


Speaking at his inauguration for a second term Wednesday, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley reflected on the state's economic situation and its outlook.
There was no parade through the streets of the state capital -- just a few choirs, a single military band, a 19-gun salute and a flyover.
On the steps of the state house, O'Malley kept an optimistic and hopeful tone in his second inaugural address, despite the bleak budget picture the state is facing.
"It is not as if there is religion here and science there, government and economics over there, corporations in that corner, children over there in a playground -- all separated neatly into walled-off spaces. We are here to make Maryland whole again," he says.
Maryland faces a budget deficit that now exceeds $1.5 billion. O'Malley is expected to release his plan to close that gap, without any tax increases, by the end of the week.

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