Analysis: UVA Reinstates Sullivan, Gambling Bill In Maryland Stalls

After a tumultuous few weeks, controversy at the University of Virginia appears to be dissipating, after the school board voted to reinstate Teresa Sullivan as president. Meanwhile an expansion of gambling in Maryland appears to be at a impasse, and District officials are withdrawing support for a bill to give D.C. more budget autonomy. Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney has more details on the stories. Following are highlights of his analysis.

On whether the UVA incident will have any political impact on Gov. Bob McDonnell: "I think it's sort of a wash for Gov. McDonnell. He started off pretty poorly, and looked kind of disengaged in the beginning, but he intervened late in the process, and seemed to have a positive impact, and he came out OK, basically, in the end. When the board first forced out Sullivan, McDonnell pointedly and repeatedly refused to intervene. He said he didn't want to meddle with the Board of Visitors, but as a backlash developed in favor of Sullivan, he came under pressure to get involved, and issued a strong statement saying the board needed to resolve the matter quickly and in a unified way."

On the gambling deal and what's at stake for Prince George's County: "Prince George's has a lot on the table so to speak here. It would very much like to get this casino because that would that would bring in more than $60 million a year in revenue. The county estimates it would create 4,000 jobs, including a lot of highly paid construction jobs... and having it at the National Harbor would also create a major new lure for tourists... Also, this has become County Executive Rushern Baker's initiative. He's been in office for about a year and a half, and is best known now for supporting this casino, so if it fails, it's a political embarrassment for him."

On the bill to give D.C. budget autonomy being pulled out this week: "This has happened repeatedly. This particular episode really ends any prospect that there would be any progress in this session of Congress on giving the District more autonomy over its own budget."

Listen to the full analysis here.