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January 29, 2010 - WASHINGTON (AP) Attorneys for a man accused of killing a federal intern are asking prosecutors to turn over additional evidence. Ingmar Guandique has been charged in the death of Chandra Levy, whose remains were found in Rock Creek Park in 2002.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
January 29, 2010 - UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) State prosecutors say one of two men charged with causing a car crash that killed eight people watching a street race has pleaded guilty to eight counts of vehicular manslaughter. Darren Bullock of Waldorf entered the plea Friday afternoon in Prince George's County Circuit Court.
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) Frederick police, along with state and local fire marshals, say they are investigating the death of an elderly man who was found in an apartment after a fire. Lt. Shawn Martyak said Friday that authorities believe the man suffocated, and that the fire Thursday night was accidental.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
January 29, 2010 - RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The parents of Morgan Harrington say the discovery of her remains has resulted in a number of credible tips to investigators seeking answers to the Virginia Tech student's disappearance and death. Gil and Dan Harrington also say "a wealth of physical evidence" has been collected.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) Federal prosecutors say a Virginia man has pleaded guilty to organizing and managing a heroin ring. Forty-four-year-old Darryl Wright of Hampton faces from 20 years to life in prison when he's sentenced April 30. Two others have pleaded guilty to working with Wright.
CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) A Virginia Senate committee has passed a bill to add cameras to the Dulles Access Road to crack down on drivers who go to Dulles International Airport and double back to avoid paying tolls. The Senate Transportation Committee passed the bill 14-1 on Thursday.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) Former Virginia Department of Transportation commissioner Philip A. Shucet has been named interim chief of Hampton Roads Transit. Shucet will replace Michael Townes, who agreed to retire amid spiraling cost overruns and construction delays in building Norfolk's light-rail starter line.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
January 29, 2010 - By Cathy Duchamp
Visiting East Baltimore today, President Obama lobbied for his plan to create new jobs by providing tax incentives to small businesses. But as he still has some convincing to do.
If you need a new air conditioner installed on a roof, Donald Davis will rent you a crane for the job. He co-owns Davis Cranes in Baltimore's Highlandtown with his brother John. Business has been slow. Davis doesn't think he'll be able capitalize on a $5,000 tax credit to hire a new crane operator.
"If the work's not there you can't hire people," he says. "You can't just build a box and say 'I got it, this is yours, give me the money.' That's not how the business grows."
Okay, so Davis can't create new jobs. Obama's plan would also continue tax breaks for Davis to invest in new cranes. He says he can't afford to do that either. In fact, he's doing just the opposite: riding out the recession using the equipment he's got.
"Just this past year we had two 50-ton cranes we were paying on, they both paid off, and oh what a feeling," he says, laughing.
Davis says on that day he ate a cheese steak sandwich for lunch, instead of baloney.
Donald Davis stands in front of his small business Davis Cranes, which he says won’t be able to use President Obama’s proposed tax breaks.
Courtesy of: Cathy Duchamp
January 29, 2010 - By David Schultz
The past seven months have been a nightmare for Metro. A series of accidents has claimed the lives of eight passengers and five Metro workers.
Reverend Anthony Evans, leader of the coalition D.C. Black Church Initiative, says ministers have a duty to protect their parishioners from harm.
"There is a crisis in the system," he says. "So therefore it is responsible for an institution such as the church to point out to our parishioners and members and the riding public that this system doesn't take the issue of safety very seriously."
Evans occupies the pulpit at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Northwest. He says Metro's Board of Directors created a "culture of safety negligence."
"So I think, yes--don't ride Metro if you fear that they have not done an excellent job in taking care of the safety aspects of this system," he says.
D.C. Councilman Jim Graham (D), who was chairman of the Metro Board until his term ended this week, says the idea that Metro doesn't take safety seriously is categorically false.
"What people need to know," he says, "Is how much effort is being made to make this a safe ride."
He says Metro is getting a $150 million infusion of capital funds from the federal government, funds that will allow it to address the system's safety needs.
January 29, 2010 - SCRIPT:
I’m Sara Sciammacco of Capitol News Connection. This Week in Congress...
Early in the week lawmakers centered their talk on reining in spending and getting out of debt. Tuesday morning, Ohio Republican George Voinovich went to the White House for a meeting with the President. Many thought he’d get his arm twisted on health care, but instead they talked about the national deficit.
