State Roundup June 17, 2010

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Ehrlich’s plans to kill proposed light rail lines could offend needed voters; Dr. Ben Carson won’t run with Ehrlich; Safe Surrender program draws almost 200 fugitive non-violent offenders; Community college looks like a good place to start a university career; Cardin and Bartlett still lead the wealth race for our congressional delegation.

EHRLICH ON RAIL: Former governor and current candidate Bob Ehrlich’s plans to kill light rail lines in Baltimore and the D.C. burbs might endear him to his car-driving constituents, but they do little to help him with those whose votes he seeks and needs, writes Michael Dresser of the Sun.

TRANSFER STUDENTS: Public universities in Maryland and Virginia are drawing unprecedented numbers of students from community colleges, building a transfer pipeline that is changing the traditional path to a four-year degree and altering the dynamics on campus, reports Daniel de Vise of the Washington Post.

FABIAN: The state Democratic Party has found Bob Ehrlich’s law firm represented a company connected to Alan Fabian, convicted of fraud, Julie Bykowicz reports in the Sun.

WHAT BUSINESS PLANS? Editorial writers for the Frederick News-Post yawn at the unsubstantive business plans of both Gov. Martin O’Malley and his rival, former Gov. Bob Ehrlich.

RUNNING MATE: If Dr. Ben Carson takes a run with Bob Ehrlich for the governor’s mansion, the state necessarily won’t have to lose a fine neurosurgeon, speculates the Sun. While WBAL Radio reports Carson “has no plans” to enter politics.

GARDINA WON’T RUN: Saying that he has become too liberal for the district, Baltimore County Councilman Vince Gardina has decided not to run for the Maryland state Senate seat in the 7th District, blogs Bryan Sears for PatuxentPublishing.

JOURNALISM’S FUTURE: MarylandReporter.com’s Len Lazarick looks at the future of the flagging media industry and the FTC’s ideas for saving it, and includes links to the webcast.

SURRENDER SAFELY: With modest success, Baltimore City kicks off its Safe Surrender program in an attempt to get nonviolent offenders to turn themselves in and get their lives back on track, Justin Fenton of the Sun and Brendan Kearney of the Daily Record report. And you can see a video report by Barry Simms of WBAL-TV.

BEVERAGE TAX: The Baltimore City Council will vote this evening on the proposed beverage tax at a special meeting, says Christian Schaffer of WMAR-TV.

CITY HALL THEFTS: The theft of more than $150,000 in checks and cash from Annapolis City Hall isn’t the only one reported from that place. Now, a digital camera was reported stolen, which police say may be linked to the money theft, Andrea Siegel writes for the Sun. In the meantime, detectives are focused on a brief period when both employees and the public had access to the money-filled bag stowed in a vault, writes Joshua Stewart for the Annapolis Capital.

O’MALLEY FILES: The governor officially filed for re-election yesterday, the Sun blog reports.

WEALTHY IN CONGRESS: Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett remain the wealthiest members of the Maryland congressional delegation, while no one in the delegation reported holding stock in BP, so writes Paul West in the Sun.

O’MALLEY TO GRADS: The governor spoke to graduating seniors of Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin last week.

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