State Roundup, August 21, 2013

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DWYER CHARGED: WBAL-TV reports that Del. Don Dwyer has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence. According to an Anne Arundel County police report, an Anne Arundel County police officer, who was transporting a prisoner, saw a the driver of a gray 2001 Cadillac sedan driving erratically and committing several traffic violations in Pasadena around 12:40 a.m. Tuesday. Dwyer said he had had only two beers.

A police officer wrote in the report that Dwyer smelled strongly of alcohol and that “his eyes were red and glossy and his face was flushed. Dwyer’s speech was also very slow and slurred.” John Wagner and Maggie Fazeli Fard report the story for the Post.

Here’s the Patch.com story on the arrest.

This photo gallery in the Capital-Gazette takes us through Dwyer’s recent troubles, including reminding us that he was cited for violating a Wednesday crabbing ban.

DWYER’S FUTURE: On Tuesday, House Speaker Michael Busch, an Annapolis Democrat, called Dwyer’s conduct “unbecoming of a legislator.” And fellow Republican Del. Ron George called on Dwyer to “resign and get help,” writes Pamela Wood for the Sun. A WJZ-TV video report tops the article.

Alexander Pyles of the Daily Record writes that George, an Anne Arundel County Republican who is running for governor, called for his colleague’s resignation, saying, “Out of concern for people that could be harmed and out of concern for Don Dwyer himself, I am calling for him to resign and get help. His constituents deserve good representation.”

Alex Jackson of the Capital-Gazette writes that House Speaker Busch said in a statement that for now, Dwyer’s political fate after being charged with a DUI on Tuesday is up to Dwyer alone.

The Capital-Gazette reprises Tim Prudente’s interview with Dwyer from January, when he speaks about the events that drove him to drink. The interview occurred five months after the drunk boating accident that fractured the skull of a 5-year-old girl. That accident actually occurred on Aug. 23, 2012, almost a year to the day of his DUI arrest.

DWYER ASSAULTED ON SUNDAY: Del. Dwyer’s latest troubles began before a DUI charge Tuesday, reports Tim Prudente for the Capital-Gazette. On Sunday afternoon, the Pasadena Republican was bitten by a neighbor’s bulldog, smacked across the face, tossed into the water and offered a PCP-dipped cigarette, according to a police report. To the left of the article is a clickable PDF of the very interesting four-page police report.

CHICKEN MANURE LIMITS: Worcester County Commissioners are sending the state a letter of protest about an emergency regulation that will be heard in Annapolis next week that could immediately limit the use of chicken manure on state farms, Elaine Bean reports in the Salisbury Daily Times.

MD LOSING TAXABLE INCOME: The Tax Foundation published a new map Monday showing the migration of income between states in the decade 2000-2010, with Maryland losing $5.5 billion in taxable income along with 66,000 residents, writes Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com.

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HELP FOR SMALL BIZ: The editorial board for the Sun writes that, while state Sen. Jim Brochin doesn’t believe the state should be involved in helping businesses such as the Greene Turtle bar and restaurant in his own district, sometimes businesses need that boost. The state’s Neighborhood Business Works program has but one purpose — to help small business owners pay for main street redevelopment when they can’t secure private financing and thus help historic downtowns prosper.

DOVER BRIDGE DISCONNECT: In a humorous opinion piece, Easton Star-Democrat editorial cartoonist Rick Kollinger writes about the Gov. Martin O’Malley and the history of the lack of state funding to replace the Dover Bridge.

O’MALLEY’S VICTORY LAP: Don’t look now, my fellow Marylanders, but I think the Martin O’Malley victory lap has commenced, writes Sun columnist Dan Rodricks. The governor, with a year and a half to go in his second and final term, has started telling us all about his impressive tenure. The governor gave a speech over the weekend that was mostly that — a way of cementing the local narrative about how his pragmatism and competency got us through the worst economic cycle in decades. Like everything else O’Malley does, it’s all part of a strategy to enhance his standing as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016.

REPLACING PIPKIN: WYPR’s Fraser Smith and Kate Alexander of the Gazette talk about how E.J. Pipkin will be replaced both as a state senator and as Senate minority leader.

TWO ENDORSEMENTS SHY: In the early stages of Maryland’s 2014 gubernatorial race, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown has corralled dozens of endorsements, including from a majority of Democratic county-level officials across the state. But, report John Wagner and Bill Turque of the Post, there are still some big names out there, including the leaders of the state’s two largest jurisdictions: Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker.

RETIREES TO GET REFUNDS: The Sun’s Alison Knezevich is reporting that a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge has ordered the county to refund nearly $573,000 in health insurance premiums that had been overpaid by hundreds of Police Department retirees, following years of litigation between the county and the police union.

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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