VOINOVICH: "He is trying to do the best thing, the President got lots of problems on his hands, he is a decent man, he is trying move things down the road."
The Senate shot down the idea to create a powerful bi-partisan commission, but President Obama backs it and will use his executive powers to carry it out. Another idea is to freeze discretionary spending for three years. Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis isn’t convinced it would do enough to reduce the shortfall. She compared the move to that of a recovering alcoholic.
LUMMIS: "It is a little bit like someone who has a substance abuse problem saying I’ve got a problem so that much I appreciate."
By mid-week Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was on Capitol Hill. He got a scolding from Massachusetts Democrat Steve Lynch for his role in the financial bailout of AIG. Lynch expressed anger that big Wall Street firms profited off taxpayers. Geithner defended himself.
LYNCH GEITNER: "The American taxpayers would not have been better off there is a difference than letting them default."
Later that evening, President Obama came to US Capitol to deliver the long-awaited State of the Union address. Members wanted to hear about what he was going to do to get people back to work.
OBAMA: "We should start where most new jobs do in small businesses."
That struck a chord with many moderate Democrats. Utah Republican Bob Bennett didn’t have many words of praise after the speech.
BENNETT: "When he got into the middle between the beginning and then and got into the policy stuff it was mainly mush."
There weren’t any major "Joe Wilson type" interruptions but one moment caught on tape...involved Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito after the President criticized a recent campaign finance ruling. Alito appeared to mouth the words "not true." Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions said President Obama acted inappropriately.
SESSIONS: "To just attack the court like that in public incorrectly is just wrong."
On Thursday, some Democrats decided to ride populist wave of anger against Wall Street. They voted to oppose the nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term. California Senator Barbara Boxer faces a tight re-election in November.
BOXER: "I think the message is take a look at Main Street not just Wall Street you know."
Critics say Bernanke didn’t do enough to prevent the financial collapse, but others praised him for saving the US and world economy. On Friday House Republicans invited the President to speak at their annual retreat in Baltimore. He took questions, and also took number of jabs from GOP members. The President asked the caucus to work with him.
OBAMA: "I’m not suggested but if the way these issues are being presented is that this is someone wild eye plot to impose …what happens to negotiate with me many of you if you voted with the administration on something our political in your own party."
Next week President Obama submits his federal budget to Congress. Later in the week…a hearing to figure out how to legislate around the new Supreme Court campaign finance ruling.
That was This Week in Congress. I’m Sara Sciammacco, Capitol News Connection.
January 29, 2010 - By STEVE SZKOTAK Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The discovery of Morgan Harrington's remains triggered a surge in credible tips to investigators seeking answers to the Virginia Tech student's disappearance and death three months ago, her parents said Friday.
Gil and Dan Harrington also said "a wealth of physical evidence" has been collected in the remote hayfield 10 miles southwest of Charlottesville where a farmer found their daughter's bones Tuesday.
"I think people are starting to come out of the woodwork and people who are in jail are trying to broker information for privileges or time or advantages for them," Gil Harrington said.
A spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police confirmed investigators have "received numerous tips" since the remains were discovered and are assessing them. Corinne Geller said she could not comment on evidence.
Morgan Harrington, 20, had been the focus of an intense search since she became separated from friends Oct. 17 while attending a Metallica concert at an arena at the University of Virginia.
A coroner has not determined the cause of her death.
The Harringtons, who are convinced their daughter was abducted and slain, devoted their energies the past three months to finding Morgan. They created a website, organized searches, distributed posters and put up highway billboards with her image.
Now they are attempting to cultivate more support and awareness of the problem of missing adults. They met with Virginia's two U.S. senators and other legislators last week and are seeking public funding for the National Center for Missing Adults.
The Harringtons, he's a doctor, she's a nurse, said they didn't know what to do or where to turn after they learned of their daughter's disappearance.
They were told, for instance, that once someone is reported missing their possessions should not be disturbed, to ensure investigators can examine belongings that have not been tampered with.
"Someone should tell the parents: Close the bedroom door, do not touch anything of that individual, because police are going to need that stuff," Dan Harrington said. "We're sleeping in her bed because we're crying and contaminated things that can be used for dogs and searches."
The search for Harrington stirred intense interest, even surprising the Roanoke couple.
"The kindness we have received has been unbelievable," Dan Harrington said.
