October 23rd, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
Developmental Disabilities Administration failed to collect millions, overpaid contractors, didn’t reconcile costs, made questionable vehicle purchases, and adjusted accounting records without explanation. The problems are so bad and so persistent that an outside turnaround consultant has been hired to help fix them.
October 23rd, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
Democratic Senate President Mike Miller announced Wednesday night that Howard County Sen. Jim Robey will become majority leader of the Senate for Robey's final year. He replaces Sen. Rob Garagiola who resigned in August. In the surprise announcement at a fundraiser for the man running to succeed Robey in District 13 -- Del. Guy Guzzone -- Miller also said that Guzzone would fill Robey's seat on the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee in
October 23rd, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
Herb Sweren and Barry Silverman worked in political campaigns for years as an avocation, while they pursued careers in marketing and advertising. But a couple of years ago, after working together on a Baltimore County campaign, they decided to put their professional skills and political experience into a business using the latest technology that could improve the ground game for state and local candidates. This year, they launched CampaignOn.
October 21st, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
State officials have been talking a lot about the high number of uninsured Marylanders who will have access to Obamacare, but not all are eligible to sign up. Of the state's estimated 750,000 to 800,000 uninsured residents, only 480,500 -- or roughly 60% -- are eligible to enroll for health insurance plans under President Obama's signature health care law, according to the federal health care website HealthCare.gov
October 20th, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
The pandering cameras were on at the Maryland State Education Association in Ocean City Friday as four candidates for governor came seeking the endorsement of the largest union in the state with promises in hand.Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown walked away with the prize less from what he promised than for what he and Gov. Martin O'Malley delivered to public schools over the last six years -- the most massive increase in funding in Maryland history, $1.5 billion more in school aid, 35% higher over six years
October 20th, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
Early stumbles in Maryland governor's race are expected. Sometimes, though, those slips have lasting consequences. Already, Attorney General Doug Gansler and Harford County Executive David Craig have shot themselves in their political feet -- wounds that might prove fatal
October 17th, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
More than two-thirds of Maryland voters support redrawing legislative district lines using an independent commission, rather than by elected officials, according to a new poll
October 17th, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
Overwhelming voter disapproval of a gas tax hike earlier this year has helped drive Gov. Martin O'Malley's job approval rating below 50% for the first time in three years, a new poll found. The Gonzales Research poll also found marginal support, 49% to 44%, for the repeal of the death penalty O'Malley pushed, but wider support for the gun control measures the governor also backed, 58% to 40%
October 16th, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
Like a chronic skin rash that keeps coming back, the persistent structural deficits that legislators thought they had almost cured earlier this year are looming again for fiscal 2015, the legislature's top budget analyst told lawmakers Wednesday. There now appears to be a $400 million potential gap in next year's budget, Warren Deschenaux, the chief of policy analysis, told the joint Spending Affordability Committee. A nearly $300 million surplus estimated when the fiscal 2014 budget passed in April has disappeared in the face of unplanned expenses and reduced revenues, and there may instead be an $87 million deficit
October 15th, 2013 | by Len Lazarick
The latest bit of nonsense in the Maryland governors' race is the suggestion that Doug Gansler from Montgomery County made a mistake by not balancing his ticket with someone from the Baltimore Region. The only folks who would argue that a PG/Howard ticket is geographically balanced while a MoCo/PG ticket is regional are folks who have never looked at a map of Maryland!
State Roundup, July 24, 2014
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SEIU union played attack role in June primary
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State Roundup, July 23, 2014
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Small firms give Maryland C- for business friendliness
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State Roundup, July 22, 2014
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