State Roundup, September 23, 2010

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JOBS LOSS: Gov. Martin O’Malley struck a somber tone, the day after the state released a report showing that Maryland had lost jobs for two months in a row. “None of us can give up,” he said. “There are better days coming,” reports Julie Bykowicz and Annie Linskey for the Baltimore Sun.

PG SLOW COUNT: The Prince George’s Board of Elections implemented a new process to speed up vote tabulating that instead caused the county to be one of the slowest jurisdictions in the state to compile results. Daniel Valentine reports for the Gazette.

YOU’RE OUT: Peter Angelos was going to throw O’Malley a $1,000-a-head fundraiser in his Camden Yards skybox during an Orioles-Red Sox game this month. It never happened. The reason it never happened is … ponders Laura Vozzella in the Sun.

CORRECTED FRANCHOT: Comptroller Peter Franchot blasted the planned Purple Line, questioning its cost and its ability to win federal funding and basically aligning his views with Bob Ehrlich’s.  Adam Pagnucco of Maryland Politics Watch takes a look at Franchot’s history with the Purple Line and finds it confusing.

ADWATCH: Check out the Sun’s Gubernatorial adwatch, where editorial writers say that while the current spate of attacks has been unfair to MPT’s Jeff Salkin, O’Malley and his GOP foe Bob Ehrlich are mostly sticking to the truth. John Wagner also looks at the ads for the Washington Post.

EHRLICH TALKS BIZ: Ehrlich stopped in Frederick yesterday, visiting with a small-business owner who stressed the importance of a friendly business climate from the state government, Meg Tully reports for the Frederick News Post.

YOU ASK: The Sun is seeking readers’ questions to ask O’Malley and Ehrlich as they run for governor.

TERM LIMITS: J.H. Snider, in an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun, writes that the road to term limits is a constitutional convention, which is Maryland’s best chance at reform.

STEELE AWAY: The Sun’s Paul West blogs about some Republican insiders’ dislike of RNC chair Michael Steele, Maryland’s former LG, and his weak fundraising, which may spell his doom as the GOP big wig.

BIDEN FOR MIKULSKI: Vice President Joe Biden will be in Chevy Chase this morning to help raise money for Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s re-election, Paul West blogs for the Sun.

TIGHT RACE: While all three Congressional incumbents representing Prince George’s cruised to victory during the primary, at least one  in the GOP primary is still too close to call, writes Andrew Damstedt writes for the Prince George’s Sentinel. Michael Lee Philips led Bruce Stern in the 8th District primary by just 35 votes.

TOP 10 IN HOUSE: Just to give ourselves a break, TBD reports on the top 10 mustaches in the House of Delegates. Read Nick Sohr’s blog on this important topic.

YOUNG DYNASTY: Katherine Heerbrandt of the Gazette reports that voters may want new blood, but many are gravitating in large numbers to a clan with an established political pedigree, the emerging “blue bloods” of Frederick County politics: the Young family. Father Ron and his sons Blaine and Brad are set to take over county and state seats, joining Ron’s wife in elected office.

CARROLL DELEGATES: House of Delegates incumbents Susan Krebs and Nancy Stocksdale have garnered just enough votes to win their respective Republican primary elections. Kevin Dayhoff reports for the Carroll Eagle

“WEIRY” WARY: Bryan Sears of Patuxent Publishing follows up on the Rebecca “Weir” Nelson story. Jim Stavropoulos, who lost to Nelson in the Democratic state Senate primary, plans to run as a write-in candidate if the Elections Board doesn’t overturn her victory since her given name isn’t “Weir,” although she grew up in the Weir household.

PG EXEC: Rabiah Alicia Burks, Justin Karp and Ilana Yergin of the Prince George’s Sentinel report that Dem County Exec candidate Rushern Baker says that education, economic development and public safety will be his priorities.   

BALT CO EXEC: Kevin Kamenetz, the Democratic nominee for Baltimore County executive, picked up the endorsement of a number of East Side Democratic legislators and political clubs , Bryan Sears blogs for Patuxent. But, Andy Rosen blogs in the Sun, Joe Bartenfelder, the uber-East Side Democrat, still hasn’t endorsed his former opponent.

HOCO EXEC: Howard County Exec Kenneth Ulman and his GOP challenger, Trent Kittleman, both agree to work with People Acting Together in Howard on health coverage, jobs for youth and services for seniors, writes Lindsey McPherson of the Columbia Flier.

LEOPOLD CASE: Following up on an article in Sunday’s Capital, the Eye on Annapolis blog reports on and quotes two sexual harassment lawsuits filed this year against attorney John Singleton, who represents the woman accusing County Executive John Leopold of harassing her.

AA COUNTY EXEC: E.B. Furgurson of the Annapolis Capital reports on Green Party county executive candidate Mike Shay’s well-done mockumentary on Bay pollution. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can view the video here.

SLATE FUNDS: Baltimore County Exec Jim Smith is allowed to continue to use his campaign war chest to transfer cash to candidates, according to the Elections Board, even though the term-limited Smith is not on the ballot. But Steve Bailey, the Republican candidate for Baltimore County State’s Attorney, said that he had asked the board to remove Smith, a Democrat, from the “Baltimore County Victory Slate.” Slates are essentially used to allow candidates to transfer unlimited amounts of money from one member to another, reports Andy Rosen in the Sun.

ROADS FUNDS: State and federal lawmakers need to raise more money to repair aging roads, bridges and rail lines, and build the next generation of transportation infrastructure, business leaders and public officials said at the Greater Baltimore Committee’s summit, Nick Sohr writes in the Daily Record. Megan Poinski of MarylandReporter.com writes that PA Gov. Ed Rendell told the crowd, “Beat up these guys, the men and women serving in Congress, about transportation funds.”

GREEN ED: Baltimore Sun opinionators applaud plans for the state’s green curriculum saying that environmental literacy should be part of every student’s education. Here’s a full story on the issue from Michael Birnbaum of the Post.

SLOTS UPDATE: The Post’s John Wagner picks up the Perryville slots story, reporting that after years of bitter debate and numerous setbacks, Maryland could actually have an operating slots casino next week. John Rydell reports that state slots officials got a tour of the casino. Dave Collins of WBAL-TV interviewed developer David Cordish, who has a license to open a slots parlor next to the Arundel Mills Mall. You can read what viewers of WBAL-TV think about having slots at the  mall.

PA BOUND? A proposed State Department security training center, planned for Maryland’s Eastern Shore until local residents objected, may wind up in Pennsylvania instead, writes the Sun’s Paul West.

CHARLOTTE HALL: The Board of Public Works approved a much-scrutinized $190 million contract for HMR of Maryland to continue operating the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home, reports Megan Poinski of MarylandReporter.com.

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