But some elements in the media and on the Internet has also disturbed the couple, particularly suggestions that their daughter's attire or behavior was somehow responsible for her suspected abduction and death.
"No matter what Morgan did, she deserved to be safe walking the streets of Charlottesville, the streets of the University of Virginia, so those comments really, really made me angry," Dan Harrington said.
Their public activism, they said, is counter to their private nature. Their advocacy, they said, is intended to keep interest in the case alive, and to honor their daughter.
"We want to be able to show how you get through tragedy, and how you can be public about that and maybe help people," Dan Harrington said. "Secondly, Morgan had short life of 20 years. She should not be forgotten."
In keeping with that wish, they are establishing a scholarship fund in her memory at the new Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute in Roanoke, which accepts its first class this year, and with Omni Orphan Medical Network International, which provides medical care in Africa and elsewhere.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
January 29, 2010 - By Kavitha Cardoza
D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michele Rhee is known for being blunt. Rhee is s arguably the most controversial person in the district: everything she says or does is scrutinized and begs for an opinion.
Rhee's recent remarks about teachers having sex with students, teachers who hit children, and those who were chronically absent set off another firestorm. Council members called for hearings, parents wanted an explanation and some teachers called for her resignation. In the end, she clarified she was talking only about nine teachers.
But does the tough talking chancellor have a softer side?
"I'm warm and fuzzy when it comes to some things: kids, and I do these listening sessions with teachers," she says. And teachers often come up to me and say, 'you are so much nicer than I thought. I like you! And I thought I was going to hate you!'"
"The tough thing is if I could be out in front of people and and explaining everything every single day. But I run a district with 45,000 kids and 4,000 teachers," says Rhee.
Rhee blames the media for highlighting one or two sentences of an interview and says she "gets" that controversy and conflict sell.
January 29, 2010 - By Michael Pope
In Virginia, Democrats and Republicans are sharply divided on their governor's Republican response to the State of the Union.
Reviews of Bob McDonnell's speech are all over the map in Virginia, where the new governor is finishing his second week in office. In Alexandria, Republican City Councilman Frank Fannon says McDonnell's style should serve as a template for the future of the party.
"I think a lot of people relate to Bob McDonnell, and I like his message. I think a lot of people relate to Bob McDonnell, and I like his message," he says. I like the way he delivers things. I like his thoughts and ideas. He's even eleven days into his administration so let's see how things go, but I think he's the type of Republican people are looking up to."
Democratic strategist John Chapman isn't as impressed.
"To me he seemed very general. The ideas he was bringing, you could read out of a textbook about American politics or American values or something like that," says Chapman. "He didn't seem real to me."
Expectations are high for Virginia's new governor. Yet Democrats and Republicans both say they want to see how McDonnell handles a difficult budget year before making any conclusions about his political future.
January 29, 2010 - By STEVEN OHLEMACHER and CHRISTINE SIMMONS Associated Press Writers
BALTIMORE (AP) President Barack Obama says his administration has "stopped the flood of job losses," but much more needs to be done to help the millions of people still out of work.
Appearing Friday at Chesapeake Machine Co. in Baltimore, Obama put in a pitch for legislation he is seeking from Congress to provide tax breaks for small businesses that hire additional workers.
Obama said, "It's time to put Americans back to work." At the same, he said that "we've got a long way to go to make up for the millions of jobs lost this recession."
He said a new report showing the economy grew at at annual rate of 5.7 percent in the last quarter an encouraging development. The president said he would take unpopular steps, if necessary, to get the economy going again.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
January 29, 2010 - By Kavitha Cardoza
As adults are focusing on the Congressional health care and financial reform debates, students in D.C. schools are holding their own hearings to learn more about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
In the "We the People" competition, topics range from presidential powers to the challenges facing democracy. Joy Dingle, a teacher from Cesar Chavez Public Charter School, says her students find it difficult to relate to the Constitution.
"They see a lot of it as theories, or a framework that was written by 55 men over 200 years ago," she says.
But Dingle says once they apply their knowledge to current events, something changes.
"Then it does become more concrete with them and they say 'oh that's what the Bill of Rights is all about," she says.
Logan Bush from St. John's College High School says he's learning something profoundly simple.
"Just how to be a good American, like what it means to be an American citizen," says Bush.
Students say they're more confident about exercising their rights now. And there is one other all important use, says Sam Lapore.
