State Roundup, January 21, 2010

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The effects of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s budget cleared up a little with the release of all the details in five separate books, writes Liam Farrell of The Capital. The Washington Post reports Senate President Mike Miller plans on seeking cuts to O’Malley’s budget. Hayley Peterson with the Washington Examiner pairs Maryland’s proposed budget plan, which relies on receiving stimulus money, against Virginia’s lagging funds.

A Baltimore Sun editorial is highly critical of the governor’s new budget plan, calling it “Chewing gum and baling wire.”

Schools officials kept a low profile and low expectations during the “Hope-a-thon” where schools “hope” for more money for area construction and renovation projects for schools, writes Bryan Sears with Patuxent publications.

Scott Brown win in Massachusetts looks like good news for Maryland Republicans and Bob Ehrlich, Julie Bykowicz reports in The Baltimore Sun. But if former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) plans to run for governor again he may be strapped for cash, writes The Washington Post’s John Wagner.

Former Maryland first lady Patricia Hughes died, the Sun reports.

The push to put committee votes online is gaining momentum, Annie Linskey reports in The Sun.

Baltimore County Police spokesman Bill Toohey has landed on his feet as the new communications director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

The Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved a $1.5 million settlement in the deaths of two teenagers killed by a light rail train in Baltimore County last year, the Sun reports. The board also approved a $6.45 million plan for design work for a state public health lab in East Baltimore, reports Scott Dance with Baltimore Business Journal.

The state is closer to coming up with a payment plan for businesses facing rising unemployment insurance taxes according to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s deputy legislative officer Carolyn Quattrocki, writes Heather Harlan Warnack with Baltimore Business Journal.

Mental health advocates rallied in support of a bill that would tax alcohol to benefit mental health causes yesterday. Joel McCord with WYPR has an audio report on the rally.

Del. Mary Ann Love, D-Anne Arundel is drafting a bill in hopes of making it easier for wineries to operate in the state. Erin Julius of The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail writes that the Washington County delegation was briefed on the proposed legislation yesterday morning.

The state’s labor department won a $5.8 million green-job training grant, writes Danielle Ulman with The Daily Record. The stimulus money will be used to train a variety of people in Baltimore City.

The Department of Natural Resources hosted an open house on proposed changes for restoring the oyster population. Some watermen say they may give up their oyster beds, writes Liz Halland with The (Salisbury) Daily Times.

The Chesapeake Bay Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture say more farming could be the answer to cleaning the bay, writes The Associated Press.

A proposed bill would outlaw storing the bodies of dead loved ones in freezers and wooded areas, as some have done in the past, according to The Associated Press.

The Washington Post’s Aaron Davis writes about a ‘thank you’ message from Maryland’s richest lobbying firm.

The state is hoping to host the U.S. Youth Soccer Championship in 2011 and 2012 that could bring in more than $12 million in revenue each year, reports Liz Farmer of The Daily Record.

Incoming Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is proposing changes to how the city handles ethics, reports Julie Scharper of The Baltimore Sun. In the wake of the resignation of Mayor Shelia Dixon, Rawlings-Blake said she hopes it will “strengthen public trust” in city government.

Perhaps no surprise to the people who drive it, but a GPS study ranks the Capital Beltway as one of the worst for freeway congrestion, writes Ashley Halsey III of The Washington Post.

The director of the Maryland Historical Trust has rejected the request to build a monument to the U.S. Constitution on the lawn of the Allegany County Courthouse, writes Kevin Spradlin with Cumberland Times-News.

About The Author

Len Lazarick

len@marylandreporter.com

Len Lazarick was the founding editor and publisher of MarylandReporter.com and is currently the president of its nonprofit corporation and chairman of its board He was formerly the State House bureau chief of the daily Baltimore Examiner from its start in April 2006 to its demise in February 2009. He was a copy editor on the national desk of the Washington Post for eight years before that, and has spent decades covering Maryland politics and government.

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