State Roundup, June 1, 2011

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JUVENILE JUSTICE LABYRINTH: Michael Corbin of the Urbanite writes a long piece about the state’s failing Juvenile Justice System and what needs to be done to repair it.

PETITION SUBMISSION: Opponents of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants submitted more than 40,000 signatures on petitions to put the measure on the November 2012 ballot, more than twice what they needed for yesterday’s first deadline, reports Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com.

They will need to submit about 56,000 valid signatures to the State Board of Elections by the end of June to suspend the legislation and give the voters the final say, reports Andrea Siegel of the Sun. They plan to collect many more, on the assumption that some will get thrown out.

Here’s Dave Collins’ report on WBAL TV. Fox 45 has its own account.

One signature you won’t find on the petition is Dean Minnich. And the columnist for the Carroll County Times tells you why.

POST OFFICE DEFENDS STAND: Saying its policy is no solicitation inside or outside on postal property, the U.S. Postal Service is standing behind a decision by Frederick County postal employees who asked volunteers circulating a petition to leave two post offices over the weekend, reports Meg Tully for the Frederick News Post.

O’MALLEY’S SENSIBLE CALL: Some environmentalists are calling into question Gov. Martin O’Malley’s commitment to their green cause after he refused to veto a bill giving incentives to waste-to-energy garbage plants. Yet, O’Malley made a sensible call, opines Barry Rascovar in the Perspectives section of the (CORRECTION) Community Times. As a former Baltimore mayor, he knows how hard it is to sell the public on new landfills. (This is very similar to last week’s Gazette column.)

BENEFIT LLC: A Baltimore branding and marketing firm is one of at least two businesses that plan to file to become a benefit limited liability company today, the first day a law creating the designation goes into effect in Maryland. The designation, writes Gary Haber for the Baltimore Business Journal, protects certain companies from lawsuits by their members if they make decisions based on social activism as part of their corporate mission.

GOVS EARN LESS: Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times writes that Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma released federal data that shows that 77,057 federal government employees who earned more in annual pay than their respective governors. As we know from earlier stories, Gov. O’Malley earns less than 7,283. But is it a fair comparison considering the age, tenure and skills of the workers?

2014 GOVERNOR’S RACE: With more than three years remaining before the primary election, potential candidates for the 2014 governor’s race have been tight-lipped about their intentions, writes David Hill for the Washington Times. Nonetheless, much of the buzz has centered on three Democrats — Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Attorney General Doug Gansler.

ANTI ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS: Brian Goodman of the Dagger writes about Del. Mary-Dulany James’ push-poll as she once again fights against elected school boards, this time in Harford County.

CUSTODIAL DADS RISE: According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the rise in the number of Maryland families led by single fathers in the past decade outpaced the rise in single-mother families for the first time since at least 1970, as far back as the state data is available, reports Yeganeh June Torbati of the Sun.

ROBOCALL GRAND JURY: Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, his aide Greg Massoni, Gene Raynor, former head of the city and state elections boards, and Chris Cavey, a former chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Party, last week were called before a grand jury investigating deceptive Election Day robocalls made on behalf of Ehrlich’s re-election campaign, writes Laura Vozzella for the Sun.

SCHAEFER’S EARLIER WILL: An earlier version of the will of the late Gov. William Donald Schaefer has surfaced, reports Laura Vozzella of the Sun, which of course will carry with it its own personal and political intrigue.

SENATE CANDIDATE: A former U.S. Secret Service agent from Severna Park who has served on President Barack Obama’s protective detail announced yesterday that he will seek the Republican nomination for Senate in Maryland, likely facing incumbent Ben Cardin, blogs the Sun’s John Fritze.

The candidate, Daniel Bongino, also co-owns a mixed martial arts footwear company and recently founded a security and risk management consulting firm, writes Alan Brody of the Gazette.

DEBT CEILING: A proposal to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit without making significant cuts in federal spending failed in the House of Representatives yesterday and split the Democratic members of Maryland’s congressional delegation, reports the Sun’s John Fritze.

WICOMICO SHAKEUP: Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt wants to shake up his office, eliminating two positions and creating three new ones, writes Greg Latshaw of the Salisbury Daily Times.

MINORITY HIRING IN BA CO: The Sun’s Raven Hill takes a look at minority hiring within Baltimore County government and how far it has come, or not come, in the past 20 years.

HAIRSTON QUESTIONED: Bryan Sears of Patch.com blogged live yesterday as school Superintendent Joe Hairston met with state legislators to discuss a variety of topics.

CITY MAYOR’S RACE: The Urbanite’s Michael Anft profiles Otis Rolley, the “post-racial” tech-savvy challenger to Baltimore city Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. But in reality, what are the chances he can beat her?

BACHMAN DIES: George Bachman, a Linthicum Democrat who led the Anne Arundel County Council as chairman for nine years in the 1970s and ’80s, died Sunday at age 89, according to the Annapolis Capital.

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

cynthiaprairie@gmail.com
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: cynthiaprairie@gmail.com

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