"I was watching the Colbert Report, they were making fun of a Supreme Court decision on unlimited spending, which wouldn't have meant anything to me before and I actually understood what they were talking about," says Lapore.
This year's winning team will represent D.C. at the national finals in April.
Students from St. John's College High School in D.C. participate in We The People competition, which simulates congressional hearings.
Courtesy of: Kavitha Cardoza
January 29, 2010 - By Pat Brogan
Arlington County, Virginia has a new name for its cultural center. The center, which is partly located in the old Newseum building in Rosslyn is now being called the 'Artisphere.'
More than 100 proposed names were looked at, with the public being given the chance to vote on three of them. When it opens in October of this year it will offer community events, live bands as well as national and international contemporary performing and visual artists.
January 29, 2010 - By Rebecca Sheir
After a lengthy adoption process, a 3-year-old girl from Haiti is settling in to her new home in Frederick, Maryland. But it isn't yet clear what mark this month's earthquake has left on the toddler.
If you ask Christie and Dave Hubner to describe their adopted daughter, Ila, Christie says,
"She's very giggly and silly and we play a lot, and we get hugs and stuff from her."
"It's cool," says Dave.
Sure, she fights with her new big brother, and she fusses at snacktime. Still, given the tragic earthquake Ila survived earlier this month, Christie says her new daughter doesn't exhibit any... fear.
"I've read other blogs of other orphanages and just how scared the kids were at each tremor," she says. "So I'm sure,you know, at the time she was very frightened. But she had no problem at any of the buildings we went in, she wasn't really that scared of the airplane."
But the Hubners say they're keeping their eyes open for signs of residual trauma from the quake - a major tragedy which prompted the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to speed up the adoption process.
"It'll be definitely something we'll talk about and how we got her because of it," Christie says. "You know, it was gonna be a couple years at least before we would regularly get her."
And now that she's here, despite the fights, the fussiness, the Hubners say they couldn't be happier. Even with three kids under the age of four.
Christie Hubner and Ila, her 3-year-old newly-adopted daughter from Haiti.
Courtesy of: Rebecca Sheir
January 29, 2010 - By Kavitha Cardoza
The National Council on Teacher Quality has issued a scathing report on rules governing educators, including those in our area, saying they are often "broken, outdated and inflexible."
Sandi Jacobs, the project director, says the report finds teacher policies often work against the goal of improving teacher quality. Overall D.C. gets a D minus, Maryland a D and Virginia a D plus.
D.C.'s grade refers to policies set by the Office of the State Superintendent, which governs traditional and charter public schools. Jacobs says there should be a separate policy for removing a teacher for ineffectiveness. Right now that's clubbed together with criminal violations. And she says the process for termination should be simpler.
"Certainly teachers are entitled to an appeal but it's these multiple appeals that make the process very expensive and drawn out," says Jacobs.
D.C. is praised for it's middle school teacher preparation, Maryland and Virginia for supporting different pay levels depending on schools needs.
A new report from the The National Council on Teacher Quality finds that teacher policies do not help to improve teacher quality.
Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/House of Sims
January 29, 2010 - By Rebecca Blatt
Attorneys are moving forward with a class-action lawsuit against a hospital in the Baltimore area that recently informed more than 350 patients that they may have received unnecessary heart stents.
St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland sent the letters, telling patients they may have received stents even though their arteries weren't clogged enough to require them.
Attorneys Billy Murphy and Peter Angelos filed the class-action suit. Murphy says the unnecessary procedures were motivated by greed. A spokeswoman for the hospital says in a statement that the hospital can't comment on the specifics of the complaint. She also says the procedures were performed by a single doctor who no longer works at the hospital.
January 29, 2010 - By Rebecca Blatt
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has appointed nine trial court judges, including the son of the state's Senate President Thomas Mike Miller.
This wasn't the first time Thomas Miller III was considered for a judgeship. He was nominated for an appointment to the Anne Arundel County District Court in 2008.
Three members of the county's judicial nominating commission resigned in protest, saying his nomination amounted to nepotism.
O'Malley said then that he didn't think it was fair to rule out politically connected appointees, as long as they are qualified, though he didn't appoint Miller at that time.
A spokesman for O'Malley says he makes judicial appointments based on the merits and qualifications of the candidate.
Miller is a commissioner on the Maryland Parole Commission. He has also worked in private practice and began his career as an assistant public defender in Prince George's County.
