise about $130 million a year for programs to reduce farm runoff and storm-water pollution.

Lawmakers Hear Bills To Ban Trans Fats, Require Voter I-D
http://wbal.com/news/story.asp?articleid=54862
Trans fat may NOT be good for you, but it's NOT illegal in restaurant cooking in Maryland. A bill up for the debate in a state Senate committee today may change that.
Maryland's Senate will take up a measure today backed by many Republicans -- a requirement that voters show a picture I-D before casting ballots.

Candidates Can Still Reach Out and Touch Everyone
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030702310.html
The politicians have decided not to restrain themselves. A Senate committee has killed a bill that would prohibit the automated campaign phone calls that many voters find so irritating.

Bickering stalls secretive forum in Maryland
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20070308-120745-7439r.htm
Political battling between the Democratic leaders of the Maryland House and Senate has stopped meetings for one of the state's most powerful -- and secretive -- committees.
The invitation-only Fiscal Leaders Committee has for roughly 30 years been the forum for the Democrat-controlled General Assembly's House speaker and Senate president to set the course for the state budget. But recent disagreements have kept the lawmakers and their top budget leaders from meeting so far this session.

Business Owners, Health Advocates Face Off at Hearing
Assembly Weighs Statewide Prohibition
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR2007030702314.html
Health concerns and economic interests clashed yesterday as Maryland lawmakers heard testimony on a long-debated bill to make restaurants and bars across the state smoke-free.
The measure would prohibit patrons from lighting up in restaurants and bars, the only public places that were exempted from a workplace smoking ban that the state approved more than a decade ago. Few restaurants still allow smoking in eating areas, but the bill would also forbid it in their bars and in stand-alone bars.
Sen. Allan H. Kittleman (R-Howard), the minority whip and a member of the Finance Committee, said he will oppose the bill to protect restaurants.
"I think it's something the marketplace should decide," Kittleman said. "It's a freedom-of-choice issue."

House panel hears 2 sides on smoking
Odds on passing statewide ban at restaurants appear better than in past years
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.smoking08mar08,0,3803730.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
More than 100 people - from health advocates and restaurateurs to cigar shop owners, lobbyists, bartenders and even an illusionist - descended on Annapolis yesterday to testify on a proposal to ban smoking in most Maryland restaurants and bars.
The General Assembly is considering the ban after several local jurisdictions, most recently Baltimore City, approved their own measures prohibiting smoking in indoor public places, primarily bars and restaurants. The statewide measure has died in the legislature for four consecutive years, though proponents fresh from victory in the city say their chances are greater this year.

Bill could provide relief for OB/GYN practitioners
http://www.wcbcradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6833&Itemid=35
State Senator George Edwards has introduced Senate Bill 651, a bill that would provide relief for Garrett County family practitioners who perform OB/GYN services. Of the 23 counties in the state of Maryland, Garrett County is the only one that does not have an official OB/GYN. As a result, four family practitioners have been providing the services to residents so that the estimated 300 babies born annually in Garrett County are delivered safely. As a result, each of the four family doctors has seen their medical liability insurance increase from approximately $14,000 a year to $111,000 a year.

School board bills stall in Assembly
Bills to shift city, 3 counties to elected members are stuck in legislative mill
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.ha.elected08mar08,0,2150287.story?coll=bal-local-headlines
The prospects for four Maryland jurisdictions to elect their school boards, instead of having the state continue to appoint their members, appear bleak this year because legislation necessary for the change is stalled in the General Assembly with only a month left before adjournment.
While lawmakers are running out of time in the 2007 session, House and Senate leaders have publicly stated opposition to elected boards and two delegations have been unable to agree on what form their bills should take.
Though lawmakers from Harford, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore counties, as well as Baltimore City, say constituents are demanding the ability to choose school board members, none of their proposals has come to a full vote in the House or Senate.


National News

President Bush Meets With Co-Chairs Of The President's Commission On Care For America's Returning Wounded Warriors. "President Bush said yesterday that the bipartisan panel he named to investigate problems at the nation's military and veterans hospitals would work to restore confidence in the system of caring for wounded troops. 'Any report of medical neglect will be taken seriously by this administration,' Bush said in an Oval Office meeting with the panel's co-chairs, former Sen. Bob Dole (R., Kan.) and Donna Shalala, the secretary of health and human services during the Clinton administration. 'I'm confident that this commission will bring forth the truth,' Bush said." (Deb Riechmann, "Bush Says Panel Will Restore Faith In Vet's Care," The Associated Press, 3/8/07)

President Bush Urges Congressional Leaders To Approve Funding For Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan. "President Bush summoned congressional leaders to the White House yesterday to discuss the urgency of approving added war funds for Iraq and Afghanistan, but late last night Democrats said they would use the bill to set a deadline for a total withdrawal from Iraq. 'Getting the funding to the troops when and where they need it is of upmost importance. We don't want any delay,' White House budget office spokesman Sean Kevelighan said of the president's viewpoint. He also said Mr. Bush discouraged Democrats' plans to tack domestic spending items onto the military-funding bill. 'The supplemental is about funding the troops for the global war on terror, and we need to stay on that track,' Mr. Kevelighan said." (S.A. Miller, "Bush Urges Hill Leaders To OK War Funds," The Washington Times, 3/8/07)

Top U.S. Commander In Iraq Gen. Petraeus Implements Baghdad Security Strategy That Is "Beginning To Show Positive Results." "Now the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Petraeus is following his own advice. Since he arrived in Baghdad last month, U.S. troops are moving off large bases and into combat outposts in the city's turbulent neighborhoods. Aides insist the new strategy is begi nning to show positive results, particularly in the capital: Sectarian fighting between Sunni Arabs and Shiites is down by between 50% and 80% in some districts in Baghdad, says David Kilcullen, Petraeus' senior counterinsurgency adviser. ... 'One of the critical things that is different now is the way we're using troops,' Kilcullen says. 'We're getting a much bigger bang for the buck.'" (Jim Michaels, "Petraeus Strategy Takes Aim At Post-Vietnam Mindset," USA Today, 3/8/07)

Afghan Troops Apprehend Senior Taliban Commander. "Afghan soldiers at a checkpoint in Kandahar province caught senior Taliban commander Mullah Mahmood disguised in a burqa, a full-body veil worn by Islamic women, NATO said Wednesday. He was captured Tuesday trying to leave the Panjwayi area, where NATO troops killed hundreds of Taliban fighters in a battle last fall, the statement said. Mahmood is accused of helping the Taliban rig suicide bomb attacks." ("Afghan Troops Catch Senior Taliban Fighter," USA Today, 3/8/07)
Homeland Security Department Seeks New Technology To Detect Tunnels Under The U.S.-Mexican Border. "The United States is stepping up a high-tech effort to combat the labyrinth of tunnels built by Mexican drug cartels that could someday become conduits for terrorists. 'The threat posed by tunneling is a serious and growing concern for United States' national security,' according to the Homeland Security Department's Science and Technology directorate, in a request to businesses that asks for development of a tunnel-detection project. Homeland Security is offering $3 million over the next two years to companies that come up with new and better detection systems." (Mimi Hall, "U.S. Taking Aim At Border Tunnels," USA< /EM> Today, 3/8/07)