January 29, 2010 - By Jonathan Wilson
Efforts to help the wounded and rebuild an entire country continue in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
But in Virginia, members of Fairfax County's Urban Search and Rescue Team are back home after helping pull survivors from the rubble.
Jonathan Wilson spoke with team members about their journey.
Teresa MacPherson is a canine search specialist with the county.
Shes been working in Search and Rescue for close to 17 years but she says there's little that could've prepared her for this mission.
"Never been gone this long, and never have I seen such a challenging mission," says MacPherson. "It was the biggest, baddest one Ive ever been on."
The 114-person crew spent 15 days in Haiti, longer than many expected to be gone. But many say they would have stayed longer if the mission called for it.
Structural specialist Shawn Kennedy says things are improving in the country, even if life is far from back to normal.
"When we first got there, people were sleeping in the streets, and now people are moving back into their homes and you see businesses starting to function again," says Kennedy.
Fairfax County's team rescued 16 people trapped in the rubble in Haiti over the course of the two week mission.
Fairfax County Canine Search Specialist Teresa MacPherson and her dog Banks, finally home after a 15-day mission to Haiti.
Courtesy of: Jonathan Wilson
January 29, 2010 - We haven't even gotten to the Winter Olympics yet. But gardening diva Kathy Jentz says it's already time to prepare for planting season. The 5th annual Washington Gardener Magazine seed exchange is happening on Saturday, January 30th in two locations - Brookside Gardens in Wheaton and Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria. David Furst speaks with Kathy Jentz, the editor and publisher of the magazine.
January 29, 2010 - By Sabri Ben-Achour
There are many people from the D.C. area among the volunteers helping the relief efforts in Haiti.
Astrid Riecken has called D.C. home for the past 12 years. She's a photographer there. But for the next three weeks she'll be flying around Haiti doing communications for a group of medical volunteers with Project Hope.
"I will take photographs, write a little bit...," she says.
Riecken says when she heard about the Earthquake, she was able to turn her own misfortune around in order to help others.
"I just lost my job, I was sitting at home and slowly getting the unemployment blues, and I thought, I don't want to feel this way," she says.
Coincidentally, a friend told her about the volunteer position.
"It's just an inner call at some point in your life that you want to volunteer."
Riecken will be in Haiti for three weeks.
January 29, 2010 - When the President speaks at a GOP confab titled "Winning Back America"...kinda begs the question, for whom?
Today President Obama will be the featured speaker at the annual Republican House retreat this year in Baltimore.
Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports.
January 29, 2010 - A brief look at the Unification church, a controversial faith founded by Rev. Sun Yung Moon in 1954. It owns the Washington Times, the newspaper which has cut nearly 60 percent of its staff since November. Maureen Fielder, host of Interfaith Voices, spoke to Talking Points Memo reporter Justin Elliott about what sparked the lay offs.
You can hear this complete discussion on Interfaith Voices, this Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. on this station...
January 29, 2010 - By Kate Sheehy
Tai Shan, the National Zoo's beloved panda is leaving February 4th, but before he goes the zoo is inviting his admiring public to help give him a fond farewell.
It's Tai Shan's last week at the zoo before he heads off to China. A farewell party is set for Saturday, where zoo staff will be answering questions about conservation, reproduction and general care for Giant Pandas.
Children will be able to make cards for Tai Shan, and pictures of his time at the zoo will be on display. And of course, visitors will be able to buy some panda memorabilia to take home.
The farewell party begins at 11:30, if weather is bad, it will be moved to Sunday instead.
Tai Shan's last day at the National Zoo is February 4th.
Courtesy of: www.flickr.com/dbking
January 29, 2010 - From the Maryland Reporter website:
Obama comes to Baltimore, governmental transparency gets a boost, and drunk drivers might get a scarlet letter on their bumpers. All of this and more in today's State Roundup.
President Barack Obama will extend an olive branch at a U.S. House Republican retreat in Baltimore today, Paul West reports in The Baltimore Sun. But it is unlikely to change GOP behavior, strategists say.
Some state lawmakers are pushing to require that repeat drunk driving offenders have special yellow license plates designating them as such, Annie Linskey writes in The Sun. Other legislators see the special plates as little more than a "scarlet letter."
Lawmakers continue their push for state governmental transparency with a bill requiring committee votes be posted online and meetings streamed on the Internet, Erin Julius reports in The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail. The Senate has already approved a rule change Thursday requiring that committee votes be uploaded within 10 days. Dave Collins reports for WBAL-TV, as does Jeff Abell for WBFF.
Marcus Moore at The Gazette writes that private colleges and universities are due for a $22 million reduction in state aid under Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed budget.
Republican lawmakers accused Attorney General Doug Gansler of playing politics with the requested opinion on whether Maryland will honor same-sex marriages from other states, The Sun reports. Meanwhile, advocates squared off in the hearing for Delegate Emmett Burns' bill barring the marriages from being recognized. Dave Collins has the video report for WBAL-TV. MarylandReporter.com has a report today as well.
O'Malley's budget takes $20 million from the state's workers compensation fund, and business groups are complaining that the state should use the money to reduce insurance rates.
The National Council on Teacher Quality gave Maryland a D for its laws and regulations regarding teachers, Liz Bowie reports. This was the average grade for all states, and the highest grade was Florida's C minus.
Marcus Moore at The Gazette writes about friction among O'Malley, State Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick and lawmakers as the state considers whether to apply for $225 million in federal schools cash that is tied to reform.
Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich will announce in March whether he'll challenge O'Malley this November, Erin Cunningham writes in The Gazette.
Maryland received $60 million in federal stimulus money for rail projects, Ashley Halsey III reports in The Washington Post. The state will begin the improvement of a tunnel just west of Baltimore's Penn Station from the 1870s. Sean Sedam writes in The Gazette that the stimulus rail improvements will also be used to improve tracks near BWI Airport.
Baltimore County Sen. Bobby Zirkin is raising concerns about toxic contamination at the shuttered Rosewood Center mental health facility. Jennifer Bishop has the story in Baltimore Brew.
House Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell is pushing a bill that would bar the use of state troopers as drivers for state officials. The only exceptions would be for the governor and lieutenant governor, Alan Brody reports in The Gazette.
Sen. Jim Robey's doing a super Polar Plunge today, wading into the Chesapeake Bay once every hour for 24 hours, Julie Bykowicz writes in The Sun's Maryland Politics blog. Check MarylandReporter.com for more on this later.
Robert Lang reports for WBAL-Radio on a loophole in the state's sex offender notification law, allowing offenders to go unnoticed in houses they own, but do not necessarily live in.
Doug Tallman at The Gazette has a followup on why the state hasn't been using tougher sex offender sentencing laws passed in 2007.
O'Malley's budget keeps most of his liberal priorities in place, Barry Rascovar writes in The Gazette, but it also does little to address looming deficits in future years.
Gov. Martin O'Malley appointed nine trial judges, including the son of Senate President Mike Miller, Andrea Siegel writes in The Sun. Thomas V. Miller III was previously nominated to an Anne Arundel County District Court, leading to three members of the county's nominating commission to resign in protest. John Wagner has more in The Washington Post's Maryland Politics blog.
Jay Hancock discusses the merits of hybrid and electric vehicles in his column for The Sun, in light of GM's announcement that they will expand the White Marsh plant to build electric motors.
Republican Del. Pat McDonough is calling for a hearing on Baltimore County's $138 million budget gap before the local House delegation, Bryan Sears writes for Patuxent.
Maryland's heavily-Democratic Congressional caucus liked President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech, C. Benjamin Ford reports in The Gazette but Western Maryland Republican Roscoe Bartlett criticized it.
Adam Pagnucco at Maryland Politics Watch has a lot of fun with a bill that would allow married couples to file for divorce if they are not getting their swerve on.
Sean Sedam writes in The Gazette about an effort to change the Maryland law that requires that funeral homes be operated by licensed morticians, or using one of a finite amount of corporate license.
Kenny Burns at Maryland Politics Today has audio of lawmakers weighing in on O'Malley's agenda.
There will be no new voting system for the state's 2010 election, despite a 2007 law that mandates just that, Kevin Spradlin reports in the Cumberland Times-News. Budgetary restrictions have made procuring impossible, state officials said.
The Red Maryland blog polled 74 people about whether they want to see casino-style table games, and most do.
Former U.S. Sen. Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. will be remembered as a man who put principles before party, Doug Tallman and Margie Hyslop write in The Gazette. Blair Lee writes in his Gazette column about other significant Marylanders who died in 2009.
Allan Lichtman in The Gazette opines that Maryland should look to Oregon as a model for a budget solution.
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